Another "what would you do thread"

[Ex1900Driver]

Hi...

I am currently not an owner of any sort of tractor but I am looking to buy one.
I don't currently have any sort of budget, I am starting to do all the research.

I live in the mountains outside of Denver at about 8000 feet and I live on a 65 acre mountainous property.
Our Driveway is 3000 feet long and the private road that myself and 6 other residents are responsible for is close to 3 miles long.
Its a dirt/gravel road with a couple of pretty sharp bends a
couple of steep grades.
To give you an idea of how much snow the last storm
we had dumped just over 4 feet of snow.

I am looking for a tractor to plow that road with. It has to be
four wheel drive, and be able to carry a pretty substantial
snow plow on the front of it. I was thinking something in the
75hp range, and in the future adding a large snow blower to it.
In the summer I would be also using it to grade and maintain
that road.

I was looking at the Kioti DK55, 75, 90 range.

What do you guys and girls think??
Enough power, or not enough...

I will be keeping this tractor a long time so I want to
make sure I get something that I wont have to upgrade
any time soon... well with the exception of implements
and attachments. So resale value is not as important as
perhaps to other people.

OK.. educate me. What do you all think??

Thanks in advance for the help, information, opinions and advise!!

GDC

 

[6sunset6]

Front mounted blower, Cab, turbo charged I think not sure, 4 wheel drive for sure, I am thinking 55 hp ( what do I know) but that is a really long driveway and you want to go down and back once. so a fairly wide blower.
That needs a lot of HP. Also you need to get rid of the snow, hence the blower. It takes a highway dept plow to handle a wing to push yesterday piles back to make room for tomorrows snow.
You will probably need chains as well.
Bigger

 

[Gizmo2]

Welcome to TBN.
I would get a BIG tractor, a lot bigger than I use, sorry can't help on this one.

 

[Wis Bang]

Plan for the future, investigate the power requirements for the largest snow blower you can use and add 10% - 20%. I think you will end up with something large enough to be considered construction equipment. You are looking at close to 7 miles round trip through the kind of snow that shuts down 'flatland' highways, you want serious stuff to do that safely.

 

[MarkV]

Think I would be looking at turbo charged for your altitude also. A wide stance is also going to be important for stability on your terrain. Better order tire chains with the tractor.

Welcome to the forum.

MarkV

 

[Soundguy]

with altitude a concern.. get a turbocharged vs naturally aspirated model.. DO go with 4wd.. and I would have sugested HST trans.. but in the size range you want they are less common.. and when you find them.. spendy.

I see a machine hitting nearly 40000$ with implements..if you want that size, 4wd and the goodies..

soundguy

 

[RickB]

90 gross engine HP MINIMUM; something with either a manual shuttle or power shuttle depending on your preference. You want the number of reverse gears to equal the number of forward gears. Cab a must. Torbocharged, almost a must. R-1 tires and rear chains, a must. FEL with 3rd function hydraulics, a must. Loader with self-levelling; buyer preference (I would not have self levelling).

If you need to move 4' of snow at a time, this machine is none too big. Figure on a frame mounted front plow (not loader mounted) to clear that 3 miles of roadway. A loader mounted plow will destroy the loader at this duty level. It can be engineered to replace the FEL during the winter. The budget probably needs to be closer to $60K.

 

[ChuckinNH]

I think with that muh road, you will want front mounted blades, or snowblowers for sure. Not all tractors are set up for that so make sure that the ones you look at are. On the other hand, you might be comfortable doing that in reverse.......... I wouldn't be. I think too that you will be wanting a cab after very little experience.

 

[flusher]

Hi...

I am currently not an owner of any sort of tractor but I am looking to buy one.
I don't currently have any sort of budget, I am starting to do all the research.

I live in the mountains outside of Denver at about 8000 feet and I live on a 65 acre mountainous property.
Our Driveway is 3000 feet long and the private road that myself and 6 other residents are responsible for is close to 3 miles long.
Its a dirt/gravel road with a couple of pretty sharp bends a
couple of steep grades.
To give you an idea of how much snow the last storm
we had dumped just over 4 feet of snow.

I am looking for a tractor to plow that road with. It has to be
four wheel drive, and be able to carry a pretty substantial
snow plow on the front of it. I was thinking something in the
75hp range, and in the future adding a large snow blower to it.
In the summer I would be also using it to grade and maintain
that road.

I was looking at the Kioti DK55, 75, 90 range.

What do you guys and girls think??
Enough power, or not enough...

I will be keeping this tractor a long time so I want to
make sure I get something that I wont have to upgrade
any time soon... well with the exception of implements
and attachments. So resale value is not as important as
perhaps to other people.

OK.. educate me. What do you all think??

Thanks in advance for the help, information, opinions and advise!!

GDC

Don't know squat about snowblowers for tractors (I never snows here on the floor of the North Sacramento Valley), but want to get educated.

I found this website

Beaver Valley Supply Company - Schulte Snow Blowers

Looks like you have several options:

---a PTO-driven blower on the 3pt hitch in standard tractor configuration and plow in reverse

--- a hydraulically driven blower on the FEL arms (or front-mounted 3pt hitch) using a pto-driven hydraulic unit attached to the rear 3pt hitch

---a PTO-driven blower on a front-mounted 3pt hitch with a long drive shaft running from the rear pto to the front of the tractor

--- a PTO-driven blower mounted on a 3pt hitch attached to the front of the tractor and powered by a front-mounted pto shaft (IIRC some European tractors have this kind of setup).

What do you have in mind?

 

[mjncad]

Welcome Ex1900Driver:

I'll defer to others opinions concerning HP; but a cab is a must especially if you are up in the canyons (e.g. Golden Gate, Coal Creek, etc) with the howling winds, at your altitude a turbo would be good, 4WD a must, R1's unless you are worried about tearing up some of that 65-acres (I wish I had R1's instead of the R4's I have), front mount snow-blower (I don't know how twisty and narrow the road you have is; but working in reverse in poor visibility is tiring and dangerous), a loader, plenty of hydraulic remotes, a grapple for brush and rocks may be useful, a rear blade to complement the front mounted blower, chains probably, a brush cutter if you have pasture/meadow.

A good dealer for parts and service is important. The only Kioti dealer near me was a jerk, so I wrote them off my shopping list back in 2001.

How else can I spend your money?