John Deere 47/59 snowblowers

[sqdqo]

Are the John Deere 47/59 snowblowers well built? Looking at one and am wanting know if they hold up and function well.

 

[Pipestone Kid]

I have a 47. On my third winter with it. The only thing I have had to do is replace a couple of shear bolts. ( should have checked for the rocks in the fall) Moves a lot of snow!

 

[Spudland_Dave]

IMO...nope.

From MY point of view....

• Sheet Metal is thin
• Overall size is small (59" unit on a 3x20 for example, the blower to fit my F935 was the 47" Both too small for their intended machines.)
• Rotation Setup is not as good as it could be..Cables?
• Proprietary Mounting
• Cost

IMO any of the above could possibly be overlooked if it werent for the last one i mentioned...cost...a complete blower unit (not talking Mid-PTO if you dont already have it) isnt cheap. Add everything together and I wouldnt and couldnt honestly reccomend one.

From a working standpoint...they are good workin blowers...

If you're DEAD set on a front blower...I'd buy a Kubota tractor as they have a nice front blower. I'd reccomend a Frontier 3pt Blower. I said it in another post, but If I REALLY wanted a front blower, I'd get the front 3pt & Mid-PTO for my 3520 and look to rig up a Kubota 72" blower out front....

 

[turbo36]

IMO...nope.



From MY point of view....

• Sheet Metal is thin
• Overall size is small (59" unit on a 3x20 for example, the blower to fit my F935 was the 47" Both too small for their intended machines.)
• Rotation Setup is not as good as it could be..Cables?
• Proprietary Mounting
• Cost

If you're DEAD set on a front blower...I'd buy a Kubota tractor as they have a nice front blower. front....

Sheet Metal is thin - I've owned both blowers for over 15 years and never had a problem, the 59" has pretty thick sheet metal in my opinion. The new 54" does have thicker sheet metal on the side plates then the 47".

Overall size is small (59" unit on a 3x20 for example, the blower to fit my F935 was the 47" Both too small for their intended machines.) - The new 54" solves the problem for the smaller frame tractors. I agree the 59" should be larger, rumors are it's coming.

Rotation Setup is not as good as it could be..Cables? - Never had a problem with the cables, a gear setup might be nice but I've seen what gravel does when caught in the gears and it isn't pretty.

Proprietary Mounting - What front mount system isn't?

Cost - Maybe, when I looked at other systems they all seemed to cost too much, Deere's system in more because you have to buy the quick hitch as well as the blower but once you have the hitch all the front mount components work with it.

If you're DEAD set on a front blower...I'd buy a Kubota tractor as they have a nice front blower. front. - isn't that the tail wagging the dog???
Both tractors are quite nice and I came close to buying a B3030 Cab but the fit and finish was not even close to the Deere Cab. The price was no bargain either. I thought the blower hook up on the Kubota was crude compared to the Deere.

"To each, his own"

 

[sunnyside360]

I have about 1000 ft of driveway to clear and had good results with the 47 (2 stage) for about 5 years till it was upgraded to a 59 on a 3720 cab 3 yrs ago. The 59 also does a great job moving snow and I have had zero problems with it, not even a shear pin. Freezing snow in the chute can happen to all blowers -- just treat the area with Fluid Film to minimize clogging. I'd definitely buy either the 47 or 59 again.

 

[JSR LLS]

I ditto what Sunnyside360 and Pipestone kid say! Never (knock on wood) have sheared a bolt on my 47. Am on my third winter with it also.

 

[Spudland_Dave]

Both tractors are quite nice and I came close to buying a B3030 Cab but the fit and finish was not even close to the Deere Cab. The price was no bargain either. I thought the blower hook up on the Kubota was crude compared to the Deere.

"To each, his own"

We agree on something! I thought the same about the JD Cab, which is exactly why I'm a happy owner of a 3520 Cab.

IMO not shearing a bolt on a snowblower isnt anything that make it a better blower...that just means you guys (like me) do our best to make sure there arent any bricks/blocks/rocks/and other blower killing obstacles in our driveways...

When I bought my tractor, the dealer could have probably talked me into a 72" front mount blower if they would have offered the same blower as the others. NO Way would I pay what they wanted for the 59"....

As for the proprietary mounting, your right....they all are. Its really only a problem if your planning or even REMOTELY planning on trading in for another machine....Goes hand in hand with the price thing...

Tail wagging the dog...I guess to some degree thats true of everything....I bought the tractor I have not because it had nice tires or was a cool color....I bought it because I wanted the JD cab...back in those days I was a PR tranny guy....I "settled" with the eHydro because I wanted to cab, the tail wagging my dog back then was the cab.....as a side note...2 years later, I'm an eHydro beliver...I wouldnt go back to a PR tranny if I had to.

I guess to sum up the gist of this and my original post....its not that the 47/54/59 are bad blowers, they just arent as good as what the competition offers on similar machines. Like I said...I dont mind paying more if I'm getting more. I just feel that for what JD is charging for those blowers you could/should get a way better blower.

Park a 59" blower side by side with a 72" Kubota unit, do a detailed technical analysis and report back....

 

[Henri88]

[/I] isn't that the tail wagging the dog???

Ha,ha! Like that one Turbo. Spudland may have some good point, but I can't agree with all of them. This is my second winter with my 47'' blower, not much experience compare to other members, but we do receive a lot of snow up here, (not as much this year) so here's my experience with it. As far as blowing the snow goes, not a problem, works just fine. Never had an issue with the chute or cable and no snow clogging in the chute. Easy to install or remove with the quick hitch. Broke some sheared pin at first, 3/4 of the time was my fault for not tight them up enough, the rest was a good thing they broke,cause by ice and frozen pieces of turf. Other problem I had was a broken lock collar that I only notice in the spring and that was cause by a bend shaft. (manufacture problem) Seem to be an isolated problem since I never heard anybody else with that problem. Parts and repair all done on the warranty. I don't baby my blower when I'm using it, but I do a regular maintenance on it. I used it in hard snow and ice without any issue. I love my blower, but then again, I only used it for a winter and a half. My comment may be a little bias since I only have experience with that particular snowblower, but I am still very satisfy with it and wouldn't hesitate to buy one again. jmho

 

[Henri88]

Sorry Spudland, I miss your second post while I was writing mine. Now I understand your opinion much better after reading it.

 

[turbo36]

Park a 59" blower side by side with a 72" Kubota unit, do a detailed technical analysis and report back....

I agree there should be a 72" blower; I am very disappointed with Deere for being arrogant and telling us what we should buy.

I do think the new front hitch system on the Deere is the best around. I can drop the loader and have the blower on in less then a 1/2 hour with no tools. This includes tie wrapping the hoses and putting the rear blade on.