# Will tractor/loader handle 7ft. Horst 3000 blade?



## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

Hi y'all,
Quick question here. Will this rig handle a Horst 7' 3000 series plow ok?
Tractor is 47 HP, approx. 5000lbs +loader weight. 10 years of snowblowing and aching necks are causing us to want to add a blade. Horst blades seem to be pretty nice. Thanks.


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## buckwheat_la (Oct 11, 2009)

you could handle a 8ft blade if you wanted, 7ft no problem


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Looks like you need a cab on that first!


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## grosser397 (Nov 20, 2008)

you can put a 9ft plow on it and be fine. it weighs more then a 3/4ton truck and guys put 9s on those and i dont think power will be a issue


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## woodchuckcanuck (Sep 15, 2009)

Why not put a 3pt hitch quick attach on the front, then run your blower on the loader arms?


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## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

Yes we need a cab. It's kind of like microsoft and windows. Ya' start with a model T and end up trying to figure out how to add adaptive cruise control when you should just buy a MAC.
There was a time back in 2000 that this tractor replaced a 2WD MF265 (a challenge in the steep), and it was a huge step up. We use the tractor in the woods; that, combined with being on a budget, made a cab a wish only. 
I know, the answer is a dedicated plow tractor! A platform at that!

Mounting the blower on the front is an option but there are two reasons why I've discounted it.
The first and foremost is that this tractor is underpowered and undertransmissioned for the 6' blower we have. There was an option of a $1000 creeper tranny when we ordered it but I thought why would anyone want that- for planting or something? ..... the answer was someone snowblowing. It's great the majority of the time but in a heavy conditions the tractor just can't go slow enough. Blowing Snow Takes Power and 47HP doesn't necessarily cut it. The second reason is the drive issue. I think we have 13.4 GPM to work with and I have visions of 2" hydraulic hoses and 50 gallon resevoirs of HYTRAN strapped on the side of the tractor. It's that Model T thing again. I guess there's the PTO from rear to front idea but that makes me think of an unuseable drawbar and driveline chatter. 
plus my dad turns 80 in March and his solution to a big storm is just don't go out till it's over. He hates getting plastered with the snowblower. He's excited about having a plow so what the heck.
I gather there's a FEL / plow debate but I guess I'm thinking we should be able to run the combo. I'd love to skip the loader and use a parallel frame mount but the MF243 hasn't exactly been hot on the designers list. Not a compact and the smallest of the Ags. 
I was kind of hoping someone might be able to post a pic of a Horst 3000. the company website only has a schematic and the specs are incomplete.
thanks for the replies and listening.


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## woodchuckcanuck (Sep 15, 2009)

What about using a mid-mount PTO driveline system? Is this the blade you are looking at http://www.horstwelding.com/snow_items.php?id=92


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## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

I would not go over 8 feet. You will need extra hydraulics if you want to angle the plow. I noticed the blower chute rotatation is manual, so you may have an extra hydraulic valve in the back you can use.
If you are not planing on angling the plow, have you looked into a 8 foot Pro-Tech compact sno pusher. Its around 2,400.00 Canadian.
Is that a couture blower you have, it did seem a little big for that tractor, but like you said you just make smaller passes or go slower. I guess you do not have a creeper gear, and then again, that may be painfully to slow.


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## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

I've been studying the 3000 series. The Schematic on the website shows dual hydraulic cylinders. I've been presuming that the 3000 oscillates, can you confirm?
your photo looks like it could be a 3000...it's a trip edge not a full trip like the 2000 series. Horst says the 2000 series is for max. 5000 lb. unit and it only has a 24" moldboard so for that reason I've been steering toward the 3000. I've also looked at the Boss, Curtis, and Virnig units.
Can you elaborate on a mid mount PTO driveline system? Sounds complex. I gravitate toward quick attach.


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## woodchuckcanuck (Sep 15, 2009)

First, let me say, I am quite new to tractors etc so confirm anything I say  My Massey 1643 (just bought) has its blower on the front. The loader comes off since the blower has its own sub frame. Its pto driven from the midmount pto. I posted a pic over in http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=87833


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

woodchuckcanuck;841634 said:


> What about using a mid-mount PTO driveline system?


Is that available on this type of tractor? That is a CUT/SCUT kind of thing.


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## woodchuckcanuck (Sep 15, 2009)

cretebaby;841652 said:


> Is that available on this type of tractor? That is a CUT/SCUT kind of thing.


By 'that' do you mean the front mount blower? If so, I don't know.
By 'this' do you mean your tractor? If so, check with your dealer.
The MF1643L is classed as a CUT (compact utility tractor).


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

woodchuckcanuck;841653 said:


> By 'that' do you mean the front mount blower? If so, I don't know.


By "that"I meant the mid mount PTO you asked about.



> By 'this' do you mean your tractor?


No, I meant the OP's tractor



> The MF1643L is classed as a CUT (compact utility tractor).


I figured.


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## woodchuckcanuck (Sep 15, 2009)

crete, sorry about that. I thought I was answering the OP. I'm pretty sure the 1643 is CUT, again, I could be wrong. According to the women in my life, I'm wrong on a lot of stuff


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

woodchuckcanuck;841674 said:


> According to the women in my life, I'm wrong on a lot of stuff


 ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,


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## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

Yes it is a 6' Couture Blower and yes in hindsight probably 1' too wide but it does work fine 95% of the time. I guess that's when it's time to use the bucket, right? And yes the tractor does have 2 additional sets of remote hydraulics of which I plan to use 1 to angle the plow. We just hope to get a little more groundspeed and a little less snow in the face with a plow.


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## woodchuckcanuck (Sep 15, 2009)

nice photo


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

I run a blade on the front of my TN75 and it's ok, but it's not the ideal solution.

1. it's got wings on it and that's a mistake on a tractor blade. It basically functions like a plow box for twice the price (lesson learned). You can't go fast enough to make it roll off the edge. (it would work correctly I think without the wings)

Since you're clearing a driveway, don't get wings.

2. it's a PITA to run. You need the loader joystick plus a remote from the back to run the side to side. (and a lot of hydraulic hose and fittings, it's not included in the price, don't forget to figure it in). And of course, your RPM's are up a little so you can take off at a reasonable speed which makes the remotes run very fast. SLAM, SLAM from one side to the other. It's annoying. You need 3 or 4 hands. 

3. It stacks amazingly well. You can make huge piles!!!!!!!!!!! (15' plus tall easy)

4. it's really easy to bend the loader arms. As you know, Ag tractors don't have real strong loaders and pushing a lot of snow and hitting something hard tweaks the loader arms. 

5. My TN full up with weights and plows weighs well over 9000lbs and honestly an 8' with wings is about all it can handle. You simply run out of traction. Now, chains would probably fix this, but that doesn't work for my situation. a 7' blade would be pretty good for your application. I've got that TC45 and ti's similar sized to your 243 (although it's a CUT and yours is a utility) and I wouldn't go more than 7' on it.

HTH


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## LoneCowboy (Jan 2, 2007)

You're still going to get plastered with snow. All the flyoff from the blade comes up. You'll still need that snow suit. 
It will however go a lot faster than snowblowing.
and on a really big monster storm, you can just use the snowblower


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## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

japyke;841692 said:


> Yes it is a 6' Couture Blower and yes in hindsight probably 1' too wide but it does work fine 95% of the time. I guess that's when it's time to use the bucket, right? And yes the tractor does have 2 additional sets of remote hydraulics of which I plan to use 1 to angle the plow. We just hope to get a little more groundspeed and a little less snow in the face with a plow.


Wow thats a beautiful picture. Not to worry about snow in your face with a front blade. Your ground speed will rarely if ever be fast enough for that. Go for the 8 foot you want to push the snow over far enough so your tires clear the windrow.


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## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

I thank you all for your responses. I added another pic just for the heck of it. These were all taken after the big storm at the end of last February. The mountains are the Cold Hollow Mountains in Enosburg Vt. It took me about 3 hours to really clean up. 
I guess I've come to grips with the Loader/float PITA aspect of getting a plow. Hopefully once there's a good frozen roadbed it will float a lot of the time. 
Really the only decision now is 7' or 8'. The rear tires now are about 6'2" or 74" and my initial desire was a 7'6" plow which was available in the Curtis or Boss units. But then I found the Manufacturers which come from the AG side like Horst and Virnig. People seem to have good things to say about the Horst units so I'm inclined to go that way. Some push the 7'er's for maneuverability and less load on the loader arms but it's true it would barely clear the track of the rears, especially at 35 deg. angle. The terrain here is rough and tight as you can see. The 8' er would be nice to have but I'd hate to have too much plow to push in a big wet snow. I figure the whole rig with blower probably comes in at tractor (5000)+loader (1500)+blower (1000) =7500lbs minimum and we run studded chains . The 8' is probably more common and resaleable if it ever came to that even though it's not supposed to! Any more 7' or 8' comments are welcomed. It takes a community. 
Again, thanks


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

LoneCowboy;841707 said:


> . SLAM, SLAM from one side to the other. It's annoying. You need 3 or 4 hands.


Some $2 flow restrictors would take care of that.


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

cretebaby;842437 said:


> Some $2 flow restrictors would take care of that.


Or he could just turn the flow down if using the tractor hydro's from the rear and that's what I would do. The 3000 series Horst will be fine and I'd go with an 8ft.


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## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

Just a follow up here. Ordered the 7 footer. I wanted the 8' but my 79 yr. old father felt more comfortable with the 7'. Either way it should do the job. Thanks again for all your help. I'll post a picture when it's on the tractor.


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## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

ok, ok. I had a queasy feeling and I went out back and looked at an old 7' in the backyard and promptly changed my order to an 8'. Phew! That wasn't easy.


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## Neige (Jan 29, 2008)

You really made the right choice.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*snow blower etc.*



japyke;841252 said:


> Hi y'all,
> Quick question here. Will this rig handle a Horst 7' 3000 series plow ok?
> Tractor is 47 HP, approx. 5000lbs +loader weight. 10 years of snowblowing and aching necks are causing us to want to add a blade. Horst blades seem to be pretty nice. Thanks.


=================================================================

If you look at www.buctrac.com - buckeye tractor they build all sorts of adapters for tractors including front three point hitches as well as adapters that transfer the rear PTO to the front of a tractor they are very pleasant to talk to as well.

A Horst blade will need a subframe for the front and I think that the folks at buckeye make on e one for it.

I have one question though, do you ever lower the chute spout to kep the snow in a narrow ac and avoid getting wet?

the old trick is to use wd forty-I know I know- i will be using fluid film on my blowers this year and if it does for the blowers what it did for the lawnmower scizzor lift I will not have a bit of snow left to worry about.

making half passes on the path way are the other option of course to speed up the process.

Is the fan housing lined with a no stick chute liner(or is there room for a piece of no stick liner in the inside diameter of the fan housing?, that would help you a lot as you could throw the snow a fair distance with the spout lowered a bit rather than leaving it at its fully retracted position.

leon:waving:


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## JD Dave (Mar 20, 2007)

japyke;843502 said:


> ok, ok. I had a queasy feeling and I went out back and looked at an old 7' in the backyard and promptly changed my order to an 8'. Phew! That wasn't easy.


I would bet your father would have never even noticed the extra foot.


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## japyke (Oct 27, 2009)

Hi. Here's a photo of the 8' Horst 3000 on the tractor. It took me a while to post this but I figured it was the least I could do for those who helped me in the decision making progress. I like the plow a lot! And yes I'm glad we went with the 8'er. Thanks again.


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