plowing with small tractor

Right now i have a MTD 18hp tractor with a 48in blade. Use it on shopping center with lots of side walks. I like it but want to add power lift (i now lift with deck lift lever),cab, and lights, posibly a spreader. Can anyone tell me how i would go about doing this? ANyone with small tractors tell me about theres?<br>thanks <br>nick

 

I use a John Deere 430 diesel with hydaulic lift, down presure, and hydraulic angle and use a 54&quot; blade or a 48 inch 2 stage blower for deep drifts. I built a cab with heat for it for around $250 and have bar tires on it for traction with an extra 300 pounds on the 3 pt. hitch. It will stack snow 4 feet high and is great for doing small areas. We ran it 14 hours during the storm before we added fuel to it. I put 4 hallogen lights on the front, two on the back with a amber flasher for warning. If you want to see it, it can be seen on my website on my equipment page. There is also a link to a picture at night of it plowing. <p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

 

Eric, do you have any plans for cab and lights? Can you tell me how to build one and light it? How many hp is your tractor?<br>Its very nice looking. Thanks <br>Nick

 

Nick, I built a metal frame for it and used the U channel that plumbers use to hang heavy pipe over head. I welded the frame together, but I bolt the cab to the frame mounts I made for the tractor. I have seen cabs that cost over $3000 and they mount to the fender deck, which in turn is mounted to the frame with 1/4 inch bolts. They are very wobbley, but mine is very solid. I covered the top and sides with plywood. I am going to replace it with the treated plywood or something nicer so it looks a bit nicer. This has lasted for almost 8 winters now, plus I leave it on for early spring aerating and late fall aerating also. It takes more of a beating on a rough lawn than when plowing. The lighting is simple. If your serious about building one, let me know. I can email you some digital pictures from all angles so you can figure out how to build it. Sure is nice in that warm cab when it's cold and windy outside. I can step you through the wiring when you get to that point.<p>My JD has a 20 HP diesel Yanmar engine, power steering, 3pt. hitch, with the weights, cab and plow, it weighs about 2,000 pounds and has excellent traction. I hope this helps. Email me if you want more details.<p>----------<br>&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.townserver.com/elm/&quot;&gt;Eric@ELM&lt;/a&gt;<br>

 

A few of my friends plow with Wheelhorse tractors. They have like 42&quot; blades. One of the wheelhorses has a power lift. Maybe you could find a wheelhorse tractor for parts a pull a power lift off it. As far as a cab, Eric's one looks well built. Especially with all the lighting, that would help in shopping centers. For a spreader,&lt;a href=&quot;http://www.northerntool.com&quot;&gt;Northern Tool and Equipment&lt;/a&gt; has some that you pull behind your tractor. They have broadcast or drop spreaders. You can also buy a Buyers one that operates off the tractor battery.<p>Bryan<p>----------<br>The Snowplow Homepage<br>http://www.snowplow.web.com

 

I plow with a small tractor also. I have a 1994 Honda 5518 (18 Horsepower) gas. It is all wheel steering and 2 and 4 wheel drive. I have a front end loader with a 4 foot bucket which can lift over 8 feet in the air. I bought the tractor with a puch blade on it and to use it I had to take off the bucket assembly and when I did that I had clearance of about 6 inches from the ground and although its all run off hydralics working in some of the deep snow we get here in New Hampshire made it a nightmare. I used my bucket for a season back on the rig and did ok. I still wasn't happy. I visited a friend of mine and we built a I beam frame with the exact same mounting brackets that attached my bucket to the lifting arms. I then built an under shoe for the plow to run on and by using my tilting lever i can tilt my blade so far forward that it is under the arms or bring it back so far if I am stacking snow. with all the snow we have here over 18 inches from the last storm over the weekend. my quarter mile drive way looks like a tunnel as you drive out. I have a 6 foot plow with a 7 foot polyurethane cutting edge on it. Its been on for two seasons and has over 500 hours of plowing and road work and shows little or no signs of wear. I can also move snow onto grass areas to stack so my parking areas and driveways are wide and clean. I think that there are many applications for tractors in plowing. Sidewalks are a breeze to do and with good edges you don't have to worry about ruining grass, shrubs and trees. Curtis in Worcester, Mass makes a bunch of different cabs for many models unfortunately for me they make none for Honda. I do gravel and normal roads as well as class 5 and 6 types.<p><p>vince <br>New Hampshire

 

thanks eric. Im very interested.Send me some pics.And info on lighting. My email is cbo2003@netzero.net. Thanks again Eric

 

Vince do u have any lights on it?<p> NICK<br>

 

Nick,<p>I do have lights on my tractor, front and rear. I am going to install some up on my roll bar. I have some pictures as it sits now. I'll get them on in the next couple of days to you. I'll include some of the snow that we had to move this year so far. our piles are high and wide.<p><p>vince<br>email vincentp@mail.tds.net<br>

 

thats great love to see them <br>Nick

 

For several years I've used a JD 318 (18 hp) with a blower for cutting back banks along sidewalks when they got too high to deal with. Never had a blade for it until this year, and never tried the blade in snow until today. The blade is a homegrown that I built last summer for moving topsoil in conjunction with a rear mount York rake.<p>I built a front lift attachment and hydraulic drive system to run a sweeper. As long as I had a way to lift and angle it, I thought a blade would be nice to have, so I built a rugged, low blade just for dirt work. Got it out and played with it today,, little sucker works just fine in snow too! Don't know that I would go out of my way to use it but it was fun to play with.<p>My next half baked idea, which I am working on now, is to mount a hydraulicly driven blower on the same lift frame. Then I can swap from broom to blower by pulling two pins and two hoses, then drive intot he other attachment, connect two hoses and put in two pins and be back at it.<p>Someday I'm going to land one of the bids which have a mess of sidewalks and I'll have the option of a broom for light snow and a blower for heavier and be able to use either or both with no hassle sapping over.