Anyone use those 3 point to skid steer adaptors?

Hey all,

Another question regarding skid steers - I've seen alot of these 3 point-to-skid steer adapters for sale. They have them in both dummy style for hay spears, blades, scoops, etc. and with a hydraulically powered PTO for mowers, snowblowers, etc. I want to turn a back blade around and push snow with the Deere 317. Does anyone on here have one and can give me feedback on whether they're effective on a blade?

My skid steer is the only thing on the farm with an enclosed cab, so I'm planning on using it exclusively for snow removal this year. I also have an open station 4430 with a 9 foot Degelman blade, but I'd like to keep her in the shed.

The adapters work fine if you buy a well built one. You will need one that is pretty good as you can put a fair amount of down pressure on the blade with your skid steer. Your skid steer will work fine with snow under 6-8 inch deep. After that if you push with much of an angle it will just shove the skid steer side ways. You will do much better if you put tire chains on the rear axle of your skid steer. A skid steer is a pig on ice.

There's a big difference between pulling a blade and pushing a blade. Pulling on a 3 pt. hitch allows the blade to float along and not dig in. Pushing, especially on a short wheelbase machine like a skid steer, will want to dig in any chance it gets. You can't put the skid steer in float position to push. You could put skid shoes or gauge wheels on like truck plows have though. If you're working on paved area's you don't need the skid shoes. I put a straight blade on a skid steer and it dug up packed frozen snow better than a new grader blade on a snow bucket. One of these days I'm going to make an angle frame for it. A 3 pt. blade turned around might be too far out front on a skid steer. Dave

We use exactly what your describing every day to push up feed on our feeding floors. It works exceptionally well. We bought a factory pusher and went back to the blade. We have an older Allis Chalmers tractor blade and have wore dozens of cutting edges off it. We run it on a big Cat skidloader. It is also used to clean snow away from the bunks before we feed and for feedlot drives. Angled blades don't dig in very easy on frozen ground and most skidders have a float position on the loader arms but we rarely use it on ours. Only thing is these blades usually have less angle adjustment holes in the rear position and you may have to drill a couple new ones to get the angle you want.

The best investment I made on this cold windblown MN farm was a Cobert cattle waterer.

Second happiest was a 3pt snowblower, never ever to use a 3pt blade to try to move snow again. Oh how I hated those years....

Pulling the blade worked poorly. Pushing the blade backwards never worked well at all. It just dug in or lost traction - and that was with chains. I donno how it would work out with reconfiguring for going 'backwards' with the bobcat but just doesn't sound good to me.

Here on the prairie we get a lot of wind and drifting and hard crusts. Doesn't even have to snow & I get 2 foot high hard snow to move.

I'd sooner use the bobcat bucket than a blade to deal with this stuff.

You must be in a warmer climate where the snow goes away on it's own or wooded & no drifting ever to want to try to move snow with a 3pt blade on a low-belly bobcat.

Oh, I had blocked those memeories out, the hours & hours of scraping one bite of snow at a time, then reverse the blade & backing up & piling it into tall banks, then scraping more over, to repeat. And the wind blows over nite & the snow blows in higher than it was, so have to repeat it all again only now no place to go with the snow any more. Shutter.

_So_ happy to have the blower, and I use it in the little open tractor, quicker than trying to fire up a big one.

--->Paul

If you push in float position on a skid steer and the blade hits something hard or digs in even the slightest amount, you will be shot forward at about the speed of sound because the lift cylinders will instantly bottom out and then come back down a split second later. Even when you're not in float position if you hit something solid at 1 MPH in a skid steer, you'll be catapulted forward. Float is only for back blading. Dave

i use the compact loader till the snow banks get to high,after that i use the wheel loader.

Hey Fellas,

Thanks for the observations. Here's a little more info on what I have to deal with -

What I have is a 1000 foot long driveway as well as many buildings to clean up around. My FIL would use the 4430 with front mount Degelman blade and he'd do an awful job of it. That setup works well just blading the long drive, but it doesn't do so hot in cleaning up around the buildings. Last year, I'd start the 4430 to do the big blading, then start the 317 to do the outbuilding work, but I want to quit starting two diesel engines in the cold. I have an enclosed cab on the 317 and the 4430 is open station, and the 317 does a better job in the more important areas. Plus the 4430 is getting tired and starts hard, so the 317 wins the job.

I've been using the 317 with an 80 inch bucket, but once you get the bucket full, it's just like a V-plow and it takes 6 or more passes to do the long drive. So I was thinking that I'd use the 9 foot back blade on a 3 point to skid steer adaptor on the long drive then switch to the 80 inch bucket around the outbuildings. To get the blade to float, I plan on using a flexible connection to the third link - maybe a heavy chain. I also thought about putting skid shoes on it like 135 fan mentioned.

A new purpose built blade for a skid steer is ridiculously priced. I've also seen guys adapt pickup truck mounted blades to skid steers around here, but I don't think a pickup truck blade is built heavy enough to withstand the shock a skid steer can put on it.

Anyway, ideas are always welcome.

I've found truck plows with their spring trip work great on
skidsteers and utility tractors. I've got one on a 6500 lb tractor. So
nice to have the blade trip when you hit a rock rather than the
bucket lip fetching up.

They also don't tear a driveway up so bad. Just get an old plow and
skidsteer plate.

Problem with the adapters is that they hang the attachment, whatever it is, way out front of the skidloader. I have an ASV RC30, the little rubber tracked loader, and I have built or bought 15 attachments for it, so I know of what I speak. You would be better off taking your blade, and removing the 3 point frame, unless it has an angling cylinder, and rack setup, then welding in a generic skidloader attachment plate, or make a plate, yourself. I didn't have to do that for mine, I found an older bobcat snow blade, and just adapted the attachment plate. Even an old truck plow can be adapted, just weld the plate over the 2 prongs, and brace it up good from behind.

I tried a rear blade on a shidsteer. It was hard for me to keep the right angle and any little bump woul make the blade move up and down.

I attached a 6 ft blade to the 3 pt hitch with a rod thru the lower link attachment points and a chain thru the top link attachment point. It works really good. The only problem is you cannoy get enough speed to roll the snow on really long runs.

Also you need chains on the rear. Any ice patches and your stuck.

I made side screens out of plexi-glass and I am pretty comfortable in there.

Jerry

A skid steer can't go 20+ MPH either. Even skid steer snow blades use a spring trip like truck blades. Some blades are even made with skid steer mounts. Skid steer dozer blades aren't very common because of the short wheelbase of a skid steer. Snow blades are though but need to be mounted as close as possible to work decent. Skid shoes are a good idea. Dave

I did the truck blade deal. Fisher 7.5' mounted solid so i can put a little down pressure on it if I want. Works great. The bottom of this one trips and it does trip. I would probably stay away from the light duty Meyer and Western blades if you can.

I don't think a skidsteer is really any worse on a blade than a truck. My skidsteer weighs about the same as a full size pickup, but won't push that blade anywhere near as fast.

I have a gravel drive, so traction really isn't an issue. It's not so good on icy pavement though. I've often wondered how radial truck tires would work.

Probably don't have more than $200 invested in this.

Jeff