I'm bringing home my L185for refurb this spring. We don't get much snow here in Southern KY, but when we do there's a shortage of removal folks. I have a 5 foot rear grader blade for my "Orange Crush" 2 wheel drive L185, and am wondering if there's any way I could generate extra income removing the occasional 2-5 inches we receive without extra implements. Tires are not liquid filled but have good tread. Never did snow removal before but I'm wondering if asphalt drive clearing is reasonable with my little tractor and 5 foot blade. Thanks as always. Hope folks up north can chime in with experience. Don.
Snow removal with grader blade and turf tires??
- Thread starter Tallbald
- Start date
North Idaho Wolfman
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Equipment
L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
IMHO a 2wd tractor in nearly worthless when it comes to any real snow removal.
Add in old large tread turf tires and your even worse off.
Yea if you put chains and weights on it that would help, but as soon as you do that, keep it off pavement or you'll have a huge repair bill come spring with all the cleat makes and dents in the pavements.
A rear blade at an angle will just shove you all over the place, best bet would be to reverse the blade and shove it, that for any distance is tough on the neck.
Your blade does not have shoes so you'll be scrapping it on everyone's driveway, leading to more damage to both their driveway and your blade.
A Snow blade with a trip on the front would be a lot better, but then again with 2wd you'll be fighting to keep it going the direction you want.
Can it be done, Yes.
Should it be done, only If you don't have the option of 4wd.
Would I use this setup to try and make money, NO WAY!
Add in old large tread turf tires and your even worse off.
Yea if you put chains and weights on it that would help, but as soon as you do that, keep it off pavement or you'll have a huge repair bill come spring with all the cleat makes and dents in the pavements.
A rear blade at an angle will just shove you all over the place, best bet would be to reverse the blade and shove it, that for any distance is tough on the neck.
Your blade does not have shoes so you'll be scrapping it on everyone's driveway, leading to more damage to both their driveway and your blade.
A Snow blade with a trip on the front would be a lot better, but then again with 2wd you'll be fighting to keep it going the direction you want.
Can it be done, Yes.
Should it be done, only If you don't have the option of 4wd.
Would I use this setup to try and make money, NO WAY!
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tcrote5516
New member
Equipment
BX1860, FEL, 50" Front Blower, Heated Cab, 6' blade, 3pt carry all, 3pt hitch
I'm going to vote the other way (against Wolfman which isn't a good idea because I respect him!) I've been surprised at what my little BX can push with a 5' blade in 2wd. I don't plow in 2wd on purpose but I can't tell you the number of times I started plowing and did so for a while before I lost traction, looked down and saw that I had forgot to put it in 4wd.
Granted you will not be moving a foot of snow at a time but 6" isn't out of the question so long as no hills are involved. If you hit any sort of incline with a roll of snow on the blade you will be dead in the water.
I do have loaded turf tires but on a BX loaded tires don't amount to much weight anyway. I think you could do it but the one time you get stuck (which is inevitable) any money you made would be lost in time wasted getting moving again. You need to get a feel for it and see what your machine can do but like I said, I have some experience pushing snow in reverse with a 3pt 5' blade and it is better than one would expect (I wouldn't have expected much!)
Granted you will not be moving a foot of snow at a time but 6" isn't out of the question so long as no hills are involved. If you hit any sort of incline with a roll of snow on the blade you will be dead in the water.
I do have loaded turf tires but on a BX loaded tires don't amount to much weight anyway. I think you could do it but the one time you get stuck (which is inevitable) any money you made would be lost in time wasted getting moving again. You need to get a feel for it and see what your machine can do but like I said, I have some experience pushing snow in reverse with a 3pt 5' blade and it is better than one would expect (I wouldn't have expected much!)
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gssixgun
Active member
Equipment
L3600, FEL, SnoBlower, Box Blade, Rear Blade, Forks, Cultivator, Plow
^^^^^ What North idaho wolfman said
I had a L185DT plus AG tires and with a rear blade the snow would move it all over the place when trying to clear a gravel road
You can move it a bit by rolling in reverse, but it is also a good way to find yourself off the side of the road even with 4x4 if you are not REALLY careful
ps: Cheap trick for Blacktop clearing with a Blade edge 3/4 or 1 inch Flex PVC cut to snap over the edge will last for a bit and save the Blacktop...
But you still have to deal with all the other issues
I had a L185DT plus AG tires and with a rear blade the snow would move it all over the place when trying to clear a gravel road
You can move it a bit by rolling in reverse, but it is also a good way to find yourself off the side of the road even with 4x4
if you are not REALLY carefulps: Cheap trick for Blacktop clearing with a Blade edge 3/4 or 1 inch Flex PVC cut to snap over the edge will last for a bit and save the Blacktop...
But you still have to deal with all the other issues
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Grouse Feathers
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Lifetime Member
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BX2370, FEL, Snowblower-BX5455, Homebuilt Forks, LP RB1560, LP GS1548
This is a special situation. No one is going to buy a 4 wheel drive tractor to plow 5" of snow once every 2 years. There will be no ice under the snow and probably the ground will not even be frozen. Noting the problems and suggestions by NIWM go for it. After all how much competition will you have in Southern Kentucky and the snow will melt in two days anyway. Whether you push of pull the snow you may want to reverse the blade to keep from digging in and causing damage. Or you could consider putting a plastic pipe on the cutting to protect the driveways and ground. My sister lives near Elizabethtown and called be with a problem last year. She got 8" of snow and didn't know what to do. I told her if you don't need to go out wait for it to melt, since no one down there knows how to drive on snow anyway. A neighbor with a 2wd tractor and plow came over cleaned her driveway out.
I used my old cockshutt 40 to plow snot for a couple winters.
Loader and big bucket made for many challenges when there is no rear weight.
Chains are the saving grace for slick conditions.
Add a little weight to rear wherever you can hang it and if necessary thread heavy rope through holes in rims to make cheap non scarring traction. For the rare occasion of snow,as mentioned no frost can help you or hinder you. Near 32 degrees or up here warm temp will make ice the moment you spin your tires.
Pushing in reverse will improve your balance between traction and steering. Neck wont like it so get a Big mirror.
Do-able? Definetly. If you dont try you will never know.
No it wasnt a typo, as i deal with feet of it for months on end.
Loader and big bucket made for many challenges when there is no rear weight.
Chains are the saving grace for slick conditions.
Add a little weight to rear wherever you can hang it and if necessary thread heavy rope through holes in rims to make cheap non scarring traction. For the rare occasion of snow,as mentioned no frost can help you or hinder you. Near 32 degrees or up here warm temp will make ice the moment you spin your tires.
Pushing in reverse will improve your balance between traction and steering. Neck wont like it so get a Big mirror.
Do-able? Definetly. If you dont try you will never know.
No it wasnt a typo, as i deal with feet of it for months on end.
With my setup I'm kind of working backwards compared to most of you guys. The 3pt snowblower is too heavy so I have to operate the front blade so that it is holding down the front of the tractor. When plowing I generally keep it in 2wd so I can see if the front tires are in the air. It's key for me to keep the fronts on the ground especially using the angle. With that anchor of a blower hanging off the back, the rear tires get a lot of traction. If I get on a hill I sometimes have to throw it in 4wd if it's really slick.
When I'm snowblowing and use the draft control I have to have it in 4wd because the blade will then take the weight off the rear tires and it goes nowhere, even on flat ground.
The only 2wd equipment I've ever used for snow removal was an old Case backhoe without chains. It did pretty well but I can remember a few times using that hoe to get myself unstuck. I could definitally see getting a 2wd tractor with a rear blade stuck.
When I'm snowblowing and use the draft control I have to have it in 4wd because the blade will then take the weight off the rear tires and it goes nowhere, even on flat ground.
The only 2wd equipment I've ever used for snow removal was an old Case backhoe without chains. It did pretty well but I can remember a few times using that hoe to get myself unstuck. I could definitally see getting a 2wd tractor with a rear blade stuck.
I don't know about plowing snot D) but you might try these, in lieu of chains...
https//www.denniskirk.com/080802.sku?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&gclid=CjwKEAiAk7O0BRD9_Ka2w_PhwSkSJAAmKswxB_qUxfzQZLMZ75nTySgdnqGKof4aMDwwpIMEtlVmVxoCeUHw_wcB&ad=45712965997
D) but you might try these, in lieu of chains...https//www.denniskirk.com/080802.sku?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cse&gclid=CjwKEAiAk7O0BRD9_Ka2w_PhwSkSJAAmKswxB_qUxfzQZLMZ75nTySgdnqGKof4aMDwwpIMEtlVmVxoCeUHw_wcB&ad=45712965997
Thank you everyone. I had my doubts about snow moving with 2WD and turf tires. Snow is rare enough where we live that it wouldn't make economic sense to change tires, etc. Forced into retirement, I'll just sit tight when the white cold stuff blows and wait out the melt.
On the other hand, my little tractor and 4 foot bush hog might become slightly profitable cutting the end-of-season overgrown gardens and sold-but-not-built-on new subdivision lots springing up within 1/3 of a mile of us. Don.
On the other hand, my little tractor and 4 foot bush hog might become slightly profitable cutting the end-of-season overgrown gardens and sold-but-not-built-on new subdivision lots springing up within 1/3 of a mile of us. Don.
North Idaho worries too much. As long as you let he customers know there may be a few marks now and then, no big deal. I have used tractors with chains on tires and rear blade a lot and really never any problem with marks.
I dont care to plow other peoples driveways. Damage to surfaces and buried lawn ornaments will surely aggrivate the homeowner. If they beg, i explain my take on it. I plow snow, it needs to be well off driveway to make room for next snowfall. I will do my best, but if i tear up a lawn with plow is not my problem.
Most are ok with that, happier to get in and out with car.
Most are ok with that, happier to get in and out with car.