I've got a two-man, commercial snow removal operation that consists of several small parking lots and sidewalks in a business district. I've got the parking lot part of the operation down pat. I use a ToolCat with a Wester Prodigy plow and couldn't be happier. Now I'm interested in upgrading the sidewalk equipment. Seemingly, the logical choice is one of the special built sidewalk machines like the "stand-on" Boss Snowrator or the Ventrac SSV however, I have come to the conclusion that I do not want to be exposed to the elements. Additionally, I'd prefer that a piece of expensive equipment have more than a single purpose. With these thoughts in mind, I've started to consider the Ventrac 4520 tractor with a cab. Before making the $40,000 investment (without attachments) I'd value the thoughts of someone who has made a similar investment for snow removal.
Snow Equipment Buying/Pricing Considering Ventrac tractor for sidewalk snow removal
- Thread starter Slo-moe
- Start date
stevem5215
Platinum Member
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- Jul 9, 2006
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- 813
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- Pittsburgh, Pa
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- Steiner 420 - Black Craftsman Pro 24hp - Simplicity 48 ZT-2500 - Simplicity Citation XT 61" - Chainsaw CS-5720 - FarmerTec G660 90cc's
I have the rotating brush on a Steiner. It is by far the best thing I've ever bought and used for a tractor of any kind. That coming from a guy who had a 73" Allied 3ft tall snowblower. That thing was useless to me as it was way too large for my task. The rotating brush allows me to have the clearest driveway in the neighborhood. By 10am it is even dry with just a little sun. No salt needed cause it clears straight down to the pavement.
MossRoad
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- Aug 31, 2001
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How wide are the sidewalks? They make rotating brushes for ToolCats.
leonz
Super Member
For what it is worth;
Check with your local kubota dealer and ask for a price in a BX2380 with a BX80 premium cab with heat before you make a decision.
The Kubota BX2380 has been around for a few years and there are more than a handful of very low hour machines for sale that will accept multiple attachments in including the front end loader, rear mount snow blower, sweeper, rear mount flail mower rear mount tool caddy to carry shovels, salt, calcium, single stage snow blowers, ice chippers etc.
The front end loader has a quick detach system for the bucket and other tools and it has the quick detach system to remove the loader without tools and help.
The BX 2380 can be equipped with a Curtis all weather cab as well. My fathers next door neighbor loved hers as she could be outside blowing snow in a tee shirt.
I am not sure if the front mount snow blower can be mounted on the tractor with the loader subframe attached though but the kubota dealer would be able to tell you whether a sweeper and snow blower can be mounted with the loader sub frame attached.
In saying that a pronovost rear mount snow blower with all the bells and whistles will cost you less money. than a front mount AND with the rear mount snow blower you sit side saddle and can see in front of it while clearing snow with the high power work lights.
Check with your local kubota dealer and ask for a price in a BX2380 with a BX80 premium cab with heat before you make a decision.
The Kubota BX2380 has been around for a few years and there are more than a handful of very low hour machines for sale that will accept multiple attachments in including the front end loader, rear mount snow blower, sweeper, rear mount flail mower rear mount tool caddy to carry shovels, salt, calcium, single stage snow blowers, ice chippers etc.
The front end loader has a quick detach system for the bucket and other tools and it has the quick detach system to remove the loader without tools and help.
The BX 2380 can be equipped with a Curtis all weather cab as well. My fathers next door neighbor loved hers as she could be outside blowing snow in a tee shirt.
I am not sure if the front mount snow blower can be mounted on the tractor with the loader subframe attached though but the kubota dealer would be able to tell you whether a sweeper and snow blower can be mounted with the loader sub frame attached.
In saying that a pronovost rear mount snow blower with all the bells and whistles will cost you less money. than a front mount AND with the rear mount snow blower you sit side saddle and can see in front of it while clearing snow with the high power work lights.
you might check out this thread (and others) on plow site-
www.plowsite.com
plow site is to commercial clearing as this site is to tractors
Best sidewalk machine?
www.plowsite.com
leonz
Super Member
Being a member of plowsite I can tell you that they all use different methods
for clearing snow and they do not borrow a lot of money to invest in machinery
as they buy the least expensive 2 stage snow blowers and they may have skid
loaders with snow pushers as well.
The issue is always money and what they are willing to spend as plowing and
snow removal is a boom or bust business and they have to pay for machinery
they buy with cash on hand or borrowing for vehicle purchases that they also
use to tow lawn mower trailers as many of them mow lawns for a living as well.
for clearing snow and they do not borrow a lot of money to invest in machinery
as they buy the least expensive 2 stage snow blowers and they may have skid
loaders with snow pushers as well.
The issue is always money and what they are willing to spend as plowing and
snow removal is a boom or bust business and they have to pay for machinery
they buy with cash on hand or borrowing for vehicle purchases that they also
use to tow lawn mower trailers as many of them mow lawns for a living as well.
I actually have a Bobcat rotary broom for the ToolCat and it works well but is a little too big for sidewalks. However, that is not the problem. I'm finding that I need to plow parking lots with the ToolCat simultaneously with another guy doing sidewalks. Therefore, I'm looking for a separate piece of equipment.
I've never heard of Trackless. Impressive!
Leonz,
agreed that often the solutions on plowsite are price sensitive, but there are those who use and recommend the better quality machines as well- My point was simply that there are far more threads on sidewalks there because the intent of that site is commercial snow clearing. And, of course the solution always has to make financial sense as these are businesses.
When researching blowers, particularly inverted blowers I found far more info on plow-site than TBN and was actually influenced to buy a commercial grade Pronovost as a result