Snow removal opinions--Rear blade or clamp on plow??

[BOTANH]

L2350DT with LB400 FEL Loaded R3 tires : I have about 275 ft. of paved driveway to clear plus a 4 car parking area / turnaround, and another 60 ft. around the back of my house
(over lawn) to clear. I'm looking at two options and would appreciate your opinions-- pros and cons.

1. Clamp on snow plow https://earthandturfattachments.com/snow-plows-kubota-clamp-mounts/

2.Offsetable rear blade https://www.everythingattachments.c...Blade-for-Compact-Tractors-p/eta-value-sb.htm

My budget is about $1000.00, and my FEL bucket is NOT a quick detach unit.

Or, should I save my money and just plow with my FEL with some "EDGE TAMERS"

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I take it you failed to notice that the clamp on snow blades are for a BX, way to light weight and small for your L.

While the rear blade is excellent for a lot of things, it's not that great as a snow removal implement, especially on the grass, there it will just peel it right up!
There is no shoes to stop it from digging in, any off set or angle in heavy wet snow will send the tractor sideways, I know this because I have a much larger L3450 and it does it with mine.

So save your money, forget the edge tamers as they will just damage the paved drive, get a rubber or nylon/plastic bolt on cutting edge for the FEL, or even bolt on a piece of trex / composite decking. and roll the bucket back just a little for the grass areas.

Prime example:

http://www.orangetractortalks.com/forums/showpost.php?p=313156&postcount=4922

 

[Hans Hans]

I plow a 1000' drive. 100' is concrete the rest is gravel. I started 5years ago with a Bx 2360 with a loader and rear blade. I found out pretty quick that the rear blade is not a very good snow removal tool. Then I went to the Bxpanded front blade that attaches to the bucket. Huge improvement!

This year I moved up to a L2501. I'm still using the Bxpanded blade on the L2501 and it has been working good.

 

[dalola]

Hey Wolfman, thanks for reposting my pix!

BOTANH, for a drive that small, I would just use the FEL with the urethane lip. That's all I use for my BX, and my drive is a lot bigger than yours. Cleans it up in no time.

 

[SidecarFlip]

If you have a graveldrive, forget a snowblower. I had a big Lucknow double auger for years and was always blowing my drive across the road and having to buy gravel every year and having to be careful about where the chute pointed as well because a gravel drive equals a machine gun in gravel. Hard o houses, windows, cars or anything else in the line of fire...

This year I bought myself a used 10 foot county plow with power angle (little bigger than what you can handle) but you can buy a used plow on Craigslist 6-7 or 7 1/2 foot pretty cheap. I paid 800 for mine from the county, power angle and all and Quick detach or not, some simple fabrication and easy welding will make the once pickup plow fit right on your loader arms and they come with either manual angle or power and the power ones still have the manual detents built into the plow frame.

Had a rear blade as well, sold that last year. Like the Idaho kid says, they work but not well for snow because the moldboard isn't very high so any appreciable amount of snow will just come over the top.

 

[Mainah]

I have a rear snowblower that I really like, especially in conjunction with the bucket. But so far this year for the 4 storms we’ve had I’ve used a box blade on the rear and it works great. I adjusted it so it’s perfectly level and it hasn’t dig into the grass yet but it still does in gravel if not frozen, but it’s easy enough to raise just a hair and easy to watch the edge of it. I’m planning to mount the blower for the first storm over 12” but I’ll put the BB back on if I get any buildup. Snow slides off the back of my garage and builds up right in front of the wood pile and the blower has a hard time cutting down into it but the BB peels it right up when I back into it, then I can scoop it out going forward. Hope that makes sense.

 

[Mister]

I got advice from someone on here to turn the rear blade around backwards and plow moving forward, with the blade angled to the side and in float. Works great! I have one mile of roads on my property. Some is gravel. The rest is dirt. I do have a front mounted blade that does most the work, and the rear blade cleans up, but I just wanted to set the record straight for those saying the rear blade digs in too much.

 

[SDT]

L2350DT with LB400 FEL Loaded R3 tires : I have about 275 ft. of paved driveway to clear plus a 4 car parking area / turnaround, and another 60 ft. around the back of my house
(over lawn) to clear. I'm looking at two options and would appreciate your opinions-- pros and cons.

1. Clamp on snow plow https://earthandturfattachments.com/snow-plows-kubota-clamp-mounts/

2.Offsetable rear blade https://www.everythingattachments.c...Blade-for-Compact-Tractors-p/eta-value-sb.htm

My budget is about $1000.00, and my FEL bucket is NOT a quick detach unit.

Or, should I save my money and just plow with my FEL with some "EDGE TAMERS"

I've plowed snow on a steep 800+' asphalt driveway plus some crushed stone parking/turn-around areas with a back blade for 45 years. First with an 8N Ford but with my B1750HSDT for the past 25+ years. The FWA 1750 was an enormous improvement over the 8N.

My 1750 has OEM turf tires on the front and compatible OEM bar (not R-1 or R-4) tires on the rear. This is about the best combination that one can get for use in snow but chains are still necessary. No ballast of any kind. Without the chains, I can almost always plow going downhill, usually on level ground, but rarely going uphill. It's unstoppable with the chains.

I have NEVER damaged my asphalt by plowing with either the back blade or my two-link ladder chains.

The 1750 has Bi-Speed Turn but no FEL. I use it with a MMM to mow my lawn in the summer. Mowing my lawn and plowing snow is all that I have ever used the 1750 for.

I'm in SE, IN. We sometimes get heavy snow here that must be cleared from my steep driveway but this is not MN, MI, etc. My 1750 with 5' back blade has been more than adequate for my purposes, and I've moved lots of snow with it but nearly all of the areas where I plow drop away to the sides so I do not need to move snow with a FEL. Plowing, forward or backward, is sufficient.

I would think that a back blade would be sufficient for your purposes, indeed, better than the linked clamp on plow. That said, I expect that either option will produce turf damage when removing snow from your lawn. I expect that a (not too heavy) back blade with the blade reversed would result in less turf damage than other options.

I would get a relatively inexpensive (not too heavy) 6' back blade and try it out. You can also use the back blade for other tasks. I cannot think of anything besides snow removal for which the clamp on plow can be used.

Plowing snow with a FEL bucket easily results in asphalt damage.

SDT

 

[SDT]

I got advice from someone on here to turn the rear blade around backwards and plow moving forward, with the blade angled to the side and in float. Works great! I have one mile of roads on my property. Some is gravel. The rest is dirt. I do have a front mounted blade that does most the work, and the rear blade cleans up, but I just wanted to set the record straight for those saying the rear blade digs in too much.

I have never had issues with my back blade digging in, whether forward or reversed, but I rarely plow on unpaved surfaces. I could see it moving stone as well as snow if forward positioned.

SDT

 

[Orange1forme]

If you have a graveldrive, forget a snowblower. I had a big Lucknow double auger for years and was always blowing my drive across the road and having to buy gravel every year and having to be careful about where the chute pointed as well because a gravel drive equals a machine gun in gravel. Hard o houses, windows, cars or anything else in the line of fire...



This year I bought myself a used 10 foot county plow with power angle (little bigger than what you can handle) but you can buy a used plow on Craigslist 6-7 or 7 1/2 foot pretty cheap. I paid 800 for mine from the county, power angle and all and Quick detach or not, some simple fabrication and easy welding will make the once pickup plow fit right on your loader arms and they come with either manual angle or power and the power ones still have the manual detents built into the plow frame.



Had a rear blade as well, sold that last year. Like the Idaho kid says, they work but not well for snow because the moldboard isn't very high so any appreciable amount of snow will just come over the top.

While a snowblower may not be your choice, it is my choice.

I have 2000 plus feet and nowhere to push it/pile it up.

Snowblower puts it out of my way. Just direct the snow away from harm.

In other words, location makes a difference!!

 

[Jblac197]

L2350DT with LB400 FEL Loaded R3 tires : I have about 275 ft. of paved driveway to clear plus a 4 car parking area / turnaround, and another 60 ft. around the back of my house
(over lawn) to clear. I'm looking at two options and would appreciate your opinions-- pros and cons.

1. Clamp on snow plow https://earthandturfattachments.com/snow-plows-kubota-clamp-mounts/

2.Offsetable rear blade https://www.everythingattachments.c...Blade-for-Compact-Tractors-p/eta-value-sb.htm

My budget is about $1000.00, and my FEL bucket is NOT a quick detach unit.

Or, should I save my money and just plow with my FEL with some "EDGE TAMERS"

I would go with a rear blade if i had to choose. Not a big fan of the clamp on front blades. Your situation is basically the same as mine. I have a long paved country driveway (about 200 yards)plus a big parking pad (about 50'×100'). And I also clear paths to my firewood pile and sheds etc. I use a 3 point snowblower and I've been pretty happy with it. I live in northern minnesota so our winters get pretty rough. For me I would run out of places to push it if all I had was a plow.

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[jkcolo22]

I have the Kubota brand 60” plow on my QA FEL (BX25D). Coming from a truck mounted plow, it already feels like it’s waaaaay out there. The thought of a clamp on plow seems crazy to me for that reason. There are already certain parts of my driveway where the length of the unit is frustrating to achieve the right angle to attack the snow. Sometimes requiring multiple “3 point turns.” Visibility is also subpar and I hate catching and ripping up my turf when I push too far off the end (or catch the grass on the side). Despite the frustration, I’m not displeased with what I have, but the idea of even more length out in front of the tractor is a no-go for me. I like the idea of a replaceable blade/edge on the bucket for your purposes (and budget).


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[dirtydeed]

I'll 2nd (or 3rd) the use of a rear blade. Been using one for years on both blacktop and stone (and grass). Plow using the backside of the blade (either turn the blade 180 degrees, or plow in reverse). Easy peasy.

If you run into really deep snow, use the FEL with bucket several inches above the ground to knock off the deep stuff, then rear blade the rest.

ps, rear blades can be used on grass too (reverse side of blade), as well as for other grading chores. Best bang for the buck. Just get a lighter duty blade.

 

[SidecarFlip]

The way things are shaping up here, snow removal is probably going to be a non issue.

All we have is mud.

 

[Tweetybrun]

I like the rear blade method myself. 1000’ serpentine driveway at a 30 degree slope. Not an easy task. To me, at least the rear blade stays on the same plane as the rear wheels limiting the dig in. I have a 7’ landspride hydraulic angle in the front to move the top layers if the snow is too deep. It’s hard to keep the front blade from moving my gravel. Even in float you’re looking at nearly 1000 lbs between the front loader and the blade. Unless the ground is frozen solid you’re digging in. Well, that’s my 2 cents.

 

[Mister]

I like the rear blade method myself. 1000’ serpentine driveway at a 30 degree slope. Not an easy task. To me, at least the rear blade stays on the same plane as the rear wheels limiting the dig in. I have a 7’ landspride hydraulic angle in the front to move the top layers if the snow is too deep. It’s hard to keep the front blade from moving my gravel. Even in float you’re looking at nearly 1000 lbs between the front loader and the blade. Unless the ground is frozen solid you’re digging in. Well, that’s my 2 cents.

Sounds like you must have just traditional walking path gravel? If you use road base that's like 1/4“ minus with fines, it locks in place like concrete. I just love that stuff. I run a roughly 10K pound MX5800 with front angled plow and rear angles blade turned around backwards, and it doesn't dig in at all. I run both on float, and the front blade runs high on skids. Rear blade cleans up behind it.

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[Stmar]

Back blade turned around is a must for my driveway. Snow blade off the ground a bit and rear blade, both angled the same direction. Rear blade is a bit offset so it cleans up nicely without digging in or moving too much gravel. I do have road base driveway but there is always some loose gravel that I have to redistribute in the spring.

 

[Mister]

Back blade turned around is a must for my driveway. Snow blade off the ground a bit and rear blade, both angled the same direction. Rear blade is a bit offset so it cleans up nicely without digging in or moving too much gravel. I do have road base driveway but there is always some loose gravel that I have to redistribute in the spring.

Yeah, that's a nice way of doing it. That's what I do too. I've since added front chains after this pic was taken. Really makes a difference in staying straight when pushing heavy snow, and grips much better when there's a layer of ice under the snow

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