Buying Advice Tractor Advice -The hunt is on.

[hdmyers]

Good evening

After lurking for some time (and posting about my old forklift/snowplow) I find myself needing to maintain my property again.. I'm situated in Ontario... the 'Kawarthas'. near to Haliburton/Minden area. So we get a fair amount of snow.

We have 14 acres..most of it is left alone. I'm not looking to cut grass...but maybe keep a trail or two open.
We have ~1300 ft driveway. Nice gravel base. I'll need to plow/blow it.. and perhaps do some minor grading (not sure how reasonable it is to have gravel delivered and do repair/put down gravel with a machine vs having contractor do that)

So blowing snow, maybe front trip plow as well, loader, bushog...

I've looked at the L2601 and the Workmaster 25... seems the Kubota has cheaper price so far on the quote.. and that's with 2 remotes for the snowblower, along with the bush hog and loader.

Went to look at the L2601 series...it was bigger than I thought it would be. Even the BX didn't look too small.

Welcome thoughts/suggestions.

Cheers

HDM

 

[Peter 315]

You looking at a cabbed tractor if you get a lot of snow ?...........

 

[Diggin It]

I've looked at the L2601 and the Workmaster 25...

LS makes that and if you can find a local dealer that sells the LS version, it should be priced quite a bit less.

 

[Roadworthy]

While you're exploring see which tractors support a front snow thrower unless you don't mind going backward. A dealer nearby is better than a distant one - unless he's a total jerk out to rob you.

 

[stevem5215]

And you should consider a cab on the tractor. Due to where you live. It actually snows. And you'll want to stay warm.

Steve

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I agree on the cabbed tractor.

I wouldn't even consider an open station for snow work.

 

[Bigpuddie]

Look at a Massey Ferguson 1745

 

[rScotty]

A cab is nice for the wintertime, but in our area it sure isn't as handy as an open station with a canopy in the summertime.

Plus to cab or not has a lot to do with the operator's age and finances. I'm still in the "it's better to have a little nicer tractor than a cab." age group.
Bottom line is it's nice to have a winter tractor and a summer one.
rScotty

 

[PEJ5]

Canadians don't need cabs for snow blowing. . I may consider a soft cab down the road, but I am happy to be open station for everything else.

I would recommend a blower vs a plow unless maybe you have deep ditches. Even so, it would be much easier to blow it out of the way. Plowing any amount of snow will require chains. Definitely, a hydraulic chute control and hydraulic or electric deflector are required. I installed skids to reduce blowing rocks, but remove them once the base is frozen and covered. 1300 feet is a long driveway to be looking backwards but front blowers are very pricey and you lose your bucket. Pick up a used rear blower to start and try it for a year.

I have found driveway grading to be good fun (satisfying reaults) and I would certainly not pay someone else to do it. There are some good videos comparing blade types and approach.

Finally, I would encourage you to check out a Kioti if you have a local dealer.

 

[metalbender]

Smart Canadians use cabs for snow blowing. Also older should make one smarter, learn from other's mistakes. A brisk wind even at -15 will take the smile off pretry quick.