# skidder snow plow



## Barnie (Dec 3, 2014)

Does anyone have a snow plow mounted on their skidder ??? Im currently building my own and I'm at a point where I'm not sure how to mount it, I have a 648e john deere skidder, I have an idea of The skidder mount which is pretty simple but I'm trying to figure out how to make the blade follow the contour of the road, making the blade angle either way is easy to build but how can i make the blade follow the contour of the road. The plow is 13 feet long (my skidders 10' wide), Ill try to post pics of the plow tomorrow. any ideas will help.


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## SliverPicker (Dec 3, 2014)

To follow the road you need to make the blade " float. " like a plow on a pickup. I don't know how this is done, but I bet someone on here does.


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## Rookie1 (Dec 3, 2014)

Wouldn't the skidded slso follow the contour of the road? I'd just pin it on and go.


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## Barnie (Dec 3, 2014)

SliverPicker said:


> To follow the road you need to make the blade " float. " like a plow on a pickup. I don't know how this is done, but I bet someone on here does.


My skidder has a float valve installed for the front blade, I want it to have some movement, a friend has a rigid plow on his skidder and it doesn't do a very good job, on the flats sure it goes good but once he hits ant uneven part of the road he leaves a drift because the blade lifts off the road, this is what I'm trying to eliminate.


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## northmanlogging (Dec 3, 2014)

Couple of drag links on either side, like independent suspension, use a chain to keep it from sagging too far when you want to pick it up. Should be simple enough to pin them on to the outside of the skidders blade, maybe weld some ears on to the back side, then criss cross a couple of chains from the top down for lateral support.

Skidder blades suck for building roads cause the front axle pivots, and the rear axle is fixed, making for a wavy road and a pain in the D*** to hold a grade.


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## firebrick43 (Dec 4, 2014)

I Know crap about skidders. Do they have a drawbar? The best way to put plows on a tractors is to have a long pushbar that mounts solid to the plows pivot point (can pivot side to side but can't pivot up/down in Relation to the push bar) runs the length of the tractor and has a dog leg that slips over the drawbar and pins to it. Seen a few attach to final drive housings(allis Chalmers) and some to the lower links of a 3 point hitch(fords without drawbars). The push bar pivots right in front of the dogleg up/down. In front has a mount that has a single acting cylinder attached to an arm with a chain that lift plow. Also the mount has some type of slot or guides that the pushbar can freely move up and down in but not side to side. Lining the inside of the slot with uhmw is a good idea. This type of set up places a majority of the stress onto the drawbar where a tractor is designed to take it. A lot of equipment is weak up front and leads to frame or even engine damage.


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## Hddnis (Dec 4, 2014)

Mr. HE


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## Hddnis (Dec 4, 2014)

Mr. HE


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## slowp (Dec 5, 2014)

Skidders are made for skidding. There are very few skidder operators who can blade a road with one or push snow on a road well. I've seen lots of attempts. Our snow is concrete in texture so graders and cats are used to plow woods roads. In fact, it is a good thing to have a wing on the grader if using in the winter so there is room for more snow. The evil Forest Service insists that roads be plowed full width and turnouts plowed out too. The plowing for recreational use does not seem to require that, but if it is for a timber sale, it has to be perfect, which made me happier since I had to drive on those roads. 

The cat opens up the road and the grader keeps it open. The rule of equipment is that if you park your cat at the far end, the snow gods will reward you with a huge snow "event". That's just the way it is. Snowshoes should be carried during winter because of that fact. Snowshoes can prevent wallowing and make the hike in a little less work.


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## Gologit (Dec 5, 2014)

slowp said:


> Skidders are made for skidding. There are very few skidder operators who can blade a road with one or push snow on a road well. I've seen lots of attempts. Our snow is concrete in texture so graders and cats are used to plow woods roads. In fact, it is a good thing to have a wing on the grader if using in the winter so there is room for more snow. The evil Forest Service insists that roads be plowed full width and turnouts plowed out too. The plowing for recreational use does not seem to require that, but if it is for a timber sale, it has to be perfect, which made me happier since I had to drive on those roads.
> 
> The cat opens up the road and the grader keeps it open.



Well said. I've plowed snow, or tried to, with a skidder. It had the short blade that was limited in down travel and I mostly just took the tops off the drifts until the Cat got there. I tried a grading a helicopter landing with the same skidder. I could have done a neater job with explosives. The helicopter guys thought so, too.
A little wider blade...like wider than the tires by a foot or so... that would float and make good ground contact and that you could adjust for angle might work but then it would be a pita for skidding.


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## Barnie (Dec 7, 2014)

Gologit said:


> Well said. I've plowed snow, or tried to, with a skidder. It had the short blade that was limited in down travel and I mostly just took the tops off the drifts until the Cat got there. I tried a grading a helicopter landing with the same skidder. I could have done a neater job with explosives. The helicopter guys thought so, too.
> A little wider blade...like wider than the tires by a foot or so... that would float and make good ground contact and that you could adjust for angle might work but then it would be a pita for skidding.


My blade is the same width as the tires as is but the plow I'm making will extend pass the right tire about a foot, I tried to post pic of the build but can't because it says file to large but ill try again tonight,


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## Snufferwood (Dec 18, 2016)

Hey can I get some pics of how u attached your blade? I find myself in the same situation and am trying to find ideas on how other people have attached snow plow angle blades in the past. I'm hoping to just come up with a quick change system that will reuse the brushrake dog ears to pin it on. Any helpful ideas and/or suggestions would be appreciated!


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## Barnie (Dec 18, 2016)

Snufferwood said:


> Hey can I get some pics of how u attached your blade? I find myself in the same situation and am trying to find ideas on how other people have attached snow plow angle blades in the past. I'm hoping to just come up with a quick change system that will reuse the brushrake dog ears to pin it on. Any helpful ideas and/or suggestions would be appreciated!


I build the bade and never attached to my skidder, built all the brackets for the pins for the skidder blade. Ill take a couple pics of what i got. ill try to sent them to you soon


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## bnmc98 (Dec 20, 2016)

I have a ten foot straight blade on mine. I plow, though not all the time as we do have a grader and a cat. If the road is maintained throughout the year, not a problem.
The problem for me becomes 3 fold for other reasons. 
Obstacles in the road like rocks are very unforgiving with a fixed mount and non floating dozer.
Drifts are harder to clear with a fixed blade and light machine
with a fixed blade you get a berm on both sides, BAD for windy areas that are prone to drifting.
Other than that, they use me quite a bit because its stinkin fast.....


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## TonyK (Dec 20, 2016)

Take a look at the UNIMOG DIN mounting system. Our plow mount has ears that set down inside cups on the vehicle on top and the bottom is secured with some pretty serious bolts. The plow takes about 10 minutes to mount or remove. The plow is a Schmidt 3.4 meter sectional plow with 4 individual panels that allow the center sections of the blade to ride high on the crown of our dirt roads but the outer sections ride lower on the edges. My opinion is a longer plow is better. That way you can jam the banks way back from the safety of the center of the road without having to get the vehicle too close to the edge. Wings would work too but the additional hardware make them impractical for our setup.


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