Snow Equipment Buying/Pricing Considering Ventrac tractor for sidewalk snow removal

[leonz]

Hello Fishhead I am coming back to this late but I was wondering if you made
a decision about a new snow mule yet??

I am not sure if the never used Reist single stage commercial side snow thrower
is still for sale on tractor house but it would be worth looking at.


Leon

 

[Slo-moe]

I have the rotating brush on a Steiner. It is by far the best thing I've ever bought and used for a tractor of any kind. That coming from a guy who had a 73" Allied 3ft tall snowblower. That thing was useless to me as it was way too large for my task. The rotating brush allows me to have the clearest driveway in the neighborhood. By 10am it is even dry with just a little sun. No salt needed cause it clears straight down to the pavement.

That is very good to hear! It appears you use it primarily for your driveway. Presumably, without many obstacles. In my neighborhood, they thought it was a good idea to plug up the sidewalks with large planters, streetlights, mailboxes, fire hydrants, traffic signs, decorative trees, benches etc. Lots of them! Because I've never operated a Ventrac or Steiner, I'm curious as to its maneuverability brooming snow around these obstacles. I did briefly test drive one without an attachment. Seems pretty good.

 

[Slo-moe]

you might check out this thread (and others) on plow site-

Best sidewalk machine?

www.plowsite.com

plow site is to commercial clearing as this site is to tractors

very good to know - thank you!

 

[stevem5215]

I have used my Steiner 420 with the RS350 (50" brush) on sidewalks around here. Angled the brush is about 6" wider than the sidewalks are and will brush from edge to edge and into the grass a small amount. The other good thing about the brush is that if you turn the brush off it's basically a snowplow then too. One pass with it off if too much to brush and the one pass with it on to clear the rest. Obviously light fluffy snow is easier than heavy wet snow as well.

 

[Slo-moe]

Pulled the trigger. I was a bit surprised that these are not readily available in my area. Had to travel a few hours to find a dealer that had inventory.

 

[MossRoad]

Nice! Enjoy the cab.

 

[Slo-moe]

Although not a substantial test, I used the Ventrac on a 2” wet snow. Its impressive! Now working on a way to carry a shovel.

 

[dodge man]

Nice looking machine!

 

[MossRoad]

Although not a substantial test, I used the Ventrac on a 2” wet snow. Its impressive! Now working on a way to carry a shovel.

As I think I mentioned before, a local university has several of them. They work great. Gotta be careful you don't run too many RPMs while facing glass windows. They can fling rocks and debris.

Keep track of the length of the bristles VS hours of use and you may be able to figure out how many hours of operation before brush replacement is required, to predict future needs.