RTV 900 sucks at snow plowing?

[slowzuki]

Your dealer is steering you right. A plow on anything small can't carry snow far before it has to get rid of it. Sunken areas that drift are a pain. One of my driveways is like that. Plow is great first few storms then you can't move it anywhere, and the banks make it fill in deeper when drifting. Then you get to snowblow. Over, and over, and over. If you snowblow from the start the banks stay low and its not too bad. Plowing with the snow is not possible as it fills in at about 6" per hour when the wind blows even after the storm. Once the wind stops just blow it out.

Okay, got more info. In his experience, people with situations like mine have been mightily disappointed in the snow removal performance of the RTV. Knowing my land, he feels putting a snow blower on the B3030 would be a better bet. Here's why:

I have a 300 yard stretch of sunken road where there is an incline on one side and a three foot tall stone wall on the other. About half of this is a 25+% grade. That's the section he's worried about. The RTV will handle the driveway just fine, ditto the tenant's driveway. But that sunken section has nowhere to put the snow so it has to be pushed, or removed one FEL bucket at a time, especially when blowing wind fills it in to a depth of 3 feet or so.

So far from being a "fool," as one response so uncharitably put it, this is a case of a well-intentioned dealer who not only knows his products, but his customers' land as well.

Must ponder this a bit.

 

[jcmseven]

Our most recent comment changes the course of discussion a little bit. It is true that if areas where multiple recurrent snows happen piles form and these are difficult to move. This happened last year here, where we got three 15" snowfalls close together and our road is an old logging road that has a sheer edge and no place to put extra snow. It is a narrow two lane when clear, far less with 20" snow windrows on either side. That is an instance where blowing snow away is the better option. In this case, just getting a snowblower is the way to go. Where I live, stacked snows like this do not happen often and usually one snow will melt away before another falls. In that case, a plow and UTV is tough to beat. I will tell you my Gator XUV weighs right at 2000# with the front blade and without me, unballasted. We must be careful not to confuse this with a 600 pound ATV for snow moving. 2000 pounds is a fair amount of weight, even for a small compact tractor and my Gator will handle a 72" plow that weighs 150# itself without any trouble, even in deep snow. Mix with that it is true four wheel drive, has very aggressive tires, two ranges, 52 HP, and suspension with ground clearance, it is a formidable snow moving machine. The Kubota has only "three wheel" drive, like a tractor and less suspension travel, but it is diesel and a little heavier stock, so it should do similarly well. Has your dealer actually used a UTV such as this Kubota for snow removal?? I know my dealer, good as he is, has told me some things based on opinion he has heard from someone else, only for me to find later they may not have been valid, through no intent of his.

John M

 

[slowzuki]

I'm telling you right now even with 10,000 lbs of weight behind it, plowing deep drifted snow out to a place to get rid of it doesn't work, its why I get work from the guys with trucks plowing driveways. Even a 40,000 lb front end loader will be time consuming to move all that snow to somewhere it can get rid of it at.

 

[coobie]

One of the tasks I thought the RTV would be good at -- and a lot faster than the tractor -- is snow removal on my driveway and the rental property up the hill. My dealer, whose opinions I have come to value, says they suck at snow plowing and that I'd surely be disappointed.

I can see that it handles steep uphill better with a bit of weight in the bed, so ballast would be a must for plowing. But sucks seems a little harsh, don't you think?

To be fair, this is New England we're talking about. Land of the wet heavy snow over a bed of ice. And my road is a 24% grade. Maybe it does fine in the light, fluffy stuff and not so well in our conditions..?

Now that statement is a real HOOT!! I have been useing my 2006 RTV 900 snow plowing here in michigan every winter since 2006.All I can say this baby plows snow like theres no tomarrow.Find a different dealer whos knows what he is talking about.coobie

 

[Boondox]

I appreciate your input but if you read the entire thread you'll see that this dealer is very much aware of his products AND my land, and is trying to do right by me.

Please try to remember that tractor users often have long-term and very cordial relationships with the dealers who support them. That is definitely the case with me, and statements that slam a friend of long standing are not necessary nor well-received.

TBN has always been a very civil place. Let's not turn it into talk radio.

Regards,
Pete

 

[John Deere 55]

My grandfather has an RTV 1100 and it sucks at plowing also. We have an elk farm in New Hampshire. We use it to feed them and we are very satisfied with it. His house is at the top of the hill and the elk the bottom. In the winter thats whatwe use for climbing the hill. It works awesome.

 

[timswi]

My grandfather has an RTV 1100 and it sucks at plowing also. We have an elk farm in New Hampshire. We use it to feed them and we are very satisfied with it. His house is at the top of the hill and the elk the bottom. In the winter thats whatwe use for climbing the hill. It works awesome.

I have an 1100 and mine does a great job of plowing...Where are you having issues? The worksite tires aren't the greatest for snow, I have ATV's on mine.

 

[jcombs]

Boondox,

I've been following the thread and thought I would step in and explain what I'm seeing as the disconnect between you and those that you seem to be getting angry at for questioning your dealer.

Your initial statement was "My dealer, whose opinions I have come to value, says they suck at snow plowing and that I'd surely be disappointed.", which I believe has been clearly refuted by the experience of others. To say that the dealer doesn't know what he is talking about based on that quote seems accurate.

However, since then you provided additional information that seems to indicate that the dealer is not saying that RTVs "...suck at snow plowing", rather that in your situation, on your particular piece of property, an RTV is not going to do a good job. That doesn't mean they suck at snow plowing, simply that one might not be the idea tool for your job. That would be like saying that a tractor sucks at plowing a garden plot, when really what is meant is that a tractor would not be a good choice for you to plow your backyard garden because it is too wide to fit between houses to get to your backyard

 

[Boondox]

Boondox,

I've been following the thread and thought I would step in and explain what I'm seeing as the disconnect between you and those that you seem to be getting angry at for questioning your dealer.

Your initial statement was "My dealer, whose opinions I have come to value, says they suck at snow plowing and that I'd surely be disappointed.", which I believe has been clearly refuted by the experience of others. To say that the dealer doesn't know what he is talking about based on that quote seems accurate.

However, since then you provided additional information that seems to indicate that the dealer is not saying that RTVs "...suck at snow plowing", rather that in your situation, on your particular piece of property, an RTV is not going to do a good job. That doesn't mean they suck at snow plowing, simply that one might not be the idea tool for your job. That would be like saying that a tractor sucks at plowing a garden plot, when really what is meant is that a tractor would not be a good choice for you to plow your backyard garden because it is too wide to fit between houses to get to your backyard

Understand that I'm not angry, just a bit shocked by name calling. The word "sucks" is so commonly used in the rural vocabulary around here that it's just shorthand for "it won't do the job." Regional differences exist which is why I included the statement "whose opinions I have come to value" as a way of letting readers know my dealer is not some inexperienced crackpot. My beef is that (1) folks joining a short thread really ought to read at least a few of the responses since discussions tend to evolve a bit, and (2) I suppose I miss the civility of the TBN of ten years ago. It's entirely possible to make your point without the use of judgemental terms.

Your response is very old school TBN, very civil, and I appreciate it.

Pete

 

[art]

I feel they are very good at plowing and understanding the conditions I can only recommend one solution!

A front snow blower for the RTV!!!! Keep the loader on the 3030!

We have 1100's out with 78" front blades and they do plow well!!!