Snow removal

[Bret]

I have a B2601 and want to know if it can really handle plowing snow.

Currently, I take care of a couple of gravel driveways at home, 600' of it on a hill. I use a 1976 CJ5 that is nearing the end of its time. The Jeep can struggle with heavy snow because it is so light.

My Kubota has an old heavy back blade and the front end loader, but I'm interested in removing the snow before driving on it. I'm a little worried that plowing with a FEL attached plow may damage the arms of the FEL and I'm not sure how the small tractor will compare to the Jeep.

Please let me know how you feel about the B2601's capability in asituation like this.

Thanks.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

Your CJ-5 will move mountains of snow compared to the B2601.
My '73 did, though I did add a fair amount of steel ballast as well as a few bags of sand. I also ran tall,skinny tires NOT fat 'floaters'. Made a lot of coins back then,over $60 an hour. The '73 Jeep Commando was a bit better...a real cab, smoother ride, again added weight though.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

I have a B2601 and want to know if it can really handle plowing snow.

Currently, I take care of a couple of gravel driveways at home, 600' of it on a hill. I use a 1976 CJ5 that is nearing the end of its time. The Jeep can struggle with heavy snow because it is so light.

My Kubota has an old heavy back blade and the front end loader, but I'm interested in removing the snow before driving on it. I'm a little worried that plowing with a FEL attached plow may damage the arms of the FEL and I'm not sure how the small tractor will compare to the Jeep.

Please let me know how you feel about the B2601's capability in asituation like this.

Thanks.

You need a front mounted blade, not a FEL mounted blade, if you want it work good for you!
You also use the same system for a front mounted snow blower too.

 

[bbxlr8]

+1 for the jeep I have a 7' plow on my Jeep TJ for snow duty

Already had it before my Kubota but it was much better in serious snow than my friend's rear-mounted tractor blade

 

[Daferris]

I used to have a B7510 (Pretty much a B2301 in size and power) I used the 5' Back blade to plow with exclusively. The back R4 tires were loaded with RimGuard I never used chains or grooved them just used 4wd.
Normal plowing was blade at an angle & facing forward drive over top of the snow and plow. This worked great to about 6-8" of snow. Up to 12-15+" I would still go forward but use the bucket about 6" off the drive to plow till I lost traction and then just turn off to the side to dump the bucket. Only once can I remember having to spin the blade around and plow backing up with really deep snow. Now my drive is 250' 15' wide blacktop and has a 30x60-70' pad in front of the barn that is concrete Also I am mostly level less than 2-3' of an elevation change over the entire drive...

 

[woodsy]

For a front mounted blade it depends on how wide a blade you want to put on it and how deep or wet the snow you might have in your area
From my many years experience with a front mounted 6.5' fixed angle blade on a 3,000 ib tractor it did well until the snow got too deep or was especially wet.
With the front end being light deep or wet snow would build up and push the tractor front end toward the ditch, have to stop, back up and hit it from a different angle.
A 1.5' or on rare occasion a 2' snow dump was challenging
to deal with. I always managed but was tough sometimes.
On your tractor given its weight a 5' blade would be challenging on conditions
mentioned above. Just something to consider .

 

[Mark_BX25D]

There's plowing and there's blowing.

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=kubota+bx+blowing+snow+

 

[Bret]

Thanks for the input!

I love the Jeep but the frame is getting so bad that it's increasingly hard to keep it together. I suspected the little tractor wouldn't handle as much snow, but snow removal was one of the strong arguments I made to my wife for replacing our Simplicity lawn mower with the Kubota. I need to make an honest attempt to use it for snow if/when the Jeep finally cracks up.

I am sure the front mounted blade is superior to the FEL blade but I really don't want to lose the FEL for 5 months every year. I have read and watched many accounts of plows and snow blowers while thinking about this and am really interested in the 3 point snow blowers. So, what do you guys think about these options?

1. Make a quick attach plate for the 6'6" meyer plow I have on the Jeep and hook it to the FEL
Probably too heavy and I can imagine many other problems

2. Traditional 3 point snowblower
I don't have a cab for the Kubota but I'm sure I can come up with some nice mirrors or even a rear
view camera. I can handle the cold, I've just been spoiled riding in the heated Jeep for 15 years.

3. Inverted 3 point snowblower.
I really like this idea.

I'm just worried about the gravel and the crown in the driveway.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks

 

[pokey1416]

If you have room to push off to the side, a snow pusher works good and is relatively inexpensive.

 

[woodsy]

Went from 30 yrs of plowing a 400' drive to a 3pt 60" snowblower and going into the 2nd winter with it.
Big improvement in my opinion and an economical choice too. Move the snow once and you're done with it, no more pushing back snowbanks.
Takes a little getting use to going backwards but manageable.

 

[ve9aa]

For about 1.5 winters I plowed my driveway with a 1994 Dodge Shadow sedan and a homemade very light duty plow. One storm there was a foot or more of heavy wet snow. Wrecked my plow.

It worked quite well until it just didn't.

The saying "proper tool for the job" comes to mind.

If all you EVER get is 3-4" of light fluffy snow, you can plow your driveway with a lawn tractor (or SCUT) but when you get that heavy wet stuff or 3 feet of snow you'll probably wish you had a different tool.

For me, a tractor with a snowblower and backblade works well for my location. 95% of the time, the blower is the right tool. Occasionally it'll need some help with the backblade.

I am not a farmer, nor have any experience with a B-series tractor, but I don't envision that given it's size or weight would make a good plow rig 100% of the time.

 

[Bret]

For about 1.5 winters I plowed my driveway with a 1994 Dodge Shadow sedan and a homemade very light duty plow. One storm there was a foot or more of heavy wet snow. Wrecked my plow.

It worked quite well until it just didn't.

The saying "proper tool for the job" comes to mind.

If all you EVER get is 3-4" of light fluffy snow, you can plow your driveway with a lawn tractor (or SCUT) but when you get that heavy wet stuff or 3 feet of snow you'll probably wish you had a different tool.

For me, a tractor with a snowblower and backblade works well for my location. 95% of the time, the blower is the right tool. Occasionally it'll need some help with the backblade.

I am not a farmer, nor have any experience with a B-series tractor, but I don't envision that given it's size or weight would make a good plow rig 100% of the time.

Does anyone have an opinion on the Woods sb64s?

 

[DustyRusty]

Does anyone have an opinion on the Woods sb64s?

I think that it will be a perfect addition to your B2601. Are you planning on adding a turbo to your engine?

 

[Bret]

I think that it will be a perfect addition to your B2601. Are you planning on adding a turbo to your engine?

 

[Bret]

If that’s funny, I love it.
The blower says pro hp 15-35 and Kubota says the tractor has 19.5 hp. Am I missing something?

 

[Bret]

If that’s funny, I love it.
The blower says pro hp 15-35 and Kubota says the tractor has 19.5 hp. Am I missing something?

I mean pto hp.

 

[GreensvilleJay]

re: JEEP
You can 'sister' flat plates onto the JEEP frame and it'll outlive you and your kids...... Old Power wagon('60s..) had that done to it If rest is good, get another frame, they are around, probably aftermarket as well. $2K US buys an AM frame ! Not cheap but you've got a great JEEP. providing the rest is in good shape I wouldn't scrap it. How handy are you ? Have a garage and a welder ?? Make some calls, write down the prices, do the 'math'. If you're organized, have 2-3 extra guys, everything ready, all the tools, you can put the new frame under your JEEP on a 3 day weekend,though it all has to go 'according to schedule' (aka do NOT answer your phones !!! )

To 'replace' the JEEP with a tractor, you'll need a blower and a cab. I prefer front mounted snowblower (homemde ,selfpowered...cause I like to bodge an save coins ). Also too old to turn around backwards... A cab is really a 'must have', with heat IF you want an apples to apples comparison...
AROUND HERE A rear blower starts at $3K, cab about $6K. OK if you're young, YOU can skip the cab...

What's your time worth ? The JEEP will be faster than the tractor,hands down !

 

[Bret]

That’s an idea I hadn’t thought about. I do a lot of mechanic work and have a hoist in my shop but I’m a real novice when it comes to welding The frame isn’t the only problem, though. Suspension, steering, brakes, studs broken in the exhaust manifold…all with rusted fasteners. Still, I’ll have to give that idea some real thought.

 

[ajschnitzelbank]

I used a snow pusher, a back blade, and chains (R4s) on my B2301. I thought it worked pretty well for me. I live in NYS and we get a good amount of snow. A snow pusher isn’t too expensive (relatively), is a two second install, and you can sell it and recoup most of your money if it doesn’t work for you. However, snow pushers aren’t ideal for long straight runs, so may not be your best option.

 

[DustyRusty]

If that’s funny, I love it.
The blower says pro hp 15-35 and Kubota says the tractor has 19.5 hp. Am I missing something?

I looked up the snowblower that you are considering. Below is the description that I found...

New - Woods SB64S Snowblower: 540 RPM PTO, CAT 1, 3 point hitch, 64" working width, CAT 3 driveline, 270 degrees hyd chute rotation, up to 35 HP, Woods Orange in color.

Do you think that your tractor will handle a 64" working width snowblower? I don't unless you put a turbo onto the engine for additional power.