"New-To-Me" C & Blower

[Rip]

Since the forum has been so quiet lately I thought I would announce that I am now an official Toolcat owner (but not quite operator)!

Going up Monday to visit the "new-to-me" TC and blower that should both have been delivered in Merritt, BC. The low-hour '06 Turbo/High-flow machine will be mated with a new 73" QA-2000 blower primarily for snow removal. I will also rig up a plow blade with rubber edge fairly soon.

I'll keep you posted !!

Rip

 

[radman1]

Since the forum has been so quiet lately I thought I would announce that I am now an official Toolcat owner (but not quite operator)!

Going up Monday to visit the "new-to-me" TC and blower that should both have been delivered in Merritt, BC. The low-hour '06 Turbo/High-flow machine will be mated with a new 73" QA-2000 blower primarily for snow removal. I will also rig up a plow blade with rubber edge fairly soon.

I'll keep you posted !!

Rip

Congrats. Let us know how you like it. I am also considering the toolcat as a purchase to replace my CUT.

 

[dsb5610]

Rip,

Good luck with your 'new' purchase. I read your posts elsewhere on winter use. I am interested in how you make out with a spreader solution. You may also want to consider sand or chips too. We've used them by spreading with a bucket with success but a spreader would be better.

FWIW, salt is used regularly on the roads here. Even though I do not spead any I get into it clearing the end of the drives and around mailboxes. After one year it is very noticable what it does to the equipment.

dsb

 

[jabbahop]

We have a steep 1500 foot dirt driveway and therefore needed a sand spreading solution. We tried one of those hitch mounted spreaders but it was constantly jamming even with dry sand. On recommendation from my dealer I ended up getting this Herd spreader with agitator. I only got it @ the end of the season so don't have a lot of experience with it but seems to work well once you have the speed and sand drop rate dialed in.

It mounts right to the quicktach and hydraulics and the spin is controlled by the joy stick. The thing I don't like is that you can't control the feed gate from the cab.

I am very curious how your blower works as I have been eyeing them but can't justify the expense since I have a blade that works pretty well except when we get the huge dump like last year.

Herd Seeder - Seeders, Spreaders and Feeders

 

[Rip]

Thanks for the welcome as an "official" TC owner. Can hardly wait to get my butt in the seat and hands on the wheel.

A sander/spreader is still fairly high on my list. Traction control will be the need, and salt/sand mix, cinders, rock chips are all possibilities. So far the Thomas Model U-1943 Hydraulic Sander/Spreader seems like the best bet. Still trying to get a price for it though. At 9 cu ft it is just right size for a TC and can self-load like a bucket which appeals to me as well. Since this type mounts to the qa plate, it would require a sepparate pass after plowing or blowing.

Jabbahop: Thanks for the info on the Herd, I had seen it, but did not see where they had a skid steer version so kept on looking. How much did your cost? You get the small or medium size unit?

I have seen several dump-bed tailgate sand spreaders for Kubota RTV and JD Gaitors that may work or be adaptable to a TC. Let me know if interested.

As for the blower, I had been thinking of one on and off for a number of years, but I was able to deal with even our biggest (was a struggle some time) storms with my pickup plow up until this past season. I got the basic (manual chute rotation & angle) 73" QA-2000 late February and by the time I had it set up for my PowerTrac 1845 I really only had a 7 ft pile of really packed snow to play with. It chewed right through it like butter! This tractor is only 15 GPM aux flow.

Since I will still use the truck for most of my snow removal here in Colorado, the PT and blower are mainly for big dumps where I unable to plow-with-the-storm, drifts, and backup. I was quite pleased with the design and build quality, that I did not hesitate to buy the same model (but built for high-flow and with full power chute) for the TC for use at our place in Canada. These blowers are practically the same as the current Erskine and Bobcat blowers (all hydraulic with no gearboxes, chains, or shear pins).

I also plan to mount a used truck straight plow with rubber edge on an extra quickattach plate for general use. The majority of plows designed for SS do not float up and down. This may be prefered by those wanting to scrape paved parking lots, but is not what I want for irregular dirt/gravel roads.

I have similar condtions here in Colorado that I have been dealing with for going on 12 years now, and 95% of the time a floating blade with rubber edge is MUCH better than a steel edge (and I have tried all the possible feet and elivated blade tricks).

The blower also comes with a steel cutting edge, and while a Urethene edge is an option, I replaced mine with a 1 1/4" hot-rolled round steel bar with three welded tabs to mount to 6 of the original 12 mounting holes. This minimizes to the greatest extent possible picking up rocks and gravel. I will try to keep the blower raised a bit off the ground anyway while in use, but ground contact will still occurr.

I certainly appreciate all the valuable information and insight I have gleaned for this site and others and will try to share my experiences as well.

Thanks all....

Rip

 

[dsb5610]

I run my blower lifted slightly on gravel drives. If I need to get down to the surface I switch to the bucket. I rarely have to deal with ice though. The times the lanes have been cleaned with a truck/plow or even 3pt blade I've had to deal with too much rock in the grass the following spring. Maybe the rubber edge would help with that. The bucket works well in that if I see I am getting into the gravel I pick it up and drive into the field to dump or dump it somewhere I want the gravel when the snow melts.

dsb

 

[Rip]

Well, the blower came yesterday and the TC arrived today!

It is not quite at its new home yet, but I got to look it over and run it around the parking lot for a few minutes though. All seems well so far. Will get it here within day or two, but will be having house guests so may not have chance for much seat time for a bit longer.

Rip

 

[UFM82]

The drop-in spreader from Bobcat was designed for the Toolcat. We've sold a couple so far and they seem to be working well. Just a thought.

 

[Rip]

My biggest issue with the V-box spreader or a ProFlo2 / SpeedCaster2 rear mounted unit is loading/unloading it. Also, would be a concern if fully loaded and needed to access the engine, etc under the bed.

For my application, unhooking the blade or blower and hooking up a front mounted spreader for a sanding pass would not be a problem and the self-loading/unloading (excess material) is a real plus. Remember, this $$$ Toolcat is supposed to be a labor SAVING device for these aging bones !!

Rip

 

[UFM82]

Bobcat also offers a BobTach mounted spreader that is well adapted to slinging salt or sand in the winter time. It's basically a hitch-mounted truck spreader that is on a mounting plate for the Bobcats. It comes complete with the hardware and the wiring/controls to install it. I've sold a half-dozen for snow/ice removal and even sold one in July to a guy who was spreading seed with it, although he had to buy the adjustable gate kit to do that. You can pop it off the Bobtach just like your bucket or blade or whatever you have.

A Power BobTach would make the chaneg even easier if Bobcat ever designs one for the Toolcat.