# The best option for cutting a path in snow?



## pioneerMan (11 mo ago)

Have you guys found that using the front loader or a box blade is the best way to carve a path in the snow on a dirt road?

Thanks!


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

pioneerMan said:


> Have you guys found that using the front loader or a box blade is the best way to carve a path in the snow on a dirt road?
> 
> Thanks!


Neither. Both are troublesome. Neighbor used his bucket on his Ford 1500. Took him hours upon hours to clear the drive. I let him use my 6ft straight blade in the first offset angled hole, it took only 20mins.


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

Most of it is in reverse. Its fast and it works with the straight blade.

LS XJ2025h - Moving Snow With 3 Point Back Blade and Skid Shoes - YouTube

IF you have a front plow blade setup, then moving snow is way better.

Box blades are very silly to use in snow. I know, I did it for 1 season painfully. It's all I had at the time. Even in reverse it was messy. 

If you have money to burn, a 3PT rear snowblower is awesome. 

Here is an old Hanson. 









To a new Yanmar YSB64S


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## pioneerMan (11 mo ago)

How much roughly is a Yanmar YSB64S?

Are the skid shoes designed if you're scraping snow off a paved road or sidewalk?


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

pioneerMan said:


> How much roughly is a Yanmar YSB64S?
> 
> Are the skid shoes designed if you're scraping snow off a paved road or sidewalk?
> 
> View attachment 82859


I don't use the skidshoes. I take the blade fully down, then raise 1/2 to 1 inch and then plow.


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## LouNY (Dec 15, 2016)

pioneerMan said:


> Have you guys found that using the front loader or a box blade is the best way to carve a path in the snow on a dirt road?
> 
> Thanks!


Neither, an angled blade either on the front or a back blade.
I use my back blade more then any other attachment for snow. If the ground is not frozen I'll spin the blade around so the backside of the blade is moving the snow. It will push most of the snow off thawed dirt or sod. Once it's froze up solid I'll turn the blade to the normal direction. The back blade can be pulled through the snow or pushed in reverse.
The angled back blade is faster and easier then the front SSQA angle blade, it's faster then either of my blowers, and so much faster then trying to use the bucket.


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## Ultradog (Feb 27, 2005)

Both front and rear blades.
And wheel weights with tire chains.


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## bmaverick (Feb 20, 2014)

AND, if you need to plow when it's dark due to less daylight hours, put a work light or a lightbar on the ROPS. 

I have an OE location for the work light and added it already this Fall. Now for the fuse and switch.  We had flurries last night. aaaaahhhhh, too soon for that.


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## LouNY (Dec 15, 2016)

She's long with both blades on,









Plugged in and ready to go,









back blade scrapping it clean,









Starting down the driveway,









It was -7 F that morning outside, much nicer in the cab,


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## pioneerMan (11 mo ago)

Wow, that's cold! What state do you live in? And why does your back blade extend out so much?


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## LouNY (Dec 15, 2016)

pioneerMan said:


> Wow, that's cold! What state do you live in? And why does your back blade extend out so much?


Upstate Eastern New York. 
That's a 9 or 10 ft blade, so the beam is long enough that the blade can be unpined from the cylinder that angles it and rotated 180 degrees and be reconnected to the cylinder.
I will use it backwards when the driveway is not frozen, it will act as a large squeegy and push the snow while leaving the gravel.


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## BinVa (Sep 21, 2020)

When the gravel driveway is not frozen..I find a rubber cutting edge(piece of stall mat) saves on spring clean up of plowed gravel.


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## gsuders86 (8 mo ago)

I bought my 1st tractor this spring to clear my .3 mile long gravel driveway. I bought a 6' rear blade and made skid shoes for it. I plan on using that for snow, but haven't had a chance to use it yet.


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## Thomas F Sheridan (Sep 15, 2020)

I used mine for 30 years loved the fact that I could plow both ways, I also could move snow that was close to the house. The only downside was being in the elements for hours. I finally broke down and bought a GMC 250 with a plow and 4 wheel drive and of course heat.


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## Ford5610II (Jun 11, 2020)

Interesting that the first photo of a snow blower in this posting was an old 6 or 7 ft Hanson. Here is a 7 ft Hanson I picked up several years ago. I have about 1/2 mile of driveways with several intersections and turn-arounds that i keep clean all winter. An angle plow on the tractor loader took me about 3 or 4 hours to plow, depending on the snow condition. I can clear the same area with a snow blower in about an hour or 1hr 30. The main difference is not moving the same snow 3 or 4 times as with a plow. The blower is easy to maintain, a gear box, a roller chain & a couple U-joints. The cons of a blower on a 3-point are that you are going backwards, and you can't clean down to bare ground. It also doesn't move slush. I had put it in the shop last spring and went thru it and gave it some paint before unhooking it for the summer.


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## DK35vince (Jan 22, 2006)

Loader mounted 9' Power angle front snow plow with chains on all 4.


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## LouNY (Dec 15, 2016)

My blowers;
I don't use the blowers untill the driveway is froze hard and I have scraped it clean with the blades first, to get any loose rocks out of the way.









And the inverted blower,


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## Scott 1234 (3 mo ago)

BinVa said:


> When the gravel driveway is not frozen..I find a rubber cutting edge(piece of stall mat) saves on spring clean up of plowed gravel.
> View attachment 82880


Okay. Please explain. Sounds like good idea. Just how did you do that. Make and attach a stall mat? 🤔


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## Hiker9 (4 mo ago)

Usefulness of a front or rear angle blade depends on how much snow you get and how much room you have to push it. If you get a fair amount of snow it will pack in on the sides and become too hard to move. If you do not have enough room to push it out or do not do it far enough out initially you can lose the ability to keep moving snow with the blade. If you have wet, heavy snow snow blowers can clog requiring digging out and perhaps replacing shear pins. Both are great for snow removal but they have limitations.

Another factor is how level the ground you are clearing is. If it has short rolls in it the blade, bucket, or blower rises on the approach and digs in coming down. If there are dips the opposite happens. Can make it harder to control and easier to scallop the ground material or leave clumps of snow. If it has significant lateral uneven angling one side of the blade, etc. one side tends to dig in and the other leaves snow. If the angled area is at least as wide as the tractor (as on most crowned roads) the plowing stays even. 

In summary what will work best for you depends on many factors including types of snow, amounts of snow, how much you need to clear, where the snow is going to go, if you get substantial drifting, the weight and power of your tractor, etc. The type of tires on your tractor is also relevant. If it tends to get icy chains may be necessary. You may find that you need more than one type of implement to function effectively.

If you are using a bucket Edge Tamers are great (though the cost has gone up significantly since when I bought them) for when I use the bucket on unpaved areas.

I have an electric chute control on my blower which is really handy if you need to adjust it frequently as I do due to limited areas to blow the snow.


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## John W Baron (Dec 16, 2020)

pioneerMan said:


> Have you guys found that using the front loader or a box blade is the best way to carve a path in the snow on a dirt road?
> 
> Thanks!


I used a front loader and a 72 in Woods snowblower on the back. The blower works great for cutting a path and throwing it out of the way so the sides don't build up with the next storm. As for the loader, well it'll get rid of the snow if you want to spend all day moving it. i got a couple thousand foot lane I clear and I prefer the rear snowblower. A front blower would make it easier driving, not having to look backwards. But this summer I got an eighty four in hyd. tilt blade from homestead implements for the loader. I believe it will do the job just fine, just need some snow, which is just around the corner coming our way. PS, mounted on a CK 3510 HST Kioti.


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