PTO vs tow broadcast spreader

[bwestfall]

Hey all,

Just a question regarding broadcast spreaders as I haven’t seen much out there for info.

I have an acre backyard and am looking to turn into a yard. Currently I hand seed/fertilize which is fine, but I’m looking for something I can use in the winter for sand/salt as well for my driveway.

I’ve been looking primarily at a PTO spreader, but as our town has free sand/salt somewhat down the road I was thinking maybe a tow behind. The goal would be to tow it with my truck, shovel the sand/salt in, reattach it to my tractor and be on my way. To be honest this is a question out of laziness, I’d rather tow it and shovel once, vs shovel into a bin and reshovel it into a PTO spreader. Thoughts? Are tow behind PTO spreaders of similar quality to say PTO ones? Landpride has both styles for example.

 

[TxMN]

I have the smaller land pride towable spreader, only use to broadcast food plots. It does just what I need. I usually load 200 lbs of seed and do several small plots close by. You do need to remove a pin in the hub that disengages the spinner for towing, easy to remove and install for use. Poly tub cleans up well, tow mine with rtv900 and rtv500 no problem for either rtv.

 

[bwestfall]

I have the smaller land pride towable spreader, only use to broadcast food plots. It does just what I need. I usually load 200 lbs of seed and do several small plots close by. You do need to remove a pin in the hub that disengages the spinner for towing, easy to remove and install for use. Poly tub cleans up well, tow mine with rtv900 and rtv500 no problem for either rtv.

Does it feel “heavy duty” enough to move salt/sand, potentially wet? Our town just has an open pit of sand basically without any cover

 

[dodge man]

I had a cheap tow behind, very light duty, I know have one of those pto cone style pto spreader. The pto one I like. The tow behind would tip over on my side hills if I hit a bump. Maybe a nicer one with bigger tires would do better.

 

[bwestfall]

I had a cheap tow behind, very light duty, I know have one of those pto cone style pto spreader. The pto one I like. The tow behind would tip over on my side hills if I hit a bump. Maybe a nicer one with bigger tires would do better.

Bumps I didn’t think about. I have a gravel driveway with a couple spots where ledge sticks out that I’m sure could cause a risk of tipping. The more I look too the less I’m less and less inclined towards the tow style as it doesn’t look like something I should be going down the road with at 45mph, regardless of the distance.

 

[dodge man]

The 3 point cone spreader I have will hold quite a bit. I think it’s rated at 850 pounds, which I never put anywhere near that in it.

 

[LouNY]

Any spreader used for wet sand will not be a ground drive unit. It will also need to have some type of agitator to keep the sand moving.
Then depending upon the hauling distance and the sand involved if it doesn't have some salt mixed into it, it will freeze in your sander.
If the main use is driveway sanding then a trailer mounted sander built for sand is really the only choice. Many of the smaller "sanders" are actually just dry salt spreaders if they do not specify sand it likely will not work.

 

[TxMN]

Don’t know if what you call heavy duty would the same for me. I only load mine about half full of food plot seed, 150-200 lbs maybe per load. I am on level ground and fairly even terrain.

 

[3gunr]

THe benefit of the pull type over 3pt is you can pull it with pretty much anything, Atv ,utv truck , I have a 3pt pto drive spreader and it works great but you are tying up the tractor when it could be doing something else. I would be afraid to put sand in either because it could burn up the gear box if it got packed in there. Thats why you cant spread ag lime with one,

 

[bwestfall]

Any spreader used for wet sand will not be a ground drive unit. It will also need to have some type of agitator to keep the sand moving.
Then depending upon the hauling distance and the sand involved if it doesn't have some salt mixed into it, it will freeze in your sander.
If the main use is driveway sanding then a trailer mounted sander built for sand is really the only choice. Many of the smaller "sanders" are actually just dry salt spreaders if they do not specify sand it likely will not work.

That makes sense. My town does mix salt and I’ve never had an issue with freezing. I’ve seen a chain used internally as an agitator and currently that was my plan. I wanted something I could use year round too which is why I was hoping to get away with something like one of these two options.