I have a BX23S with R-4 tires and I have never liked plowing snow with it because of poor steering in the snow. I generally leave the backhoe on for counterweight and remove the loader as I have a stand alone plow. The other day I removed the loader to mount the plow and although I am aware that the unit is very light in the front end with the backhoe on without the loader it never dawned on me that when plowing snow I am essentially producing that light front end effect when the plow is down and it's weight effectively off the machine. Is my theory possible and having the hoe on giving me great rear traction but making the front so light that steering is negatively impacted and I would be better off with a lighter implement on the back to get more weight on the front?
Is it possible?
- Thread starter js5020
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North Idaho Wolfman
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L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
Simple answer yes plowing with the BH on is negatively impacting your steering.
Try a something lighter or nothing.
dirtydeed
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B2650 BH77, U27-4R2, BX23TLBM, box blade, rear blade, flail mower, Stump Grinder
totally agree with NIW. You have too much weight hanging off the back, especially when plow is lowered to the ground and without the loader frame.
I realize mine is a different tractor but on my L3800 I leave the backhoe on and I work a lot of snow with the FEL. I haven't noticed any steering issues at all.
The biggest reason I leave it on is because the stabilizers come in really handy when I get stuck which happens once a year or so.
The biggest reason I leave it on is because the stabilizers come in really handy when I get stuck which happens once a year or so.
I have a B2650HSDC that has a front snowblower on it and just yesterday I removed the box blade on the back end and attached my bh77 backhoe to go down to our mail boxes to dig out the snow from where the county plow had pushed the snow. I noticed right away that the front end was lighter and the sterring wasn't as good. It didn't seem that my traction was affected, but I was glad to get the bh77 off when I was done.
dirtydeed
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B2650 BH77, U27-4R2, BX23TLBM, box blade, rear blade, flail mower, Stump Grinder
Maybe you missed the point of the original post...OP removes the loader as well. That makes a big difference when the BH is on.
I can actually feel a difference on my machine with BH on, loader on, but no FEL bucket.