FARGO, N.D. — Keeping snow off roofs is time consuming and dangerous but also necessary to prevent structural damage and cave-ins.
A 60-foot telescoping aluminum arm attached to a front end loader might solve the annual snow removal hassle.
Progress Farm and Mechanical Innovations was formed in 2006 to develop new products to make farming more efficient.
“The snow rake is one of our first products,” said Corbin Fehr, the company’s chief executive officer and design engineer in Morris, Minnesota.
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“The steel blade at the end of the arm bites into the hard snow and pulls it off the roof as you back away,” he said.
We tried rubber blades, but they only work on fresh soft snow.”
Snow becomes too hard for rubber once the sun hits it or heat escapes from within the building, but Progress still has rubber blades available.
“The steel blade has wheels on the sides to keep it three inches off the roof surface, so there’s no damage,” he said.
“You’ll do more damage up there with a shovel or snow blower, and that’s a lot more dangerous.”
The base of the telescopic arm is hinged where it attaches to the loader, which makes it impossible for the operator to apply hydraulic down pressure. The rake weight does the work.
“You just extend the blade up to the peak, set it on the roof and back off on the hydraulics so the hinges move freely. As you back away, the rake drags the snow down. Because it’s hinged, it follows the roof line by gravity.”
Fehr said he can custom design a snow rake for any skid steer loader, tractor, payloader or telehandler that has a front loader. He recently designed a 40-foot boom to fit a 40-foot telehandler for a reach of 80 feet.
“The heavier MFWA (mechanical front wheel assist) tractors can handle a 60 foot aluminum boom. Industrial pay loaders for sure can take a 60 foot boom. The telescopic mechanism can be operated manually or hydraulically from within the cab.”
“Hydraulics from the cab is handy when you’re in tight spots and can’t back up far enough to pull all the snow. You hydraulically retract the boom to pull the snow.”
The smallest snow rake is 40 feet with a manual telescopic boom and a list price of $4,500. It fits a variety of machines.
Fehr said the price list will expand as he designs rakes for more tractors.
“But it’s hard right now for me to quote prices on longer snow rakes because I design the rakes specifically for each model.”
For more information, contact Fehr at 320-491-4200 or visit www.progress-llc.com.
