5101E vs 5105M for Snow Business related.

[Greenpto35]

Point taken, I am seriously considering going larger so Deere 6 series or equivalent. Of course I'm not sure of the price differential.. If I could find a good used 6x30 (premium-thinking big) with decent Deere financing that would suit my commercial needs without being too huge and heavy. I will have to go on line and see what is available local with low hours. While checking prices on the smaller 5 series it seemed as if there were fleets of the larger row crop machines in Canada. Anything with less than 800hrs or so is just broken-in let's face it. Depends what they were used for. I think top speed tends to be a little better for going between accounts too. I have never been unhappy by going with a little more power or capability. I will have to look at the heights though. Also It would be a little too wide to get down my small woods logging trails but I'm not going to make a decision based on that non paying work. I could widen them a little. I still have my 1070 after all.

So keeping my options open at the moment. I really need to sit in a couple candidate machines, check out the layout and drive them to determine how the size will affect smaller jobs. A 9-13 horst wing could pay some bills. A big inverted blower could really save me time when dealing with my Condo units as the available space for stacking snow is limited and the lots are all broken up into pods. If we don't have a thaw mid season my times can double later on everything the same. A blower would really help that issue.

PioneerMan, 4720 is a step up def. from my 1070 and has good capacities for what it . I dont move snow with my 1070 though except to push back a few banks occasionally. The 4720 is what professionals use around here to clear artificial turf in March for it's light weight and small footprint. They tend to be a little top heavy with out loaded tires. Not nearly big enough to deal with serious snow on acre lots IMO. My 9'6 x-v blade on my truck with half ton of salt in the hopper will blow the doors off it on pavement while moving snow. HP, speed and quick hydraulics being the culprits. Gas stations use them occasionally here as they can stack snow when there is no room.

 

[PioneerMan]

Understandable. I really like the 4x20, but it is still a compact, and has limitations. I would think that any more than 500 lbs of snow would slow it down, which can add up real fast. And with the light weight you would almost need chains just to get around.

 

[RichardMeyer]

Green pto,

Why are you going to mount your blower on the rear if you are willing to order front pto and front 3pt? Why not front mount blower and put rear blade on. This always was a little quicker and less painful for me.

Rich

 

[Greenpto35]

Rich, The front snow blower mount would have been to serve another purpose not the main lots I do. I was hoping to use the same snowblower for both front and rear. At the moment I will be getting a inverted one for the back and forget the front power takeoff.

Everything's a compromise. Artificial turf clearing after big storms with the front blower was a possiblity. Snow can be deep and solid. Tough to drive through. It would have been beneficial to use the same blower for that operation on the front and use the front 3PH for a big blade to push off the frame for normal lots I do, however, I will be past the weight limits for a turf field if I go bigger so it doesnt really matter now.

Convention around here seems to be the blade goes on front for speed in clearing lots. Most of the work needs to be stacked a bit and there's usually a curb so unless you are pushing and stacking going forward, Not sure how are you going to stack an acre of snow. Pulling a rear blade is slick if the snow's not to deep or heavy. I'm also not pushing in reverse for a dozen hrs or so every storm so I don't want a rear pushing blade. I don't have time to handle snow twice either. I'd rather not push the weight we're talking about off the loader arms. I do want the option to use a skewed blade for wind-rowing if that make ,sense for the situation. Same for pushing a max amount of snow with the box. An option to Blade using the loader would be available too. If I'm buying a tractor, I'll be buying a loader. A front snow blower is great but I don't think its a match for what a 9' box blade can carry or 13' straight blade can do when wind-rowing heavy wet snow. Both doable with a Horst wing plow or kage pusher. So for me a plow on the front and a inverted blower on the back until I learn there's a better way.

 

[AKfish]

I believe you can get the "BigBoy" version of eHydro in the 6000 Premium lineup - IVT transmission - "Infinitely Variable Transmission". It has a F/R reverser lever on the column like a PowerReverser transmission. Able to creep up on things or fly WOT and no shifting!

That said, I'll have to admit to some confusion regarding your plan. To my way of thinking; there's a pretty big difference between commercial snow removal/plowing and residential jobs. Having dual purpose, crossover equipment that fit both job types is a real tall order - IMO.

The 5000 series with either a sync-shuttle or Powereverser is not a good residential machine - based on my experience with the PR tranny in close quarters. The frame size and difficulty seeing the bucket and loader visibility is not a strong suit, either. (Of course, sitting in a skid-steer and running in reverse is not a stress reduction exercise, either!) If I were doing close quarter work and driveways, etc. I'd be more focused on a 4000 cab tractor with eHydro and the 6' front mounted snow blower - Frontier makes it - I think... Wheel wts. and Rimguard in the rears. Or the hydraulic front snowblade that Workpro offers in their skidsteer-construction lineup (might be a Frontier model, too). Quick attach.

Wouldn't be nearly enough machine for high-end commercial jobs, though. Be lookin' at those Premium machines with IVT and a Kage pusher!

Good luck with your decision!

AKfish

 

[RedNeckRacin]

GreenPTO- I was browsing your thread and I would very seriously consider the cost of a larger truck and trailer in your purchasing decision. I recently just sold my 05 Ram 3500 SRW truck to upgrade a bit. I was towing my 5083E with rim guard and 563NSL loader plus my 1700lb concrete counter weight and it was all I wanted behind that truck with my GN. I was well over 23k combined. The rimguard alone added something like 1500lbs per tire. The loader was 1500lbs roughly. So combined my tractor was over 12k easily. I would absolutely reccomened the air suspension seat over the spring seat unless your snow moving is on very smooth surface.


On the other hand, you can hardly ever have too much HP. The Power reversor is not very smooth though. It makes me somewhat nervous inching back into my implements. I would also reccomend getting 6scv's three in the back and three mid mount. Some new fancy/handy implements need three seperate spools to work. Good luck!!

 

[pclausen]

I agree with what everyone is saying. I have a 5085M with the PowrReverser and it is not easy to inch forward or backwards, especially when on a slope. Also agree that front visibility for close quarter loader work is tricky. I have not yet used mine for snow clearing, but I'm ready for the next storm now with my 3-way hydraulic 96" rear blade and H260 SL loader w/ 85" bucket.

My previous rig was a 4700 with a 460 loader and Woods HD mechanical rear blade. Had R4 tires, no chains, but liquid ballast in rears. It was ok for the 1 mile or so worth of driveway I cleared, but I bet I could do the job in 1/4th the time with the M!

I have a 2002 3500 Dmax 4x4 dually and a 14k GN trailer, and yes, transporting the M with loader and heavy rear attachment is right at the limit on dry pavement. I would hate to attempt going up/down any significant hills on uncleared roads.

I had a 6 series loaner while I was waiting on my 5085M to be delivered and that, expectedly, had even less close quarter visibility for front loader work, and really pushed my truck and trailer on the ragged edge for transporting.

 

[CinderSchnauzer]

With all this snow talk, I cruised by the local JD store earlier today to see if the snow crew was there waiting for set up. There were 23 new units lined up. 7 x 6125R, 3 x 6430 Premium and 13 x 7130 / 7230 / 7330 Premium. Most will go out with Horst HLA Hydraulic Snow Wings.

 

[pclausen]

Wow, I take it you're not in Florida? I was at my dealer today as well and saw a fresh 7330 Premium on the lot. Properly setup, that thing could move some snow. Probably not so much in a small residential driveway with lots of delicate landscaping.

 

[RedNeckRacin]

Wow, I take it you're not in Florida? I was at my dealer today as well and saw a fresh 7330 Premium on the lot. Properly setup, that thing could move some snow. Probably not so much in a small residential driveway with lots of delicate landscaping.

you mean a 7330 couldn't move that delicate landscaping handily?