Snow Snow plowing adjustment question

[idaguide]

I plow about a 300 yard driveway with my B7800 and a rear blade. Because the driveway goes along the side of the hill, I plow towards the low side. However, with the plow on normally centered across the back, I'm only able to push the snow to the side, and it quickly builds up next to the road, forcing me to do what I call "the pushback" all the way down the driveway with my FEL. (It also goes down the hill.) This is very time consuming.

What I'm considering is adjusting the plow (sliding it) out to the right as far as it will go, so that the blade hangs out a couple feet over the edge, and hopefully will send the snow farther out, forcing the pushback less often.

What I'm wondering is whether or not this will be advantageous, or if the pressure of the snow on the rear blade will tend to jerk the front of the tractor around to the right, towards the downhill side. My rear tires are filled and chained, but I still think the whole thing will tend to rotate. I'm looking for advice because I don't want to find out that this doesn't work during the first big snowfall...it's a hassle to move the blade and I'd rather make up my mind ahead of time.

Any advice? Is my description clear?
Thanks in advance.
grae

 

[Firefighter Kubota]

I plow about a 300 yard driveway with my B7800 and a rear blade. Because the driveway goes along the side of the hill, I plow towards the low side. However, with the plow on normally centered across the back, I'm only able to push the snow to the side, and it quickly builds up next to the road, forcing me to do what I call "the pushback" all the way down the driveway with my FEL. (It also goes down the hill.) This is very time consuming.

What I'm considering is adjusting the plow (sliding it) out to the right as far as it will go, so that the blade hangs out a couple feet over the edge, and hopefully will send the snow farther out, forcing the pushback less often.

What I'm wondering is whether or not this will be advantageous, or if the pressure of the snow on the rear blade will tend to jerk the front of the tractor around to the right, towards the downhill side. My rear tires are filled and chained, but I still think the whole thing will tend to rotate. I'm looking for advice because I don't want to find out that this doesn't work during the first big snowfall...it's a hassle to move the blade and I'd rather make up my mind ahead of time.

Any advice? Is my description clear?
Thanks in advance.
grae

I agree with your own conclusion about the torque issue..also the added uneven stress on the blade mounts...

How about a wider blade? Either a rear blade or a front mounted blade. With the wider blade you can push the snow further to the side and keep the wheels on the road. I picked a used on up for $200 and did some quick welding..Works great...even if you don't weld ..a shop will be able to do this sort of mount in less than 30 - 60 minutes..

Even with the snow plow., I still occasionally have to do the " clean up" push back... I wait for a sunny day and do it at my leisure..

Oh yeah, since this photo I've added hydraulic controls for the blade...But be carefule you don't torque the FEL arms with an angled plow...Plow strainght and then clean up the banks angled...

Your also going to hear.."get a snow blower" and you'll not have to deal with pushing snow back..

Good luck..

 

[idaguide]

Yeah, a snowblower would be great. However, I use my FEL all winter long for all kinds of other stuff, so it would have to be on the back. I know a couple people who've messed up their neck or back looking over their shoulder for long periods of time. Don't think I wanna go there...although I know the blower would be more efficient.

Thanks for the response.
grae

 

[Thomas]

Couple of things I've found winging back the snow banks.
Go slow until you get the hang of it.
Try keep blade couple inches off the ground or ice/frozen..if blade catches frontend heads for ditch,also opps. side may lift/tippy from ground.
Don't try and wing back in one pass..1/3's..1/2 depend on snow fall.
If you have the means attach fare end to outside blade..something like highway plow have.
Try not to forget when blade not in use...it can be eye opener when hitting steel mailbox post,wood pile etc.

Will be interested in your out come.

 

[Firefighter Kubota]

Yeah, a snowblower would be great. However, I use my FEL all winter long for all kinds of other stuff, so it would have to be on the back. I know a couple people who've messed up their neck or back looking over their shoulder for long periods of time. Don't think I wanna go there...although I know the blower would be more efficient.

Thanks for the response.
grae

I use my loader as well all winter, thats why I made my quick mount plow.. leaves the loader in place, and really make snow plowing more efficient... Good Luck..

 

[Ductape]

I found what you need here.


http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/customization/48557-snow-wing.html

 

[PILOON]

Try strapping or bolting a 2 X 10 across your blade, about 8" above the ground and protruding maybe 16-20 ins beyond the edge of the blade.
Sort of a poor man's extension.
This way knocking the tops off creates space for next accumulations.

 

[JIMMY JAMES]

[SIZE="5"[/SIZE] I HAVE HAD MY PTO SNOWBLOWER ON THE REAR FOR 6YRS AND ALREADY HAD BACK PROBLEMS AND NECK PROBLEMS FROM HIGH SCHOOL WRESTLING DAYS 40 YRS AGO. I DON'T FEEL THIS HAS HURT EITHER ANYMORE. I USE MY UNIT PRIMARY FOR SNOW REMOVAL FOR TWO OF MY PROPERTIES (HOME&OFFICE), I LOVE MY SET UP BECAUSE I CAN PUSH FORWARD AND BACKUP AND BLOW ON THE PARKING LOTS (TAKES 1/2 THE TIME)PLUS THE WEIGHT OF THE BLOWER ON THE REAR HELPS WITH THE TRACTION. THE BLOWER SOUNDS LIKE IT WILL SOLVE YOUR PROBLEM. [B][COLOR="Red"]GOOD LUCK[/COLOR][/B]

 

[idaguide]

Many thanks to you all...
grae

 

[StrangeRanger]

Another vote for a blower. I do our 2,200' "drive way" many times a winter. No back or neck problems at all. Especially if you have an HST it's very easy to sit a little side ways in your seat.
I hemmed and hawed about the blower for a couple of years too. Doing the whole push back thing, dealing w/ monster drifting etc. Trust me, you'll wonder why the heck you didn't get a blower to begin with. The drive will be kept much cleaner and more importantly you'll be done in about 1/4 the time.

 

[NIdaho]

Idaguide,
Glad to see someone else from the area on the forum. I live out near Twin Lakes north of Rathdrum (yes, in the snow-belt !). I have plowed using the rear-blade on my previous tractor B7100 as well as a blade on the front of an ATV. Several years ago I picked up a very slightly used 50" rear mounted blower. One of the best investments I ever made (found it in the Nickel's Worth -- pre-Craig's List) I have had the tractor go sideways from the rear blade being angled (checks the spinchter muscles to make sure they are still working!) the last couple of years haven't been bad as most of the snow has been light (deep but light). When the snow is really heavy or it is raining on it, it gets enough mass to it to push the tractor around.

Backing up with the blower is no big deal and the nice thing is that when you are done with the pass you are done -- no moving piles back, or widening the turn around or cleaning up the road at the end of the driveway as the blower spits it out and it is gone.

 

[idaguide]

Hey, NIdaho, good to see you, too.

I'm in Cougar Gulch, have had the tractor for the last two winters. I figure if I can make it through those, I can make it through about anything. We've gone big the last couple, haven't we?

You guys are talking me into the snowblower, that's for sure. Don't know if I can swing it this year, but I'm gonna shoot for the next one, if I can make it that far...hahaha.

Thanks again.

 

[Northland]

I too used my B7800 with a 6 foot rear blade on it for the first few winters I had it. We get a lot of snow here off the northeast shore of Lake Superior. Last winter by Jan 15 I ran out of places to pile the snow. So, I bought a rear 5 foot snowblower and now I blast it far from my driveway.

I also use my loader all winter. The combination of the snowblower and loader takes care of all my needs perfectly. I sold my rear blade and bought a box blade that I leave on for trail maintenance and ballast for FEL work the rest of the year.

 

[idaguide]

OK, you got me.

I pulled the trigger last night on a 64 inch bl2664 Kubota brand 3ph snowblower.

Should have it in a couple weeks. Thanks for all the advice (and encouragement...hahaha)

grae

 

[idaguide]

You may be right, K-Fan. I WAS wanting to hear from some people about the neck/back thing, though.

And then 'The Boss' told me she really thought this was a good idea. And that ALWAYS makes it easier...
g

 

[NIdaho]

IdaGuide,

Glad to see you keeping the guys at CDA Tractor busy !

I think that is going to be way too much blower for your tractor to handle and you will want to trade me for my 50". I think we could probably work out a trade (straight across to help you out of a pinch).

No seriously I think you will be very happy with the blower. and you have guaranteed that this will be a mild winter!

 

[idaguide]

Yup. I like those guys over there. Howie in sales and Alan's been a big help in the service department. It's amazing how many people on this forum have crappy dealers. We're really fortunate here.

And you're right. Now we'll have a really mild winter....
g

 

[JoeL4330]

you'll be happy with the blower, but to the question of offsetting the rear blade, it certainly can be done ...I have a Land Pride RBT-35 which can offset the blade (hydraulically, in my case) up to 30 inches. I crown and/or ditch with it that way and it works fine. Last winter, I cleared snow with it ...hardly needed offset as the blade is 8 ft. and we don't typically get a succession of big storms, but I am sure it would work fine as the snow yields more easily that the ground I'm ditching.

Haven't needed to try it, but I can shorten the toplink sufficiently to get the blade quite high up so if the bank had built up, I could push back in two passes, one high and the next at ground level ...just as I remember big plow trucks doin' it in NH with their "wing" plows.

 

[NIdaho]

Yes, bought my B3200 from Howie last winter/spring