They worked great! You can’t see it in the video but I’m moving over gravel to grass, and the blower didn’t dig into the ground at all. Exactly what I hoped for.
Great video! I'm in Evergreen, and we are still digging out from last Thursday's storm. I live on a 2 mile private road, and have been plowing with a UTV (Kawasaki Mule with 72 inch snow plow). However, we got over 4 feet of snow here and my UTV keeps high centering. I have a Deere 3046R, but have never used it to plow. Maybe I should invest in a loader-mounted blower like yours. Is yours running off a mid-PTO? How difficult is it to mount and remove? Finally, I noticed that you have chains on the front tires only. How good is your traction, and do you have any inclines to deal with? Thanks in advance for your advice and, again, thanks for the video.
Evergreen and Conifer were ground zero! 4' of snow is tough to deal with if you get behind while it's snowing. We plow 3 miles, and I also have two blades for the tractor (one rear, one front). I use them in tandem for smaller storms (15 inches or less) because it's faster. Granted, it leaves piles on the sides of the road, but it's much quicker than blowing the whole stretch. I have a video of us using both a front and rear blade from a month back; here's a link to that video... th-cam.com/video/btXka-jn3SU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=pkZp8eZzqxogYms0 The traction is good with the chains, and we have 3 inclines between 8 and 12 degrees. The tractor climbs up and down pretty good so long as I have some weight on the tractor. The implements themselves tend to be enough weight. I also have the tires weighted so that helps. Never been stuck yet, even in the spring when the snows are wet and slippery. Regarding the blower, it's a hydraulic blower. The hydraulic pack on the back of the tractor (Frontier HP2134) is run by the PTO, and I connect one electrical connection and two hoses to it. The hoses and electrical wiring run to the front of the loader where I connect up the blower. Up there it's two electrical connections and two hoses. That's it. It comes off and goes on super easy. The nice thing about it being hydraulic is that there are no sheer pins. The hydraulic pressure is diverted by a relief valve or shunt if the auger jams and stops spinning. Just clear the jam and it's back to work. Hope that helps, and hope you get dug out soon! We've done the UTV thing as well. They're great for smaller storms, but 4' is another story. Been there, done it, bought the t-shirt!
I wait till the ground freezes and OEM blower pads work fine. When my current ones were out I will make a set of skis like these in the video. Not sure welding a few pieces on strap steel is patientable. Nice video, thanks for sharing. I Do have a question, I don't see a drive shaft running your snowblower so does that snow blower have a separate motor?
The blower is run off of the hydraulic pack on the back of the tractor, which is PTO driven. The hoses and electrical controls run from the back to the blower on the loader.
@@StanleyGrant13 thanks for the reply. I never new knew a blower could run on hydraulics, that is really cool. I know a guy who put a blower on the back of his tractor so he could run it off a drive shaft. You're set up is a 100 times better than snow blowing backwards.
Love this! Thank you! I’ll reach out to him as I just bought the 4066r as well…QUESTION - do you find the need for chains on the front, or just nice to have?
@@DR-zr5rs I have some hills (12 percent grade) to navigate and the chains help with them. And they also help with steering when the loader has a load on it. On the level and on straightaways they’re not as important, which is what you see in the video.
Hey, that’s a great idea! My snowblower shoes are on the small side as well and it likes to eat the gravel… I will speak to my welder. I’m sure he can make something up! On a separate note, I was considering chains on my front tires only. I read many forms were lots of guys said it could wreck the four-wheel-drive, etc., etc. which your experience with having chains only on the front tires?
@@Buddyboz For my tractor, they said only to do chains on the front. The manual actually says not to use them on the rear, which I find strange. Wish I could chain up all 4, but having them on the front has certainly helped. No damage after 4 seasons with it now.
Hello! I am very interested in these skids! I live in an area that gets a LOT of snow and I blow over the same surfaces that you do. Do you normally blow snow in the “float” mode on your Deere and if so have you still found these skids to be useful? Do you get any wet, heavy snows in CO? Thank you so much!
Yes, I blow the snow using the "float" mode on the loader. Before I had these skid skis I couldn't do that because the factory skids were too small and they dug through the snow and into dirt / gravel. My workaround was to not use float mode, but then my loader was either too high or too low, and I was constantly having to adjust it. The skid skis allows me to use float all the time, and the skis ride nicely over the surface that I'm clearing. It's not shown in the video, but I'm actually transitioning from gravel driveway to grassy areas, and the skis make the transition smooth. We get heavy wet snow in the Spring. Not quite as bad as California Concrete, but it's a lot more dense than the winter powder. This video was filmed with a heavier snow, and they worked great (as did the blower).
Thank you so much for your response! It really helps as I have the same surfaces and transitions that you do including dirt trails I want to clear. Your answer is exactly what I have been doing - manually adjusting the blower up and down - which is frustrating. Thank you again as your answer really does help and reassures me.
@@haus05 That’s the PTO-driven hydraulic pack that runs the blower. The hoses and electrical connections run from the pack to the blower. That eliminates a need for a PTO drive on the front, which allows the blower to have full range of motion (lift and tilt) via the loader.
If the tractor had a front PTO then probably yes. The hydraulic pack is PTO driven with high pressure hoses running to the front of the loader / blower.
Those Deere tractors have a splined coupler between the driveshaft and front differential. Replaced plenty. If they didn’t have it the diff would be certainly in jeopardy. Jmtc
If I had a rig like that, I would want winter all the time!
That’s a nice setup!😊
That fabricator needs to patent, manufacture and sell those "skis"!
Can you do a walk-around of the snowblower / power pack some time?
Your blower skis seem to work very well.
They worked great! You can’t see it in the video but I’m moving over gravel to grass, and the blower didn’t dig into the ground at all. Exactly what I hoped for.
That is one sweet snow removal setup. I am definitely making a set of skis for my 3pt blower.so glad i stumbled upon this channel.
Love your setup! So EZ to blast through that crud!
That'z faster than sime of the skid steer blowers i have seen. Thankz for the video.
Great video! I'm in Evergreen, and we are still digging out from last Thursday's storm. I live on a 2 mile private road, and have been plowing with a UTV (Kawasaki Mule with 72 inch snow plow). However, we got over 4 feet of snow here and my UTV keeps high centering. I have a Deere 3046R, but have never used it to plow. Maybe I should invest in a loader-mounted blower like yours. Is yours running off a mid-PTO? How difficult is it to mount and remove? Finally, I noticed that you have chains on the front tires only. How good is your traction, and do you have any inclines to deal with? Thanks in advance for your advice and, again, thanks for the video.
Evergreen and Conifer were ground zero! 4' of snow is tough to deal with if you get behind while it's snowing.
We plow 3 miles, and I also have two blades for the tractor (one rear, one front). I use them in tandem for smaller storms (15 inches or less) because it's faster. Granted, it leaves piles on the sides of the road, but it's much quicker than blowing the whole stretch. I have a video of us using both a front and rear blade from a month back; here's a link to that video...
th-cam.com/video/btXka-jn3SU/w-d-xo.htmlsi=pkZp8eZzqxogYms0
The traction is good with the chains, and we have 3 inclines between 8 and 12 degrees. The tractor climbs up and down pretty good so long as I have some weight on the tractor. The implements themselves tend to be enough weight. I also have the tires weighted so that helps. Never been stuck yet, even in the spring when the snows are wet and slippery.
Regarding the blower, it's a hydraulic blower. The hydraulic pack on the back of the tractor (Frontier HP2134) is run by the PTO, and I connect one electrical connection and two hoses to it. The hoses and electrical wiring run to the front of the loader where I connect up the blower. Up there it's two electrical connections and two hoses. That's it. It comes off and goes on super easy. The nice thing about it being hydraulic is that there are no sheer pins. The hydraulic pressure is diverted by a relief valve or shunt if the auger jams and stops spinning. Just clear the jam and it's back to work.
Hope that helps, and hope you get dug out soon! We've done the UTV thing as well. They're great for smaller storms, but 4' is another story. Been there, done it, bought the t-shirt!
@@StanleyGrant13Extremely helpful reply, thank you!
Great Idea.
I wait till the ground freezes and OEM blower pads work fine. When my current ones were out I will make a set of skis like these in the video. Not sure welding a few pieces on strap steel is patientable. Nice video, thanks for sharing. I Do have a question, I don't see a drive shaft running your snowblower so does that snow blower have a separate motor?
The blower is run off of the hydraulic pack on the back of the tractor, which is PTO driven. The hoses and electrical controls run from the back to the blower on the loader.
@@StanleyGrant13 thanks for the reply. I never new knew a blower could run on hydraulics, that is really cool. I know a guy who put a blower on the back of his tractor so he could run it off a drive shaft. You're set up is a 100 times better than snow blowing backwards.
Love this! Thank you! I’ll reach out to him as I just bought the 4066r as well…QUESTION - do you find the need for chains on the front, or just nice to have?
@@DR-zr5rs I have some hills (12 percent grade) to navigate and the chains help with them. And they also help with steering when the loader has a load on it. On the level and on straightaways they’re not as important, which is what you see in the video.
Video begins at 3:17
Hey, that’s a great idea! My snowblower shoes are on the small side as well and it likes to eat the gravel… I will speak to my welder. I’m sure he can make something up!
On a separate note, I was considering chains on my front tires only. I read many forms were lots of guys said it could wreck the four-wheel-drive, etc., etc. which your experience with having chains only on the front tires?
@@Buddyboz For my tractor, they said only to do chains on the front. The manual actually says not to use them on the rear, which I find strange. Wish I could chain up all 4, but having them on the front has certainly helped. No damage after 4 seasons with it now.
Hello! I am very interested in these skids! I live in an area that gets a LOT of snow and I blow over the same surfaces that you do. Do you normally blow snow in the “float” mode on your Deere and if so have you still found these skids to be useful? Do you get any wet, heavy snows in CO? Thank you so much!
Yes, I blow the snow using the "float" mode on the loader. Before I had these skid skis I couldn't do that because the factory skids were too small and they dug through the snow and into dirt / gravel. My workaround was to not use float mode, but then my loader was either too high or too low, and I was constantly having to adjust it. The skid skis allows me to use float all the time, and the skis ride nicely over the surface that I'm clearing. It's not shown in the video, but I'm actually transitioning from gravel driveway to grassy areas, and the skis make the transition smooth.
We get heavy wet snow in the Spring. Not quite as bad as California Concrete, but it's a lot more dense than the winter powder. This video was filmed with a heavier snow, and they worked great (as did the blower).
Thank you so much for your response! It really helps as I have the same surfaces and transitions that you do including dirt trails I want to clear. Your answer is exactly what I have been doing - manually adjusting the blower up and down - which is frustrating. Thank you again as your answer really does help and reassures me.
thats a weird setup , whats on the back and why is the pto spinning if the blower is loader mounted ? confused how this setup works
@@haus05 That’s the PTO-driven hydraulic pack that runs the blower. The hoses and electrical connections run from the pack to the blower. That eliminates a need for a PTO drive on the front, which allows the blower to have full range of motion (lift and tilt) via the loader.
hey what's that on the back of your tractor i cant find that online
@@chrisjimerson8790 It’s the hydraulic pack that runs off the PTO. The hydraulic lines run to the blower on the front.
Can't the tractor run the blower without the hydraulic pack on the rear?
If the tractor had a front PTO then probably yes. The hydraulic pack is PTO driven with high pressure hoses running to the front of the loader / blower.
The gallons per minute on the tractor pump is inadequate to run the blower. His pack has a high GPM to provide enough flow to operate it.
@@1958johndeere620 Bingo.
Is that hydraulic blower custom built?
@@adamd4218 No, it’s made by Frontier (Deere) and has a hydraulic pack that runs off the rear PTO.
Bummer. Can’t run a spreader off the rear PTO because of the hydro pump. Maybe not for you but a commercial operator.
you should just use a bucket and it will do just as good of a job and it can do any kind of snow
Not a good idea to run chains on one set of wheels. Throws off the transfer case and you could ruin it.
Those Deere tractors have a splined coupler between the driveshaft and front differential. Replaced plenty. If they didn’t have it the diff would be certainly in jeopardy. Jmtc
Slow blower cant handle much snow !
Looks like a Kage plow would work better initially.
dude you need to stop smacking your lips,, that annoying as hell..