Grader-style snow push for Zero Turn

[Baby Backhoe Dirtworks]

My apologies if this is a topic that's been discussed on here already. My teenage brother is wanting to make a few bucks clearing snow with his zero turn, and I'm thinking about what would best suit his needs. He's on a Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 (I know, wrong colour, but we can't all afford Orange right off the bat, so don't hold it against him).
Cub Cadet sells a front mounted trip blade (no down pressure that I can tell beyond the weight of the blade). My thought is (particularly after watching a couple videos of it in use) that it won't be capable of digging very hard for packed snow. Would wiser minds than my own consider mounting a trip blade underneath somehow, maybe utilizing the mower mounts? A person could make it so the blade has operator and machine weight bearing down, and by having the blade underneath the whole unit would be shorter to mitigate problems in tight spaces.
It occurs to me that the hydrostatic drives are made for light duty mowing applications, and he might just burn them out in a hurry if he turns the unit into a proper snow pusher. We're 6 or 7 hrs north of Minot, ND, so not the wet heavy snow usually that many of you Americans see, but still plenty enough weight I would think to strain a transmission.
I'd appreciate photos and any tips from anyone who has actually attempted something similar, but also any thoughts from any older codgers who've put some thought into the idea and went another route. What route did you end up choosing instead, and why? Thanks in advance!

 

[Caden]

I wound't consider putting a blade on a zero turn. They can barely hold their own on a damp hill, I can't imagine he'll get much out of it in the snow. Maybe with tire chains it could get around....

And no, the drives are not intended for grunt work like that.

 

[KKBL]

Get a used 4x4 truck with a plow.

 

[Bee-Positive]

As Caden says I don't think the transmission is designed for that kind of stress (torque) AND it's only 2WD.

Having said that I used a 26HP 2WD Craftsman lawn tractor with a front snow blower, chains on all four tires (couldn't steer without the front chains) and rear wheel weights for years. It was a beast. I had a front blade for it and that did not work well for snow at all. Ended up cracking the frame some how so I got a BX.

I imagine fabricating a blade underneath the ZT1 would push very little snow before building up possibly bottoming out the mower and loosing traction.

 

[mikester]

All you need to do is to buy a left handed hammer and your Club Cadet will be ready for heavy duty plowing all winter. Do’t forget to top up your blinker fluid. Synthetic is best.

 

[Bee-Positive]

I learned something new - I know, how is that possible, right!!! The more tube videos I watched the more I'm convinced plowing with a ZT is possible - BUT....

- All the videos were on paved driveways.
- Most of the videos showed them plowing relatively small (2" - 4") amounts of snow.
- A couple did show them plowing deeper snow but usually less than a foot.
- Almost none of them had banks of snow and the couple that did had a hard time pushing them back, one got temporarily stuck trying to so so. I end up with banks over 5' and 15'-20' at the base every season.
- Taking off the mower deck seemed to helped.
- One video showed that angling the plow interfered with the front tires, so choose wisely.
- Plow attachment prices ranged from cheap DIY to OMG just by an ATV/truck/tractor.
- I don't know enough about how robust ZT's are and if they would hold up over time.

Don't let our negative opinions extinguish your creativity - go for it. Just be cautiously optimistic.

 

[Caden]

Just be cautiously optimistic.

Good points. Still though, a ZT1 cub cadet is a cheap entry mower, I have to imagine the drives are low end of robustness. That breakdown would stand to really eat through the money made plowing.

 

[Bee-Positive]

Good points. Still though, a ZT1 cub cadet is a cheap entry mower, I have to imagine the drives are low end of robustness. That breakdown would stand to really eat through the money made plowing.

Yup.
It's like giving my son advice - if he's got a mind to try something he'll try it - learning by doing. Wonder where he get's that from??? I choose my battles, offer advice, give encouragement, and try to minimize the damage when possible. I've never said "I told you so" and sometimes he does things that teachs me.

 

[TheOldHokie]

My apologies if this is a topic that's been discussed on here already. My teenage brother is wanting to make a few bucks clearing snow with his zero turn, and I'm thinking about what would best suit his needs. He's on a Cub Cadet Ultima ZT1 (I know, wrong colour, but we can't all afford Orange right off the bat, so don't hold it against him).
Cub Cadet sells a front mounted trip blade (no down pressure that I can tell beyond the weight of the blade). My thought is (particularly after watching a couple videos of it in use) that it won't be capable of digging very hard for packed snow. Would wiser minds than my own consider mounting a trip blade underneath somehow, maybe utilizing the mower mounts? A person could make it so the blade has operator and machine weight bearing down, and by having the blade underneath the whole unit would be shorter to mitigate problems in tight spaces.
It occurs to me that the hydrostatic drives are made for light duty mowing applications, and he might just burn them out in a hurry if he turns the unit into a proper snow pusher. We're 6 or 7 hrs north of Minot, ND, so not the wet heavy snow usually that many of you Americans see, but still plenty enough weight I would think to strain a transmission.
I'd appreciate photos and any tips from anyone who has actually attempted something similar, but also any thoughts from any older codgers who've put some thought into the idea and went another route. What route did you end up choosing instead, and why? Thanks in advance!

Lots of but people with lots of opinions.

In real life my neighbor has used his Cub Cadet M60 Tank and a front blade to plow our shared 8' wide x 1/4 mile lane plus his personal area for the last 20 years.



Its fine up to 10" to 12" of snow but you have to get on it early and stay with it. Surprisingly fast and a lot more traction than a 2wd garden tractor.

These days I do the heavy stuff with my L3901 and loader and he does cleanup behind me. Makes a great tag team.