L6060- Half mile paved driveway

[OrangeMuscle]

Hello,

I have a new cab L6060 which I love that just hit 50 hours. I have been grappling like mad with it on a new large 20 acre property. Snow is on the horizon and I want to be smart about it. I have 3 choices...

1) Mid PTO powered kubota 80" front snowblower. Not thrilled about the fact that it stays on all winter because its seems like a chore to take on and off. Price I got for everything required is $9,400

2) I kept wondering why I couldn't use the rear PTO power for a front blower and found that I can. I found a quick attach Power Pack that goes on the 3 point hitch and provides 20 gallons per minute that would be necessary to run their Erskine model heavy duty front snow blower. Seems that all you do is run two hydraulic lines up front to the blower. Plus this would open the door to all kinds of other attachments that require 20 gallons per minute. The tractor by itself only provides 9 GPM off the rear PTO. I am mildly scared about this option because I know very little about all of this stuff. I am the rookie of all rookies. I can't be worried about the power pack being finnicky, getting too hot and needing an oil cooler, or just not working properly when I need it to. I need the dopey homeowner plug and play package! The price all in for this setup is $8,400.

3) A quick attach 8' V plow. Seems nice and fast and simple. Price $4,500

The driveway is getting paved Monday. I am extremely concerned about keeping the driveway healthy for a long time. Not sure what the best way to not gouge and scrap. Also don't want the sides to have freeze thaw assaulting the pavement all winter. I was originally in favor of the front snowblower, but the plow seems to make more sense because its faster, and it does seem silly to crawl along a half mile driveway like a turtle when there is only 2 inches with a front blower. Or maybe I have it wrong? What speed will I be going with the blower verse plow? Perhaps they are both 5 MPH?

Thank you for helping a rookie!

 

[George2615]

Welcome to TBN..............

The plow will be much faster than the blower. However, the plow will leave banks on the side of the driveway. If you live in an area where it doesn't melt quickly between snowfalls these banks will freeze up and at some point require pushing the banks back with the loader bucket. Using a blower will be slower but you won't have snow banks to deal with later.
If money isn't a concern I'd opt for #2 option which will allow you to use other hydraulic attachments on the front.
Another choice is get a front QA plow and a 3 pt blower for the same or less than options 1 & 2.
I use a QA 7 1/2' power angle converted truck plow and a 7' double auger blower on the 3 pt.

 

[nybirdman]

Your choice depends on the average snow fall for your area.Plow will be less money and faster;a blower is better if you get a lot of snow and need the banks gone.
Less than 100"/yr.I would go with a plow;more than that a blower.I run an 8'FEL mounted plow and a 7' rear blade on my L4240 HSTC and it is a great combo for our snow fall(100"/yr.average).

 

[RNeumann]

Skip #2.

1 or 3 will depend on topography and the amount of snow you get. Do you have places to push the snow or would you have to blow it out of the way? How much snow do you get?

 

[OrangeMuscle]

I am sorry I forgot to mention location(which I will add to my profile as well). I live in the Mid Hudson Valley area of NY. Average 57 inches of snowfall. I just googled that. Seems surprising because last March we got 57 inches in 10 days time. March is the new winter it seems. Also worth mentioning is I love snow. The thought of going out in the middle of the night in my warm cab to play in the driveway is therapeutic. I love moving snow. When I was a kid I used to shovel all the roads around my house. Used to wear down my plastic shovel to the nub.

 

[LouNY]

With your location known I only have one comment that hasn't been addressed already,
as others have said the blade is faster but leaves the snow were you put it. With 50 Hp on the
pto I would expect a blower to be able to move right along.
My comment is, is your driveway flat? or do you have a grade to climb?
are you going to plow clean (no shoes) ?
When you get the heavy wet snows as soon as someone drives on it you will have ice,
are you planning on tire chains?
A quickattach blade on a front loader will unload the rear tires.
Good Luck,
even though you enjoy the snow I'm hoping for a minimal amount this year :thumbsup:

 

[beckmurph]

Try this Kubota Grand L6060 Auto-hitch and attachments (walk around and demo) - YouTube

 

[TractorNH]

This will be my first year running the tractor to clear our 1/4 mile driveway. I'll be using an 8' Fisher plow I built a mount for on the front and I have an 84" WoodMaxx snowblower for the back. Depending on the storm I plan to windrow-and-blow, to make one pass with the plow pushing from one side into the driveway and the return pass with the blower to get rid of it all.

To compare to all of your options listed above, the WoodMaxx 84" I got with hydraulic chute deflector and rotator was $2800. They also offer them with electric chute deflector and rotator for the same price.

 

[leonz]

Smaller hydraulic drive systems are starved for fluid flow when attachments like high flow hydraulic drive snow blowers are added. The power most of these snow blowers require is with an independent high flow oil volume of 25-30 gallons per minute that will not be needed to provide oil to the wheel motors of a skid loader in the example.

Anything you add to the loader frame is going to stress it so keep that in mind, NO, bigger is not better and farm and utility tractor frames are not built heavy enough to deal with heavy compacted materials like deep frozen snow banks.

You could invest in a Reist series 1000 single stage snow thrower for the three point hitch changing the work order to make it a 6 foot single stage unit with added wings to make it 8 foot wide for much less money than a 2 stage unit of the same size or larger for less money.

You also need to keep in mind that the front mounted snow blower reduces your ground clearance and when 4 wheel drive mules get stuck they really get stuck and if your lucky you can use the loader to push yourself out but quite often you will have to drive forward and dig out and around so you can back back up the hill as driving forward will almost guarantee a roll over and more problems
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Since you are all new to this and have yet to find that plowing snow is extremely boring and becomes a real chore
I will advise you to avoid a 2 stage unit as a single stage unit requires 20 percent less power and can throw the snow just as far or farther.

The single stage Reist units are less complicated to own and operate as they only have the snow blower rotor to spin and discharge the snow up the chute and out.

The two stage units are a bit more complicated as they have the impeller and the open cross auger to contend with.

Teh two stage front mounts require a lot of work to install them and they need a reversing mechanism to correctly operate the snow blower.

The open cross augers can and will become plugged with heavy wet melting snow and it will affect the 2 stage snow casters ability to clear deep snow pack.

This happens because the cross augers will push the snow forward rather than consume it and force it into the impeller housing.

Keep in mind that if you break a shear pin on the impeller or cross auger you have to dig the snow out to find where the shear pin broke and then take the time to replace it.

With the single stage Reist snow thrower the only thing you have to worry about is the roller chain that spins the snow blower rotor at 700 RPM and if the chain breaks all you have to do is install a new connector link.
The roller chain on the Riest Snow throwers is accessed by opening the access door on the left side of the snow blower and it is tensioned by a rubber mounted spring tensioner gear.

You will need to include hydraulic rotation and spout control to the sales order as you do not have an open station mule.

Many of the members that use rear mount snow blower owners sit side saddle on the seat and use the reverser pedal and just watch as they back up, many of the members use back up cameras to watch as they back up. many of the members use back up cameras and mirrors as well when they clear snow with snow blowers.

The rear mounted snow blower is riding on the pavement and acts as an anchor when stopped but you should always set your parking brake anyway.

Reist Industries has a dealer in or near Albany, New York I just have to find the dealer name again and post it for you.


Your new at this and I am not trying to spend your money I want you to have a simple to own and operate snow blower that will not plug as much if at all and also be able to use and repair if you have a breakdown from a broken drive chain.

A two stage unit will push snow forward while it is clearing snow.
A single stage unit will consume all the loose snow and packed snow it encounters without pushing it forward and the only snow that is left is what passes over the snow blowers cross auger housing if it is deep snow and it will not leave piles of snow that have to be picked up a second time.

The image of the snow blower mounted on the skid steer loader is a 48 inch single stage unit with a 20 inch snow blower rotor; you can order them with a wider width with a simple change order when you pay for the snow blower.
One of series 1000 snow blower rotors will not bog down on you as much as the PTO on you rmule will have no issues with providing the torque need through the gearbox to the chain drive of the snow blower rotor.

The series 2000 single stage unit pictured is is a front mount series 2000 unit that requires more horsepower than you have to run properly with the high torque needed to spin that size snow blower rotor.

My brother has a grand L and the tires are not loaded nor does he have snow chains and he gets it stuck

I would suggest that you talk to your neighbors and ask what they have on their tractors to clear snow before you make any sort of decision and I will suggest that you use a decision tree to make your final decisions.

Your new at this and your going to need to learn lot in a hurry but for light snow falls a manually adjusted plow blade on your loader bucket will be the best way to handle light snow falls and you can use a rear mount snow thrower like the reist series 1000 to clear the banks back as needed.

 

[RNeumann]

I am sorry I forgot to mention location(which I will add to my profile as well). I live in the Mid Hudson Valley area of NY. Average 57 inches of snowfall. I just googled that. Seems surprising because last March we got 57 inches in 10 days time. March is the new winter it seems. Also worth mentioning is I love snow. The thought of going out in the middle of the night in my warm cab to play in the driveway is therapeutic. I love moving snow. When I was a kid I used to shovel all the roads around my house. Used to wear down my plastic shovel to the nub.

Well without an answer on a big part of the decision I will speak generally.

Generally blowers excel in areas that are tight or in areas that don’t have a place to push the snow. Blades are generally faster and simpler and cheaper. Blowers aren’t the best for small storms. They do better once there is 3” or so. Much less than that and they lose efficiency.
When you look at highways and at the folks who move snow professionally they tend to follow these “rules”. So in your case the blade would be the default unless you have circumstances that would dictate the need for a blower.

Skip the mindset that the blower is more money because it’s better or top of the line. That simply isn’t the case.

 

[zzvyb6]

I am back to using a front 8' truck plow mounted on the tractor frame. At 45 deg angle and in top gear, I can toss the sidebanks pretty far away at the beginning of the season. I'm now on concrete. Yes the banks can creep in as the season progresses, but I have never had trouble pushing them farther away even when frozen. The freeze tends to harden the top surface and not the ground layer so the whole 'curb' moves easily.

I tried the snowblower. Took 3 times as long and I don't have a cab to keep the flying snow from covering me and the tractor. I plow about 800' each direction and with a plow the tractor does not even reach warm temperature when I am done. I have a tendency to keep going onto the road after I do the driveway, but cars will follow me on the road and I will not plow them a path to their workplace.

Seems like a front plow and a rear blower would suit you as long as you have a place to park the complete unit. Buy a neck brace if you go this route.

 

[Rustyiron]

I'd start with the plow. Pushing the eventual banks back where needed is a fun thing to do at your convenience on a nice sunny weekend.
You could add a rear blower later if you need another toy to play with and blowing the banks back instead of pushing them.

 

[FatTire]

I agree with those above who are pointing out that a blower isn't the best tool for those light storms. If you have an FEL you can get a skidsteer QA snowplow (straight) for a lot less money than a V-plow. I've seen used ones that were nice for under $2000 and new ones under $3000. Then get a rear mount PTO snow blower. For light snow you can quickly plow, when its deep you can run the blower. Also wondering how many remotes you have? Two is nice, you can have hydraulic rotation and chute deflection. If I were going with a front blower I'd probably go with the power pack and FEL mounted blower. With that setup it would still only take 5 minutes to switch from blower to plow.

 

[Jay4200]

Forget a plow. They are good for short and wide, like parking lots. Long and skinny, like a 1/2mi driveway is totally snowblower terrain - you will seriously regret a plow once the berms build up and you can't clear your drive anymore (after about the 3rd storm). You can go as fast as you want with a blower, as long as it can take the snow. If the snow starts to pile up in front of the blower, you're going too fast - simple as that. Just keep the engine WFO to keep the blower clear. The hydraulic pump with FEL-mounted hydraulic blower is the gold standard of blowers. It is the most versatile and coolest set up that there is. Option #4 is a rear mounted PTO direct-drive blower with will be less that 1/2 the cost of the front mounted options - only down side is running in reverse, but it's not as bad as it sounds. However, if you can afford the front mounts, by all means go with option #2, provided the pump has adequate flow - 20GPM doesn't sound like nearly enough for a 60HP tractor.

 

[TheFarmerInAdell]

How about a pull-type snowblower? No need to go backwards and you can keep the FEL on. You could even put a plow on the FEL and the blower on the back to accommodate whatever snow you get, or draft then blow like someone else suggested.

MK Martin | Meteor - Pull Type
Inverted - Pull type - Pronovost

 

[Fallon]

I had a 32hp, 3,000lbs L3200. It stalled out (lack of traction) plowing at 1-1.5' of snow. I picked up a used 3pt blower to handle drifts & stuff I couldn't plow. I still used my SSQA plow 75% of the time. A blade is way faster. Really the only big reasons to use a blower are not wanting berms on the side (usually not a problem unless you get a lot of snow & it stays cold all winter or you have sidewalks) or the snow is to deep to plow. Plow until you can't, then spin around & blow if needed.

My new L4060HSTC is the same "frame" as your L6060, just 20hp less. I can push over 2' of denser snow now as my new machine is double the weight & probably double the traction. I sold my 60" blower 2 winters ago as it was 12" skinnier than my tires. I have only half hearted thought about replacing it. I can work through 2.5-3' drifts if needed with my machine & not slow down to much. We tend to have snow melt off pretty quick (no berms) here in the Denver area.

A good SSQA plow is going to be under $4k. Cheaper than a 3pt blower & WAY cheaper than any front mount blower or a SSQA blower & hydraulic power pack.

What other hydraulics would you use that power pack for? It will be a fair bit less efficient than any PTO powered impliments. I've thought about trying to build my own powerpack & blower setup occasionally, but could never justify it, even if I could get massively cheap parts to build it with.

Also, chains tend to eat up pavement pretty good, so avoid them unless you really need them. I needed them on my old machine (front only, didnt have clearance for them on the rears). I got front chains for the L4060, but have yet to bother installing them as I've had enough traction from loaded tires & 3pt ballast alone. I have R4s, which are less traction than R1s too.

 

[oosik]

I have a mile long gravel driveway. For the 37 years I've been out here - its been a heavy duty rear blade that has been used to clear the snow on my driveway. Works great - moves right along(average 6 to 8 mph) - when offset it will throw the snow well off the driveway.

I currently have an extremely heavy duty Rhino - 950 - 96" and 1100 pounds. The extreme duty is necessary for summer maintenance - my driveway dries out and becomes concrete after the spring rains.

View attachment 573136

 

[majorwager]

Rear blade is a ridiculous snow tool for NY Winters. Why would driving over snow to pack it down before attempting removal be logical?
There have been many valid points posted concerning both blowers and plows. A plow is definitely faster. If the plowing lane is narrow, and lacking space to push snow off to the sides, then agree w/ blower selection. I own and use both, but unless experiencing heavy drifting, the front plow is the initial choice.

As for the V plow, likely an unnecessary expense, a power angle version should be adequate.
Not a fan of pull type blower, again why pack The snow before removal.

The hydraulic power pack and hydraulic blower is a great tool but very expensive. I built a power pack last year capable of 32 GPM @ 2500 psi. albeit to power a front mount mower. But future plans do include a front hyd blower.

I have reservations about 20 gpm output being adequate. ?? There is a link in previous post to MK Martin in Canada. If I were to purchase a power pack/blower combination, that is the source I would choose.

Last year I tried a snow pusher, no hydraulics required, it worked well, will continue that removal route this season.

Good luck in your quest. Note: My snow pusher has rubber cutting edge, gentle on paved surfaces !! Photo below.

 

[JohnBuffaloMN]

Forget a plow. They are good for short and wide, like parking lots. Long and skinny, like a 1/2mi driveway is totally snowblower terrain - you will seriously regret a plow once the berms build up and you can't clear your drive anymore (after about the 3rd storm). You can go as fast as you want with a blower, as long as it can take the snow. If the snow starts to pile up in front of the blower, you're going too fast - simple as that. Just keep the engine WFO to keep the blower clear. The hydraulic pump with FEL-mounted hydraulic blower is the gold standard of blowers. It is the most versatile and coolest set up that there is. Option #4 is a rear mounted PTO direct-drive blower with will be less that 1/2 the cost of the front mounted options - only down side is running in reverse, but it's not as bad as it sounds. However, if you can afford the front mounts, by all means go with option #2, provided the pump has adequate flow - 20GPM doesn't sound like nearly enough for a 60HP tractor.

+1 on snowthrower and blade. My (edit: 1/4 mile) driveway was paved twice... the first time inadequately, the last time with 3-4" of asphalt. The paving company told me it will take at least two and some years before it is cured/settled. I used a 7' back blade on my Ford N, but not enough traction (ag r4? tires filled) on small inclines to pull the snow. Heavy wet snow was a no go with that setup, especially the next time when the sides are all ice. I purchased a used Toro Groundsmaster 4wd with a thrower ($3.5K) and a heated cab (another important element) and put on rubber tire chains. Now clearing snow is easy and even fun. I still get the blade out once in a while to do some cleanup, but primary tool is the Toro.

 

[msb1766]

I use a front mounted snow blower and a rear blade, I use the rear blade for 2" or less. I angle the blade and windrow it to one side the use the blower to get rid of the snow.
With a front mounted blower you will be surprised how much snow you can move. Like others have said with the blower you only have to move the snow once, no snow banks at the
end of or along the driveway and with that there is less snow to drift across the driveway.