Snow Equipment Buying/Pricing Dealing with drifts

[picklerick]

Just a note:

While my father has had and used a brush hog for many, many years, launching rocks may not be the most dangerous thing. My father clipped something solid a number of years ago and sent more than half of one of the blades clean through the side of his brush hog deck. I'll measure the thickness of the steel when I stop by there this weekend, and also snap a pic as the hole is still there.

That could have been life-ending had it been in a well populated area. I use a flail, and while it's not as beefy as my father's brush hogs, it leaves a nicer finish and I don't worry about the potential for injury as much. I still use the 'hog a bit when needed, but much prefer the flail.

I hear you and I can't envision a scenario where I won't have a bush hog available. I just view the flail as safer and given my neighbor has small children playing in his yard on the weekends, I can't mentally justify using a hog anywhere near them. If I ever hurt a kid I'd never forgive myself. So your point is well taken. A flail is in my future without a doubt.

 

[picklerick]

I live in the snow belt south of Buffalo so I've seen some impressive snowfalls and cleared them all, then did my plow service neighbor's drive and a few other neighbors. Talking an honest 6 feet of snow in the worst one. I had to dig drifts out when they got too hard and high to push.

You're dealing with a little worse than I hope to ever have to deal with. I just assumed everyone in Buffalo had a sled and a pack of huskies & malamutes.

I wanted a 656 bad back in the 70's but I'm kinda glad I didn't bite, there aren't many still going so I wonder about durability. My 574 was gas and a genuinely bad and worn out tractor so I'd advise against any older gas tractor with a lot of hours. Mine made me a much better mechanic than I ever wanted to be. For about a year recently there was a Case JX 70 or 80 on the local craigslist that had me drooling even though I don't need it. 4WD, FEL, lots of hydraulics, 500 some hours working on a horse farm asking $28,000. That would be a great machine if I wanted to get serious again, something like that could be overkill for your needs, but a great starting price and it wasn't selling. Things like that pop up.

Understood. Right now my mechanical knowledge is limited to simple maintenance tasks like greasing, oil, fueling, tire pressure, etc. I'm leery of going for one of the older used units because I'm not much of a mechanic and don't have the time to become one. The newer units look like they're designed for ease of routine maintenance. I'm always going to have to tap a dealer or mechanic to solve the harder stuff. I know that going in.

Open cab, heck I'm pushing 70 and think that cabs are for girls. But if I had too much money maybe I'd entertain one. Warm clothes work just fine for me.
Flail mower? Maybe. I had one , it did the job. Lately I've been brushhogging and feel it's quicker. A hog with the chains on the back isn't going to throw rocks or brush, that's why the chains are there. I guess it would be a question of which costs what. Lastly and definitely, spend the money for a front end loader, they're the handiest implement ever invented and you'll keep finding new uses for one.

I'm on the horns of a dilemma when it comes to cab vs open platform. I'm a big guy and most of the cabs I've been in have been pretty uncomfortable. The cab on the Kubota Grand L series was tight in terms of leg room but passable. I almost want to go look at the cab in the Kubota 7060 just to see what the size difference is. The price difference between the L6060 and M7060 seems pretty modest and I can get a cab without HST. A bigger cab means I can sit half-cocked in the seat looking backward which makes a rear-mounted snow thrower a no-brainer. I really like the REIST single stage units in terms of their simplicity. A FEL will definitely be on whatever I buy without question as well.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[wawajake]

I have had great results with snow fence and dealing with a consistent western wind that brings snow across my neighbors fields to my front field and then my driveway.
My driveway runs directly south from my house 250 feet long. My neighbors field is 300 feet away to the west of me , very few trees between us , and he uses a electric fence to keep his horses in his fields (so no fence barrier)
If I left the slightest windrow on the west side of my driveway, the snow drifts would equal the height of that windrow, so tried to always snowblow or plow snow so that it was on eastern side of drive with my Kubota 60 wide rear snowblower (home made cab) , or ATV 60 inch plow.
Two years ago I installed a 48 inch high wood slat snowfence on my west property line right beside the neighbors electric fence. (200 feet of it) with t rail posts every ten feet. Also just before winter starts I cut the hay (grass ,weeds) for 15 feet infront of that snow fence to allow lots of room for snow to accumulate.
The past two winters that snow fence will accumulate 4 feet high by 15 or 18 feet wide for the 200 feet length of the snow fence. I was amazed at how much stayed there (on my side of fence). The rest of my field would have maybe a foot or 18 inches . Yes driveway still can drift in but during the majority of the winter the snow fence mitigates much of it. Now a qualifier is that the snow fence takes a beating with the wind, and you need to wire it in place VERY WELL , blizzards will rip it from t rail posts otherwise, (lesson learned hard way) The odd eastern wind blizzard messes up the format, but a day or two later that wind has gone back to prevalling west , and I can continue to blow snow to east , and keep windrows to minimum on west side of driveway so that it wont catch much .

 

[shaeff]

I hear you and I can't envision a scenario where I won't have a bush hog available. I just view the flail as safer and given my neighbor has small children playing in his yard on the weekends, I can't mentally justify using a hog anywhere near them. If I ever hurt a kid I'd never forgive myself. So your point is well taken. A flail is in my future without a doubt.

Pics as promised, sheared blade went right through the deck. This happened probably 20yrs ago when the brush hog was much newer.

 

[picklerick]

Yeesh..

 

[shaeff]

Darn autocorrect, I edited my post, meant to say 20yrs ago not 20hrs. Either way, dangerous around people for sure!

 

[leonz]

YUP more than a handful of lives were ended or nearly destroyed when the rotary cutter wings of death decide to leave the rotary cutters underbody.

All of the above is due to poor maintenance/lack of equipment inspection/service/repair and lack of safeguards for these rotary cutters.

 

[shaeff]

YUP more than a handful of lives were ended or nearly destroyed when the rotary cutter wings of death decide to leave the rotary cutters underbody.

All of the above is due to poor maintenance/lack of equipment inspection/service/repair and lack of safeguards for these rotary cutters.

Mostly, I agree, however my father services his each and every time he uses it. Checks gearbox oil, inspects blades for cracks or fatigue, sharpens if need be, looks for oil seepage, checks the deck for stress cracks, greases the PTO shaft, makes sure the safety guard is properly fitted and that the PTO shaft spins inside it, he's very **** about all that stuff.

When that blade let go, he clipped an immovable object while running at PTO RPM with a 75hp diesel tractor.

Sure makes me love my flail!

picklerick- did you make any sweet purchases yet?

 

[leonz]

Mostly, I agree, however my father services his each and every time he uses it. Checks gearbox oil, inspects blades for cracks or fatigue, sharpens if need be, looks for oil seepage, checks the deck for stress cracks, greases the PTO shaft, makes sure the safety guard is properly fitted and that the PTO shaft spins inside it, he's very **** about all that stuff.

When that blade let go, he clipped an immovable object while running at PTO RPM with a 75hp diesel tractor.

Sure makes me love my flail!

picklerick- did you make any sweet purchases yet?

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Hello shaeff,

Your father is very very good about taking care of his machinery.

About picklerick, I am still busy spending his money, so his money is tied up HAHAHA!!

No worries though we will take good care of him so he makes no mistakes.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

Open cab, heck I'm pushing 70 and think that cabs are for girls. But if I had too much money maybe I'd entertain one. Warm clothes work just fine for me.

Most entertaining post in the tread. C'mon over here in February, bring your open station tractor, when it's -40 F outside WITHOUT windchill, and the winds are gusting 40 mph..., and you have to open up a 1/4 mile long driveway with 5' drifts...

Around here, we call that TUESDAY MORNING.

Then talk to me about how those warm clothes are working out for you.

:laughing: :laughing: