Front-Mount Pickup Snowblower

Front-Mount Pickup Snowblower SNOWBLOWERS Snowblowers 30-6-34 Why back into drifts with a tractor-mounted snowblower when you can drive into them instead? Eric Jones mounted his snowblower on front of his 2004 Ford Super Duty pickup. He says it clears snow faster than a snowplow and even with its own engine, the modified snowblower is no heavier than a standard snowplow. "A V-plow for the truck would have weighed 960 lbs., and the snowblower is around 900 lbs.," he says. "It doesn't bottom out, hasn't needed rear end weights, and handles well traveling down the road." Jones built a subframe for the snowblower to hold the Geo Tracker 4-cylinder engine and gearbox that powers the blower. Fittings on the subframe connect to the 3-pt. hitch arm fittings, and a hydraulic cylinder mounted to the subframe attaches to the fitting for the top link. When the snowblower is mounted, extending the cylinder lowers the blower. Dismounted, extending the cylinder raises the subframe. Power is transferred from the 80 hp engine to the 1,000-rpm impeller with the aid of a homemade gearbox. "I needed a strong and inexpensive gearbox, so I used a drive axle from an older Ford pickup and welded the spider gears together," explains Jones.""I put a plug where the one axle was and connected the impeller drive to the other axle. It has a 3:55 gear ratio, so I run the engine at 3,500 rpm's to get 1,000 rpm's for the impeller." Jones bolted 16-in. long steel plates to the truck frame as the base for the truck portion of the mount. The plates extend out and below the front bumper. He then welded a framework of 3 by 2-in., 1/4-in. thick rectangular tubing uprights to the steel plates. Cross members are 2-in. steel pipe. When the blower is not in place, the frame looks like a heavy-duty push bar. The subframe of the blower consists of 2 by 3-in. angle iron uprights with flood lights mounted on a top cross bar. To connect the subframe to the frame on the pickup, Jones split a 32-in. length of 2 1/2-in. iron pipe lengthwise and welded one half across the subframe uprights that face the pickup frame. "To mount the snowblower, I just drive up to it, matching uprights and drop the subframe split pipe onto the top pipe cross member on the pickup frame," explains Jones. "Spring-loaded pins at either end of the pipe lock the subframe in place." An electric-over-hydraulic pump raises and lowers the blower via the 3-pt. hitch when it's mounted. To detach the blower, Jones releases the spring-loaded pins and engages the hydraulics to lift the subframe free. All controls for the snowblower and the Geo engine, except for lift and lower, are placed in a modified console in the truck. Jones took the cover off the original console and built a new one to accommodate a full set of gauges and controls. The lift and lower control are mounted to the truck's standard transmission stick shift. I can adjust the blower height without ever taking my hand off the shift," says Jones. "The front-mounted snowblower is ideal for clearing snow right up to a building or other obstacle. And if I want to use it on a tractor, I just disconnect the 3-pt. hitch from the subframe, and it's ready to go." Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Eric Jones, 372 Temple Rd., Wilton, Maine 04294 (ph 207 778-5144; mejones@usadatanet.net).

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