Thinking ahead to winter - what is best?

[bland]

Thought I would throw out a question for your opinions. I have moved out of town to a small place in the country and have upgraded my mowing capabilities and now get to thinking about the possibility of snow detail. I live in mid Missouri and in recent history we have not been getting enough snow to even hardly worry about, but we used to get considerable amounts. My choices are currently - a 425 aws JD that I have a 54" hydraulic blade and tire chains for or I also have an old 8n ford which runs like a top. I currently only have brush hog for the Ford, but a 3 point blade is not expensive and I don't have a problem getting one if I thought it would be significantly better than my 425jd for snow pushing chores. I have about 100 yds of gravel drive and one gravel parking area and one concrete area in front of garage. The ford is heavier and probably more powerful, but the jd handles much easier and I wondered if the hydro would be easier to control on the slick stuff over the gear drive Ford. What are the opinions out there? Thanks in advance. Oh, I guess there is a 3rd option, I originally planned to use this one - I drive a Jeep grand cherokee and figured I could just bust the road out with it and pack it down, then get the van in and out in the path.

 

[Thomas]

If it was I..I would try blade on 8n,for 8n has more weight for plowing and should take less time for snow removeal..also maybe good set of tire chains,than if you weren't happy w/the out come go to plan two..but you will have the blade just in case for back up or othere seasonal duties.

 

[DaveInColorado]

Definitely go with the 8N. The 425 just isn't heavy enough, especially with the wet snow that you probably get. That stuff packs down like ice! You need the ag tires on the 8N to bit through it. I don't think you'll need chains with the 8N.

If you had a paved driveway you might get away with the 425 most of the time.

 

[Birdman]

I have never had the pleasure of seeing someone do a good job of snow removal with the blade on the back of a tractor. If you are pushing the snow while driving in reverse, that is a back breaker and if you are driving over the snow before the blade tries to scrape it off that just doesn't seem to work well. Course that could just be my experience and someone that knows what they are doing will do a much better job. I think I would give the 425 a try at it, and if that does not pan out, think about a blade for the Ford...OR... a blower for the front of the 425.

 

[bontai_Joe]

I've been plowing snow for 25 winters in northern NJ and northeast PA with a Deere 316 and the same 54" front blade that will fit your 425. With 100 pounds of wheel weights and tire chains and my 295 pounds in the seat, I can easily move up to 12" of semi-dry snow, up to about 8" of the wet type. With some difficulty, and abuse of the tractor, I can move up to 16" of dry snow and 12" wet, but it takes a lot longer and a lot of backing up and hitting the pile fast. I have never run out of HP, always run out of traction. Your tractor can be fitted with a rear weight bracket to hang suitcase weights on at 42 pounds each, plus wheel weights, and chains are a necessity. Between your 2 choices of tractor, I'd go with the Deere, but if you don't particulary like being out in the weather, might I suggest a plow for the front of your Jeep? There are "homeowner" duty plows available for around $1000-1500 that are lighter in weight for less wear on your front suspension. I don't know what kind of work commute you have, it might be a pain to drive 40 miles to work with a plow on front, but I thought I'd suggest it.

http://www.snoway.com/pred_st.cfm

http://www.realtruck.com/products/snow_sportinstall.php

 

[KTD]

Since you already have the 425, it wont cost anything to try it.

I've used my 425 for the past five years and it has worked quite well on my 700' driveway. I have the tires loaded and use chains.

I'm also in NE PA and we get our share of snow.

 

[bland]

Thanks for the input - have been gone for a few days and haven't checked up on this question. I appreciate the input from those who have used the jd and it seems that it might just be worth a try. The last few years here we haven't even had to worry about pushing snow but I feel sure it can happen again as it has in past years. I wondered about the driving backward thing and also the ford is pretty fast in reverse and possibly hard to handle where the jd can be made to just crawl if necessary. I have used the jd and blade on my drive to move gravel around and move the high points to the low points and spread some new gravel and it has performed great for that. I will keep my options open for a while. The last suggestion of a plow for the jeep is not really feasible as I would then have to commute with the plow in place. I do think it would out plow either of the tractors in snow though. Anyway thanks for input so far.