Blade, Blower, or Bucket. The multiple ways to remove snow.

Option #1 – Front Blade.

We’ll be using a Frontier 60-inch (152.4 cm) Front Blade (US CA) matched with a H120 Loader (US CA) and a John Deere 1025R Compact Utility Tractor (US CA).

Attaching the front blade to the loader is about as easy a hook-up as you’ll ever do. Just insert the loader carrier into the top hangers on the front blade, then lift and roll back the carrier and the front blade will fall into place. Then insert the locking pins and you’re ready to go.

This front blade offers five angled positions and is adjusted using a simple pin and clip system, so you can push snow in any direction. It also has a trip edge feature that protects the blade, the loader, and the tractor if the blade edge contacts an obstacle by allowing the blade to rotate forward and glide over the obstacle. The blade can also be locked into place using two simple lock pins.

We’ve also added plow guides so the operator always has a view of where the outside blade edges are, no matter how deep the snow.

Working on a gravel surface,

add skid shoes to protect the reversible cutting edge on the bottom of the blade, and to keep from pushing gravel off the road.

Change the skid shoe height by removing the lock pin from the skid shoe, then adjust the number of spacers to the desired height, and put any removed spacers under the lock pin for storage. Then reinstall the lock pin, and you’re ready to go.

Using a front blade to remove snow is a pretty simple task. But like any other project with your tractor, it’s important to stay focused and pay attention to what you’re doing.

Option #2 – Rear Blade.

A Frontier Rear Blade (US CA) with another small tractor – a John Deere 3032E Compact Utility Tractor (US CA). We added an iMatchTM Quick Hitch that makes hooking and unhooking 3-point implements as easy as making snow angels.

With the iMatch quick hitch, all you have to do is focus on the top hook, and everything else falls into place. Then you close the locking levers to secure the implement, raise the parking stand, and once again, you’re ready to go.

The angle of this Frontier rear blade can be adjusted in two directions with another simple pin and clip system: tilted up and down from one end to the other – or angled, with the left or right end in a more forward position than the other. In fact, you can pivot this rear blade 360-degrees if you need to.

You can also offset the blade up to 12-inches (30.5 cm) to the left or right so it sits slightly outside the tractor’s path. That’s a handy feature if you want to remove snow from a soft shoulder, for example, while keeping the tractor on a firm road surface.

For this job, Caitlin has angled the rear blade, with the right end leading, which will guide the snow to the left. After she makes a pass, she’ll use the 3-point hitch to raise the rear blade and go back to her starting position to make another pass.

And because she can swing the blade 360 degrees, she could also use it to push snow into a pile, instead of pulling it.

Option #3 – Loader Bucket.

Speaking of a pile of snow, the loader and bucket we’ve added to this tractor are the tools she’ll use to widen the area she’s cleared by using the bucket to scoop up snow and pile it out of the way.

Add these three Top 10 implements to your machine shed and you’ve got a snow pushing, pulling and piling package that just won’t quit.

Fighting ice the easy way.

Now, if ice is your issue, the Frontier Broadcast Spreader attached to the 3-point hitch on your tractor is the perfect tool for spreading sand, salt or other chemical ice-melt product. The polyethylene hopper and stainless steel spreading components are resistant to sand, salt, and chemical corrosion. An internal agitator keeps material inside the hopper from clumping. An optional PVC cover keeps moisture out and your ice-melt in while in operation or transport. And, the feed rate lever is conveniently operated from inside the cab. Pretty handy on a long, cold workday.

A broadcast spreader like this is on our Top 10 List of implements because it’s a real 3-season tool. Fighting ice in the winter. Spreading fertilizer in the spring and spreading seed in the fall.

If you can, use a snowblower. There’s nothing like a tractor-powered snowblower (US CA) for turning a big job into a big job done. To remove snow from a gravel drive, use the skid shoes so you leave about 1 inch of snow behind. That way you’ll avoid picking up gravel that will run through your implement and be thrown into the grassy areas along your drive.

If the wind is blowing, start on the most upwind section of the driveway and set the chute deflector to discharge snow downwind.

If you’re confronted with snow that is very deep, raise the snowblower and remove a top layer of snow. Then lower the snowblower and make a second pass to remove the remaining snow.

When you’re done, make sure you clean out the auger/impeller of your snowblower before putting it away. Snow left in those areas of the machine can freeze solid, prevent the snowblower from operating properly at next start up, causing damage to the machine’s internal parts.

Read your operator’s manual thoroughly before operating your snowblower. Reviewing it as you get ready to start a new season is also a good idea.

No snowblower?

Hopefully you spent some time in late fall getting your gravel driveway ready for winter. Now the snow has fallen and it’s time to dig out. The good news is you can also use a rear blade (US CA) to remove snow from a gravel drive.

Set your rear blade at an angle with the end nearest the center of your drive well forward of the outside edge in order to pull snow away from the center and off the edge of your drive. If your rear blade has skid shoes, set them to keep the blade just above ground level.

If the snow is deeper than 10 inches, set the 3-point hitch high enough so the rear blade will take the top layer of snow off first. Then drop the 3-point hitch and rear blade to ground level and take the bottom layer of snow off. one or two passes at each layer should do the trick.

And remember, always read the Operator’s Manual before operating any piece of equipment and follow all operating and safety instructions.