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utv with snow plow

Started by tree-farmer, January 25, 2016, 04:43:49 PM

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tree-farmer

Any one using utv with snow plow? Looking for feed back on sizes, hyd vs winch activated.
Need it to be usable for other tasks as well. The snow plow is of great interest though.
Need to tap the well of wisdom here for some guidelines.
Old doesn't bother me, its the ugly that's a real bummer.

beenthere

What do you plow with now?
How long is the drive needing plowing?

south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

tree-farmer

Use kubota l3400 with back scrape and snow plow mounted on buket mount. Works ok but front end gets pushed around in more than 6 in depth. It is just over a mile to state rd. Elevation change is on the order of 500 ft. Sleding on tractor is un-nerving at best. Thinking lower to ground would be better. Getting older and not a bold as I once was.
If nothing eles I can park at state rd and commute in utv. Curretly doing that with tractor, is slow and exposed to weather .
Old doesn't bother me, its the ugly that's a real bummer.

gspren

   Which UTV do you have?
Stihl 041, 044 & 261, Kubota 400 RTV, Kubota BX 2670, Ferris Zero turn

tree-farmer

Quote from: gspren on January 25, 2016, 05:51:13 PM
   Which UTV do you have?

None yet looking for guide lines, things to look for, personal experience of others.
Old doesn't bother me, its the ugly that's a real bummer.

snowstorm

an old pickup with a plow is the cheapest. dose your ground freeze? how much snow per winter? if you get a lot of wet snow then add a set of chains. a 3\4 ton 4x4 8ft fisher plow with shoes if the ground dosent stay frozen

beenthere

A UTV will slide around in 6" of snow more than your tractor, I'm thinking.

I've a slightly smaller/lighter JD 4300 and it handles a 7' Western plow with no trouble. But mine is not out on the loader arms so don't get much leverage.

UTV likely is about half the weight of your L3400, whichever one you might get.

And a snowmobile helmet is great headgear when riding in the open tractor when the wind and snow is blowing.  ;D
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

thecfarm

I suspect you don't like a snow blower? I have a 500 foot driveway and been using one for 14 years now. No planing for if we get 3 feet of snow. I only clear where I drive. I plowed here for one year,the blower is alot easier.
Model 6020-20hp Manual Thomas bandsaw,TC40A 4wd 40 hp New Holland tractor, 450 Norse Winch, Heatmor 400 OWB,YCC 1978-79

r.man

Sorry I can't help with the UTV question but I will say that a tractor without chains or studs in my experience can be a dangerous tool.  A friend of mine swears by studs in the tires. He has a few hundred in his four Kubota tires, I believe he pays about a dollar a stud. Puts them in with a rechargable and takes them out in the spring. This is his second year plowing snow commercially in our area.
Life is too short or my list is too long, not sure which. Dec 2014

repmma

I have a Ranger 570 for plowing out my driveway and area in front of garage.  However my driveway is only about 75' and the area in front of the garage is about 100' x 60'.  We had a good bit of snow last year and it did just fine though it started to get closed in, but that will happen with the 12' or so we got. 

I would not get a UTV for plowing 1 mile of road.  A rusted out plow truck with good drive train is cheaper and will hold up better.  If your going to do it with an UTV i would go with one of the Kubota UTV's, the Ranger 570 is to lightly built, more recreational in my opinion.

As a kid we had about a 3/4 mile road to plow to the neighbors where they would do the rest to the main road. Dad would wing back the other 1 mile every couple storms.  In the end he had a heavily modified old military 6x6 (bobbed down to a single rear axle) with a 300 Ford pushing an old DOT V Plow, home built wing.  The thing was a beast and I dont think he had $5k total in it.  Before that he had everything from a bulldozer (slow cold days plowing!) to a 1947 1 1/2 Ton Marmon Herrington with a ford flat head (definitely the most style!) pushing the same plow/wing combo.   
Thomas 8020, Timberjack 225C, Ford 5030 with Norse 450 winch, stihl saws and 142 acres to manage.

Chuck White

I have a customer a couple of miles up the road that has a Kubota UTV (don't know the size) with a BOSS V-Plow.

Looks like the plow is 5' wide.

Looks like the plow is a little (lot) heavy for the UTV, but it handles it well, he's had it for 3 years and plows several driveways!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

John Mc

As others have noted, a UTV is not the tool of choice from moving deep snow if you've got a significant distance to clear. They are great for clearing smaller spaces, or tight areas where your tractor may have trouble manuvering (e.g. a turn-around area in front of your garage, or a short driveway).

How is your tractor set up?

You probably want chains on it for any real snow plowing. Chains with studs, or V-bars are even better (you do need to be careful about spinning your tires on pavement if you have the studded or V-bar chains). Chaining up all 4 wheels is better than just two, though some tractors aren't meant to have chains on all 4 wheels (drive train can't handle the stress when driving on a high-traction surface - though this is generally not such a problem when plowing snow, where you get some slip).

You also need weight. I've got filled rear tires, which helps a lot, but I do even better with an implement on the 3 point hitch for extra weight. Remember that when your loader or plow is on the ground, it is not contributing its weight to the traction on your front tires.

If all else fails, and if you get deep snow storms often, you might consider a snow blower on your tractor. In lighter snow, it's slower than plowing, but a good one will go through just about anything when that snow gets deeper. 3 point hitch snow blowers are cheaper, but I don't know that I would want to clear a mile of road driving backwards the whole time (my neck and back just won't take it).

As others mentioned, a beater pickup truck with a plow might be a good option. I've not seen a pickup that can beat a properly set up tractor for clearing really deep snow, but if it's not ridiculously deep, a pickup is certainly faster.

I've never seen a snow blower on a UTV, but if you are looking for an excuse to buy a UTV anyway, that might be worth looking in to. (though I'm not sure how the UTV would power the snow blower??)
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

beenthere

You already have the tractor to do the job.. But if you want an excuse to buy the UTV and snow plowing works, then go for it.  ;D 8)
Here is my 7' plow on a 32HP tractor.
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

John Mc

Beenthere -

Nice set-up. Are you able to plow with the R4 Industrial tires and no chains? I have a similar sized tractor (NH TC 33D). I can't get much done with it in the snow without chains on the rear tires - especially on the hills. I don't have a snowplow - I use the loader and box blade on my tractor for heavy snow, and the snowblower on a Craftsman garden tractor (a.k.a. riding lawnmower) for the lighter stuff & where my tractor won't fit. My neighbor plows the longer, shared portion of our driveway.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

beenthere

John
There are times that I put the chains on the rears, and if I head into the woods to pull out wood, I will chain up the front tires too. And last winter, just ran with only chains on the front tires.
Plus a few rare times that I "wished" I'd chained up before heading out to attack some deep wet snow that gets so slick. But not often. 90% of plowing is without chains. 7' Western plow and think it could handle 7½' no problem.
Here is the wing plow I add to wing the snow back a 3-4 times a winter.
(Apologize for getting off the OP's topic a bit)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

John Mc

Hopefully, it's not too far off-topic for the OP, since he owns a tractor that is just about the same as ours (Tree Farmer and I are both about 2500# for the bare tractor, you are about 3000#. If Tree farmer has Industrial tires on his L3400, then all three of us have identical rear tires).

Do you have many issues with your front end getting pushed around when plowing (with or without your front chains on)?

I don't have a snowplow, so can't really comment on that. I'd guess his plow is further out in front, if it's bucket mounted, which may cause more of a problem with the sideways push. Front chains would probably help.

I have had trouble with traction on ice. If I don't have my chains on, sometimes can't get up a hill in our driveway if it's really icy - even if I'm not pushing snow or doing anything else but driving.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

beenthere

QuoteDo you have many issues with your front end getting pushed around when plowing (with or without your front chains on)?

No, it is not an issue with the front plow blade..

However, if I get too aggressive with the wing, then the tractor will pivot, but can counteract that with the front blade doing some plowing at the same time, or just pick up on the wing (it is controlled off the 3 pt arm/lift).
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

Ljohnsaw

I don't have a UTV but a Grizzly 550.  It weighs in at 660 pounds.  I put a 5' blade on it and used it to push dirt around and is pulled up with the winch.  With no down pressure, it doesn't scrape up dirt so well.  Tried it once on snow.  Again, no down pressure so it was pretty useless on hard snow.  My ATV has 4wd with full diff lock.  Even with that, I would just spin all 4 wheels on a hard snow bank.

So I went with trying a snow blower.  Picked up a 4' Cub Cadet blower and stuck a 7 hp gas on it to power it.  Still in the development stage (smoked a belt).  Turns out it is so heavy, my ATV cannot pick it up - the suspension just squats down.  So, on a UTV, I would expect the same (with a heavy attachment).  I ended up doing this with my blower:

 

That is a DR Power Wagon.  Unfortunately, it does not have diff lock.  The big knobby tires don't really slip, they just dig to China when forward movement is thwarted.  I ended up putting some toggle-like caster on the blower, at CG.  you can make out one of the handles sticking toward the camera at the snow chute.  Makes it easy to move when not hitched up (belly mount under rear of dump bed near DR's engine).  I might try it again on the ATV now that I have the caster and won't tear up driveways when just trying to move it around.
John Sawicky

Just North-East of Sacramento...

SkyTrak 9038, Ford 545D FEL, Davis Little Monster backhoe, Case 16+4 Trencher, Home Built 42" capacity/36" cut Bandmill up to 54' long - using it all to build a timber frame cabin.

beenthere

ljohnsaw
:D
Now that is quite a rube goldberg.. (old saying).   ;D

Just looks like the old shovel would be much easier.  ;)
south central Wisconsin
It may be that my sole purpose in life is simply to serve as a warning to others

tree-farmer

Picture of current rig. May be that the front scrape is to far foward. It is mounted on quick change plate for bucket. Find using rear blade and front one on same angle slides tractor sideways. Using front only tends to spin it. Ido appreciate all the feedback. Thought I could sell utv idea to wife if it would work better for snow :D



 
Old doesn't bother me, its the ugly that's a real bummer.

snowstorm

chains on front. the more the cutting edge is stood up the better it will scrape. lay it back and it will not dig in so much

John Mc

Nice set up. My neighbor uses a similar set up, but his is mounted on a 50 HP JD. He says he doesn't have too much problem with spinning his front end, but he has a whole lot more weight in that tractor. I wonder if suitcase weights mounted on the front would help?

At a quick glance, I thought you had chains on the front. If you don't, they would certainly make a difference. Ladder-style chins are not as effective as the duogrip or similar style that forms a mat over the tire - the ladder-style does not have as good lateral traction, but you may get by with them if they are v-bar studded ladders.

On the other hand, if you want us all to SAY that a UTV is the ultimate snow removal machine, I'm sure that could be arranged - especially if it helps you get a new toy tool. Not sure what you'd say to the wife when it couldn't get through the first big storm, though.
If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail.   - Abraham Maslow

Chuck White

Chains on the front will greatly enhance your steering ability, especially when you have a big push in front of the plow.

On my tractor I don't have the clearance for tire chains on the front, so to help in steering, I just pick the loader up just a wee bit!
~Chuck~  Cooks Cat Claw sharpener and single tooth setter.  2018 Chevy Silverado and 2021 Subaru Ascent.
With basic mechanical skills and the ability to read you can maintain a Woodmizer  LT40!

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