Christy deserves a medal and day off from snow. You complain about the audio but I am ok with the voiceover. But Christy riding the loader arms and hanging on the cab in that cold and wind is heroic stuff. And look at how the wind is blowing the snow all over the place. Make Christy a hot mug of cocoa.
I don’t know how much freezing and thawing you get there but in MB we pack the first couple of snow falls with the truck. That gives a good base to use the snow blower on or plow with a floating blade.
Tim, After fighting the snow in WI and a LONG drive for over 20yrs, I gave up on my various snow plows and attached a snowblower to my JD 4720. Along with the difficulty of removing the snow with a lot of gravel, the other problem we encountered with a blade was tunneling on the sides after numerous snowfalls and the snow not melting. The blower works great, just have to keep it up above the gravel. We are biting the bullet and asphalting the drive a section at a time so that it is more affordable. The hard surface is a DREAM to clear and melts in the sunshine. Maybe not a solution for others, but is working great for us!!!!!.
Tim, I have the frontier blade on my 1025R and it’s controlled by summet hydraulic 4 valve kit installed on the rear. This is absolute game changer for me. I love my downward pressure and float feature. My customers like that I can pitch the blade more aggressively and scrape the ice underneath the snow. I don’t think I would like the chain hanging feature for my operations. The fixed blade on the frontier is perfect for me. Howard in Ohio.
You've talked & talked about the spreading of loose gravel on top of a good, solid, 3"inch road baseed driveway over & over. Ive told ya over & over to put down a top layer of at least 3/4" road base on your solid base. pack the 3/4" inch down real good so that when ya have to blade in the winter, you're not loosing any material like ya do with the "LOOSE" gravel. I saw that "loose" tumbling round in the mix of the snow & im just sitting here, shaking my head. . . . .🤦!!! Tractor safe🚜& stay warm. Thanks for sharing the video.
Deep snow for a blower, yes. For the slush dumped by the place at the road, a blade is more beneficial. Hopefully my heavy hitch rear blade arrives soon to help with clean up from this storm.
@@fyrman9092 For sure... plus, if that slush has a high salt content from the road it can really cause corrosion on the blower innards if you don't have a means of rinsing things off afterwards. And who has outdoor rinse water in 15-degree weather. Not much to harm on the blade. :-)
Nice Job Tim! I love mine too! Works great being able to angle the plow on the fly, still my custom made pushbox will always be my favorite plow just because of its simplicity and affectedness but the Artillian plow is my next favorite for sure and does a better job in deep/heavy snow!
Tim, I picked up a new Hiniker Poly backed 7 ft plow that was new on an online auction but with no mounting brackets. I fabricated the mounting brackets and welded it to a quick attach skid steer plate with 2 double acting cylinders to run the angle off the 3rd function. Using this type of set up I can run the plow in float mode almost 100% of the time because you can set your bucket gauge to keep the bottom of the loader arms from dragging, plus I can put down pressure on the blade to scrape packed snow, I have it on a Kubota MX 6000. Now, I have an asphalt driveway which is a game changer but also plow the neighbors gravel driveway, once the first snow is packed and frozen on that driveway, you can run the float there as well. I also have an 1 1/2" UHMW cutter bar on the plow which helps as well. I can see your struggle with the chain lift type of plow. Thanks for the videos.
Hey Tim I might have a solution to your rock driveway problem. I mounted two trailer jacks with wheels on both sides of the plow behind the blade. You can crank the wheels down and it sets your depth. Then you can crank it up to do bare driveways. Same reason I did wheels on my 3pt snowblower so it doesn’t rip up my gravel drive. Keep up the great work and I look forward to more. If you want pics or more info I’d be happy to share.
Tim I've seen this in action blew me away simple and very effective ! The 3 point rear blower with wheels was genius ! He blows grass with zero damage ... I think his ag tires does more damage lol ...
Great video. I enjoyed watching you clear the snow. Definitely the extra pass is for fun. I enjoy taking extra passes when I blow my driveways. If we get a lot of snow I like to clear a path through my backyard to the meters for when the meter reader guy comes by to check the meters. Not necessary but is fun to play in the snow. Definitely need a cab for my John Deere.
Tim, to help keeping the snow from sticking to the plow when warm, spray it with PAM cooking spray. As far as minimizing the amount of gravel you scoop up, try splitting a piece of PVC pipe and slide it onto the bottom of the plow. We may need it again the end of the week (from a fellow Hoosier)
Do not apologize for any issues.... Still a great video and just enjoy riding along in the cab watching the plowing. Have always grown up with a plow mount d to the front of garden tractors with chains and a walk behind snowblower for our snow removal here in NW PA.
Thanks for the video Tim. I really enjoyed it. I bought a John Deere 755 with a 3 point blade for the back of the tractor in 1986. I've plowed a lot of snow in central Pa. since then. I promised myself that by the time I retire I would have a plow on the front of the tractor so I would not have to put up with a craned neck all winter. Well last spring I traded the 755 on a new 2025R with a loader and a direct connect blade. I also purchase an Artilian adapter so I could mount the blade on the loader. 😎 Also purchased a 60" HLA snow pusher. This past fall I retired. 😊 Now I don't have to drive in the snow, just play in it. If it would only snow now😒 . We got 3 inches so far this winter and it was followed up by rain, turning it into watery slop and eventually ice. For the first time I was happy to hear Phil predict 6 more weeks of winter. 🤞 I appreciate your informative channel and all the entertainment that goes with it. Have a great day.
I have the Frontier loader mounted blade on my 1025. I do like being able to pile the snow way up high. Takes practice using the tilt function. Too much forward tilt digs in. Tilt back too much and the loader arms rub the ground. Need to find the happy middle ground. I have the same problem as you Tim. If I angle the blade right tractor slides left and vice versa. I do not have any extra weights except fir the backhoe hanging off the back. R4 tires seem to work just fine. Still can't beat a tractor mounted front snowblower in the deep snow. I still think Jon from A Ritter Bit Will Do has the right idea. He is my hero when it comes to snow removal. Thanks for the hours you put in so I can learn from you and the rest of the tractor fanatics! Hope to see you at the show in Feb.
Tim, I have a 300 ft driveway plus spur road to my barn and a large area connecting them to my garage and it's all gravel with fines. When I had the driveway renewed with fines and then compacted with a vibrating roller, my drive was smooth and hard come winter. This allows me to run a front-mounted snowblower and a Woods rear blade with huge mushroom skids that protect my driveway. I did replace the plastic impeller (lose bushing) on my snowblower with a steel one and once in a great while break a shear pin, I have to say that I've got the best setup I can get for the conditions I face in Maine. Even when the fines wash out of the drive a bit, the gravel is mostly frozen in place not to be a big headache. Thanks for another good video and keep the hot chocolate coming for Christie!
There is a great product for solving your rock problem- blacktop! My driveway is 1/4 mile and I struggled plowing too. This is my first year with blacktop and it's heavenly!
I like that plow. I took my 3-point rear mount 6 ft. county line blade that I purchased from tractor supply and moved it to the front with an adapter bracket that I purchased, for moving around three-point implements with the loader also has the receiver hitch. Centered an 8-foot piece of rubber belting on it dropping it a half inch below the cutting-edge. Definitely a homemade rig and setup that has limitations but I love it. Have a great day!
Tim, You mentioned that the front end moved on you with the blade angled. Then I noticed your front weight bracket was empty. I have the same setup minus the cab and adding the 42# weights to the front really helps the steering. We have had a lot of significant, heavy/wet snowfalls this year so I have been experimenting with the Artilian setup. It is my first season with it and I like it so far. It definitely has a learning curve if you are used to a frame mounted plow.
We live in north west Illinois and we have a 54" front mounted snowblower and recently bought a 52" rotary broom since I already have all the attaching parts. The snowblower is great for the deep snow and I find I use the broom A LOT! Way more than I ever had imagined. Best part is I can use it to clean the rocks out of my yard in the spring and with almost no raking! Love the video's, keep them coming!
I have a 1025R and for winter it’s set up with a 72” HLA snow pusher and rear mount blower. I use my tractor as a secondary snow removal device (I have a 2019 Ram 2500 Cummins with a Boss v plow) for the bulk of the work. I use my Deere for relocating or getting at tight areas. It’s also worked well when my truck was out of commission. Having a blower really helps for the deep stuff. Keep up the great videos guys!
I have seen people run a length of steel tube as a "cutting edge" to prevent picking up gravel and loose dirt on unpaved surfaces. Cut a slot, slide it over the cutting edge, and weld it on. It won't scrape clean, but it only leaves an inch or so of snow to drive on. Might be worth a try!
Issues aside great video time and thanks for posting! There's just no easy way to plow a gravel driveway. I've tried everything myself. I resorted to installing casters on the backside of my plow to help it float above the gravel once adjusted. Even then, if the ground is soft enough, there is so much weight on the casters that they sink. Asphalt isn't in the budget for a driveway of our size right now.
After 50 years of plowing a gravel driveway the only solution I have found if you HAVE to plow is to use a rear blade and push backwards against the curved side of the blade. This pushes the snow fine but minimizes the amount of rocks and gravel that is dug up. I also put fiberglass driveway markers along the edges where the gravel meets the grass and then never push anything past the markers. Since I use a blower for large snows and only use the blade for small snows I don't have issues with huge piles of snow along the sides of my driveway.
@@eosjoe565 Usually i use my blade backwards for the first 2 or so snowfalls this leaves a nice base that freezes into the rocks and makes a flat surface to plow the rest of the season. Eventually ill have a blower maybe =(
I have an old 8' fischer plow I made a mount for the loader of my Kubota L3901. It's a bit on the big side for the tractor but it handles it fairly well. Two nice things about loader mount is being able to pile snow high as you said and that you have pretty much a six way blade by how you angle and use the curl cylinders. I have used it for light stone grading and loose dirt in the summer.
I enjoyed and related to your video, especially after I had cleared around here on day one with those conditions, albeit in my cab tractor…ahhhh! It’s refreshing how you shared the “trials and tribulations” of doing videos in those conditions. I respect the time and effort it takes to produce this content to the standards you set. And frankly, I probably would not have known the differences/problems had you not shared them with us. I appreciate your transparency and giving us a glimpse “behind the scenes”. It reflects well on you and Christy. Thanks and blessings.
This video convinces me that I made the right decision to go with the Heated TekTite Cab and 47" JD Front Mounted Blower. Granted it is not as fast as a blade, but the cab is warm and the snow gets moved a lot further away from the cleared area. Of course you southerners only get that kind of snow once in a great while, living in the Lake Effect Area of Northern Michigan, I see it quite often and would run out of places near the house to pile that much snow. I agree with Christy, I hate the cold and I was born here, I wish I could be warm all the time, but having lived in the Notfolk area, I also hate the heat and Humidity more, so I guess I am stuck. Great video by the way. As for the warm blade, that is why I store my 1026R and front blower in the NON-heated Garage.
The audio is just fine. Christy gets a hold medal for recording. .years back I tried a loader mounted blade. It was ok . I thought it would be faster. Now days I use a front mount 59" snow blower.have a 400 ft long drive in Western NY. Get that snow out of the way.
Hey Tim good video up here in Canada I use a Tecktite cab. It is heated with front wiper. Both doors come off brass pins very easily for my summer air conditioning. I don't have a backhoe but the back glass comes out with hand screws so the cab is backhoe compatible. These cabs are made in Manitoba Canada very nice. They come in orange green and red. They also have two sets of LED lights mounted front and back on the roof. I also use John deere's 54-in snowblower which will go through a two or three foot drift like butter provided it's not wet. I use a 1023e for all of this. Anyways I'm a big fan you've taught me all I know about tractors including greasing transmission fluid changing oil changing etc. Your videos are greatly appreciated.
Ug, you need a yard guard on that blade. Basically a three inch round pipe with a cut out slot for your cutting blade to insert to. Gets bolted or pinned in each end to hold it on. Floats over gravel or yards without damage. Plus you could use down pressure to back blade in front of garages etc.
Living in Florida we do not worry about snow. Today it is in the 50's with a cold mist. For drive ways we use shell rock or asphalt road grind. They both pack down and leave a smooth surface. Here rocks and gravel are expensive.
Even though we didn’t get much down here in Eville I still got out on the tractor and pushed some around home. My uncle who was in town from Indy this weekend said he shoveled 3 times, he figured ended up with 10-12”.
Your video is still better than I will ever make! I had a Tar River loader attached snow blade for my 2025r. Had is the key word! Your correct about it being way out front. I felt like Mr Toad's wild ride every time I used it. 😄 The tar river has a 2 pivot point mount and you could add down force, but that made the steering worse with no grip on the front tires. And if you set it to float it would want to dig in, its just to far out to have much control. I'm lucky my drive is all concrete. I also had a lot of front end bouncing with all that weight out front. If you can add as much weight your front axle will handle it helps. I went a different route and bought a Kubota F2690 with a push blade and the snow blower and 72" mower. You can also get a broom and leaf blower too. If only I got lucky like you, and get a big snow storm I will be a happy guy.
One trick i learned from my college grounds maintenance crew was before it snows, go down your driveway and sidewalk and drive wooden stakes along the edge. Helps show where gravel or pavement stops and grass begins. You get that drifting snow and its hard to tell where the driveway is. The wood would snap off if hit, keeping it from damaging vehicles. Could use metal t-posts or rebar if you wanted.
Tim, spray silicone is the best I spray my whole plow to keep snow from sticking and don't bring in snow to the shop .I have a 80" Frontier all angle that replaces the bucket their is a learning curve but over the years I'm not much of a sod buster for my yard, great fit 16" snow no issues with 3320 with Femco heat Houser that sends the engine heat to me while the banks go up over 8' 😃
Great video, no worries about the audio, if you didn't let us know I would not have noticed. You got a ton of snow! Great plowing. Thanks again for all your great videos!! Stay warm
I thought it was a job well done with a set of difficult circumstances! You made lemonade out of lemons. Also…Love that Oliver plow in some of your shots 😀
I’ve enjoyed all your videos and the test you’ve you put the 1025r thru. I just got my 21’ 1025r tlb with r14s a month ago and really enjoying it. We just got 8” ish of snow and I just used the 53” bucket and it worked great on gravel drive. It worked so well I’m sure I won’t ever buy a snow attachment because the bucket is so versatile. Thanks again and Continue to Rest in our Savior!
Consider adding edge tamers. Edgetamer.com use code Ttwt for a five percent discount. Helps to keep you from digging in….inexpensive! We will show in an upcoming episode.
Great video. I like to push that snow with the rocks and dirt back onto the driveway before it completely melts so that I don't have a lot of cleanup in the spring. Congratulations on the 1st Place Trophy.
Been a long time since we've had a bad winter like we had every year in the 70's and 80's. Back then you got storm after storm with no melting in between so you had to push the first snow as far back as possible so hopefully by the last storm you could still have one narrow lane open.
Good Evening Christy & Tim, The things our wives will do to support their husbands!! Well done Miss Christy!!! Kinda dangerous though!! I have a float on my Kubota B 8200. As you are aware a float allows the blade to ride the contour of the land, much better than a fixed blade. I do not experience tear out on my drive. I had a local fabricator make an extension for the top of my blade which I bolted on. He allows the snow to curl a bit more so in deeper snow, it does not come over the top; works well. I have found if I use my blade or the front bucket on my B 3350 when the snow gets 6 inches deep in a major storm that’s a good time to plow as it’s easier to push back. Yes, the draw back is multiple times plowing. I would suggest adding some weight plates to the rear might have helped to balance things out. Take Miss Christy out for diner in a fancy expensive restaurant for her efforts and risk taking!!! Hope this helps someone!
You all got more than we did, and hopefully no ice. The same storm put down roughly 1/4" of ice here in PA along with about 4" of snow. Thank goodness you didn't get the 2038 or the Kubota out because I can only imagine how miserable it would've been for both of you. I almost expected to see a rear blade in use for the top end of the driveway, and some additional ballast. On the topic of avoiding rocks/dirt being picked up, using a snowblower on gravel is not fun since you've got to angle the chute downward to avoid rocks being thrown real far. Been there before with a walk behind unit. It was hard to avoid when we just shoveled our small driveway.
I use my regular road blade to push the snow on my gravel driveway (1500 ft.) but I attached two detachable 8" swivel wheels on the back of the blade, one on either side. Using the top link, I can adjust the amount of clearance so as to not disturb the gravel. Works very well. One pass down and back and I'm done! A few of my friends have used my idea and really liked it. Solid wheels work best. Pneumatic tires bounce too much and give a wash board effect. Actually, I go backwards so I'm not riding in unplowed snow and the snow doesn't gather under the tractor.
Christy is pretty amazing Tim. I know i think allot of my wife the same. But you know she does care about you enough to do such a job. You guys are pretty great. Keep up the fun adventures up and enjoy each other as long as you can. Thank you fur best content.
I have a Frontier Blade, AF10e I think. I do use it in float position, works really well. I use the bucket with edge tamers (thank you TTWT for those) until my driveway is frozen, then switch to the blade for the rest of the season. I use to use an ATV for plowing, I’m so much happier with the tractor and plow. I prefer it to snow blowing (did that for a few years). I do have a grade to my driveway and I have to plow down it or I spin tires a lot. Good video even with the sound issues, although I was confused by some of your choices on pushing direction/location, but you know your driveway better then I!
We missed that snow storm here in Iowa! Edge tamers do work well but with that much snow and driveway it would take some time! Great GoPro action, i have 2 of them myself and have always been impressed. Incase you missed it they did just release some cold weather batteries which are supposed to help with the life is cold weather, Stay warm. -Kyle
That was a lot of snow! The angle blade was must! A pusher like I have would have just filled up too quick would cause the tractor to get stuck. Thanks for posting!
I’m glad you got your big snow so you could demonstrate that blade. I moved snow with a skid steer with just the bucket back in my working days. So much fun till it all melted off and I had to fill in the mess I had made. I just glad we didn’t get that much snow here in western Kentucky. I think you the audio on your videos have been great. I can watch some shaky video, but sound makes it watchable. Cold and snowy conditions just test every piece of tech equipment. Christy is a trooper as producer, director and editor, cook. Looking forward to the cheeseburger. I may even bring my wife along…….
Snow will stick to a cold blade just like a warm blade. The trick I learned back in the 70"s was keeping a heavy coat of car wax on the blade. Sometimes more coats of wax are needed during the plowing season. Being naturally lazy I consulted another lazy, but older and more experienced, gentleman. His solution was to wipe down his blade with an oily rag before a storm. That took too much effort for me, so I resorted to spray silicone. Faster and easier. seems to last longer, too. I have Johny's older big brother. I call him agent 955. I'm not only lazy, I'm cheap too. I use my grader blade to move snow. We had about 20" last week and I waited until the following day. Not smart. I had the power to push but the traction was poor. Maybe next year I'll spring for a plow. Great video and the voice over was fine. Be careful with Christi. She's not easy to replace. Next time let her drive and you hang off the tractor filming. LOL. See you two in the next one. Dave
I used my 1025R to move snow for the first time. I live in Central Illinois where we got 12”+ of snow and plenty of drifting. I used the edge tamers on the loader to dig out big drifts and then drove in reverse with the rear blade facing backwards in an angle to push the snow. I did move some gravel off the driveway at first until I got a good height set on the rear blade. I live in the country and my driveway is very long but this set up made clearing the snow very quick and easy.
Hey Tim! Great video. I have a 1025R with a Frontier loader mount blade. I use the Artillian Diverter kit for 3rd function angling. I can say that the float works brilliantly. The key with the floating is getting the curl in the right place, if you are too curled/not curled enough you can either dig in or not scrape well. Once you get the hang of it though, the down pressure works very well and you have the skid plates which you can set to ensure you don't dig in. It's also often helpful to have that pressure when you are trying to scrape any of the icier storms. All that being said, I think if you were in a place where your driveway doesn't freeze solid you might get yourself into trouble. Where we are, the gravel freezes solid and you can really scrape along without any worries of digging in. You have to be much more careful in the spring/early winter storms when the ground is softer, but that seems to be true for the Artillian too based on your comments about the end of the driveway. Keep up the great work. Your video makes me wish I had a cab...
I try and spray silicone on my blades before the storm. It helps for a while till it wears off. Some folks have suggested Pam but I haven't tried it yet
I find that when using my rear blade with skid feet set lower than the blade works great for me and not dispersing gravel all over between that , my heated cab and my snow push I'm pretty well set up. spent 6 hrs clearing my drive and neighbors driveway numerous times
Hi Tim, A note to tuck away for the spring. I see your shelter logic seems to have grown some mold on the outside. I live in a river valley and battle it constantly. I've found a product called Wet and Forget does a great job and not too labor intensive. Spray it on and leave it, it takes a couple weeks and the mold goes away for almost a full 12 months.
Get a 72” fel mounted blade, add Artillian extensions, a roll-over guard, and gauge wheels. I make thick plastic edges. Solutions vary by the kind of snow you get and where you’re plowing. Blowers don’t handle wet snow well. Plowing 2 miles of road is different than plowing a gravel driveway.
I had zero problems plowing like this ....float works well....plowing a mile of secondary road. Make sure the blade is not locked.....there are little surprises in the road.....although rare.
Tim the only way I have limited the amount of stone in my yard is get a good snow base on my driveway from the first snow fall. I love my open station 33R but when it comes to plowing snow my Polaris Ranger 6x6 does a better job and is quicker. I use my 33R to push piles back. We have about 4’ on the ground and 8’ tall piles of snow everywhere. I ordered studs to put in my R4 tires for better traction on ice. Another good video guy’s thanks for sharing.
Gopro’s always seen to want to shut off in the cold Nice job with the snow Any reason you didn’t put an attachment on the back for ballast? Turning radius? I found it handy to have the box blade on the back so I could use it to back up close to the building
You will probably have a lot of fun getting your rocks back in your driveway in the spring. Been there and done that. This year with a edge tamer on each side of my bucket I added one in the middle and floated.. I don't think any rocks (or very few) got moved. The setup worked well for me, even though I had to move a lot of snow with my bucket, and sometimes after pushing a lot of snow in front of me my front wheels lifted and I lost direction control. Wishing for the old days when we had separate brakes. Enjoy your videos, keep up the good videos.
Welcome to my world ..lol.... we have snow like that all winter.. I love my rear snowblower so I can use my loader when I need it. Things are changing! Your friend from Manitoba!!
As much as I know you hate this happening. I really think this shows really how personal you make the videos. You tell everything about making the videos everything you do. Like your videos you don’t hope you know I really appreciate it. Thanks so much look forward to the next video
Had fun watching you have some fun plowing your drive way we had the same thing as far as snow and I find myself wishing that I had a tractor cuz we live out in the country all though we don't have a huge driveway it's still to big for me to shovel we ended up having my father-in-law come down and clear it thankfully he was able to God bless you and your family look forward to seeing your next video
I have a 4066R with a loader mounted plow. I run 3 miles of gravel/dirt, and I’ve found the best config is to combine it with a rear blade at the same time. I set my loader about 2-3” above the gravel surface to move the bulk of the snow. I angle the rear blade in the same direction, but lower it all the way down and then raise it just a smidge so it is barely above the gravel surface. The end result is a front blade that never hits the ground, and it moves the bulk of the snow. The rear blade behind just ticks the ground ever so often, and moves the remaining snow off to give the road a nice finish. Once we have a hard pack of snow I can then lower the rear blade all the way. That config works pretty well for me because I have long straight-aways and don’t need to make many adjustments. If I was in shorter spaces and needed to continually raise/lower, it would be more cumbersome since I’d have to constantly adjust both front and back blade heights and angles. Around the house where there’s more confined spaces I switch to my bucket with edge tamers.
That plow does a good job! Bring it up here to Ontario Canada if you'd like more practice. :) I'm thinking of getting the Rode 2 as well, because I'm only using the DJI audio and I would like better audio. Thanks for showing us your snow video. Keep warm.
You made lemonade, and quite good lemonade. The errors/issues only keep it real and more relatable. And you did it safely in my book. I suppose to be 100% safe the video would have to be inside with both of you reading a book.
My hat is off to Christy for what she goes through to bring us your great videos! Thank you Christy! I hope you treated her to some hot chocolate and a cheeseburger to warm her up after the shoot!😃
I have an L3010 Kubota with a 7’ land pride rear blade. I have a long gravel driveway and the only way I have found to push the snow without tearing up the gravel is pushing backwards with the back side of the blade.
Great video Tim even without real time audio. I am sure you were happy to have the cab on Johnny. Was impressed on how well it handled the snow drifts. I got cold just watching. I agree with Christy and not a fan of cold weather.
Christy is a real trooper. I use that cheap ceramic car paint coating, like they show on some youtube ads. I get a bottle at walmart for $8, and spray it all around the inside of my 3pt snow blower. Nothing sticks. I haven't tried it on a blade, but it works well in the chute, fan, and auger. It might work on your blade too.
Next year Iam going to need a big ole snow blower tossing that snow thirty or forty feet out of the way. This giant pile stuff is for the birds Thanks for the good vid
Tim, I'm glad to hear you and Christy have recovered from Covid. As for plowing snow, I'm not a fan just because I've never figured out how to not get stone in the yard, at least until there is a frozen snowpack on the driveway. You might consider putting up snow fence for the areas that always drift, it does help although I rarely get around to putting it up.
I have a .3 tenths long driveway. I learned ling ago to start the season out with a good snow pack to protect the gravel fro the blade. I generally have an inch on top the gravel. This took care of having to buy gravel every few years.
Hey Tim and Chisty. That was very good footage of the front mounted blade considering the overall situation. Honestly very impressed by how Jonny handled that amount of snow over that distance with a blade. Looks like you may have been better served by the blower? Unfortunately stone cleanup remains a fact of life regardless of what we use. Cleanup required in the Spring unless we have paved ways. Thanks for sharing!
I've heard that a piece of pipe with a slot cut in it put over the cutting edge helps to save grass and gravel and keep it from scraping up loose driveways although I've never tried it myself.
I have a 2038R with an AF10F with hydraulic angling and I have tried it in float. I have a dirt driveway that has some flat sections but mostly small ups and downs. In the perfectly flat sections, the float function works fine but as soon as the front of the tractor goes one direction (up or down) and the rear of the tractor goes the other, the plow digs in and it turns into a grader. I have taken to small adjustments on the loader control and with some practice I've found it to work much better.
Tim I have a loader mounted blade that works real well and allows me to rock/roll the blade back on the skid shoes and use float position. I took an old western plow and made it a quick attach. The only time I get gravel is in real wet snow but the snow picks up more of the rock than the plow.
We run a work saver snow pusher with rubber cutting edge and a 48 inch snow blower on the back or the weight box with 400 pounds in it. Best part is we put chains on all four wheels. If I had a redo the HLA snowpusher would have been a better choice
I dread picking gravel up in the spring. So I have designated stopping points so I only have 3 areas to rake up. I use a 400 Suzuki eiger 4x4 to plow with.
Hey Tim . I have a boom mounted Frontier 60 in blade on my 2025r . I run it with the loader in the float position and it seems to work a bit better than the Artilian blade in your video . Nothing to drag on the ground , except the cutting edge and the loader curl function prevents too much scalping or picking up gravel . I did smack a big rock and put a little bend in it that'll have to be fixed . Otherwise , this blade works pretty good - I do wish it was 72 inches though . Thanks , Bryan in s.w. Michigan (not far from Good Works Tractor) .
It's amazing what your outlook about an impending snowstorm is when you have a 4 way hydraulic plow on a tractor compared to when all you have is a shovel.
Good video. I too don't have the exact solution for adjusting my plow shoes. I find myself digging into gravel, or my grass at times. And if I try to keep the plow up in the air a tad, I get that bunny hop too like you do. I am going to try a strip of that UHMW for next Winter. I have the front black 66" plow via fron 3pt for my 2032R. I would think you'd have better plowing success going back to your direct attach yellow blade. Oh... wow on Christy and her video recording!!! I'll be sure to show that to my wife and let you know what she says about doing that next time I plow hahahaaha. PS: I spray my plow with a good coat of PAM. It does work.
Tim I take a video and edit video for a living. I have some beautiful cameras but when it comes to the tractor videos it’s the GoPro all the way! The stabilization is incredible! Pretty much the only camera that I use for my tractor videos!
I modified a snow way plow for a truck to fit my Cub cadet 7265 direct attach to the frame. I absolutely love the way it plows, it works great on loose gravel if I back drag with the plow.
The solution for gravel/rock on the lawn is a Sweepster 3pth broom. Works great on the lawn with the plastic brushes and a 2:1 reduction gear box, (to fast and it will tear up the grass). Not only does it remove the debris it will also remove the thatch from the previous years mowing. One of the best attachments I have. I tried the hand held power brooms and hand raking and heck no,,, the broom is so fast and easy. It's really one of the best things I own. Try it you'll love it.
I have a 1025 and I built a 6' loader mounted blade with a hydraulic blade swivel and I put a 3/16" thick piece of plastic on the blade surface so no snow sticks. I plow in the float mode on blacktop and gravel drives. I started with a steel cutting edge and put to much gravel in the yard. 2 years ago I purchased a 4' x 6' x 3/4" thick cattle mat from Tractor Supply and cut off a 8" thick strip and installed it under my cutting edge with the bolt holes down the middle so I can flip it when it wears out. This rubber edge sticks 2" lower than the steel edge so it rolls back just alittle and acts like a squeege on the blacktop and it rolls over the gravel leaving very little in the grass. I am on my 2nd year plowing with this and it has only rounded the edge of the mat and now works even better. Best thing is I can cut 5 more 8" strips out of the mat if I ever wear this one out, It takes me about 2 hours to plow 4 driveways. I would recommend this mat to your readers as it cost me $50 for the mat and i will never use it up in my lifetime.
Christy deserves a medal and day off from snow. You complain about the audio but I am ok with the voiceover. But Christy riding the loader arms and hanging on the cab in that cold and wind is heroic stuff. And look at how the wind is blowing the snow all over the place. Make Christy a hot mug of cocoa.
💥 Despite your audio issue, once again you go above beyond to get great video shots. *Thank you Christy!*
*Keep on tractoring!*
I agree!
I don’t know how much freezing and thawing you get there but in MB we pack the first couple of snow falls with the truck. That gives a good base to use the snow blower on or plow with a floating blade.
Tim, After fighting the snow in WI and a LONG drive for over 20yrs, I gave up on my various snow plows and attached a snowblower to my JD 4720. Along with the difficulty of removing the snow with a lot of gravel, the other problem we encountered with a blade was tunneling on the sides after numerous snowfalls and the snow not melting. The blower works great, just have to keep it up above the gravel. We are biting the bullet and asphalting the drive a section at a time so that it is more affordable. The hard surface is a DREAM to clear and melts in the sunshine. Maybe not a solution for others, but is working great for us!!!!!.
Got estimates of $60,000 3 years ago to concrete our driveway. Would probably be $100,000 now!
Maybe someday!
Tim, I have the frontier blade on my 1025R and it’s controlled by summet hydraulic 4 valve kit installed on the rear. This is absolute game changer for me. I love my downward pressure and float feature. My customers like that I can pitch the blade more aggressively and scrape the ice underneath the snow. I don’t think I would like the chain hanging feature for my operations. The fixed blade on the frontier is perfect for me. Howard in Ohio.
You've talked & talked about the spreading of loose gravel on top of a good, solid, 3"inch road baseed driveway over & over. Ive told ya over & over to put down a top layer of at least 3/4" road base on your solid base. pack the 3/4" inch down real good so that when ya have to blade in the winter, you're not loosing any material like ya do with the "LOOSE" gravel. I saw that "loose" tumbling round in the mix of the snow & im just sitting here, shaking my head. . . . .🤦!!! Tractor safe🚜& stay warm. Thanks for sharing the video.
This video convinced me of one thing, even if I only use it every 5 years or so, nothing beats a front snow blower for removing deeper snow.
Yep. Blower is best for deeper snows.
Deep snow for a blower, yes. For the slush dumped by the place at the road, a blade is more beneficial. Hopefully my heavy hitch rear blade arrives soon to help with clean up from this storm.
A 3pt blower for the 5075 and the heated cab would have been great here
@@fyrman9092 For sure... plus, if that slush has a high salt content from the road it can really cause corrosion on the blower innards if you don't have a means of rinsing things off afterwards. And who has outdoor rinse water in 15-degree weather. Not much to harm on the blade. :-)
Nice Job Tim! I love mine too! Works great being able to angle the plow on the fly, still my custom made pushbox will always be my favorite plow just because of its simplicity and affectedness but the Artillian plow is my next favorite for sure and does a better job in deep/heavy snow!
Tim, I picked up a new Hiniker Poly backed 7 ft plow that was new on an online auction but with no mounting brackets. I fabricated the mounting brackets and welded it to a quick attach skid steer plate with 2 double acting cylinders to run the angle off the 3rd function. Using this type of set up I can run the plow in float mode almost 100% of the time because you can set your bucket gauge to keep the bottom of the loader arms from dragging, plus I can put down pressure on the blade to scrape packed snow, I have it on a Kubota MX 6000. Now, I have an asphalt driveway which is a game changer but also plow the neighbors gravel driveway, once the first snow is packed and frozen on that driveway, you can run the float there as well. I also have an 1 1/2" UHMW cutter bar on the plow which helps as well. I can see your struggle with the chain lift type of plow. Thanks for the videos.
Hey Tim I might have a solution to your rock driveway problem. I mounted two trailer jacks with wheels on both sides of the plow behind the blade. You can crank the wheels down and it sets your depth. Then you can crank it up to do bare driveways. Same reason I did wheels on my 3pt snowblower so it doesn’t rip up my gravel drive. Keep up the great work and I look forward to more. If you want pics or more info I’d be happy to share.
Interesting idea.
Tim I've seen this in action blew me away simple and very effective ! The 3 point rear blower with wheels was genius ! He blows grass with zero damage ... I think his ag tires does more damage lol ...
I love snow and those snowvideos, i can´t get enough of them, thanks!:)
Great video. I enjoyed watching you clear the snow. Definitely the extra pass is for fun. I enjoy taking extra passes when I blow my driveways. If we get a lot of snow I like to clear a path through my backyard to the meters for when the meter reader guy comes by to check the meters. Not necessary but is fun to play in the snow. Definitely need a cab for my John Deere.
Tim, to help keeping the snow from sticking to the plow when warm, spray it with PAM cooking spray. As far as minimizing the amount of gravel you scoop up, try splitting a piece of PVC pipe and slide it onto the bottom of the plow. We may need it again the end of the week (from a fellow Hoosier)
Do not apologize for any issues.... Still a great video and just enjoy riding along in the cab watching the plowing. Have always grown up with a plow mount d to the front of garden tractors with chains and a walk behind snowblower for our snow removal here in NW PA.
Thanks for the video Tim. I really enjoyed it. I bought a John Deere 755 with a 3 point blade for the back of the tractor in 1986. I've plowed a lot of snow in central Pa. since then. I promised myself that by the time I retire I would have a plow on the front of the tractor so I would not have to put up with a craned neck all winter. Well last spring I traded the 755 on a new 2025R with a loader and a direct connect blade. I also purchase an Artilian adapter so I could mount the blade on the loader. 😎 Also purchased a 60" HLA snow pusher. This past fall I retired. 😊 Now I don't have to drive in the snow, just play in it. If it would only snow now😒 . We got 3 inches so far this winter and it was followed up by rain, turning it into watery slop and eventually ice. For the first time I was happy to hear Phil predict 6 more weeks of winter. 🤞 I appreciate your informative channel and all the entertainment that goes with it. Have a great day.
I have the Frontier loader mounted blade on my 1025. I do like being able to pile the snow way up high. Takes practice using the tilt function. Too much forward tilt digs in. Tilt back too much and the loader arms rub the ground. Need to find the happy middle ground. I have the same problem as you Tim. If I angle the blade right tractor slides left and vice versa. I do not have any extra weights except fir the backhoe hanging off the back. R4 tires seem to work just fine. Still can't beat a tractor mounted front snowblower in the deep snow. I still think Jon from A Ritter Bit Will Do has the right idea. He is my hero when it comes to snow removal. Thanks for the hours you put in so I can learn from you and the rest of the tractor fanatics! Hope to see you at the show in Feb.
Even though you had issues with the audio you still put together a good video for us to watch. Thanks for taking the time and going out in the cold.
Tim, I have a 300 ft driveway plus spur road to my barn and a large area connecting them to my garage and it's all gravel with fines. When I had the driveway renewed with fines and then compacted with a vibrating roller, my drive was smooth and hard come winter. This allows me to run a front-mounted snowblower and a Woods rear blade with huge mushroom skids that protect my driveway. I did replace the plastic impeller (lose bushing) on my snowblower with a steel one and once in a great while break a shear pin, I have to say that I've got the best setup I can get for the conditions I face in Maine. Even when the fines wash out of the drive a bit, the gravel is mostly frozen in place not to be a big headache. Thanks for another good video and keep the hot chocolate coming for Christie!
Sounds good! I think she has finally thawed out!
There is a great product for solving your rock problem- blacktop! My driveway is 1/4 mile and I struggled plowing too. This is my first year with blacktop and it's heavenly!
I like that plow. I took my 3-point rear mount 6 ft. county line blade that I purchased from tractor supply and moved it to the front with an adapter bracket that I purchased, for moving around three-point implements with the loader also has the receiver hitch. Centered an 8-foot piece of rubber belting on it dropping it a half inch below the cutting-edge. Definitely a homemade rig and setup that has limitations but I love it. Have a great day!
where did you get the adapter? I would like that setup
Tim,
You mentioned that the front end moved on you with the blade angled. Then I noticed your front weight bracket was empty. I have the same setup minus the cab and adding the 42# weights to the front really helps the steering. We have had a lot of significant, heavy/wet snowfalls this year so I have been experimenting with the Artilian setup. It is my first season with it and I like it so far. It definitely has a learning curve if you are used to a frame mounted plow.
We live in north west Illinois and we have a 54" front mounted snowblower and recently bought a 52" rotary broom since I already have all the attaching parts. The snowblower is great for the deep snow and I find I use the broom A LOT! Way more than I ever had imagined. Best part is I can use it to clean the rocks out of my yard in the spring and with almost no raking! Love the video's, keep them coming!
I have a 1025R and for winter it’s set up with a 72” HLA snow pusher and rear mount blower. I use my tractor as a secondary snow removal device (I have a 2019 Ram 2500 Cummins with a Boss v plow) for the bulk of the work. I use my Deere for relocating or getting at tight areas. It’s also worked well when my truck was out of commission. Having a blower really helps for the deep stuff. Keep up the great videos guys!
I have seen people run a length of steel tube as a "cutting edge" to prevent picking up gravel and loose dirt on unpaved surfaces. Cut a slot, slide it over the cutting edge, and weld it on. It won't scrape clean, but it only leaves an inch or so of snow to drive on. Might be worth a try!
Issues aside great video time and thanks for posting! There's just no easy way to plow a gravel driveway. I've tried everything myself. I resorted to installing casters on the backside of my plow to help it float above the gravel once adjusted. Even then, if the ground is soft enough, there is so much weight on the casters that they sink. Asphalt isn't in the budget for a driveway of our size right now.
After 50 years of plowing a gravel driveway the only solution I have found if you HAVE to plow is to use a rear blade and push backwards against the curved side of the blade. This pushes the snow fine but minimizes the amount of rocks and gravel that is dug up. I also put fiberglass driveway markers along the edges where the gravel meets the grass and then never push anything past the markers. Since I use a blower for large snows and only use the blade for small snows I don't have issues with huge piles of snow along the sides of my driveway.
@@eosjoe565 Usually i use my blade backwards for the first 2 or so snowfalls this leaves a nice base that freezes into the rocks and makes a flat surface to plow the rest of the season. Eventually ill have a blower maybe =(
Outstanding Cinematography Emmy for Christy!!
I have an old 8' fischer plow I made a mount for the loader of my Kubota L3901. It's a bit on the big side for the tractor but it handles it fairly well. Two nice things about loader mount is being able to pile snow high as you said and that you have pretty much a six way blade by how you angle and use the curl cylinders. I have used it for light stone grading and loose dirt in the summer.
I enjoyed and related to your video, especially after I had cleared around here on day one with those conditions, albeit in my cab tractor…ahhhh! It’s refreshing how you shared the “trials and tribulations” of doing videos in those conditions. I respect the time and effort it takes to produce this content to the standards you set. And frankly, I probably would not have known the differences/problems had you not shared them with us. I appreciate your transparency and giving us a glimpse “behind the scenes”. It reflects well on you and Christy. Thanks and blessings.
Loved watching the video from inside the warm, cozy house! ‘Hope Christy has thawed out.
This video convinces me that I made the right decision to go with the Heated TekTite Cab and 47" JD Front Mounted Blower. Granted it is not as fast as a blade, but the cab is warm and the snow gets moved a lot further away from the cleared area. Of course you southerners only get that kind of snow once in a great while, living in the Lake Effect Area of Northern Michigan, I see it quite often and would run out of places near the house to pile that much snow. I agree with Christy, I hate the cold and I was born here, I wish I could be warm all the time, but having lived in the Notfolk area, I also hate the heat and Humidity more, so I guess I am stuck. Great video by the way. As for the warm blade, that is why I store my 1026R and front blower in the NON-heated Garage.
The audio is just fine. Christy gets a hold medal for recording. .years back I tried a loader mounted blade. It was ok . I thought it would be faster. Now days I use a front mount 59" snow blower.have a 400 ft long drive in Western NY. Get that snow out of the way.
Hey Tim good video up here in Canada I use a Tecktite cab. It is heated with front wiper. Both doors come off brass pins very easily for my summer air conditioning. I don't have a backhoe but the back glass comes out with hand screws so the cab is backhoe compatible. These cabs are made in Manitoba Canada very nice. They come in orange green and red. They also have two sets of LED lights mounted front and back on the roof. I also use John deere's 54-in snowblower which will go through a two or three foot drift like butter provided it's not wet. I use a 1023e for all of this. Anyways I'm a big fan you've taught me all I know about tractors including greasing transmission fluid changing oil changing etc. Your videos are greatly appreciated.
Ug, you need a yard guard on that blade. Basically a three inch round pipe with a cut out slot for your cutting blade to insert to. Gets bolted or pinned in each end to hold it on. Floats over gravel or yards without damage. Plus you could use down pressure to back blade in front of garages etc.
Living in Florida we do not worry about snow. Today it is in the 50's with a cold mist. For drive ways we use shell rock or asphalt road grind. They both pack down and leave a smooth surface. Here rocks and gravel are expensive.
Even though we didn’t get much down here in Eville I still got out on the tractor and pushed some around home.
My uncle who was in town from Indy this weekend said he shoveled 3 times, he figured ended up with 10-12”.
Your video is still better than I will ever make! I had a Tar River loader attached snow blade for my 2025r. Had is the key word! Your correct about it being way out front. I felt like Mr Toad's wild ride every time I used it. 😄 The tar river has a 2 pivot point mount and you could add down force, but that made the steering worse with no grip on the front tires. And if you set it to float it would want to dig in, its just to far out to have much control. I'm lucky my drive is all concrete. I also had a lot of front end bouncing with all that weight out front. If you can add as much weight your front axle will handle it helps. I went a different route and bought a Kubota F2690 with a push blade and the snow blower and 72" mower. You can also get a broom and leaf blower too. If only I got lucky like you, and get a big snow storm I will be a happy guy.
One trick i learned from my college grounds maintenance crew was before it snows, go down your driveway and sidewalk and drive wooden stakes along the edge. Helps show where gravel or pavement stops and grass begins. You get that drifting snow and its hard to tell where the driveway is. The wood would snap off if hit, keeping it from damaging vehicles. Could use metal t-posts or rebar if you wanted.
Tim, spray silicone is the best I spray my whole plow to keep snow from sticking and don't bring in snow to the shop .I have a 80" Frontier all angle that replaces the bucket their is a learning curve but over the years I'm not much of a sod buster for my yard, great fit 16" snow no issues with 3320 with Femco heat Houser that sends the engine heat to me while the banks go up over 8' 😃
Great video, no worries about the audio, if you didn't let us know I would not have noticed. You got a ton of snow! Great plowing. Thanks again for all your great videos!! Stay warm
I thought it was a job well done with a set of difficult circumstances! You made lemonade out of lemons.
Also…Love that Oliver plow in some of your shots 😀
Stay safe in this storm and thanks for the video Tim and Christy
I’ve enjoyed all your videos and the test you’ve you put the 1025r thru. I just got my 21’ 1025r tlb with r14s a month ago and really enjoying it. We just got 8” ish of snow and I just used the 53” bucket and it worked great on gravel drive. It worked so well I’m sure I won’t ever buy a snow attachment because the bucket is so versatile. Thanks again and Continue to Rest in our Savior!
Consider adding edge tamers. Edgetamer.com use code Ttwt for a five percent discount. Helps to keep you from digging in….inexpensive!
We will show in an upcoming episode.
Great video. I like to push that snow with the rocks and dirt back onto the driveway before it completely melts so that I don't have a lot of cleanup in the spring. Congratulations on the 1st Place Trophy.
Been a long time since we've had a bad winter like we had every year in the 70's and 80's.
Back then you got storm after storm with no melting in between so you had to push the first snow as far back as possible so hopefully by the last storm you could still have one narrow lane open.
Makes getting snow look fun,good job!
Good Evening Christy & Tim, The things our wives will do to support their husbands!! Well done Miss Christy!!! Kinda dangerous though!!
I have a float on my Kubota B 8200. As you are aware a float allows the blade to ride the contour of the land, much better than a fixed blade. I do not experience tear out on my drive. I had a local fabricator make an extension for the top of my blade which I bolted on. He allows the snow to curl a bit more so in deeper snow, it does not come over the top; works well. I have found if I use my blade or the front bucket on my B 3350 when the snow gets 6 inches deep in a major storm that’s a good time to plow as it’s easier to push back. Yes, the draw back is multiple times plowing. I would suggest adding some weight plates to the rear might have helped to balance things out.
Take Miss Christy out for diner in a fancy expensive restaurant for her efforts and risk taking!!! Hope this helps someone!
You all got more than we did, and hopefully no ice. The same storm put down roughly 1/4" of ice here in PA along with about 4" of snow. Thank goodness you didn't get the 2038 or the Kubota out because I can only imagine how miserable it would've been for both of you. I almost expected to see a rear blade in use for the top end of the driveway, and some additional ballast. On the topic of avoiding rocks/dirt being picked up, using a snowblower on gravel is not fun since you've got to angle the chute downward to avoid rocks being thrown real far. Been there before with a walk behind unit. It was hard to avoid when we just shoveled our small driveway.
I use my regular road blade to push the snow on my gravel driveway (1500 ft.) but I attached two detachable 8" swivel wheels on the back of the blade, one on either side. Using the top link, I can adjust the amount of clearance so as to not disturb the gravel. Works very well. One pass down and back and I'm done! A few of my friends have used my idea and really liked it. Solid wheels work best. Pneumatic tires bounce too much and give a wash board effect. Actually, I go backwards so I'm not riding in unplowed snow and the snow doesn't gather under the tractor.
Thank you Christy!
Christy is pretty amazing Tim. I know i think allot of my wife the same. But you know she does care about you enough to do such a job. You guys are pretty great. Keep up the fun adventures up and enjoy each other as long as you can. Thank you fur best content.
I have a Frontier Blade, AF10e I think. I do use it in float position, works really well. I use the bucket with edge tamers (thank you TTWT for those) until my driveway is frozen, then switch to the blade for the rest of the season. I use to use an ATV for plowing, I’m so much happier with the tractor and plow. I prefer it to snow blowing (did that for a few years). I do have a grade to my driveway and I have to plow down it or I spin tires a lot. Good video even with the sound issues, although I was confused by some of your choices on pushing direction/location, but you know your driveway better then I!
Compared to you, I’m an amateur. No idea the best place to push.
We missed that snow storm here in Iowa! Edge tamers do work well but with that much snow and driveway it would take some time! Great GoPro action, i have 2 of them myself and have always been impressed. Incase you missed it they did just release some cold weather batteries which are supposed to help with the life is cold weather, Stay warm. -Kyle
That was a lot of snow! The angle blade was must! A pusher like I have would have just filled up too quick would cause the tractor to get stuck. Thanks for posting!
I’m glad you got your big snow so you could demonstrate that blade. I moved snow with a skid steer with just the bucket back in my working days. So much fun till it all melted off and I had to fill in the mess I had made. I just glad we didn’t get that much snow here in western Kentucky. I think you the audio on your videos have been great. I can watch some shaky video, but sound makes it watchable. Cold and snowy conditions just test every piece of tech equipment. Christy is a trooper as producer, director and editor, cook. Looking forward to the cheeseburger. I may even bring my wife along…….
Sounds good. Hope to see you there!
Snow will stick to a cold blade just like a warm blade. The trick I learned back in the 70"s was keeping a heavy coat of car wax on the blade. Sometimes more coats of wax are needed during the plowing season. Being naturally lazy I consulted another lazy, but older and more experienced, gentleman. His solution was to wipe down his blade with an oily rag before a storm. That took too much effort for me, so I resorted to spray silicone. Faster and easier. seems to last longer, too. I have Johny's older big brother. I call him agent 955. I'm not only lazy, I'm cheap too. I use my grader blade to move snow. We had about 20" last week and I waited until the following day. Not smart. I had the power to push but the traction was poor. Maybe next year I'll spring for a plow. Great video and the voice over was fine. Be careful with Christi. She's not easy to replace. Next time let her drive and you hang off the tractor filming. LOL. See you two in the next one. Dave
I used my 1025R to move snow for the first time. I live in Central Illinois where we got 12”+ of snow and plenty of drifting. I used the edge tamers on the loader to dig out big drifts and then drove in reverse with the rear blade facing backwards in an angle to push the snow. I did move some gravel off the driveway at first until I got a good height set on the rear blade. I live in the country and my driveway is very long but this set up made clearing the snow very quick and easy.
Hey Tim! Great video. I have a 1025R with a Frontier loader mount blade. I use the Artillian Diverter kit for 3rd function angling. I can say that the float works brilliantly. The key with the floating is getting the curl in the right place, if you are too curled/not curled enough you can either dig in or not scrape well. Once you get the hang of it though, the down pressure works very well and you have the skid plates which you can set to ensure you don't dig in. It's also often helpful to have that pressure when you are trying to scrape any of the icier storms. All that being said, I think if you were in a place where your driveway doesn't freeze solid you might get yourself into trouble. Where we are, the gravel freezes solid and you can really scrape along without any worries of digging in. You have to be much more careful in the spring/early winter storms when the ground is softer, but that seems to be true for the Artillian too based on your comments about the end of the driveway. Keep up the great work. Your video makes me wish I had a cab...
I try and spray silicone on my blades before the storm. It helps for a while till it wears off. Some folks have suggested Pam but I haven't tried it yet
Love my frontier blade on my 1025r. Did great in this blizzard. Works great in float . Absolutely horrible in gravel even with feet .
I find that when using my rear blade with skid feet set lower than the blade works great for me and not dispersing gravel all over between that , my heated cab and my snow push I'm pretty well set up. spent 6 hrs clearing my drive and neighbors driveway numerous times
Hi Tim,
A note to tuck away for the spring. I see your shelter logic seems to have grown some mold on the outside. I live in a river valley and battle it constantly. I've found a product called Wet and Forget does a great job and not too labor intensive. Spray it on and leave it, it takes a couple weeks and the mold goes away for almost a full 12 months.
Good video even though you had audio issues. Stay warm and happy plowing!
Great video regardless of the audio issues.
We had an ice event here in Northwest Mississippi.
Stay safe and God Bless.
The Other Tim with Tractors.
Get a 72” fel mounted blade, add Artillian extensions, a roll-over guard, and gauge wheels. I make thick plastic edges.
Solutions vary by the kind of snow you get and where you’re plowing. Blowers don’t handle wet snow well. Plowing 2 miles of road is different than plowing a gravel driveway.
I had zero problems plowing like this ....float works well....plowing a mile of secondary road. Make sure the blade is not locked.....there are little surprises in the road.....although rare.
Tim the only way I have limited the amount of stone in my yard is get a good snow base on my driveway from the first snow fall.
I love my open station 33R but when it comes to plowing snow my Polaris Ranger 6x6 does a better job and is quicker. I use my 33R to push piles back. We have about 4’ on the ground and 8’ tall piles of snow everywhere.
I ordered studs to put in my R4 tires for better traction on ice.
Another good video guy’s thanks for sharing.
I can’t live without my plow. Plain and simple. Great vid Tim.
Gopro’s always seen to want to shut off in the cold
Nice job with the snow
Any reason you didn’t put an attachment on the back for ballast? Turning radius?
I found it handy to have the box blade on the back so I could use it to back up close to the building
Laziness….and I really needed the weight on the front for steering.
You will probably have a lot of fun getting your rocks back in your driveway in the spring. Been there and done that. This year with a edge tamer on each side of my bucket I added one in the middle and floated.. I don't think any rocks (or very few) got moved. The setup worked well for me, even though I had to move a lot of snow with my bucket, and sometimes after pushing a lot of snow in front of me my front wheels lifted and I lost direction control. Wishing for the old days when we had separate brakes. Enjoy your videos, keep up the good videos.
The edge tamers work great!
Welcome to my world ..lol.... we have snow like that all winter.. I love my rear snowblower so I can use my loader when I need it. Things are changing! Your friend from Manitoba!!
As much as I know you hate this happening. I really think this shows really how personal you make the videos. You tell everything about making the videos everything you do. Like your videos you don’t hope you know I really appreciate it. Thanks so much look forward to the next video
I use the edge tamers on my 3025e and look forward to the comparison of the fork blade, snow pusher, and bucket with edge tamers. 🙂
Had fun watching you have some fun plowing your drive way we had the same thing as far as snow and I find myself wishing that I had a tractor cuz we live out in the country all though we don't have a huge driveway it's still to big for me to shovel we ended up having my father-in-law come down and clear it thankfully he was able to God bless you and your family look forward to seeing your next video
I have a 4066R with a loader mounted plow. I run 3 miles of gravel/dirt, and I’ve found the best config is to combine it with a rear blade at the same time. I set my loader about 2-3” above the gravel surface to move the bulk of the snow. I angle the rear blade in the same direction, but lower it all the way down and then raise it just a smidge so it is barely above the gravel surface. The end result is a front blade that never hits the ground, and it moves the bulk of the snow. The rear blade behind just ticks the ground ever so often, and moves the remaining snow off to give the road a nice finish. Once we have a hard pack of snow I can then lower the rear blade all the way.
That config works pretty well for me because I have long straight-aways and don’t need to make many adjustments. If I was in shorter spaces and needed to continually raise/lower, it would be more cumbersome since I’d have to constantly adjust both front and back blade heights and angles. Around the house where there’s more confined spaces I switch to my bucket with edge tamers.
Sounds like a good plan that works for you!
That plow does a good job! Bring it up here to Ontario Canada if you'd like more practice. :) I'm thinking of getting the Rode 2 as well, because I'm only using the DJI audio and I would like better audio. Thanks for showing us your snow video. Keep warm.
You made lemonade, and quite good lemonade. The errors/issues only keep it real and more relatable.
And you did it safely in my book. I suppose to be 100% safe the video would have to be inside with both of you reading a book.
My hat is off to Christy for what she goes through to bring us your great videos! Thank you Christy! I hope you treated her to some hot chocolate and a cheeseburger to warm her up after the shoot!😃
I have an L3010 Kubota with a 7’ land pride rear blade. I have a long gravel driveway and the only way I have found to push the snow without tearing up the gravel is pushing backwards with the back side of the blade.
Great camera job Christy 😀
Great video Tim even without real time audio. I am sure you were happy to have the cab on Johnny. Was impressed on how well it handled the snow drifts. I got cold just watching. I agree with Christy and not a fan of cold weather.
A bit of silicone lubricant spray on the plow blade will keep the snow from sticking. Great for snow blowers and hand shovels as well.
Christy is a real trooper. I use that cheap ceramic car paint coating, like they show on some youtube ads. I get a bottle at walmart for $8, and spray it all around the inside of my 3pt snow blower. Nothing sticks. I haven't tried it on a blade, but it works well in the chute, fan, and auger. It might work on your blade too.
Next year Iam going to need a big ole snow blower tossing that snow thirty or forty feet out of the way.
This giant pile stuff is for the birds
Thanks for the good vid
Tim, I'm glad to hear you and Christy have recovered from Covid. As for plowing snow, I'm not a fan just because I've never figured out how to not get stone in the yard, at least until there is a frozen snowpack on the driveway. You might consider putting up snow fence for the areas that always drift, it does help although I rarely get around to putting it up.
I have a .3 tenths long driveway. I learned ling ago to start the season out with a good snow pack to protect the gravel fro the blade. I generally have an inch on top the gravel. This took care of having to buy gravel every few years.
50 degrees the day before this snow.
Hey Tim and Chisty. That was very good footage of the front mounted blade considering the overall situation. Honestly very impressed by how Jonny handled that amount of snow over that distance with a blade. Looks like you may have been better served by the blower? Unfortunately stone cleanup remains a fact of life regardless of what we use. Cleanup required in the Spring unless we have paved ways. Thanks for sharing!
Oh, that lil thing is so cute !
Kinda fun too :-)
I've heard that a piece of pipe with a slot cut in it put over the cutting edge helps to save grass and gravel and keep it from scraping up loose driveways although I've never tried it myself.
I have a 2038R with an AF10F with hydraulic angling and I have tried it in float. I have a dirt driveway that has some flat sections but mostly small ups and downs. In the perfectly flat sections, the float function works fine but as soon as the front of the tractor goes one direction (up or down) and the rear of the tractor goes the other, the plow digs in and it turns into a grader. I have taken to small adjustments on the loader control and with some practice I've found it to work much better.
Tim I have a loader mounted blade that works real well and allows me to rock/roll the blade back on the skid shoes and use float position. I took an old western plow and made it a quick attach. The only time I get gravel is in real wet snow but the snow picks up more of the rock than the plow.
We run a work saver snow pusher with rubber cutting edge and a 48 inch snow blower on the back or the weight box with 400 pounds in it. Best part is we put chains on all four wheels. If I had a redo the HLA snowpusher would have been a better choice
I dread picking gravel up in the spring. So I have designated stopping points so I only have 3 areas to rake up. I use a 400 Suzuki eiger 4x4 to plow with.
Hey Tim . I have a boom mounted Frontier 60 in blade on my 2025r . I run it with the loader in the float position and it seems to work a bit better than the Artilian blade in your video . Nothing to drag on the ground , except the cutting edge and the loader curl function prevents too much scalping or picking up gravel . I did smack a big rock and put a little bend in it that'll have to be fixed . Otherwise , this blade works pretty good - I do wish it was 72 inches though . Thanks , Bryan in s.w. Michigan (not far from Good Works Tractor) .
It's amazing what your outlook about an impending snowstorm is when you have a 4 way hydraulic plow on a tractor compared to when all you have is a shovel.
Yes!
Good video. I too don't have the exact solution for adjusting my plow shoes. I find myself digging into gravel, or my grass at times. And if I try to keep the plow up in the air a tad, I get that bunny hop too like you do. I am going to try a strip of that UHMW for next Winter. I have the front black 66" plow via fron 3pt for my 2032R. I would think you'd have better plowing success going back to your direct attach yellow blade. Oh... wow on Christy and her video recording!!! I'll be sure to show that to my wife and let you know what she says about doing that next time I plow hahahaaha. PS: I spray my plow with a good coat of PAM. It does work.
Tim I take a video and edit video for a living. I have some beautiful cameras but when it comes to the tractor videos it’s the GoPro all the way! The stabilization is incredible! Pretty much the only camera that I use for my tractor videos!
I modified a snow way plow for a truck to fit my Cub cadet 7265 direct attach to the frame. I absolutely love the way it plows, it works great on loose gravel if I back drag with the plow.
The solution for gravel/rock on the lawn is a Sweepster 3pth broom. Works great on the lawn with the plastic brushes and a 2:1 reduction gear box, (to fast and it will tear up the grass). Not only does it remove the debris it will also remove the thatch from the previous years mowing. One of the best attachments I have. I tried the hand held power brooms and hand raking and heck no,,, the broom is so fast and easy. It's really one of the best things I own. Try it you'll love it.
I have a 1025 and I built a 6' loader mounted blade with a hydraulic blade swivel and I put a 3/16" thick piece of plastic on the blade surface so no snow sticks. I plow in the float mode on blacktop and gravel drives. I started with a steel cutting edge and put to much gravel in the yard. 2 years ago I purchased a 4' x 6' x 3/4" thick cattle mat from Tractor Supply and cut off a 8" thick strip and installed it under my cutting edge with the bolt holes down the middle so I can flip it when it wears out. This rubber edge sticks 2" lower than the steel edge so it rolls back just alittle and acts like a squeege on the blacktop and it rolls over the gravel leaving very little in the grass. I am on my 2nd year plowing with this and it has only rounded the edge of the mat and now works even better. Best thing is I can cut 5 more 8" strips out of the mat if I ever wear this one out, It takes me about 2 hours to plow 4 driveways. I would recommend this mat to your readers as it cost me $50 for the mat and i will never use it up in my lifetime.
We like the snowblower over loose stone driveways.