Ford 1720 Advice

OldBulldogger · Feb 2, 2011

Hi all,
Just joined the forum and appreciate all the good advice you folks have.

I am looking to purchase a Ford 1720 with a Ford 7108 loader on it. I found one that I am interested in and have talked to the owner about it. I would appreciate ANY advice you can give me about these tractors in general and if they are reliable, easy to maintain, things to watch for, etc. Also, I would like to run a front mounted snowblower on it in the winter but have not seen anything posted on it. I know Ford makes a 715 model blower for this application. The one I am looking at has a 12-12 shuttle shift. Does anyone have this front mount set up and can you share with me your experience with it vs a 3pt rear mount? Excluding wet heavy snow, will these blowers do a decent job of throwing snow? Are parts still readily available for the 1720 series tractors? Thanks much!

Muhammad · Feb 2, 2011

Welcome to TBN.

williamemack · Feb 2, 2011

I had a 1720 and put a rear mount Loftness blower on it and all was fine. I don't think a mid PTO is offered on this machine which means a front mount blower is next to impossible. I would recommend a tractor with a mid PTO and a hydrostatic transmission. The hydro will let you slow way down your ground speed when blowing into big drifts.

Otherwise, the 1720 is a great tractor, reliable, easy to maintain etc.

A rear PTO will only turn at about 540 rpm thus not throwing the snow as far as a mid PTO which turns much faster. That being said, the rear mount is adequate for me as I only needed to chuck the snow over the drive's stone walls. Still, it threw most snow 25-40 feet.

OldBulldogger · Feb 2, 2011

Thanks for the advice. I think they may have offered a mid point PTO option available from the factory with a standard shift package but I am not sure on the 12-12 shuttle. I saw an ad from ford that listed the 715a blower and it stated in the advertisement a front or rear mount availbable. Regarding the tractor, the only thing the seller said was wrong with the tractor was that on colder days it started hard. Said he had to use either on occasion. I am wondering if the glowplugs aren't working? Any thoughts?