Giant Snow Blade Made From Old Grain Platform

2013 - Volume #37, Issue #3, Page #35

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“I made a great snow pusher for my skid steer from an old Deere grain platform,” says Roy Viel of Winnebago, Ill. “It works just as good as a commercial rig and I built it for less than a fourth the cost.”
     Viel started his project by purchasing a retired old 20-ft. wide Deere 220 grain platform. He stripped the reel and auger from the header, and then cut away the metal floor from in front of the sickle bar back to the base of the vertical wall. That left a sturdy 3-ft. tall back frame anchored by a 5-in. tube across the rear of the platform.
    “It would’ve been nice to use the full 20-ft. width for a pusher,” says Viel, “but my skid steer was only big enough to handle half that size. To make it work I cut about 5 ft. off each end of the platform, then built new 30 by 36-in. side panels out of 3/8-in. sheet steel.” He reinforced the end panels with diagonal braces, which also help support the vertical back section.
    To create a smooth surface at the bottom of the pusher Viel welded a 10-ft. piece of 1/2-in. by 5-in. steel to the support tube at the base of the vertical wall. He bolted a 1/2-in. by 6-in. cutting edge to the back wall and made adjustable skid shoes for each end of the pusher.
    Viel uses a universal skid loader plate to attach the pusher to his skid steer. The plate is welded into the opening on the platform that was made for the combine feederhouse. “I had to make some filler pieces because the loader plate wasn’t large enough, but the setup worked great when I got it done,” Viel says. “Now there’s a sturdy metal frame all the way around that platform opening.” A sheet of diamond plate that covers the loader plate and fillers along with a pendulum level indicator and a fresh coat of black paint give Viel’s big snow moving tool a “factory made” look.
    Viel uses the pusher with his Deere 270 skid steer and says it works great. “We had four good size snows in the winter of 2012-2013 and I used it after all of them,” Viel says. “The 270 weighs about 5 tons and has 77 hp, so it can easily lift and maneuver the 1,200-lb. pusher. The pusher and the skid steer make a terrific combination.”
    Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Roy Viel, 11445 Edwardsville Rd., Winnebago, Ill. 61088 (ph 815 298-9477).

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Giant Snow Blade Made From Old Grain Platform COMBINES Headers “I made a great snow pusher for my skid steer from an old Deere grain platform ” says Roy Viel of Winnebago Ill “It works just as good as a commercial rig and I built it for less than a fourth the cost ” Viel started his project by purchasing a retired old 20-ft wide Deere 220 grain platform He stripped the reel and auger from the header and then cut away the metal floor from in front of the sickle bar back to the base of the vertical wall That left a sturdy 3-ft tall back frame anchored by a 5-in tube across the rear of the platform “It would’ve been nice to use the full 20-ft width for a pusher ” says Viel “but my skid steer was only big enough to handle half that size To make it work I cut about 5 ft off each end of the platform then built new 30 by 36-in side panels out of 3/8-in sheet steel ” He reinforced the end panels with diagonal braces which also help support the vertical back section To create a smooth surface at the bottom of the pusher Viel welded a 10-ft piece of 1/2-in by 5-in steel to the support tube at the base of the vertical wall He bolted a 1/2-in by 6-in cutting edge to the back wall and made adjustable skid shoes for each end of the pusher Viel uses a universal skid loader plate to attach the pusher to his skid steer The plate is welded into the opening on the platform that was made for the combine feederhouse “I had to make some filler pieces because the loader plate wasn’t large enough but the setup worked great when I got it done ” Viel says “Now there’s a sturdy metal frame all the way around that platform opening ” A sheet of diamond plate that covers the loader plate and fillers along with a pendulum level indicator and a fresh coat of black paint give Viel’s big snow moving tool a “factory made” look Viel uses the pusher with his Deere 270 skid steer and says it works great “We had four good size snows in the winter of 2012-2013 and I used it after all of them ” Viel says “The 270 weighs about 5 tons and has 77 hp so it can easily lift and maneuver the 1 200-lb pusher The pusher and the skid steer make a terrific combination ” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Roy Viel 11445 Edwardsville Rd Winnebago Ill 61088 ph 815 298-9477