Snowblowing with Tractor vs ATV
Below are my Old Yamaha Big Bear ATV with a Kimpex snowblower (48" cut and 12 hp Honda engine) and my Kubota
B3030 HSDC (63" cut and 27 hp PTO).
The ATV/Kimpex blower did the job 95% of the time. I had to count on the kindess of others the rest of the time. The Kubota does the job 100% of the time. In all fairness the ATV could have done the job 100% of the time if I would have snowblowed more frequently in stormy conditions.
The ATV was a little colder (I got heat from the engine between my legs) but I did have to dress warmer and wear gloves as my hands usually got cold. Kubota - sweat shirt, pajama bottoms, boots to trudge through the snow to get to the tractor but no gloves. Usually have to turn the heat way down after a short while.
The ATV was a pisser to start in clold weather. I usually had to put the kerosene slalmander on it for a while, and then the battery booster to get it to start. The Honda engine was generally better. Plug in the block heater on the tractor for a sufficient time, and it always fired right up.
The snow would stick to the plastic windows of the ATV and I would constantly have to get out and clean it off. Wipers and glass windows on the tractor are a godsend. Never have to get out of the tractor, once in it except to prepare for the next session. Carry a towel in the tractor as the inside steams up at first, but eventually clears - mostly.
Both throw the snow a long way.
Better exterior lighting on the tractor than the ATV.
More maintaince and breakdowns with the blower. The belts on the blower usually had to be replaced annually and it was quite a job.
In short with the ATV/Kimpex I would look out at the snow and say to myself, "What adventure is going to befall me today?" With the Kubota, I think, "I wish we had gotten more snow."