2320 and Snowblower

[jcmseven]

I thought about placing this in the snow removal section but felt I would get better John Deere specific advice in this forum, so here goes. I have been a regular poster but have been busy at work of late and not posting much. As some of you well know by now, I live in Western NC at 3710' on the side of a mountain that is almost exactly 6000' at the top. We have lived here since 2003 and only the past two years would I say we have gotten "significant snow" for this area. According to the natives, our past two winters have been more-typical of average snowfall here. It is certainly worth owning a piece of snow moving equipment here, even in slow snow years. I plow my private drive (300' at an average 15% pitch) plus plow about two miles of private service road for us and our two neighbors (on our road). I have an 825I Gator with 72" snowplow (JD) and rear hopper, salt spreader. It really plows well. My parents who have a high country home in Ashe County, NC (about three hours by car) have a similar setup with the Gator and plow. My father is 81 now, and he and my mother do not stay at their mountain place in winter if there is but one flake of snow, so this expensive plow (which I purchased) sits totally unused, and has for the past two seasons. I have a friend interested in the plow assembly and will pay me essentially what I have in it. Currently he does not want the Gator, and my father does use that, so it stays. I keep my little 2320 tractor at my folks' place and mow with it during mowing season for them. It is a good little tractor and has about 75 hours on it, just being used for mowing. I have thought, rather than letting it just sit during winter and not be used, to look at fitting it with a JD 54" snowblower and using it to remove snow, using it at both their place and/or mine. I figure it would not be nearly as fast as the Gator, but on our drive proper we have several areas where snow stayed this year until April in the large piles I made due to there being no place to put it. I would be nice to blow it away and make a clean edge on these areas and remove the snow totally from some of our limited space areas. I could fund at least a portion of this from selling the unused snow plow sitting in my parents' basement. My questions are therefore these:

1. How much should I expect to pay for this snowblower assembly?
2. Will the 2320 power it well in deep, wet snow in "A" range, even uphill?
3. Are there any drawbacks to doing something like this?
4. Would another model of tractor in this size range do a better job with this blower, or is the 2320 sufficient?
5. Any other considerations to think of prior to making such a leap?

I know that since I am thinking of this, it likely will not snow here for the next 10 years, but I figure I do not know that for sure just yet. Thanks for this advice.

John M

 

[jester156]

I have a 2320 with a rear mounted 54" blower. It sounds like you are looking for the front mounted one though. It is a significant investment, I think at least 3K with all the brackets and drive shaft.
Last winter we had 3 storms of over 20" and the machine didn't skip a beat. My driveway is about 300' with an incline towards the road, not sure how many degrees though. I keep the tractor in 4wd and low range. it just powered through the deepest plow wash at the road with no problems, never spun a wheel, of course you need to be mindful of speed.
I can not speak for the power of the front mounted blower, but a the 2320 provides plenty of power for my rear mounted blower.

 

[dmay]

1. How much should I expect to pay for this snowblower assembly?

Hit the John Deere Configurator and/or your local dealer and price up these:

02C1M 54 In. Quick-Hitch Two-Stage Snow Blower
2007 Front Quick-Hitch and Hydraulic Lift (2320)
3008 2000 RPM Front PTO Kit (2320)
4005 Implement Drive and Upstop (2320)
M88984 Drift Blade x 2 ($30.00 each)
LVB24895 Front Attaching Support Kit (2320)
LVB24958 Remote Spout Cap Control Kit

2. Will the 2320 power it well in deep, wet snow in "A" range, even uphill?

If you mean in LOW then Yes.

3. Are there any drawbacks to doing something like this?

If you have a loader it needs to be removed.

4. Would another model of tractor in this size range do a better job with this blower, or is the 2320 sufficient?

2320 is more then sufficient. I clear 3 ft deep drifts often.

5. Any other considerations to think of prior to making such a leap?

You should also consider rear chains and ballast box to improve your winter traction.

 

[Henri88]

I have the 47'' on my 2305 and it works great in wet or powder snow. Never had to use chain on mind but definitely need the ballast box. My tires are turf. You could try it without the chains first and see how it works. :thumbsup:

 

[jcmseven]

Thanks, I will price one. It seems based on these postings that some think this is a good idea. I know some will feel "why does someone in NC need a snowblower", but where I live we received three distinct snows of greater than 15" this past year and with our slopes here and narrow roads and cold winter temps, we were getting more snowfall before the first melted, making our service road about 7' wide between the banks. I have been less-than impressed with the 2320's performance in snow (or any of my compacts) without chains and R4's but with tire chains it is a brute. I also suspect that blowing snow is less challenging on the driveline and axle than is pushing snow.

John M