Tractor loader quick attach snow plow.

[airrj]

Today's project in the shop is a snow plow attachment for front end loader on a 55hp Kubota tractor. My neighbor attached an old Fisher snow plow to the bucket of his tractor last year to help clear his 3 mile stretch of Wyoming private road. The method of attachment was a two small cleats welded inside the bucket with the old pickup truck plow pivot mounts attached to the cleats. This was a hokey setup at best and made for an extremely long plow. However, it worked.

Enter me. Here is the plow as I got it. A prefect starting point for one main reason; it was free.

For layout of the project, I will be using my wife's Kioti DK45 tractor. Since they both use the same Skid Steer Quick Attach plate, I can use either tractor.

This is the starting point. I purchased this SSQA plate from Titan Distributors. The plate that I bought is 5/16” thick and is open in the center, instead of a full plate. The open plate vs. the full plate really didn't make a big difference to me so I saved a few bucks and got the open. The plate is a very nice unit, and I would recommend it to anyone. I bought mine on ebay for $95 and it included free shipping. I am very happy with Titan. Here is a link to the plate on their webpage: http://www.titandistributorsinc.com...ates/5-16-attachment-cut-out-mount-plate.html

So to start out, I took a 44” long piece of 4”x4”x1/4” angle and welded it to the bottom of the plate. This angle will bear the load of the plow, so that is why it is as large as it is.

I took a few minutes to radius the corners of the 4” angle just to make the whole unit a little cleaner.

Here is the SSQA plate mounted with the angle tacked on. I am taking some measurements to set the height and the length of the plow frame. My goal is to shorten the plow frame a much as possible to make the unit more compact.

Here I am taking a few quick measurements with the plow swung all the way in one direction. Roughly mocked up, I have 8” of clearance between the blade and the loader with the plow at full angle.

Now, I have the old junk hydraulics stripped off of the plow, and the cut lines marked.

Time to breakout the plasma cutter!!!

And a few minutes later I have a shortened plow frame. Time for some cleanup.

After cleanup of the plasma cut, and some squaring up of the cuts. I then ground a healthy chamfer on all of the places that the plow frame will be welded to the angle. I wanted to have plenty of weld penetration in these areas.

Here is the blade mocked up ready for welding.

And here it is mounted and ready to go. At least mostly ready.

Here you can see the clearance with the blade angled. The pivot will be manual with a bolt holding it in position. This unit will be used mostly to clear a 3 mile section of road, as mentioned earlier, so the operator won't be changing the angle often like you would doing a driveway. So manual made good sense.

So, now it is back in the shop and up on stands so I don't have to work on the ground.

The plan tomorrow, is to add a few gussets, and to triangulate the plow frame to the upper part of the plate. Indicated very crudely by my 2 minute drawing. Then a little paint and deliver it back to my buddy.

Thanks for checking it out. I will try to post more completed photos tomorrow.

 

[TheEquineFencer]

Looks like a neat set up. I'd have kept the option of the hydraulics though. I'll bet later down the road, no pun intended, you're going to see you wish you had it. After having to run a snow plow with a manual turned blade before, it's a PITA.

 

[airrj]

The hydraulics were trashed. I would have had to start from scratch. So it was never an option. Thanks for looking.

 

[DekeT]

I had a similar setup on compact tractor. I found the extended distance to the front of the plow put too much twist on the loader frames and tended to rotate the entire tractor. I ended up just welding up a quick hitch that mounted the plow to the tractor frame. The loader arms will last much longer when used in equal proportions while using forks or a bucket. Yeah the companies sell the plows but they beat the snot out of the equipment.

 

[Joe69]

I just did a similar thing with an identical plow on my skid steer last fall. I kept the cylinders, and cut the frame just behind the rear cylinder mounts. I also engineered some "slop" into the mounting, so the blade can self level, to an extent.

Nice work!

Joe

 

[jimgood]

I was wondering about something like this. I have a similar size New Holland tractor and I imagine you have to take small bites with the plow. If you load it up with too much snow, it's just going to push the front end over.