Client asked about repurposing a Ditch Witch 1050 for snow

[adam_raven]

One of our commercial clients brought up the idea this week while we were going over summer equipment usage. He asked if we could prep a Ditch Witch 1050 now with a drop spreader and maybe a blade mount to test it before winter. Has anyone ever tried setting one up off season to see if it's worth the effort?

 

[NeighborhoodSpy]

There was a time we set up a 1050 with a drop spreader in late summer just to work out the quirks before snow hit and it was definitely worth doing early, it gave us time to do some mods with the blade mount and the controls, the biggest win was getting in the weight balance and hydraulics with the spreader loaded, so yeah, doing a dry run now is a smart move if y'all are serious about winter

 

[adam_raven]

Thanks for the input, @NeighborhoodSpy. We fabricated the mounts and did a dry run with the spreader fully loaded this week. After checking the weight distribution, it will need a significant front counterweight to operate safely.

 

[IceIceBaby1]

This seems like an interesting project and I'd be happy to get the ditch witch as long as it's worth it. How much did this project cost you and how much work is it involved? Also, how complicated is it?

 

[adam_raven]

@IceIceBaby1
We're still in the experimenting phase with this project, just seeing how it all plays out. So far, most of the cost's just been our own time in the shop and the steel we used to build the custom mounts. It's a bit of a tricky job, takes some welding chops and solid design sense to get the balance right. Definitely not one of those easy bolt-on kits you can grab from a store.