Will a Kubota B2650 cab make it up this hill in snow

[Jaylegger]

Piece of cake, the tread on turf tire make a fantastic snow tire for a front blower and black asphalt clears itself of ice relatively quickly. adjust shoes to have blade about 1/4" or slightly less from surface and you'll have few issues with blade wear, traction, or ice build up. Your number of passes might be off by a factor of two determined by depth of snowfall.

 

[OrangeMuscle]

The driveway is a half mile long. Other duties for the tractor besides snowblowing would be using a rotary or flail to keeps the weedy sections tamed down the edges of the drive, grappling to keep the grounds gorgeous and manicured, and to use for whatever else might pop up.

 

[RickB]

Well Orange Muscle in the Mid Hudsun Valley if your driveway is actually 16 degrees which is quite steep;
Results:
An angle of 16 degrees converts to:
28.67 Percent of a Slope

I doubt that you will be traveling it safely without chains,
my driveway is not paved it is 14 to 16 degrees or up to 28% slope.
With the wet snows that we get I require studded snows on all vehicles that reside here.
I have used most every variety of chain made for trucks or tractors the bar reinforced 2 link spaced chains are good,
however they are a long way from the best, the Euro style studded chains are much better (there are numerous threads here on chains).
When chains are used the best gripping chains will provide traction without spinning, the spinning is what tears up driveways.

All of my snow removal equipment is chained most of the time for my drive.
Is this your first winter on that drive?

I'm assuming that mid Hudsun Valley is south of Albany.

I agree with Lou.
I spent most of my 62 years in northeast Dutchess County. Plowed snow for a Dairy Farm in the early years, a 1/4 mile driveway with moderate slope the last 29 years and various neighbors driveways along the way. Get chains before winter, have them installed, leave them on. 4 link will probably be adequate, 2 link will ride much better, grip better and spin less. Ice is a concern in your locale as is rain falling on packed snow. You are fooling yourself thinking you can do without tire chains.

 

[atsah]

OP, 1/2 mile long would be enough for me to consider a bigger cabbed tractor.. You will need chains regardless of the size of the tractor.. Every winter the conditions change, more ice some winters than others.. At the very least you will need 2-link latter chains.

 

[BAP]

How quick do you need to get the driveway clear? That makes a difference in how big of a tractor you need.

 

[Rustyiron]

Holy moly thats a lot of money. The only thing that will take the sting away is if it snows like crazy all the time.

I'm not saying the "B" won't do it (I don't have any experience blowing with that size) and you got a few :thumbsup: from those that do, Also my experience does not tell me that a bigger, heavier tractor will do any better in snowy conditions than a lighter one and 60k is some expensive snow removal, but for your other tasks it should be a plus and when you "get out" of that tractor it may be a plus. Look around here for threads on chains and the screw in studs, your concern in my past experience about tire chains and scarring up your new pavement are valid, I use the screw in studs and they do not provide the same traction as chains but just enough to get the job done without scarring customers driveways. Sound's like this is your first tractor, don't worry you'll find endless chores for it once the key's in your pocket:drink:

 

[Vaquero]

"It's not the arrow, it's the indian".

Operator skill determines what works and when.
For the record, I deal with mud and dust. Not too much snow.

 

[Rustyiron]

"It's not the arrow, it's the indian".

:drink: In all other conditions, I'm right there with ya Vaquero. But if your steering wheel is (effectively) removed, and your tires are (effectively again) bald and dipped in grease,
there's not a lot of driver input. Cowboy's or Indians, bullets or arrows the skill with snow & ice come's in assessing your approach.

It's "glossy" looking because it's ice.

 

[Howling]

I have sloped driveway and BX w/ front blower.


Don't need chains most of the time. But when when mother nature decides to drop the temperature and rain turns to snow with an ice base do need chains to get back up the hill.

 

[RickB]

I have sloped driveway and BX w/ front blower.
View attachment 614362

Don't need chains most of the time. But when when mother nature decides to drop the temperature and rain turns to snow with an ice base do need chains to get back up the hill.

I got over trying to guess when chains are needed about 45 years ago. They went on in the Fall in above freezing weather and came off when all danger of needing them had passed. Last thing I was going to do was install them at the far end of the driveway.
When I moved south the tire chains stayed in NY.