Temporary bucket mod for snow?

[bbxlr8]

I had an unfortunate accident over the holidays & my Jeep TJ that I plow with and it is going into the body shop sometime over the next 4-8 weeks. Of course, it is prime snow time here in PA. I was thinking about using the tractor bucket as backup only (know it is not ideal and don't have a blade).

The situation is - I am in the woods, long, sloped curving asphalt drive uphill to the house. Even with 4 wheel & all-wheel drive vehicles, it is generally necessary to get the snow off or I end up with a pseudo-bobsled run! Need to push it off and have plenty of room to do so.

Looking over the plow and then bucket made me think I might modify the old poly edge into a bolt-on arrangement instead of the pirana teeth. I need a replacement one down the road anyway. I have a welder and scrap steel but could be barking up the wrong tree

Should I:

1. Give it a shot?
2. Pull the toothbar and use the bucket as is, maybe scraping the drive (it is in good shape and want to avoid it)
3. Hope for good weather! (of course, that will be the date of the"Blizzard of 2024" with my luck! We had 36-48" in 2016)

Feel free to fire away. Thanks

 

[fried1765]

I had an unfortunate accident over the holidays & my Jeep TJ that I plow with and it is going into the body shop sometime over the next 4-8 weeks. Of course, it is prime snow time here in PA. I was thinking about using the tractor bucket as backup only (know it is not ideal and don't have a blade).

The situation is - I am in the woods, long, sloped curving asphalt drive uphill to the house. Even with 4 wheel & all-wheel drive vehicles, it is generally necessary to get the snow off or I end up with a pseudo-bobsled run! Need to push it off and have plenty of room to do so.

Looking over the plow and then bucket made me think I might modify the old poly edge into a bolt-on arrangement instead of the pirana teeth. I need a replacement one down the road anyway. I have a welder and scrap steel but could be barking up the wrong tree

Should I:

1. Give it a shot?
2. Pull the toothbar and use the bucket as is, maybe scraping the drive (it is in good shape and want to avoid it)
3. Hope for good weather! (of course, that will be the date of the"Blizzard of 2024" with my luck! We had 36-48" in 2016)

Feel free to fire away. Thanks

Make reservations for Florida!
Tomorrow,..... thru April 30th.

 

[DustyRusty]

Find a used plow that is inexpensive. Weld ears into the bucket to pin the plow to. Add a chain hook in the center to allow the plow to contact the driveway when you angle the bucket forward a bit. It will be the best investment you can make. If you want to add some additional ears to the bucket, you can offset your snowblade to one side or the other to push the snow further away from the edges. When you lift the bucket you can cut down the windrow of snow on the edges. You might find that it is better than using your Jeep.

 

[Daferris]

Here in Mid-Michigan I just use a cheap back blade. I drive over the snow plowing forward. Then use the bucket to pile the snow off to the side of the barn. If the snow is over 6-8" deep I set the bucket 4" off the ground and still go forward. Works great 350' long 15' wide paved drive. Most the time I don't even use 4wd as the LX with loaded R4's has enough traction to do it with minimal if any wheel spin.

 

[OntheRidge]

Would something like this be helpful? Maybe with the poly pads?

R2 Manufacturing - Home Of The Edge Tamer

The Edge Tamer goes on your tractor loader bucket, acting as a skid, for moving snow and mulch. It keeps the stones in the driveway and the grass on the ground.

r2manufacturing.com

 

[bbxlr8]

Thanks all - I know a blade could be useful to have. Wanted to know if I was thinking more along the lines of McGiver vs Bubba mods on this.

Only looking for a patch rather than LT and am prob overthinking it. FWIW The 7' Jeep plow punches way above its weight and I have had it for 20 years through all sorts of conditions including that blizzard in 16. Would have liked to have had the loader then for sure!!

 

[DustyRusty]

I had a 1953 Jeep in the blizzard of 1978 and I kept pushing the snow out of the driveway just about a 1' past the curb. Then the state plow would come by and deposit all the snow on my front lawn. I offered to do the same for my neighbor, but he said he would clean it up after the storm with his snowblower. He blew the snow into the road and I kept pushing it past his driveway. His wife claimed that the reason the snow was so high was because that was the snow from my driveway. I pointed out to her that everyone else's driveways had piles as high as theirs or higher. I should have never sold that Jeep since it was a workhorse with a bed full of snow in the back for weight.

 

[North Idaho Wolfman]

Bolt a piece of Composite decking on the blade of the bucket, that will give you an edge yet it won't hurt the asphalt.
Use plow bolts, that way the heads won't be lower than the blade.

 

[je1279]

Here's a video showing what @North Idaho Wolfman mentions above.

 

[bbxlr8]

Thanks both!

Exactly along with what I was thinking. I knew someone had to have gone there first and didn't want to reinvent the wheel. I was going to sacrifice my old poly edge but this is better, faster, cheaper.

 

[DustyRusty]

This only works well if you use the correct color deck board. Can't be too light or too dark, just somewhere in between.

 

[BXHoosier]

I bolted a piece of composite decking onto the bucket today and scraped some snow off the driveway. I cut 3/8” deep counterbores and attached it with 5/16” carriage bolts. It is reversible so I can flip it around when the front edge wears down. I also bolted on the bucket extension that I made last year.

 

[chim]

All good ideas. A good plow setup isn't an afternoon project. Our snows range from nothing to a (rare) blizzard. One 10 year period all I used was a rear scraper blade. Big snows required me to swing it around and push backwards. After getting the first tractor that had a loader, the rear blade still saw a lot of use.

Asphalt grinds the edge of the bucket faster than you'd think. I was able to pick up scrap steel at work to make bolt-on sacrificial edges for the last 3 tractors.

 

[Runs With Scissors]

I bolted a piece of composite decking onto the bucket today and scraped some snow off the driveway. I cut 3/8” deep counterbores and attached it with 5/16” carriage bolts. It is reversible so I can flip it around when the front edge wears down. I also bolted on the bucket extension that I made last year.

View attachment 119765 View attachment 119766

Outstanding idea!

Thanks for sharing.

How long does it last?

 

[DustyRusty]

Outstanding idea!

Thanks for sharing.

How long does it last?

Forever if you live in Florida. Flip it over every other time you use it for double the life and even wear. Rotating it end to end will extend the life of the board.
Taught not to run with scissors.

 

[skeets]

Yinz can just keep all that white stuff we got wind and rain here inthe coal country and would rather not deal with it Orrrrrr you can follow this on youtube

 

[skeets]

Orrrrr

 

[BXHoosier]

Outstanding idea!

Thanks for sharing.

How long does it last?

Too soon to tell. I only used it for about 5 minutes. My asphalt is fairly smooth so it should easily last through the winter if we get our usual minor snowfall.