Snow Equipment Buying/Pricing Snowblowers: FEL Mount vs Rear Pull

[ededic]

Well we got our first real snowfall of the season, not huge numbers here about 8 inches fell yesterday and into this morning. NW winds to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph created drifts along the length of the drive way.

The prior light snows amounted to about 3 inches, which I drove over and packed down a couple of days ago so it would freeze and not have the snowblower blasting gravel all over the place. I also added 1.25 inch blocks of poly to the bottom of the skid shoes, which keeps the scraper blade about 1.5 inches off the ground with the skid shoes all the way down. Didn't fling any gravel today.

But all I can say is this machine is frickin' awesome! Made quick work of clearing my drive and the neighbor across the street. The traction of the Nokian tires is impressive too - and they're not loaded.

Other additions include swapping out the stock Deere work lights for the Larson 665's. Put a pair of 40 degree beams in front and 80's in the rear. Dang what a difference! They really light up the night. Pricey, but worth every penny in my book. Also swapped out the stock halogen headlight bulbs for the JDM Astar bulbs the gent on Good Works Tractors suggested. Not a real focused beam, but certainly more visible to on-coming traffic when you're out on the road. I installed four Feniex Fusion amber strobes on the cab and two of their green strobes on the back of the snowblower. While I had the roof off installing the Feniex strobes I also ran a back up camera to the bracket on the back of the cab, as well as a custom switch box. Works real nice to keep an eye on the blower without having to turn around constantly.

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Really nice rig. If I had to go up, that is what I would have.

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

Well we got our first real snowfall of the season, not huge numbers here about 8 inches fell yesterday and into this morning. NW winds to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph created drifts along the length of the drive way.

The prior light snows amounted to about 3 inches, which I drove over and packed down a couple of days ago so it would freeze and not have the snowblower blasting gravel all over the place. I also added 1.25 inch blocks of poly to the bottom of the skid shoes, which keeps the scraper blade about 1.5 inches off the ground with the skid shoes all the way down. Didn't fling any gravel today.

But all I can say is this machine is frickin' awesome! Made quick work of clearing my drive and the neighbor across the street. The traction of the Nokian tires is impressive too - and they're not loaded.

Other additions include swapping out the stock Deere work lights for the Larson 665's. Put a pair of 40 degree beams in front and 80's in the rear. Dang what a difference! They really light up the night. Pricey, but worth every penny in my book. Also swapped out the stock halogen headlight bulbs for the JDM Astar bulbs the gent on Good Works Tractors suggested. Not a real focused beam, but certainly more visible to on-coming traffic when you're out on the road. I installed four Feniex Fusion amber strobes on the cab and two of their green strobes on the back of the snowblower. While I had the roof off installing the Feniex strobes I also ran a back up camera to the bracket on the back of the cab, as well as a custom switch box. Works real nice to keep an eye on the blower without having to turn around constantly.

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What tires are you running on that?

I've got to change out my rims and R-1's cause they suck.

 

[John in the UP]

What tires are you running on that?

I've got to change out my rims and R-1's cause they suck.

The tires are the Nokian TR2 radials.
I've been very impressed with them.
Good traction in the dirt and don't tear up the fields are my yard when mowing.
No complaints with the traction in the white stuff either.

BTW, They are sized to match the R1's, so you don't necessarily have to swap rims.

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

The tires are the Nokian TR2 radials.
I've been very impressed with them.
Good traction in the dirt and don't tear up the fields are my yard when mowing.
No complaints with the traction in the white stuff either.

BTW, They are sized to match the R1's, so you don't necessarily have to swap rims.

Great. Thank you. I'll look into them and I'd LOVE not to replace perfectly good JD rims.
Any use in the woods or using the machine as a loader?

 

[John in the UP]

Great. Thank you. I'll look into them and I'd LOVE not to replace perfectly good JD rims.
Any use in the woods or using the machine as a loader?

Yes, but the timing of me getting the tractor delivered and a hydraulic system warranty issue that dragged on limited my use in the woods this year. I did drag a huge aspen that blew down out of the woods. I did notice that the front tires tended to collect some dirt but not the rears. I've done a little loader work maintaining the trails around my property, no issues digging into the gravel bank or back-grading with the loader.

My previous tractor, a Deere 3720 had the R1's so that's the only comparison I can make. I'd have to say the R1's probably have a very slight edge, but the 3720 was a much lighter tractor. Even with the R1's the 3720 tended to get stuck in the snow when clearing the drive IF I got too close to the edge and slipped into the shallow ditch. With the 59" snowblower in front it just wouldn't steer out of its own way. No issue what-so-ever with this 4066 tractor/Nokian tire combo.

I haven't priced these tires - I'm told they're pricey, but then again I've never seen a cheap tractor tire...

Also, I see you're in Northern Maine. My family has property in Kenduskeag and the terrain (rocks, boulders, clay) there is very similar to where I live now.

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

Yes, but the timing of me getting the tractor delivered and a hydraulic system warranty issue that dragged on limited my use in the woods this year. I did drag a huge aspen that blew down out of the woods. I did notice that the front tires tended to collect some dirt but not the rears. I've done a little loader work maintaining the trails around my property, no issues digging into the gravel bank or back-grading with the loader.

My previous tractor, a Deere 3720 had the R1's so that's the only comparison I can make. I'd have to say the R1's probably have a very slight edge, but the 3720 was a much lighter tractor. Even with the R1's the 3720 tended to get stuck in the snow when clearing the drive IF I got too close to the edge and slipped into the shallow ditch. With the 59" snowblower in front it just wouldn't steer out of its own way. No issue what-so-ever with this 4066 tractor/Nokian tire combo.

I haven't priced these tires - I'm told they're pricey, but then again I've never seen a cheap tractor tire...

Also, I see you're in Northern Maine. My family has property in Kenduskeag and the terrain (rocks, boulders, clay) there is very similar to where I live now.

I did some fast looking and these are good all around tires and that's what I want. I'm sure they will lighten my wallet a bunch but nothing good is cheap.

I'm at Moosehead so I pass thru the "canoe race" area a few times on the way to the big city or Maine Military Supply. Close friends just moved from wilderness to just outside the city to be closer to medical care. They are in their 80's.

 

[RoyJackson]

no, frontier brand actually mounts to loader and has rear powerpack unit.

I wouldn't be too surprised if JD's FEL mount snow blower is just a rebranded Quick Attach

 

[RoyJackson]

Well we got our first real snowfall of the season, not huge numbers here about 8 inches fell yesterday and into this morning. NW winds to 25 mph with gusts to 40 mph created drifts along the length of the drive way.

The prior light snows amounted to about 3 inches, which I drove over and packed down a couple of days ago so it would freeze and not have the snowblower blasting gravel all over the place. I also added 1.25 inch blocks of poly to the bottom of the skid shoes, which keeps the scraper blade about 1.5 inches off the ground with the skid shoes all the way down. Didn't fling any gravel today.

But all I can say is this machine is frickin' awesome! Made quick work of clearing my drive and the neighbor across the street. The traction of the Nokian tires is impressive too - and they're not loaded.

Other additions include swapping out the stock Deere work lights for the Larson 665's. Put a pair of 40 degree beams in front and 80's in the rear. Dang what a difference! They really light up the night. Pricey, but worth every penny in my book. Also swapped out the stock halogen headlight bulbs for the JDM Astar bulbs the gent on Good Works Tractors suggested. Not a real focused beam, but certainly more visible to on-coming traffic when you're out on the road. I installed four Feniex Fusion amber strobes on the cab and two of their green strobes on the back of the snowblower. While I had the roof off installing the Feniex strobes I also ran a back up camera to the bracket on the back of the cab, as well as a custom switch box. Works real nice to keep an eye on the blower without having to turn around constantly.

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Boy!!
I really like those Nokian snow tires!! Did the come with the 4066 when you bought it? And, is the 4066 you have one of these? Prety sure it is since the "License Plate" mount is just above the rear window

The wheels look like R1 type, which is discussed in the video I attached

 

[John in the UP]

Boy!!
I really like those Nokian snow tires!! Did the come with the 4066 when you bought it? And, is the 4066 you have one of these? Prety sure it is since the "License Plate" mount is just above the rear window

The wheels look like R1 type, which is discussed in the video I attached

Roy, yes they did and yes it is the snow cab.
When I was negotiating for the tractor I really wanted the R1 tires. They were willing to try and find and trade a set of R1's for the Nokian's with another dealer, but dealer they knocked the price of the Nokian's down to a deal I couldn't refuse. Don't regret it for a minute.

Oh, and yes they are the same rims used for the R1's.

 

[Beaver Cove Deere]

Roy, yes they did and yes it is the snow cab.
When I was negotiating for the tractor I really wanted the R1 tires. They were willing to try and find and trade a set of R1's for the Nokian's with another dealer, but dealer they knocked the price of the Nokian's down to a deal I couldn't refuse. Don't regret it for a minute.

Oh, and yes they are the same rims used for the R1's.

Now it's time to check the wheel widths and see if they will work on my 4720. That would save a lot of time and effort.

 

[PILOON]

My CUT came with a 48" blower and I think my rears were , like, 47".
WOW, talk about making luge runs!
OK, it blew snow but certainly not recommended.
I now run a 60" blower and can attest that you sure want to cover your tracks.

 

[Hilbilly]

I didn't get any videos doing the (long) driveway this year but I took a couple of moving snow around the house with the inverted blower. I posted them elsewhere in the forum but thought they might be appropriate here too. Plus it took me forever to get them off loaded from the action camera, so I want to spread them around.

 

[RoyJackson]

The JD is probably not a fel mount, rather a front mount where you remove the loader to install a sub frame. I built a loader mount blower assembly. Pto powered from the rear, it has lift limitations due to the shaft. Otherwise works great, no more sore neck. The hydraulic powered fel mount would be more flexible for sure. Pull type would depend greatly on drifted snow amounts. Around here the drifts are sometimes hard enough to stop the tractor.

Actually, it probably is a hydraulic FEL mount for that kind of money. Plus, the 4052 doesn't have a mid-PTO option available

John Deere

 

[Snowlan]

Had a good test for 60” rear pull this weekend. 1 foot of snow with a rain crust not quite strong enough to walk on. A couple of screen shots from a video my son took. This was a wind swept area that wasn’t as deep, but had no trouble going through the deep areas either.

 

[RoyJackson]

Had a good test for 60” rear pull this weekend. 1 foot of snow with a rain crust not quite strong enough to walk on. A couple of screen shots from a video my son took. This was a wind swept area that wasn’t as deep, but had no trouble going through the deep areas either.

How about posting the video?

 

[Snowlan]

How about posting the video?

I was going to, but couldn’t figure out how. When I click the paper clip to attach, only pictures on my phone come up, not the videos.

 

[RoyJackson]

I was going to, but couldn’t figure out how. When I click the paper clip to attach, only pictures on my phone come up, not the videos.

Hope you can figure it out

 

[airbiscuit]

Upload it to YouTube, then insert the YouTube link in the media icon.

 

[airbiscuit]

You could at tell us more about what you thought about performance and ease of use.

 

[fishhead]

Vimeo works easily too, Snowfan what rear pull is that?