Hydraulic upgradable rear blade?

[Newaterman]

In an ideal world I would have gotten rear remotes and a hydraulic swing/angle rear blade when I bought my LX, but hindsight is 20/20 and I didn’t realize that will likely be my ideal set up (in combination with the bucket) for moving snow at my property.

the question being now, are there any rear blades that you can buy as a manual and are easily upgradeable/retrofittable for hydraulic swing/angle when I can afford to get rear remotes added?

Photos of my recently cleaned driveway as a reward for reading all of that.

 

[i7win7]

Land Pride

www.landpride.com

 

[jyoutz]

In an ideal world I would have gotten rear remotes and a hydraulic swing/angle rear blade when I bought my LX, but hindsight is 20/20 and I didn’t realize that will likely be my ideal set up (in combination with the bucket) for moving snow at my property.

the question being now, are there any rear blades that you can buy as a manual and are easily upgradeable/retrofittable for hydraulic swing/angle when I can afford to get rear remotes added?

Photos of my recently cleaned driveway as a reward for reading all of that.
View attachment 73635 View attachment 73636

My Bison blade is manual tilt and offset, but is set up with mounting holes and brackets for hydraulic cylinders. But mine is a heavy blade with category 2 pins. The same company may make a lighter cat 1 blade for your tractor.

Southwest Distributing Co. / Catalog

Browse through our online catalog. Search by name, part number, manufacture, or category. Including by not limited to: 3 Point Equipment; Backhoes and Front End Loaders; Dozer and Earth Moving Equipment; Generators, Gas Engines, and Electric Motors; Grain Handling Equipment; Hay Handling and...

www.swdistributing.com

 

[mcfarmall]

This was an easy, inexpensive job.

 

[Newaterman]

Land Pride

www.landpride.com

I didn’t realize those landpride blades also came as a manual version. Until you look at one of the PDF’s it’s not readily apparent. That’s what I get for not digging through all of it.

This was an easy, inexpensive job.

“Oh jeeze hun, I’ve got to buy a welder and learn to weld in order to save money. It just has to be done!”

thanks for the photos, that looks slick.

 

[PoTreeBoy]

If you're sure you want hydraulic, you could buy the hydraulic model. Then remove and store the cylinders, etc. and replace them with clevis ratchet turnbuckles or fab adjustable links similar to stabilizers.

 

[jimh406]

The RB16 and 26 blades can be updated to hydraulic. You’ll need the ports in the rear though to hook it up. You can read the manual to see how hard it is. GP Outdoors on youtube has a 16 series that has been converted. He also has an LX model.

 

[jyoutz]

I bought my blade because of the weight and full adjustability for angle, tilt, and offset. I thought about installing hydraulics because the blade is set up for that, but didn’t because I like to frequently turn my blade 180 degrees when grading or snowplowing my gravel driveway. I don’t think there’s a way to do that with hydraulics.

 

[mikester]

If you have a welder and a torch it's "easy" to modify any piece of equipment.

"You can do anything you want, it just might take a little longer and cost a little more."

 

[Papadiver]

This was an easy, inexpensive job.

Where is a good place to buy the hydraulic cylinder?

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

I bought my blade because of the weight and full adjustability for angle, tilt, and offset. I thought about installing hydraulics because the blade is set up for that, but didn’t because I like to frequently turn my blade 180 degrees when grading or snowplowing my gravel driveway. I don’t think there’s a way to do that with hydraulics.

Look at Mcfarmall pictures. That bar lets you swing blade around 180 and attach cylinder to other side.

 

[jyoutz]

Look at Mcfarmall pictures. That bar lets you swing blade around 180 and attach cylinder to other side.

It might be worth considering if you you attach with a pin and don’t need to unbolt/ reattach while working. I typically use the blade in forward cutting positions to pull gravel from ditches or remove most of the snow, then reverse the blade to finish up.

 

[Matt Ellerbee]

It might be worth considering if you you attach with a pin and don’t need to unbolt/ reattach while working. I typically use the blade in forward cutting positions to pull gravel from ditches or remove most of the snow, then reverse the blade to finish up.

Looks to be a single cotter pin on his. I'm sure something could be done where a lynch pin could secure it.

 

[RalphVa]

I bought my blade because of the weight and full adjustability for angle, tilt, and offset. I thought about installing hydraulics because the blade is set up for that, but didn’t because I like to frequently turn my blade 180 degrees when grading or snowplowing my gravel driveway. I don’t think there’s a way to do that with hydraulics.

From those pics mcfarmall submitted, you could. You'd just have to manually disconnect the cylinder, rotate 180 and then reconnect.

 

[DustyRusty]

I bought my blade because of the weight and full adjustability for angle, tilt, and offset. I thought about installing hydraulics because the blade is set up for that, but didn’t because I like to frequently turn my blade 180 degrees when grading or snowplowing my gravel driveway. I don’t think there’s a way to do that with hydraulics.

You would just need a longer cylinder, but the longer the cylinder, the more likely it is that you will bend it by accident. the nice thing about hydraulic retrofit is that you could design it to be easily removable when you want it to be in manual mode.

 

[mcfarmall]

Where is a good place to buy the hydraulic cylinder?

Bought my 2x8 cylinder from Blaine's Farm and Fleet $79.

 

[mcfarmall]

You would just need a longer cylinder, but the longer the cylinder, the more likely it is that you will bend it by accident. the nice thing about hydraulic retrofit is that you could design it to be easily removable when you want it to be in manual mode.

Exactly. My 8" stroke will get me 45⁰ either way. 2 bolts and 2 pins and all the hydraulics come off for the summer to protect them from the elements and full manual operation is possible.