Snowblower Looking for opinions on Loftness snowblowers

[jim_wilson]

Found a friend of a friend who is looking to sell a Loftness 3pt snowblower that I think I can fit onto my BX23. Does anybody have any opinions on quality etc. of Loftness? I know from looking thru previous posts that they are typically priced on the high end of the scale. Looking for some info so I can figure out if this is a good deal or not.

 

[RickB]

They have been around quite a while and used to be an OEM supplier to New Holland. They are as good as some, better than others.

 

[NY_Yankees_Fan]

Jim,

I would not go too much larger then 54" on the BX. I had a 54" Puma and in deep snow, over 12", it put the BX close to its limit and had to back up real slow. If you do not have a FEL you will need some weight up front to counter balance the snowblower on the 3 pt. The chute handle will most likely need to be cut since it may hit the seat. The PTO for sure will need to be cut. Do not forget a cab is real nice when blowing snow. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[jim_wilson]

I am pretty sure that this blower is a 54". I know the front mount blower for the BX is just under 48" and I have seen rear mount blowers on BX's that were 48" so I figured a 54" would probably work. I still have to see if this will work out but after using the FEL and rear blade for all the snow we have this winter I would like to try a snowblower and see how that works for my situation.

 

[Junkman]

Jim...... I would just wait till a used Kubota snowblower comes up on eBay again and bid on it. I got mine from a eBay listing last summer for $1000 complete with all the attachment hardware. Last month, there was one in the Boston area that sold for $1500. There are bound to be more and the front mount snowblower is far superior in my opinion than trying to drive backward blowing snow for any amount of distance. Unless this one is a super priced unit, I would wait it out....

 

[jim_wilson]

I have been going back and forth all winter on what the best setup for the tractor would be as far as clearing snow and decided against a front mount blower for the reason that I don't want to lose the FEL. After going thru this winter using just the FEL and the rear blade I have I realize that the rear blade works ok but doesn't let me push snow into a corner like a front blade would and the FEL is mighty useful to clear up snowbanks but is not the best for pushing snow. Putting a snowblower on the back means I can keep the FEL on the tractor and I plan on coming up with a setup where I can quick attach a snow blade to the FEL. This will give me three snow clearing options: snowblower, FEL, and front blade. If I put a blower on the front I can get a blade and a blower that will both quick attach relatively easily but I lose the FEL. I don't want a setup where it takes me 15 minutes to swap out implements to clear snow. Plus for the price of a front mounted blower I can get the rear mounted blower and a plow blade. With a little work and the welder I should be able to come up with a mounting system to put the blade on the BX FEL bucket. You can get 60" ATV plow blades for a lot less than the Kubota setup: Warn Cyclone snow blade . Besides - you bought the last decent priced BX front mount blower I have seen on Ebay /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[trlong]

Jim,

I agree with Junkman. A front end blower is the way to go, even at the higher $'s, IMO. I looked at a lot of blowers this Fall, before biting the bullet and buying a front end blower. I have no reservations for having spent the extra $'s. My rear blade does all I need for pushing snowbanks back, and clearing out the snow/mud/rock bank that the Town plow deposits in the end of my driveway. However, with my driveway, I really do not need the FEL. I can push the snow down the hill into the woods, most anywhere along the drive. If I had bought a rear blower, I am sure I would now be kicking myself for having to spend my seat-time backing up. After the snow we FINALLY got, I'd be eating a lot of Ibuprophen today.

Ofcourse, you may have a very different terrain than mine, less options where you can dispose of the snow, and younger, healthier back and neck. With my 600' of driveway, I shudder to think of that amount of backing up. I do believe it is a lot safer driving forward, with good visibility. I'd rather, accidentally, put a front wheel off the edge of the driveway and be able to easily back out of the situation than risk putting a rear wheel off. Just my 2 cents.

Good luck, which ever way you go.

Tom

 

[Junkman]

With the front mounted snowblower, there are no piles of snow to clean up. I plow the front of my home with a 8 1/2' blade and the piles get quite high. I also do the road into the house. After that, I go down both sides of the road and blow away the snow at the edge and it leaves a clean sharp edge to the new snow. Then I go to the other pile of snow and blow that onto the lawn.... I used the front end loader last year to move the piles of snow and the piles were there into June. This year, the snow will be gone by the second warm week. Any snowblower is better than any plow... a front snowblower is better than any rear snowblower. Wintering in Florida is best...... /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
As was mentioned, you don't want to go off the road going backward, especially with a snowblower back there. /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Pks]

Hi Jim,

Please carefully consider what JunkMan is saying. With a blower, you won't have any piles for the FEL to move. Getting a front mount blower WILL save your neck/back.

I clear about a mile of gravel driveway with my front blower. My neck is happy and there are no piles of snow to worry about.

 

[jim_wilson]

After doing some research I found out that this snowblower is designed to run on a 2000RPM PTO - but it has an adapter on it that can be removed and with the adapter removed it will run on a 540RPM PTO. I guess I don't have as much of a problem going in reverse as some of you other guys do because the whole backwards thing doesn't bother me that much. If I end up getting this blower I think I will run it on the 3pt for a while and see how that works out. If I get sick of going backwards it sounds like there is a possibility I could come up with something to run it on the front of the tractor. My driveway will only be about 150 long so it even if I am going backwards it isn't like I would be doing it for really long distances. My biggest problem is that when the construction is done I am going to have limited areas to put the snow. I was thinking that the blower would come in useful because I would use either the FEL or a front plow to push the snow into an area where I could then use the snowblower to blow it into the backyard and avoid big piles along the driveway. There are some areas where I wont be able to use the blower because the only place I would have to blow the snow is right into my house or the neighbor's house. So I think what I really need is the combination of FEL, plow, and blower to get the snow to where it has to go.