Plow or snoblower

[bird1968]

Base on your driveway, if you go with the plow on the truck (even better an old beater 4x4 with a plow with chain on) & move the snow around with the tractor FEL. Truck is warm & fast.
I would recommend the front blower if it was pave driveway, gravel is hard on the blower.

 

[RaydaKub]

You can and will if you don't follow safety procedures. You can find those here:

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/snow-removal/233681-snowblowing-rules-thumb.html


Edit: If you experience a clog. Shut tractor down, and completely clear the snow/ice using a broomstick. Never, Ever clear the chute or auger with your hands or feet.

Even if the tractor is off (or a small blower engine is off) there can still be tension on the chain. More people lose fingers every year from snowblowers that are "off".

 

[Millwood]

Winter of 09' we had 67" of snow in three weeks w/ no melt. I plowed snow until I ran out of places to push it. I was forced to hire a skid-steer w/ blower to clear it! Stepped off the snow bank onto the roof of my house that winter. Now I have a Kubota 3300SU w/ FEL and just daring Mother Nature to give me trouble!

 

[Don87]

Winter of 09' we had 67" of snow in three weeks w/ no melt. I plowed snow until I ran out of places to push it. I was forced to hire a skid-steer w/ blower to clear it! Stepped off the snow bank onto the roof of my house that winter. Now I have a Kubota 3300SU w/ FEL and just daring Mother Nature to give me trouble!

:shocked:Never tempt Mother Nature, she may oblige.

The winter of 09/10 got me good, especially in Feb. 10, it snowed every day. Neighbor was clearing my drive with a backhoe and completely ran out of room to put the snow.

He said, "if we get the next storm they are calling for, call a dozer, I can't do any more with the hoe".

Luckily the storm missed us, and that May I purchased the Massey..........with a Snowblower.

 

[radioman]

Ok, thanks for all the info. Just need to ask one more question before decision is made. My wife told me I was going to cut my arm off with a snow blower on the front of my Kubota. Are these things prone to getting stuck? Driveway is brand new with gravel and there are no rocks of any size in the way. I intend to use a smaller width plow.

A tractor with a blower , not likely to get stuck. cutting your arm off? not likely if the blower is off at all times when working on it and if you must poke in chute, use a poking stick. Just any stick or piece of long scrap wood will work and as long you never stick your hand in chute you will be fine. its all common sense.
As for a plow on a tractor- I am a bit confused by how much smaller you mean. I just hope you dont go smaller then width of tractor when angled all the way. This way you are never driving in uncleared snow that could suck you in getting you stuck.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Your tractor can take the work better than your truck could. Just bundle up and use the blower, front or rear. Front costs more, but easier on your neck. I use a 5' rear blower on my B2620 and have the fel if I want to use for anything. I also have a 5' rear back blade that I use for lighter snows.

My blower has skids but the skids can dig in if the ground is not frozen. You set the top link short enough to keep the bottom edge from digging in.

Obviously your call. In the truck you stay nice and warm. But if you drive around with it on all winter it is harder on your truck and you will tempted to make money by doing other peoples' drives. That's when you are more likely to break something on your truck that will cost way more than you could make plowing drives.

 

[Boris1]

Winter of 09' we had 67" of snow in three weeks w/ no melt. I plowed snow until I ran out of places to push it. I was forced to hire a skid-steer w/ blower to clear it! Stepped off the snow bank onto the roof of my house that winter. Now I have a Kubota 3300SU w/ FEL and just daring Mother Nature to give me trouble!

Do you have any pics from that winter, here's what I walked out to see after the first storm and drifting continued of course.

 

[Yzordderrex]

Ok, the opinion is my RAM1500 is a little too small top plow with. I'll go with the smaller width blower. I'll get a pair of chains and fashion some kind of protection from harsh weather.

thanks
Yzordderrex.

 

[Yzordderrex]

There is a 51" or a 63" snoblower. I will go for the 51"

 

[madmax12]

There is a 51" or a 63" snoblower. I will go for the 51"

As long as the blower is wider than your tractor. Otherwise, it will be messy.
You are good at making decisions. :thumbsup: I always take way longer than that... :ashamed:

 

[Carl Bert]

There is a 51" or a 63" snoblower. I will go for the 51"

Is that a front or rear mount blower? I guess it really doesn't matter, as long as the 51" covers the width of the rear tires, you'll be fine. Enjoy the winter.

 

[AStanton]

Ok, the opinion is my RAM1500 is a little too small top plow with. I'll go with the smaller width blower. I'll get a pair of chains and fashion some kind of protection from harsh weather.

thanks
Yzordderrex.

If you are buying chains, get them asap. It took the dealer 6 months to get mine 2 years ago. Also check the clearance between your tires and fenders. If you haven't got a least 2", you might need spacers. Also if you end up with a cab, makeshift or otherwise, check out a golf cart heater. They run on a small tank of propane. I've never seen one work, but might be better than nothing.
Good Luck.

 

[94BULLITT]

Ok, the opinion is my RAM1500 is a little too small top plow with. I'll go with the smaller width blower. I'll get a pair of chains and fashion some kind of protection from harsh weather.

thanks
Yzordderrex.

Tirechain.com is the cheapest place I have found chains.

 

[Don87]

As long as the blower is wider than your tractor. Otherwise, it will be messy.
You are good at making decisions. :thumbsup: I always take way longer than that... :ashamed:

His tractor is 53.8 inches wide, according to tractordata.com. I think he will be ok???

 

[Carl Bert]

His tractor is 53.8 inches wide, according to tractordata.com. I think he will be ok???

If that measurement is correct, I think I would go with the 63" blower. One nice thing about a blower is, that it leaves a nice clean path behind you. If your tires are sticking out beyond the blower, you'll be plowing out the snow behind you.

I mean if you already had the smaller blower, or if you found a great buy on a used one, then I would say fine. It will definitely still work. You may just have to make a couple of extra passes to clean up. But if you haven't purchased it yet, then why not get the correct size for the tractor. You will be glad you did after using it.

Just my opinion. Good luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Stewie1]

I have the 64" ( or 63") blower and I would not go narrower. Remember your blower will swing on curves and you will need the extra width for the wheels on the other end of the tractor. Mine is on the back of my B3200.

The only time ( in the one winter I have used it so far) I have blocked the chute was when our kind delivery folks left the newspapers on the ground during a snowstorm - not pretty to clean up or unjam.....

 

[Carl Bert]

Wow, the blower, subframe, hyd. chute rotator, and snow deflector, comes to around $5700 That's assuming you already have the mid PTO, if not then add about $600 more. A lot more then I thought. There was only a couple of hundred difference between the 51" and the 63", although now that I'm typing it, doesn't seem possible. Anyway you look at it, it's a big number.

 

[94BULLITT]

I have the 64" ( or 63") blower and I would not go narrower. Remember your blower will swing on curves and you will need the extra width for the wheels on the other end of the tractor. Mine is on the back of my B3200.

I agree too. The bigger blower may have a higher intake height also. You will want that wider blower if you have a 6ft blade on the back so it is plowing as you go.

 

[hink]

I would recommend a pull type snowblower mounted to the three point hitch. I clear over 1 mile of private dirt road every storm plus 5 neighbors driveways and they are very appreciative of the job.

 

[Carl Bert]

I would recommend a pull type snowblower mounted to the three point hitch. I clear over 1 mile of private dirt road every storm plus 5 neighbors driveways and they are very appreciative of the job.

The only way I can see using a pull type blower, is if you CAN'T use a front blower. Thats my situation with my B26, but I still don't think I would get a pull type. Mainly because of the limited ground clearance on a B series tractor. I'm sure it would work fine on a full size tractor. I still can't see why you would want to drive over the snow, packing it down, before the blower gets to it, especially on a gravel driveway.