Snowblower + FEL, SCUT, CUT, Skid steer, what will work best for me?

[jchewie]

I asked a couple questions in this thread, but didn't want to derail it further.

I live in Michigan's Upper Peninsula with a seasonal average of 125 inches of snow in my area.

Here's what I need to clear:
180' asphalt driveway (drive + two driveway widths on each side to give the wind blown snow somewhere to drift, works great so I normally only have to blow once a day)
180' path to barn over grass, double snowblower width
80' path from driveway to propane tank over grass, double snowblower width

It would be nice to clear another 80' around the house over grass but not required.


I have a walk behind 28" Ariens that clears up to about 8 inches of snow ok, but gets a real workout in 18 inches of snow. There are several passes every night that are 18" + deep drifted snow, plus the paths pretty much drift shut daily. The walk behind snowblower handles this, but it is tough and slow going.


Plowing this area with a truck or tractor or pushing with a snow pusher box is out due to the layout of the house, outbuildings, yard, and prevailing wind.
I would like a tractor mounted snowblower to do these tasks. Front mounted *seems* like it would be the cat's meow, but I could certainly work with a rear mounted TPH blower.


Here's where I need additional advice - there are a few things the walk behind cannot do:

1) The county plow throws hard packed snow and ice 30' up the end of the drive.
The walk behind gets most, but not all, of this, even with the skids adjusted up so the scraper bar runs on the ground.
Given a couple months, even with daily clearings, this area becomes layered hard ice and snow - mostly ice.
Then the FWD vehicles crunch through the top layer of ice and wind up stuck - they only need a little push or pull but you aren't going anywhere until they get it.
Temperatures stay consistently cold enough that salt doesn't cut through this.
In the past I used a spud and chipped it all out by hand over the course of several days but need a different solution this year.
Chipping or scraping this hardpack away is a twice a winter task if I let it build up to six inches or so (or more frequent if required because of a smaller machine)

2) There is a deep steep ditch parallel with the road at the end of the drive. I clear to the edge of the ditch with the blower. The ditch drifts full, then keeps drifting up where the snowblower and county plow dump snow, but it is never firm enough to walk on and run the walk behind snowblower over in order to clear two full driveway widths on either side like I do in the yard. With the prevailing wind and the county plow this area has a tendency to drift shut overnight. I need something to reach out over the ditch a couple feet to remove at least the face of the drift when it gets too tall. This is a once a month activity.

3) This year was the first year I had to rake the roof. The resulting pile was 6 feet high, 6 feet wide, and 60 feet long. I used a snow shovel and scooped it all into small manageable sized chunks that the walk behind could disperse in the yard. If the wind stays low this will be a once a month activity.

My wrists and hands will no longer put up with prolonged spudding, chopping, or scooping, so I really need to select the right tools to manage these tasks.




Can a front or rear facing tractor mounted snowblower accomplish #1 and #3? If so, I can live with #2.
Is the typical loader on a SCUT up to these tasks?
If not, would I need to step up to a CUT or Utility tractor?
Should I start shopping for a well used skid steer?
What won't wreck the asphalt or tear up the yard too bad? I see several posts on expedient blade guards that look simple and cost effective - pipe, rubber, UHMW.

Massey, Kubota, and Deere dealers are in the area.
I stopped in to the Kubota dealer and talked briefly with a salesman about a BX series tractor.
I could be talked into spending as much as $20k on this, but it would have to wait a couple years. I really want to keep it about half that.
Less is even better, but the used market in the immediate area in winter time is near nonexistent.

A guy at work is considering selling his late 90s B series Kubota with front mounted blower and FEL. 5XX hours, thinking about asking $10k. No cab. I'm going to ask to try it out this week.

I'm very familiar with wrenching on stuff but also have four kids. I will not fight worn out junk in subzero temperatures in my unheated barn. I'm probably going to be in the area for a long time, and would like to purchase the right tools.



Thank you for your advice!

From tractorgp's second video in the post it looks like a blower, plus a FEL mounted plow would work fantastic.

 

[skyhook]

With the prevailing wind and the county plow this area has a tendency to drift shut overnight.

Personally, anything without a cab, I would scratch off my list, but thats just me.
A front mount blower with loader sounds nice, like you said, you could always add a plow to the bucket later.

 

[wedge40]

SAND?????

 

[boggen]

your entire thread is about snow. and nothing else about property and re purposing the machine for other tasks.

with above said, driveway and purely snow, i would say a skid steer. due to maneuverability. your able to turn on a dime, and instantly change directions. other words mid way down the drive, and you need to push some snow back further. your able to turn right there, and do just that. a tractor on other hand. your back and forth constantly and a lot of time is consumed simply trying to turn some. and even then ya end up in the yard and at weird angles. that really do not accomplish the job at hand very well. of simply pushing some snow back further in a given area.

it has been to long since i last looked at skid steers. so i am out of the loop on them. as far as some sort of front window (were ya climb in), not sure if they just offer a piece of plastic with some buttons, or if they make a flip up window or like to keep the snow from blowing back on you.

i am not sure if you would need tracks for ice/snow ((majority of what i see notated)) is tracts over wheels. i can not remember the correct acronym something like TTO or OTT for the tracks over wheels. tire tracks over wheels?

the only big issue with skid steers is they do not have a high MPH option, they have a slower top speed, but being your not driving down the road or like. that really should not be an issue. if you had large acreage say 10 to 20 plus acreage driving from one end to other end = really slow and time consuming. and a tractor might be more suggested for "re purposing" the unit for non winter stuff.

the other thing ya need to double check on is "ground clearance" there are industrial units, and then you might find more of a mud/snow units with higher ground clearance, so you can move through some deeper stuff without getting stuck.

most implements for a skid steer = costlier vs a generic 3pt hitch stuff for a regular tractor.

you are more likely to get a "quick attach" with a skid steer, making it easier to swap out implements, from a snow blower, to a general duty bucket, to a snow pusher, to other.

===============
personally, would like to have a skid steer, they can be very powerful little machines that can get into tight little spots, and everything attaches out in front of you. i would most likely gotten one, if it was not for the farm and needing to go from one end to other end of property.

 

[nybirdman]

With that much snow a blower is the only way to go.With your budget the used machine even without a cab is viable.I personally don't care for Skid Steers because of the limited visibility.You can always fabricate some kind of cab.500 hours is just starting to break in for a Kubota.
The tractor can be used for other purposes down the road.

 

[tman1020]

That's a lot of snow! My first choice would be head south. But if your set on staying a cab tractor with heat would definitely be my choice. I would definitely want a blower (5' min for me). The only thing I would be undecided on would be front mount or rear mount so u can keep a front loader on to scrap out the ice. I like bx's but I think you should up size a bit with that much snow. Also with the low financing available hopefully u could get one sooner rather than later. Good luck. Keep us posted, we wood love to see some pics of a new tractor in your drive.

 

[dodge man]

Your driveway isn't that long but man, that's a lot of snow. You probably aren't going to get into anything new for 10k. Skid steers are very nice, a lot of power and they do a lot of other stuff. That would also be an advantage of having a tractor, you could mow with it, use the FEL for other stuff etc. Can you stand to be in the cold on an open platform? A cab would be nice but might be out of your price range.

For me a SCUT or CUT would be perfect with a FEL and rear mounted blower. If you have other projects and can afford attachments, skid steers are nice but even used pricey.

 

[jchewie]

SAND?????

Excellent suggestion. Regular spreading of a few bags of mason sand a week wouldn't be that expensive, but it won't help deal with a big pile from raking the roof either.

skid steer

Talking with a couple other people regarding skid steers, I'm probably going to get stuck in my yard clearing snow late fall and early spring, then wouldn't be able to use it out there at all until summer. Low drainage, clay soil. However, I would have the machine to raise the yard up pretty easy.



I do have 10 acres, 1.5 acres is yard, mowed with a basic lawn tractor, most of the remainder is former pasture/hayfield.
I can borrow/barter a tractor with rotary cutter for a day in the summer pretty easily from neighbors.
Usually repay with something they need, whether its fuel or hydraulic fluid, or motor oil.
This is not the case in the winter.

A loader would be handy around the house, primarily for firewood, but I have done fine with the utility trailer and a wheelbarrow.

This purchase is primarily to deal with the snow. If I was buying for general puttering I would get an old 2 cylinder Deere of some sort.

 

[dodge man]

In my opinion, if you had a FEL on a small tractor, you would use it more than you think. I know I do.

 

[boggen]

i still say if just for snow a skid steer. 180', ya it is some distance... but i would say some landscaping is in order, for a walking path between home/shed regardless of what you get.

if it is to wet out, it doesn't matter if it is a skid steer, tractor, truck, walking, wheel barrow. ya going to sink and make a mess, and get stuck. doesn't matter what you have, and it will take a longer time clean up the mess that you made. ya simply gotta wait it out till things dry up. all there is to it.

on other hand SCUT more likely due ya better. on the re-purposing of the machine. finish mower, if other mower breaks down, rotatory cutting, driveway maintenance, etc...

get out to some dealers and test drive different size machines to get a feel for them. all machines are able to do what you want. i doubt you will need to get into 30HP unit.. maybe some were in the 20HP maybe 25HP range SCUT would be pushing upper limits. anything over that and ya getting a bigger tractor to get job done quicker. "within reason". i would say if issue comes up of bigger tractor with extreme basics. vs a smaller tractor with all the little options. i would push for all the smaller tractor with the specific tractor smaller options. granted when ya in the SCUT's there is a lot of little things that are left out vs larger tractors (not enough room to cram all the crud into a smaller machine) but they get the job done. and have enough features to get folks by without much effort.

((split breaks / rear wheel steering breaks on opposite foot of the gas/go pedal / hst peddle)) is a big time number one must have for me. don't care if it has 4wd / MFWD i need to be able to turn. and if you have a FEL and doing any sort of work with it, you may not have front steering as wheels come off ground or have little contact with it.

bigger machine to get stuff done quicker = more likely HP for the PTO, for a wider snow blower. 1 foot more width = a lot more $$$$.

 

[tman1020]

I feel 4 wheel drive is a must. Especially with a loader or front mount snowblower

 

[skyhook]

i still say if just for snow a skid steer.

I disagree, braking on these machines involve one side to lock and the other to be free wheel,
don't drive it on grass...
if it's just for snow, maybe, but a waste of money IMO.
There small, light weight and way over priced for what they can do.
They are great for "contractor's", but in your case, a no go....IMO.
Also, get something in the 40hp area, you'll need it for those drift's.

 

[lobsterman1]

A scut with turfs and chains a rear 5 foot blower and front loader . You can also get a rough cut mower for pasture and or a finish mower later .
This would be the best set up to not destroy your lawn and do what you need in short time .

 

[jchewie]

Let's talk PTO HP.

I have had three walk behinds blowers, one 6 hp, two 8 hp. The 8 HP blowers required slow going in 12+ inches, and very slow going in 18+ inches of snow. Add another very if the snow was wet and heavy.
48 to 54 inch blowers would be effectively double the size of the walk behinds, but it seems that most SCUTs have 16-18 PTO shaft hp, about double the HP. With this shaft HP am I looking at the same rate of forward travel to clear a deep drift as with my walk behind?

 

[Jeff F.]

I have a skidsteer with a bucket and plow blade. I purchased a tractor with a front mount blower with a back blade. I was sick of getting stuck with the skidsteer and plowing a short distance and having to make a pile. Not to mention ice - sit and spin.

Now the plow sits on the storage rack. The tractor and blower is the only way to go for me

 

[dodge man]

In deep snow, I think you are correct, you will be cutting a bigger swath but might not be able to go that much faster. If your looking for speed or a bigger swath, your looking at more money of course.

 

[lobsterman1]

I had the same hp worries before I got my 5 foot blower .But after using it all last winter ,I can say it works fine. In very big drifts when the snow is packed or wet I have to slow down but that is how the blower works .Having the loader to scrape the ice and salt chunks highway puts at the end of the drive is a plus for me also .

 

[navistar505]

I have two tractors one is a JD 790 with FEL and rear blower, turf tires and the other is a NH tc33 with a front mount blower with r4 tires. I snow blow about 500+ ft.

I love the NH with the front mount blower because it throws the snow so much further it makes things easier because you can put the snow anywhere you want. also going a few hundred feet driving forward is nice. Down side is the r4 tires are not good at all on snow and ice. And the front mount does not have the power in slush and real heavy snow and can bog the tractor down.

The JD with the rear blower will go through snow banks, slush and real heavy snow like nothing, but will only throw the snow about 6 ft. the turf tires work a lot better on snow and ice. As far as the ice goes with the rear blower the FEL is still on and you can scrape with the bucket.

I also get a lot of wind and snow drifts and having a cab makes things a lot better. And a FEL is a must. You won't realize how much you will use one until you have one.

 

[doxford jim]

A tractor with a rear blower and a FEL,is, in my opinion, a very good compromise. Even an open tractor with the blower is better than a walk behind - you can always build or add a cab later. I also have a JD450 crawler with 9 blade and used to use it until I bought the rear snow blower - made lots of snow banks with the JD450 and the drive invariably got smaller in width.
The snow blower will send the snow away from the area you are clearing, the blade just pushes it to the side of the driveway. With the FEL you can always use it to clear up with and it will always be handy.

 

[jchewie]

I'm guessing that I would be a bit disappointed with a used B7300 + front blower and FEL. 16 hp at 2800 rpm, 12.5 pto hp.
The current owner wants a larger machine.