The factory hydraulic option is 50% of the cost of the factory electric model, but then I don't have the hydraulic lines and I'd likely have to have the dealer install those so I doubt there would be any difference is cost in the long run.
I'm not very good with fabrication or making modifications on my own and there would be a high likelihood of me effing something up without having months to figure it out. There are a lot of things I've learned to DIY in my life, but that means time for me to learn. One thing I know about my ability to do new things is that I'm fine if I have plenty of time and I can put it down and walk away for a while, sometime a long while, but it's a bad idea to put myself under pressure to get something done in a hurry.
This will be the first winter with this new tractor/fel/blower, first year with a diesel, first year with something that might actually keep up with winter where I won't end up with a dog trail down to road. Before this I had a yard tractor a JD LA175 with a 48" blower on it. It could not keep up with the snow. My wife fell an broke her ankle in 3 places in the 2' wide path that I was down to by March that I clearing with a shovel. I can't allow that to happen or to allow here to walk down the hill to the road in winter again.
So I'm already feeling stress because I don't know what to expect or how things will go. Quite honestly just reading about the things I need to do to make sure the GC will run in the cold is keeping me up nights. I'm sure everything will go well, but.....
The geese are already moving north and I'm expecting a bad winter that's going to start early and not let up much.
What I'm looking for to get me through this winter is something that comes in a kit that any idiot can install looking at the pictures
While I think that $1000 is high, it's high considering what you get for that money, it seems like either the manufacturer or the dealer selling it is doing a little price gouging to me. The thing doesn't even come with the controls and you need to get those separately, all you get is an actuator with a wire that you can't plug in anywhere and a couple of bolts.
I do appreciate all of the suggestions and options. Right now I am weighing the cost/benefit of getting the electric chute control vs getting off the tractor every time I need to adjust it, or just deal with eating a lot of snow when it's windy, and waiting until next spring to do something else. It could be that investing in a good snowmobile helmet for this year may be the best option.
