Snowblower - too big?

[Jay4200]

Is there such a thing as too big for a rear-mount snowblower, other than powerwise? I have a lead on what seems to be a good deal on an absolute beast of a blower, but it is 7' wide. My L4200 has the horsepower to run it, but my driveway is only ~8-9ft. wide (but 1000' long). For a simple once up and back job, 5' is plenty, but my rear tires are ~5.5' wide, so I was looking at 6 footers. Anyway, I came across a used 7 footer, and I wonder if 6" on each side makes much of a difference one way or another. Is bigger always better?

thanks - JayC

 

[kennyd]

HP and weight are the two things you need to worry about-You said you have the HP covered, but will your 3PH lift this "absolute beast of a blower"?

 

[JJT]

Is there such a thing as too big for a rear-mount snowblower, other than powerwise? I have a lead on what seems to be a good deal on an absolute beast of a blower, but it is 7' wide. My L4200 has the horsepower to run it, but my driveway is only ~8-9ft. wide (but 1000' long). For a simple once up and back job, 5' is plenty, but my rear tires are ~5.5' wide, so I was looking at 6 footers. Anyway, I came across a used 7 footer, and I wonder if 6" on each side makes much of a difference one way or another. Is bigger always better?

thanks - JayC

IS the L4200 a gear tractor? I'm running a 6.5' blower on an L3710 HST. I wouldn't want any more of a blower on this tractor, but it does a great job. I've had the blower for 12 years. Normally I blow in mid range, if the snow is deep and very wet, I have to go to low and creep into the drifts.

 

[herringchoker]

My tractor is a lot smaller than yours, but I run a 6 ft. wide rear blower with 22 HP at the PTO. I have absolutely no problem with power (HST) or lift capacity. I also use the FEL for snow clearing and it has a 54 inch bucket. I have to be very careful that I don't sideswipe things with the blower while using the FEL.

 

[rbargeron]

.....Is there such a thing as too big for a rear-mount snowblower.......

Yes there is, but this isn't it. The 7'blower is too big for a 24 hp tractor. But it would be just fine on a L4200. Remember you can always go a bit slower if need be. Weight-wise it will handle it fine. You'll like how nice it is to have 9" extra width on each side.

 

[Jay4200]

HP and weight are the two things you need to worry about-You said you have the HP covered, but will your 3PH lift this "absolute beast of a blower"?

Piece of cake - the blower is something like 625 pounds - according to Tractordata.com, my 3pt lifts over 1.5 tons.

JayC

 

[Nuru]

I am considering getting a Frontier SB 1164 and I was considering the SB 1174, but it seemed that the 1174 would be a bit too big. My unit's PTO HP is 30 and the SB1174's spec is 30 - 50HP required, so it seems the 3520 would be a bit underpowered to handle a SB 1174 - any thoughts?

 

[wedge40]

JayC. If the price is right, I'd go for it. Unless you're really fond of spending the extra time out blowing snow. Do you have a heated cab? You can always clear a little bigger path, say 12' or 13'. Besides, if you dont like it, you can always sell it.

Wedge

 

[quarttoolow]

I run a 7' with 55 pto hp. only thing I've noticed is the front end steering is lighter. I usually drop the front bucket 8' when running the blower.

 

[Jay4200]

JayC. If the price is right, I'd go for it. Unless you're really fond of spending the extra time out blowing snow. Do you have a heated cab? You can always clear a little bigger path, say 12' or 13'. Besides, if you dont like it, you can always sell it.

I'm beginning to lean that way. Price is easily twice what I wanted to spend originally, but its a nastier machine and (I think) about 1/2 of new. Snowblowers seem to be increasing in price exponentially. A run-of-the mill 6' blower was $1200-1500 new 2 years ago, now they seem to be running about double that, with the good commercial ones ~$5000. The one I'm looking at also runs closer to $5k. Sheeeyit - my tractor barely cost that much.

JayC