Transform Your Tractor Into a Snow-Removal Machine

Now that the temperatures have fallen along with the first winter snows, you may be wondering how you can harness the power of your tractor to clear away snow from your property. After all, a compact tractor can serve many uses with the right attachments, and snow removal is just one of the ways you can keep using your tractor straight through the winter.

Bobcat of York, Frederick, Lancaster, Hagerstown and Adams County is your local farm tractor dealer, with four locations throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland. Here are the ways you can alter your tractor to make it a lean, mean snow-removal machine.

Examining Your Current Set-Up

In order to figure out which attachments are best for snow removal, you’ll want to look at how your tractor is currently outfitted. A front loader is a great attachment for scooping up snow, so you won’t have to alter that. Loader buckets can have a snow blade swapped out instead. If your tractor has a rear three-point hitch, you can use this with rear-blade and blower attachments, and a front hitch will work with a front blower attachment.

Winterizing Your Tractor

Your tractor needs a little special care when you use it in cold temperatures. For example, you’ll want to use a winterized diesel fuel that won’t clog up your fuel system or lower engine performance.

Make sure that oil is clean and runny and that the oil filter is clean so that your engine stays lubricated. You’ll also want to air up tires and ensure they’re in great condition, since riding on bad tires is especially dangerous on slippery surfaces. Turf patterned tires are the best for snow and ice because of the traction they offer. You may also want to install tire chains for extra traction, but only if you’re plowing on dirt or gravel roads or turf. The chains and the road may be damaged if you drive with chains on pavement.

Cozy Up in a Cab

If you want to get some winter use out of your tractor, but don’t want to face the harsh elements while you do so, it may be worth your while to install a heated cab. Some cabs are removable while others are permanent, so think about whether you want a temporary cab or a more permanent option. If your climate-control options include air conditioning, then a permanent cab might keep you from boiling in the heat in the summer just as it keeps you from freezing in the winter.

Bucket, Blade or Blower?

Your three primary choices with snow removal are a bucket, a blade or a blower.

Using a front-end loader means you’ll have to determine the correct bucket height and tilt angle to avoid damaging your bucket or loader arms if they were to hit the sidewalk or road. A bucket is ideal when scooping up snow and dumping it, so it can remove great amounts of snow from an area.

Blades can be easier to use because they make more sense for plowing. However, blades are only capable of pushing or pulling materials in one direction at a time and they can’t remove it and deposit it elsewhere. You can angle a blade so that it pushes the snow towards the side of the tractor as it moves forward, creating a path through the snow.

A hybrid attachment that involves both a bucket and a blade is called a snow pusher and this can be a worthwhile purchase if you do a lot of snow removal and need more professional results.

Blowers are designed to attach to either the front or the rear of your tractor, depending on how it mounts attachments. There are more rear blower options, but these require you to operate your tractor in reverse, which can be painful and challenging to do for long stretches of road. Front blowers may require some alterations to make them work on your tractor, but the extra expense can be worth the headache saved.

Operation Tips

• Use four-wheel drive for the best traction possible.
• Warm up your tractor engine for a few minutes before use.
• Clear off excess snow from your tractor when you’re done.

Visit our website to take a look at our great stock of new and used ag tractors for sale at our dealerships in Pennsylvania and Maryland. You can even discuss financing options with our friendly staff. Bobcat of York, Frederick, Lancaster, Hagerstown and Adams County, owned by Crownstone Equipment, proudly serves the cities of Lancaster, PA, and Baltimore, MD.