Front Loader Blade

[Bookman]

I put a front loader blade on my Farmall 340. I tried it out after the recent snow storm here in Central Nebraska. It does not push much snow at all. The tractor seems to slide and spin alot. Do loaders take weight off the rear wheels? The rear wheels have liquid in them and I have weights on the rear. Would even more weight help significantly. If so, I could leave a rear blade on. I took it off since I was using the tractor to pull some equipment. Chains seems kind of price unless I can find some cheap used ones for my 13.6 x 36 tires. Advice?

 

[old]

Yes loader take weight off the rear tires as long as the loader is up in the air. If down on the ground it can still take a little bit of weight off but not much

 

[Bookman]

I was having trouble getting the tractor up a moderate incline even when not pushing snow. Also, I had to be careful not to spin the tires when backing up if the frontend was even slightly down hill.

 

[rustred]

U better get some rear wheel weights happening. Put 3 on each side. Even load the tires if u have to.

 

[used red MN]

Refer to this recent discussion on Tractor Talk. Using them is like night and day, if you have a pretty driveway they will likely be less appealing.
Tractor tire chains

 

[Bookman]

I do have liquid in the tires and wheel weights on.

 

[old]

In snow and ice tire chains can be a must have thing

 

[Bookman]

Thanks, just a rock and gravel driveway/road.

 

[rustyfarmall]

Pure and simple, you need chains. Adding more weight will accomplish nothing. I live in southwest Iowa. Have all of my life and always out in the country. I have moved a LOT of snow with my H equipped with a #31 loader and a blade. Couldn't have done any of it without chains.

For what it's worth, the H has new rear tires and 2 sets of wheel weights.

 

[Pete7]

I have a 340 with a front loader and had the same lack of traction in snow and especially ice until I put chains on. Much better now. I bought used chains and had to add a section to get them to fit. Saved money but not time by going that route.

 

[Bookman]

Thanks much. Looks like I need chains. I will start looking for used chains. I do have a 420 John Deere crawler, which has no problems with snow and ice. It, however, has a narrow blade and requires more passed to clear wide enough path for a vehicle.

 

[Pete in Holland MI]

It is a misnomer that tractor tires would do well in the snow. They don't. Tractor tires are designed for dirt. Their rubber compound is pretty hard. Actual snow tires (like automotive) are made of a softer rubber compound. You need weight in the back (yes.....throwing the weight of a loader beyond the front axle does lighten the rear axle). The correct chains for your tires are needed to get power to the ground.

 

[rustyfarmall]

(quoted from post at 16:25:46 01/20/23) Thanks much. Looks like I need chains. I will start looking for used chains. I do have a 420 John Deere crawler, which has no problems with snow and ice. It, however, has a narrow blade and requires more passed to clear wide enough path for a vehicle.

I bought my chains at a consignment auction. Nobody really knew what they would fit. They were just laying there in a pile. I took a chance and bought them and was pleasantly surprised to find they were a perfect fit for the 12.4x38s on my H.

I had fears they would be too long, and was prepared to shorten them but didn't need to.

 

[nashranch]

(quoted from post at 16:25:46 01/20/23) Thanks much. Looks like I need chains. I will start looking for used chains. I do have a 420 John Deere crawler, which has no problems with snow and ice. It, however, has a narrow blade and requires more passed to clear wide enough path for a vehicle.

Bookman...I just bought a 350 utility yesterday in snow country. It had a 7 foot snow blade on the loader frame. The tractor came with loaded back tires plus wheel weights and chains. I wound imagine I'll be selling the chains if you're interested

This post was edited by nashranch on 01/21/2023 at 07:31 am.

 

[sandcastle1]

needs chains to push a loader, it would not hurt to have the blade on the back for more weight

 

[caterpillar guy]

Hang 500 - 1000 on the back and you will be able to go about anywhere you need to. Just hang the blade with another 500 it will work without chains. Not saying they don't work just never in 60 years needed them on anything. Plow snow with a 574diesel with a 2050series A loader and a big old snow bucket sized heavy bucket.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Are you trying to push straight ahead or angle the blade and throw snow off to the side?

Loaders work best with straight ahead pushing. An angled blade hung way out in front puts a lot of extra leverage on the tractor and will shove your front end sideways like nothing.

My guess is this is a converted pickup truck blade, and you just hung it on the end of the loader by the pivot points that it uses to mount to the truck. That puts the blade way out in front, as much as 3 feet, way more than a bucket. The blade is just going to shove you around in any kind of snow, no matter how much weight you have, or what kind of chains you're using.

If you're going to use a blade it needs to be tucked up as close to the end of the loader arms as possible for best results.

 

[Bookman]

Thanks but I think the chains would be too short. The rear tires I have on the Farmall 340 are 13.6 x 36.

 

[Bookman]

It is an IH blade on an IH loader but it does hang out in front. I do have the blade angled, but it does not move the front end of the tractor around.
The back wheels just start to spin. Thanks

 

[Bookman]

I do have a six foot land plane that I could leave on the back and give it a try. I have a pretty hilly road and I was having trouble just getting the tractor up a hill without it even pushing any snow. Also if the front end was down hill just a bit, I had problems backing up. The rear wheels would just spin. Fortunately, as I have mentioned elsewhere, I do have a 420 John Deere crawler, and it goes through ice and snow very well. I got it out and finished the job. Thanks