Thanks for the input from all. Unfortunately it seems that GRSTHEGREAT is the only person who purchased one and has not had an opportunity to use it yet. Would love to hear about your experience when you get to use it.
As a follow up to some of the questions posted for me - this location has been a weekend property for me for 7 years now so unfortunately I have seen the end of my driveway completely plowed in (over 3-4ft generally) by the town plow trucks after any decent snow. It also ends adjacent to a large horse pasture so considerable drifts are a challenge as well.
For cost reasons we are leaning toward a bucket and rear mounted snow blower. We have a plow truck and will likely keep it for another year to see how things go. I would love a skid steer and would prefer it for snow removal but don't have the funds for both a tractor and skid steer.
I am dreading blowing snow for 2000' in reverse and then turning around to dig out the end of the drive but we'll see how it goes.
Thanks again for all of the feedback.
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What make you think you have to dig out the driveway entrance?
Speed is not the issue, the power required for the job is what the issue is for you.
A lot of folks have
B3030's with front mounted snow casters that operate in deep snow. The front mounts simply cost more to own.
Traveling in reverse at:
One mile per hour you are traveling at 88 feet per minute and covering 2000 feet will require 23 minutes to make one pass in reverse.
Two miles per hour is 176 feet per minute and will require 11 minutes to make one pass with the snow caster.
Three miles per hour is 264 feeet per mimute and will require 8 minutes (rounde higher) to make one pass with the snow caster.
4 miles per hour is 352 feet per minute and will require 6 minutes (rounded higher) to make one pass with the snow caster.
The larger the row crop tractor you have the less time it will take you to use a snow caster.
A hydraulic snow caster on a front mounted loader or for that matter a skid steer loader will requre more time and you loose efficiency due to the hydraulic motor and the pump that feeds the motors for the snow caster
impeller.
You are limited in the amount of snow clearing ability with front mounted hydraulic snow caster due to the smaller square area of the cross auger and the smaller impeller of a hydraulic snow caster.
For the price of a skid steer and an underpowered snow caster you would be better of buying a used row crop tractor with 70 plus horse power and a 6-7 foot rear mounted snow caster from Art White.
You do not have to dread casting snow in reverse, A lot of folks do it every year. The use of a row crop tractor with an hydrostatic transmission allows you to do it as the operators seat swivels in most models and allows you to look at what your doing easily. Some of the folks depend on the mirrors they have mounted on the tractor completely and have no issues as they see the entire work area with the mirrors. Some of the members have back up cameras, I have two of them mounted front and rear and it makes my life that much easier as the cameras provide a wide field of view.
You need a pair of steering knobs to aid you in doing this job and many of us have them mounted on our tractors and it aids considerably in backing and reducing fatigue while operating a rear mounted implement including snow casters.
You could have the best of both worlds by purchasing a utility tractor with a Mid Mount PTO and purchase a rear mounted snow caster with a front mounted three point hitch to run a bigger snow caster up front.
Another option is renting an unused tractor from a neighbor if possible and buying large enough snow caster for the snow blower. Most large row crop tractors have two or three rear remotes that can handle operating the hydraulic chute and spout cylinders on a rear mounted snow caster with no problem.
There are a lot of good used farm tractors for sale nationwide.
