Your smaller tractor, or your pickup, can handle a giant-size snow blower, thanks to new custom-built units introduced by Bob Equipment, Stanley, N.Y.

High capacity snow blowers, front-mounted on smaller tractors, are powered by a separate engine. If you own a self-propelled forage chopper, you'll be interested in the company's just-introduced 10-ft. wide snow blower which mounts up front and runs off the chopper motor.

"We make a heavy-duty blower that we can custom-fit to most any tractor or pickup," says company representative Dick Calabrese. "You can buy less expensive snow blowers but they're not as rugged, or as well adapted to your equipment."

For one farmer, the company recently mounted a 7-ft. snow blower on the front of an 8N Ford, powering it with a rear-mounted 68 hp Wisconsin diesel engine. A drive shaft under the chassis connects the two.

To power snow blowers front-mounted on pickups, the company mounts a 383 Chrysler engine and hydraulic motor in the truck box, then runs hydraulic lines to the blower up front. "You can mount a blower as large as 8 ft. on a 3/4 ton truck and, if desired, run it off a drive shaft rather than hydraulics," says Calabrese.

Bob Equipment's latest snowblowing innovation is mounting 10-ft. wide snow blowers on self-propelled forage choppers. The custom-built blowers replace the hay pickup and run off the chopper motor.

Up to now, all snow blower orders have been custom designed and built. "We build a quality unit with heavy metal all around. For example, we use 1 3/8 in. gearbox shafts whereas most other manufacturers use 1-in.," explains Calabrese. Snow blower sizes range from 5 to 10 ft. wide.