Buying Advice Tractor for Snow removal -> NEWBIE

[speedyvelo]

Problem:
I have a 1 mile hilly dirt road to access my house. I have been looking in different tools for snow removal and after many threads in this great forum, it seems a tractor with the correct attachments would be the best solution.

Constrains:
1. I do not have unlimited resources ;-) I though that a Chinese tractor would be OK for my limited use and save me a lot.
2. I want a tractor with a cabin and warmer
3. I have not find any dealer in Colorado that sells Chinese tractors like Jimna etc.

Need advice

1, Size of the tractor
2. What attachments? snow plow, FL. snow blower??. Please with details like size etc.
3. If no dealer in Colorado, is that OK to order out of the state? do they deliver the tractor home?

I am kind of embarrassed to ask for these type of questions in this forum of heavy tractor users but....I do not know how even to drive a tractor.

TIA to all

-=terry=-

PS: I saw many chinese manufacturers to sell and ship tractors directly to the US and prices are very low but I will not go that route, I will get the tractor from a US dealer.

 

[jenkinsph]

I would recommend you look at the cab tractors available in your locale rather than buying out of state first. Have you talked to your local dealers about your needs?

Most all of the popular brands are good choices today and seem to have good financing deals too. A Deere 3520 or newer model comes to mind, good cab and available with a front mount snow blower and a rear blade which should do what you wan't. Lots of other choices just depends on what dealers you have.

 

[mikehaugen]

I have absolutely no idea of the reliability, but northerntool sells nortrac tractors, and the prices don't seem bad. But since you know absolutely nothing about tractors, buying from a dealer that can answer questions and show you how to use it seems imperative. I think I would also buy a used name brand tractor long before I would buy a new cheap tractor. Since your use sounds somewhat limited, you probably won't put a lot of hours on a tractor so buying used and maintaining it well it should last you an awfully long time.

 

[Dr_Zinj]

1 mile.
Hilly.
Denver, Colorado.
Denver usually gets 5 to 10 feet of snow every year. Boulder gets about a foot more apparently. Either place, that's quite a variance.

I'd lean toward a blower, but only because I've seen horrible snowfalls in other places in the Rockies. If you ever get more than a foot of snow at a time, that might be too much for a smaller tractor and plow. 6 inches or less of wet and heavy and I can plow straight through. A foot of wet and heavy means I have to herringbone the snow off my quarter mile long dirt and gravel driveway with the loader/plow and my 30 hp Bobcat CT230; which is probably NOT what you want to do for a mile as it takes about 4 times longer than plowing straight.

If the road's dirt, you can use either a blower or a plow. If you've got gravel, that might be a problem for a blower.

You're going to want at least a 30 hp machine. For you, I'd be looking more for a 50 hp, and maybe a front mount blower or rollover plow, not a loader & bucket.

Jinma chinese tractors (and their rebrands like Nortrac) are inexpensive relatively speaking. But unless you're into doing repairs on your own, they're probably not the optimum solution. I'd go with one of the 3 to 5 tractor dealers closest to you, that has a decent price and a good service department. And the only way to determine that is to visit them and talk to some of their customers, and try out a couple of their tractors - preferably in the snow, but you can substitute a sandpit for plow testing.

 

[speedyvelo]

Thanks ALL!
I will visit a couple of local dealer and see what is available.
-=terry=-

 

[nybirdman]

High snowfall areas call for a snow-blower for sure.Cabs with a snow-blower are "almost" a must but doable with an open station.Four wheel drive and R1(AG) tires.You may want to shop used,it won't be cheap.Start now before it snows!

 

[tcreeley]

A snow blower - front mounted is your best bet- 40 hp + if you can do it. Consider used as a possibility. You need a cab.

 

[Lt CHEG]

Do you have an idea of budget? Is snow removal the only use you'll have for the tractor? Undoubtedly a cabbed tractor with a front mounted snowblower would likely be very close to ideal, but they will not be cheap.

If you only plan on using the tractor for snow removal you might want to get one that is loader ready but without the loader. Loaders can get pretty expensive, especially as you go up in tractor size. If you don't plan on moving material around much and just want to blow/plow snow and mow with the tractor a front end loader (FEL) might not be a must for you.

I would probably put the John Deere 3X20 series, the Kubota B3000 (cab model) and smaller Grand L series tractors fairly high on the list. I was also a big fan of the New Holland Boomer cab tractors (I thought they had the best cab in the industry) but they are a touch bigger and I'm not sure if you can get them with hydrostatic transmissions any longer and the CVT transmission is pricey. I liked the Massey Ferguson 1643 that I tested quite a bit and the 1635 model would also probably work well for you. Every one of those tractors has a front mounted snowblower available and they are all fairly small and easy for a newbie to operate. I'm not sure if Mahindra has a front mounted blower available but they have some nice looking smaller cabbed tractors available as well.

Another option that's worth considering at least would be a front mounted blade with a rear mounted blower. I know that backing up can be a real pain, especially for a one mile road but if you're on a private road with no traffic there's nothing that says you couldn't use your mirrors for most of the time. The biggest advantage to a front blade, rear blower setup is that nothing will be quicker than a plow if you keep up with the storm. You can use the plow to windrow the snow and then once the snow is stopped you can just make one pass down the road to blow away the windrowed snow. Rear mounted blowers are generally cheaper than front mounted ones. You might be able to get yourself a nice front blade setup and a rear blower for not much more money than the cost of just a front mounted blower.

 

[Yandaddy1110]

If your open to ideas, Im thinking a used 3/4-1 ton truck and plow may be your cheapest option. Very comfortable heated cab and stereo too. Jinma dont have cabs available that Ive seen. A 30hp used tractor set up with blower and heated cab is expensive.

 

[vtsnowedin]

About $450 a month for 60 months if bought today at Zero percent. Works well and can push snow as high as the loader arms will reach if needed. A blower on back can be added if needed.

 

[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