[Rjob749]

I’m in the early stage of getting my new 3046R and John Deere Heavy Duty 60“ snowblower dialed in for the winter. @Kennyd asked that I start a thread so it is separate from a thread on the 59”.

@Superglidesport said that his recent sighting of the 60” unit looked like a 59” with green paint. He may be correct as my measurement of the width is 59 1/2”.

@quackaddict recommended beefing up the hinge on the deflector, currently just a couple of bolts, not really a hinge as I look at it, definitely will need some strengthening.

@jgayman I snapped a few pics, not sure they show much detail.

I’ll be installing the hydraulic deflector kit 5RDF0048A, ordered and due in a couple of weeks.

 

[bigbear]

How high does that beast raise up?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Rjob749]

How high does that beast raise up?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Measure 14” at the bottom of the skid shoe, which is the lowest point on the box. Well more than the tractor chassis clearance Measured at the base of 3 pt hitch. My old Kubota didn’t raise this amount and created issues in a large snow fall, I used to travel with it raised and PTO engaged to avoid bogging down when in transit on the road.

For reference the center of the wheel hub is roughly 14”.

For

 

[Kennyd]

Thanks @Rjob749 Beautiful machine!

Like Frank, it sure looks like the 59" in green paint to me.

 

[Rjob749]

@Kennyd yes, I can’t see anything different and the measurement being the same is telling as well. Hopefully they added improvements we don’t see, but…..??? Time will tell.

 

[jgayman]

Thanks @Rjob749 Beautiful machine!

Like Frank, it sure looks like the 59" in green paint to me.

Agree. JD Parts shows nothing for any changes above a certain serial number. Although, the skid shoes do look slightly different than what superglidesport posted. Then again, the shoes on his may be worn.

 

[JimR]

This looks to be the same 60" unit that was used on the 14XX and 15XX series front mount commercial mowers. It looks like they removed mounting bars on either side and set it up for the front 3pt.

https://www.tractorhouse.com/listings/farm-attachment/for-sale/206021825/2020-john-deere-60

John Deere 60” Two Stage Two-Stage Snowblower - Kuipment locator

C/w Lift Arms To Fit John Deere 1400 & 1500 Series Front Mount Mowers C/w Hoses And Couplers Financing Available

www.kuipmentlocator.com

 

[2mtrucks]

I like it. Sure beats turning your head like an owl with a rear blower. (Which is what I have).

 

[Rjob749]

I like it. Sure beats turning your head like an owl with a rear blower. (Which is what I have).

It does, I had 1400 hours on my old front mount, it’s bad enough to just look back to back up in many of the driveways I do. For me the front mount is the best set up.

 

[Rjob749]

Well, glad the tractor wasn’t any later arriving than it was. First snow is falling now. I do have an update, I’ll add the technical page from the blower owner manual, it’s listed as 59” for width. So I think it was color engineering after all.

 

[JimR]

Well, glad the tractor wasn’t any later arriving than it was. First snow is falling now. I do have an update, I’ll add the technical page from the blower owner manual, it’s listed as 59” for width. So I think it was color engineering after all. View attachment 815740

Whoa! That's a really nice pic. It reminds me of some of the Deere jigsaw puzzles out there. You should send that to Deere.

 

[Rjob749]

Just made a short run in the snow and it reminded me the blower chute rotation was set up wrong for me. Joystick to the right/chute rotates left! And vice versa.
I made the hydraulic line swap and now right moves right and left/left.
I’m enjoying getting things corrected and set up for me. I will admit the forward/reverse separate pedals of the Deere will take a bit of getting used to, the rocker forward and heal back of the orange tractor will take awhile to get out of my head. My foot keeps coming off the reverse and dropping straight back to it to go forward. I’ll unlearn and learn the difference but after 11 years of the old, the new is a slow learn at 73🤣😂 at least that’s my excuse for now.

 

[bigbear]

LOL, and just when you think you have your brain retrained, you will do it again looking to step back for reverse.

When I drive my UTV, I’m constantly looking for the turn signal tree to indicate my turn. Nope. It’s not there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[fdmars]

That is a top notch snow fighting setup!!!!

 

[quackaddict]

Ran mine this weekend. It is impressive how much more snow the 59/60 blowers will move compared to the 47/54. Its easily double the volume.

I tend to concur with people that this is color engineering. I honestly prefer the green, so it worked out good for me.

 

[Rjob749]

The jury is still out for me, while I really like my set up, I haven’t had a ‘real” snow to check it out. The first three inch dump we got went to sludge quickly and that is always difficult to throw very far. The chute was restricted as the wet sludge stuck to the sides. I’m sure it will be great but it has a lot to stand up to from my old L3940 Kubota.

 

[quackaddict]

The jury is still out for me, while I really like my set up, I haven’t had a ‘real” snow to check it out. The first three inch dump we got went to sludge quickly and that is always difficult to throw very far. The chute was restricted as the wet sludge stuck to the sides. I’m sure it will be great but it has a lot to stand up to from my old L3940 Kubota.

The Kubota Blowers are a better product IMO. Just look at the options they provide and its easy to see someone over there is listening to people and making improvements. It still amazes me that in 2021 Deere does not offer a better chute and a factory deflector option for at least the 59"/60 blowers. I still prefer Deere machines so I accept the shortcoming of the blowers.

Provonost now makes a replacement blower for the front mount and 3r machines. Its 60" in width and by all accounts is an impressive bit of kit. They are double the money but if you had serious snow to move it would be the way to go.

 

[Rjob749]

@quackaddict I had a Kubota ordered but they couldn’t guarantee arrival before this season. Ironically, it came in prior to the 3046R being set up. I do prefer the cab size on my 3046R, Kubota changed the design and I really don’t care for the look. I had better rpm on the L3940 which helped. I know this will be great once I get it set up totally. The 5RDF0048A chute kit arrives soon which will help in my case.

Like most things I could have done a bit more research on attachments and may have gone a different way on the blower.

 

[GreenforMe]

Couple of things I noticed.

1. Looks just like the same set up as my buddy's old 430 w/ the squared off blower. That was one heavy thing!!!!
2. Surprised to see that cables are used to rotate chute rather than a hyd cyl. on that size of blower.
3, Likewise surprised not to see some sort of actuator/hyd cyl for spout as std equip.

Nice set up tho.

 

[jgayman]

Couple of things I noticed.

1. Looks just like the same set up as my buddy's old 430 w/ the squared off blower. That was one heavy thing!!!!
2. Surprised to see that cables are used to rotate chute rather than a hyd cyl. on that size of blower.
3, Likewise surprised not to see some sort of actuator/hyd cyl for spout as std equip.

Nice set up tho.

I agree on the chute rotation setup. I just can't see the benefit of that complex cylinder/cable/pulley setup when they could have used a simple hydraulic motor with a toothed ring around the chute. Then again, it is amazing how many 3PH blowers from various manufacturers used a similar cable setup - even with manually rotated chutes.

As for the remote spout control, you know the old marketing saying... never provide something standard for which you can charge extra for as an option. A lot of folks must not have a need for remote spout control as you see a lot of blowers in use with just the knobs on the spout.