Types of Skid Steer Snowblowers

Sometimes only snowblowers can succeed where snow plows have failed. Sometimes, when the snow has landed, it’s best to attach a snow plow to your skid steer loader to remove it. But in certain circumstances, only the snowblowers will do the trick. Skid steer snowblowers make the back-breaking work of removing snow from sidewalks, paths, and other paved areas a breeze. And because they throw the snow in the direction that you choose, the snowblowers operate with a bit more precision than a plow.

There are many sizes and configurations of snowblowers, so you will have to choose the best one for your snow removal job. The smallest we have available at Skid Steer Solutions is a 48-inch wide, single motor, normal-flow unit. It will cycle between 8 and 13 gallons of hydraulic fluid per minute (GPM), which, although not the heaviest-duty configuration on the market, will still tackle a formidable amount of snow.

As the skid steer snowblowers increase in size, so do their flow capacities and power options. There are 60-, 72-, 78-, 84-, and even 96-inch wide machines for sale, and for all but the big 96-incher, you can choose an single or dual motor unit, as well as a normal or high flow machine. The 96-inch model is available only in a dual-motor design, and it comes with a high flow rating of between 19 and 34 GPM. As you might imagine, prices vary according to the combination of size and power features.

You might think that a smaller machine, with a less robust feature-set would be completely out of luck in some conditions. But the opposite appears to be true. All of these machines have the potential to overcome even the heaviest of drifts, tossing the snow 45 feet away.

Users report that even the smallest of these machines is powerful enough to clear crusted snow banks, some up to six feet high. Small blowers are there to simply accommodate smaller skid steer loaders, but they're still powerful. The lower-flow, single motor models can do the job, they just need to take smaller bites to avoid getting clogged, and that takes more time.

So choose your snowblowers based on a size and price that are appropriate to your skid steer, your work style, and your budget constraints. But balance that decision with the value of the time you will be putting in to battling the elements.

Posted on Monday, Oct 18, 2010