Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Capabilities for serious snow removal with SUB-CUT or small frame CUT?

[leonz]

I am trying to decide if a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT with a FEL and 3-PH snow blower will handle the kind of worst case snow I have to deal with on occasion.

I live along the Palmer Divide at 7500 between Denver and Colorado Springs. Our snow can vary from light dry powder to super wet and heavy Sierra Cement. Storms can be anywhere from a few inches to a few feet with blizzard class winds. And, being the front range of Colorado, we are back to nothing but blue sky within 24-48 hours!

To be fair, I should divulge that I currently have a JD 4720 (50 PTO HP) with 400CX FEL (2400 lb lift capacity) and a Land Pride RBT3596 rear blade with all hydraulic adjustments. Frankly, there has been no amount or type of snow I cannot eventually deal with using this tractor, including pushing out through the biggest drift piles from inside the garage. Even so, the bigger and heavier snow storms can shove this tractor sideways when trying to use my angled rear blade, in which case I just revert to pushing and shoving with the FEL, which gets the job done.

Unfortunately, I may need to economize my snow removal setup...

My biggest concern with moving way down the CUT class scale is that with the way my house and driveway are laid out with respect to the prevailing winds, I can get HUGE drifts of snow in front of my garage doors and along my drive. You will get an idea of just how huge my drifts can get from the attached pictures. They are from various big storms over the years and show the snow cleared with various equipment from a walk behind snow blower (ugh!) to my current tractor setup.

Given that in the past I have handled my snow removal needs with a 11 HP Toro snow blower (definitely in my younger years!), I am reasonably sure a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT with a 3PH snow blower and HST transmission will handle most of my snow removal needs, excluding dealing with the enormous drifts directly in front of my garage doors, where the tractor must be stored.

So...

I am very concerned about being able push out through the giant drifts in front of the garage doors and then having to move the drifts away from those doors using a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT and its lower capacity FEL. This is NOT an issue with my JD 4720.

I also foresee significant issues trying to remove these giant drifts using just the snow blower, especially if the snow is wet and heavy. I am specifically worried about the 35 to 40 feet I need to throw the wet heavy snow, which is where I would then use the FEL to literally bucket the snow away from the garage and house to deposit it off the side of my drive way and parking areas (where there is plenty of room for snow).

I'd be very appreciative of getting opinions and real experiences from SUB-CUT and small frame CUT owners out there that have successfully used their rigs for snow removal tasks similar to mine. I would REALLY hate to find out that a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT could not even get out of the garage without having to manually shovel through the drift first!

_________________________________________________________________


About your snow caster needs;


I would suggest that you contact Koopster throught he forum here via PM as
he has experience with heavy wet snows and a rear mount snow caster.


He owns a Pronovost TRC model and he is extremely happy with its performance.


Your 50 John Deere horsepower tractor is more than adequate for the 72 and80 inch TRC models offered by Pronovost.


The Pronovost TRC models have rotating impeller drum that bypasses the
chute and spout and casts the snow in either direction without clogging the chute and spout of the snow caster.


The rotating drum eliminates the snow and ice from clogging the snow caster as the chute and spout are not used when the impeller drum is rotated to the left or right of center where the chute and spout are located on the snoe caster.

 

[Pipestone Kid]

Most of the replies here refer to your existing tractor, but as I understand your post you may need to downsize. I have a JD4110 with a front mount snow blower (I know you mentioned a rear mount) and you can see by where I live, we get lots of snow. My 4110 has handled everything from light fluff to heavy wet stuff. Admittedly. the wet takes longer but the blower handles it well. I have cut through drifts like your pics with no problems. I strongly advise front mount--the older you get, the more difficult it is to twist around to go backwards.

 

[BarryinMN]

If the tractor has to go, how about calling a neighbor to dig you out with something big re: FAST?

A Jeep Wrangler with a plow blade also works.

How about landscaping to eliminate drifts... I did that when I lived in El Paso County back when.

 

[mred]

I am not recommending you use something this small but my 2305 with a 54 inch rear mount snow blower and a the front bucket never cease to amaze me. I have been able to easily chew through any drift. When things freeze the bucket has an easy time moving things. The snow blower easily throws heavy snow 40 feet. Maybe a 2520 or a 2720 size ?

 

[bam747]

If the tractor has to go, how about calling a neighbor to dig you out with something big re: FAST?

A Jeep Wrangler with a plow blade also works.

How about landscaping to eliminate drifts... I did that when I lived in El Paso County back when.

Unfortunately, the garage and house form an L shape and that shape is what causes those giant drifts in front of the garage doors. There is no way to do any landscaping to fix this issue... Unless I were to put snow fence up on top of the garage roof, which I'm absolutely certain is a bad idea!

If you look close in the upper left of one of the photos (maybe you noticed it already?), you'll see a blue Jeep Wrangler. If you know what you're really looking at, you'll see that it is a full custom lifted Wrangler set up for serious trail and rock crawling, including upgraded axles, locking front and rear diffs, a granny low first gear transmission, and a 4:1 transfer case (around a 100:1 total crawl ratio).

I have indeed thought about using it to push a snow plow, which I'm sure it would have no problem doing. However, it would require a full custom plow mounting set up that in and of itself would also be easily removable to keep the Jeep's primary function as an off-road Jeep. The other issue is that it would be nearly impossible to push those huge garage door drifts out of the way with the way the house and garage form that L shape. Still, adding a snow plow to my Jeep is not out of the realm of possibilities. I would also have the advantage of a heated cab (even with the soft top), so I wouldn't mind so much getting out in a storm to keep ahead of the drifts.

 

[jpm1]

Heres my snow removal tool. . . John

 

[Jerry/MT]

I am trying to decide if a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT with a FEL and 3-PH snow blower will handle the kind of worst case snow I have to deal with on occasion.

I live along the Palmer Divide at 7500 between Denver and Colorado Springs. Our snow can vary from light dry powder to super wet and heavy Sierra Cement. Storms can be anywhere from a few inches to a few feet with blizzard class winds. And, being the front range of Colorado, we are back to nothing but blue sky within 24-48 hours!

To be fair, I should divulge that I currently have a JD 4720 (50 PTO HP) with 400CX FEL (2400 lb lift capacity) and a Land Pride RBT3596 rear blade with all hydraulic adjustments. Frankly, there has been no amount or type of snow I cannot eventually deal with using this tractor, including pushing out through the biggest drift piles from inside the garage. Even so, the bigger and heavier snow storms can shove this tractor sideways when trying to use my angled rear blade, in which case I just revert to pushing and shoving with the FEL, which gets the job done.

Unfortunately, I may need to economize my snow removal setup...

My biggest concern with moving way down the CUT class scale is that with the way my house and driveway are laid out with respect to the prevailing winds, I can get HUGE drifts of snow in front of my garage doors and along my drive. You will get an idea of just how huge my drifts can get from the attached pictures. They are from various big storms over the years and show the snow cleared with various equipment from a walk behind snow blower (ugh!) to my current tractor setup.

Given that in the past I have handled my snow removal needs with a 11 HP Toro snow blower (definitely in my younger years!), I am reasonably sure a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT with a 3PH snow blower and HST transmission will handle most of my snow removal needs, excluding dealing with the enormous drifts directly in front of my garage doors, where the tractor must be stored.

So...

I am very concerned about being able push out through the giant drifts in front of the garage doors and then having to move the drifts away from those doors using a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT and its lower capacity FEL. This is NOT an issue with my JD 4720.

I also foresee significant issues trying to remove these giant drifts using just the snow blower, especially if the snow is wet and heavy. I am specifically worried about the 35 to 40 feet I need to throw the wet heavy snow, which is where I would then use the FEL to literally bucket the snow away from the garage and house to deposit it off the side of my drive way and parking areas (where there is plenty of room for snow).

I'd be very appreciative of getting opinions and real experiences from SUB-CUT and small frame CUT owners out there that have successfully used their rigs for snow removal tasks similar to mine. I would REALLY hate to find out that a SUB-CUT or small frame CUT could not even get out of the garage without having to manually shovel through the drift first!

From you post, it's obvious you live in "really big snow country". However I don't see the logic in going to smaller equipment to deal with your "big snow "issues. Untill this past winter, I used our Ferguson TO-30 with a backblade to deal with our snow. I loaded the tires and got chains. There are certain conditions I just could not deal with using that set up (drifted, melting snow on a quarter mile of 12 ft lane with fence on both sides) and I bought a used 7 foot snowblower for our Ford 4610 and it worked great for the big snows we had this year (2 foot dumps). We had some wet snow that made it difficult but you just bow your neck and get 'er done.

Perhaps selling your existing tractor and using part of the equity to purchase an older used but equivalent pto hp machine could help your situation. Adding a snow blower that's matched to the tractor's pto's power capability can help your situation. Front mounts are nice, but they are relatively expensive when compared to a rear mounted blower. Again careful selection in the used marketplace can provide some real bargains. All of us have to deal with wet snow at some time or other and while it's a PITA with a snowblower when the snow is wet, it's not impossible.

The addition of chains to the tires could help your problem when using an angle blade. If you have FWD then perhaps chaining all four would help.

As far as the drifts near the garage, there's nothing says you can't blow the same snow several times. I'm a novice with a snowblower but I have had to do that this year. You just blow the snow on top of other snow then blow that away. Do this until you have the snow cleared. Park the tractor in the garage with the snowblower mounted on the 3 pt and closest to the garage door. Start the tractor and back out with the snow blower operating and attack the drift.

Again looking at your pictures I can't see the wisdom of a a smaller machine. The only other option is to quit the high country in the winter.

Your $'s, your choice.

 

[Don87]

I cleared 4 1/2 feet of snow from my driveway one year with a Cub Cadet 2160 lawn and garden tractor, with a front mount blower. I had to replace the belts afterwards, but it got the job done.

My neighbors all used backhoes, and big front end loaders.

The short answer is yes, a SUBCUT or a small framed CUT, will do the job. It will just take longer.

I would not be worried about my Massey and the front mount blower clearing the snow in your pictures. But I would add driftcutters to my blower.

 

[Gods Country]

I think as long as you don't let the drifts get too high you will be OK.
A 3pt thrower can move an obscene amount of snow. Going smaller is going to take longer. How long is your drive/lane?

As far as the distance to throw the snow i'm sure a dealer could answer that question. I use to own a 4' 13hp troybilt snow thrower. It was a beast. It easily tossed the snow 25'+ The deeper the snow the better it worked, just had to slow down. I would like to think a 3pt or front mount could out pace it.

 

[tomd999]

Hiya,

I think you may be better off keeping the 4720 rather than selling and replacing. I have seen several 45 and 4720's sell recently for much less than what I would expect them to. Times are tough, selling a tractor is not easy and the people that are buying know that some people are desperate and it's those desperate selling prices that drive the prices down. Be sure you check out the prices of used machines in your area, you may be shocked to see what is the street prices are these days. You may want to see if you can find someone with a 2x20 or 3x20 (or other brand) that's looking to go up in chassis size and work out a trade with cash, that way you both win.

If you find it makes sense to sell and look for a replacement, just about any Diesel powered sub-CUT or small chassis will work for any amount of snow. The only difference is how long it will take to complete the task.

I had a 5 foot Blizzard blower and a 5' Curtis loader mount hyd angle plow on a Deere 2520, it would tackle any amount of snow we got. (I live on a mountain in NH snow country, we get snow here) The 2 foot dumps and the white cement type snow take longer that's all. The smaller chassis will get pushed around with the loader plow in the heavy/deep stuff but the solution is to lift the plow slightly so the weight is on the front wheels.

My 2 cents,

Tom