Buying Advice Tractor for Snow removal -> NEWBIE

[speedyvelo]

Another option that's worth considering at least would be a front mounted blade with a rear mounted blower.

Lt CHEG

Thank you for the reply. Thanks all for your replies. This is a hard decision and the more informed from people with experience like you is invaluable.

What's the difference between a front mounted vs a rear mounted blower in reference to snow removal, obviously is easy to drive forward ;-), but reverse driving would not be a hard mainly when is done occasionally, in a road with zero traffic. Furthermore there are now available at least for cars very inexpensive rear view cameras

-=terry=-

 

[oosik]

I too have a mile long driveway. I recently purchased a much larger tractor - from 20hp Ford to 60+hp Kubota. I always try to remove the snow from my driveway with the backblade. The heavier tractor makes this much easier because the weight keeps the rear end in a straight line when plowing. I also have a rear mounted - pto driven snow thrower. It works great but you are driving backwards all the time and believe me your neck will get very stiff!! Especially if your tractor is open station, like mine. The only front mounted snow blower/thrower I've seen derived its power from the rear pto and was a VERY expensive unit. My rear mount snow thrower was around $3000 - the front mount snow thrower was around $10,000 to $12.000. They also make hydraulic front mount snow throwers but I have no experience or knowledge of these.
There is one fact you can not avoid - if you get a heavy snow fall ( 1-2 feet) it is next to impossible to remove it from the driveway with the back blade. Even my new tractor with chains & loaded rear tires is not heavy enough to keep the operation going straight down the driveway. The pressure of the snow against the offset backblade causes the tractor to swing around. I must then resort to the snow thrower, stiff neck and about 3 hours to clear the driveway and mail box. You can also get a front mounted snow blade but this will require a subframe different than one needed for a front end loader. Actually, if you get a heavy, wet snow there is very little you can do other than wait for conditions to change (get colder). A wet snow does not plow well with the back blade and does not blow well with a snow blower/thrower. I've tried using my FEL to clear the driveway but that would take forever and since I'm retired and have no place to go in any hurry - I'll just wait it out.

 

[jenkinsph]

In Colorado and New Mexico where I live the snow is usually dry powder and is much easier to deal with. I can typically push 15 to 20 inches of snow backwards with a rear blade on my garden tractor. You need to do this before it melts and refreezes. A front mount blower that uses the mid pto is a cost effective solution on a mid sized compact tractor. If the budget is tight I would not consider a fel mounted hydraulic blower as these are high in price.

 

[buickanddeere]

A snowblower gets rid of the snow. A blade doesn't remove snow, it just pushes up a ridge that makes drifting worse.
Live pto and live hydraulics on a snowblower tractor.

 

[vtsnowedin]

There are advantages and disadvantages to every setup and situation. I don't like plowing backwards as my neck is getting creaky so wanted to be able to plow going ahead. The pickup truck plow I adapted to my tractors loader arms lets me do that. It also follows the ground as it was designed to do when truck mounted as long as I set the loader arms to the right height. It has the power angle so I can plow right or left as needed without leaving the seat. The soft cab works well even without a heater just by keeping me out of the wind and is about $6000 cheaper then a new hard cab. I can pull two pins and uncouple two hoses and put the bucket back on in minutes if I need to load snow out.
The disadvantage is that the tractor doesn't really move fast enough to throw snow well clear of the road in one pass so you end up doing winging back passes with the plow held up a foot and two wheels out in the snowbank. Also the soft cab doesn't have a windshield wiper but that is usually not a real problem. Most storms are above 15 deg.F and at that the heat coming off the tractor frame keeps the soft cab above freezing.

 

[speedyvelo]

Guys,

I have made a copy of all your replies because it is helping me a lot.

I just came from one of biggest tractor dealer in Denver area. They showed me a lot of stuff. The one tractor I saw very attractive was a
Kubota B3350 Cab tractor. It comes with a FEL and they will add a 72 inch front plow blade and a rear mount 64 inch snow blower.
It is new, size is not huge so I may be able to store it in the garage when not in use.
Price is steep and more than I was initially planning to pay but I may not have to much choice ......
Used ones are hard to find. I wanted a cab tractor and most are really big and of course I still have to buy the attachment.

Well this is just the beginning and at least I know what they are offering and what they are talking about thanks to all of your help.

Have a good weekend

-=terry=-

 

[speedyvelo]

vtsnoweding

How much power does your tractor have?

 

[mikehaugen]

If you get a skid steer quick attach forbthe front end loader, you could find a good used skid steer hydraulic snowblower. You probably won't have the hydraulic flow for one, but if you have reasonable mechanical ability you could build a nice pto hydraulic power source and run lines to the blower. This is an option I was considering, but we haven't been getting the heavy snowfalls that used to so I haven't been able to justify the cost yet. I think you could build this setup (assuming you already had the tractor) for about 4k and I think it would be perfect.

Or you could look for a good used skid steer and put a blower or snow pusher on that, especially if you were only getting this for snow chores.

 

[jenkinsph]

speedy,
I mentioned my garden tractor but I also have a Deere 110tlb and 4520 both with cabs. For your needs a 3000 series Deere with cab and front mount snowblower 59" would be comfortable to use and should work well for you. We get enough wind here that being able to blow the snow out of the way means less handling.

In light snow you can easily drive forward with a rear blade to shift all the snow into a windrow then make a pass to blow it out of the way. Also easy to back up to a garage door and around cars to pull the snow away from them.

Being able to drive forwards most of the time is easier for sure. A comparable set up in other brands would work well too, I just am more familiar with the Deere model set ups and options.

 

[Phil48]

Minus the cab, I had to face about the same reality back here. Not so much experience also, I must say that the best advice I found here were:
1-Find a dealer you want to work with! A lot can go wrong (part of the fun I guess...)
2-Try it, see it, feel it, drive it!!!
3-On a personal note, a front mount is a bliss ti drive!

Best of luck finding a good dealer

Phil