Muddy Jim
New member
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2020
- Messages
- 4
- Tractor
- JD 4700 tractor, JD 450 Crawler, Kubota RTV-X1100C
I sold my dozer and had to make some snow control choices, Namely, make the tractor (48HP open station JD 4700) ready for snow and ice, or buy a blade or blower for my far cozier Kubota X1100C.
The driveway is a quarter mile of steep gravel. Shielded by hill and tree from the sun, the snow and ice stays long after the roads are clear. Until I expose the gravel, it does not melt. In fact turning some gravel over helps a great deal.
I am in NW Oregon where deep snow comes once in a while but wet snow and nightly freezes come nearly every year. Snow, ice, snow, ice layer cakes you can't walk on or stomp through are not rare. When bad weather comes it arrives in a bad mood, and I have to tame it. Thank Heaven deep snow is not an every year problem here. Just last year someone who lives in this house ignored my "don't try it" advice and ruined an expensive steel gate and gate control and earned a several thousand dollar car body repair bill as well on an inch of packed snow that would have been gone the next day and not worth fooling with.
I am the guy who clears our snow and ice. For now. But the next person is on my mind as well. So, I studied for weeks. I know what everyone has to say. I see the tips and tricks and the suggestions and videos. I'll follow them, too, the ones that apply. Thanks to all who posted them.
Settled on a V blade for the x1100c. SnowEx or Boss. That would be great. Enclosed and heated cabin, and the wife is not afraid to operate that rig. In fact, she uses the goofy looking Kubota more than I do.
I found that those companies use regional dealers. There is no Messicks equivalent competing with the regional dealer. Neither of my region's Boss or SnowEx dealers had ever installed on an x1100c, and the SnowEx dealer had never sold a plow. The Boss V plow is 8000 bucks. Straight blade is 7000. SnowEx prices right under that. That includes 1200 for install, which I would do myself since they have the same level of experience installing their equipment on the x1100c as I do. I trust myself more, so deduct that from the price. But....
Price fixing seems to be the rule with the big names. No competition. You have your regional dealer and no other option. Here is your bid, take it or leave it, and every bid is the same, to the penny. That sticks in my craw. After diving in and learning how it operates, I won't buy from them no matter who endorses the product. I am a Buy Once, Cry Once guy, in a free market. But not this way. Eight thousand bucks is too much unless earning money with the tool, or money is no object, or you can write off the equipment. I do not, am not, and can not.
That amount of money will buy sustainment for several winters TRAPPED at the house. So, count me out. No sale.
Regarding implements for snow, the JD dealer here sells one blade style, and two were available in the whole country, both the wrong size. Wasted trip.
The aftermarket outfits are barely represented around here. I may buy an implement direct from manufacturer later, but for now traction is the goal and using of my ancient, manual angle, tilt, offset blade and the 4-way bucket that I have. Certainly with your suggested mods to save the gravel.
Since at this point, I had no need but to solve for traction. I bought chains for the tractor.
SMT Tryggs for front and rear.
No Trygg dealers I contacted had an offering in that line for Tryggs for the front tires on my tractor, and instead sell lesser chains for those.
But WHITE MOUNTAIN CHAIN did. They had Tryggs for all 4 tires and sell the Trygg made tightening tool as well. At good prices that more than made up for shipping to my door.
Since I am old and falling apart, I got the tool, to make things easier for myself and for whoever takes over the chore. Those rear chains weigh 125 pounds apiece. In the cold, the tool will be a Godsend.
That's where I landed, and even with discounts it cost me most of $3000. What I bought will never wear out, have a motor or pump fail, or a wiring harness corrode or a part bent or a controller failure or have some other expensive problem. Chains are repairable with simple tools, and these chains will never be more than a quarter mile from all my tools and supplies.
Now, at my convenience, I'll find a 3 point adapter for the loader or a direct mount front blade or whatever else I decide might work better and which can be had used or at a fair, competitive price. Meanwhile, I'll make do with what I have. There is no question it will suffice. The driveway will be passable, equipment maintenance simple and no more expensive than before, and though the chore itself will be cold, it won't be too time consuming.
That is all I really wanted. That is what I bought. Frankly, it is hard to value chain in this quantity at $3000. But slipping off the driveway into the creek bed struck me as worthy of the expense in a way that being seated in a heated UTV cab while pushing snow for 30 minutes with an $8000 blade (that's under a tarp 9 months/year) did not.
I'll miss the dozer. It spit in the face of snow and ice and heavy lifting and dragging. I have pictures of myself pushing 3 foot deep snow with it effortlessly, apparently. But that many tons of frozen steel sucks the heat out of my old bones awful quickly, was very hard to avoid scalping off the crushed rock, and as the decades roll past, maintaining the heavy machinery gets to be too much regardless of season. Just no fun any more. You'll see, some day.
Of course, with the tractor I'll have to plow the storm without fail if it will be a deep snow, catch the rest on a second pass later, and the tractor won't be near as Manly......But I think it will do. If I can feel it is not up to the challenge, we'll sit it out.
The driveway is a quarter mile of steep gravel. Shielded by hill and tree from the sun, the snow and ice stays long after the roads are clear. Until I expose the gravel, it does not melt. In fact turning some gravel over helps a great deal.
I am in NW Oregon where deep snow comes once in a while but wet snow and nightly freezes come nearly every year. Snow, ice, snow, ice layer cakes you can't walk on or stomp through are not rare. When bad weather comes it arrives in a bad mood, and I have to tame it. Thank Heaven deep snow is not an every year problem here. Just last year someone who lives in this house ignored my "don't try it" advice and ruined an expensive steel gate and gate control and earned a several thousand dollar car body repair bill as well on an inch of packed snow that would have been gone the next day and not worth fooling with.
I am the guy who clears our snow and ice. For now. But the next person is on my mind as well. So, I studied for weeks. I know what everyone has to say. I see the tips and tricks and the suggestions and videos. I'll follow them, too, the ones that apply. Thanks to all who posted them.
Settled on a V blade for the x1100c. SnowEx or Boss. That would be great. Enclosed and heated cabin, and the wife is not afraid to operate that rig. In fact, she uses the goofy looking Kubota more than I do.
I found that those companies use regional dealers. There is no Messicks equivalent competing with the regional dealer. Neither of my region's Boss or SnowEx dealers had ever installed on an x1100c, and the SnowEx dealer had never sold a plow. The Boss V plow is 8000 bucks. Straight blade is 7000. SnowEx prices right under that. That includes 1200 for install, which I would do myself since they have the same level of experience installing their equipment on the x1100c as I do. I trust myself more, so deduct that from the price. But....
Price fixing seems to be the rule with the big names. No competition. You have your regional dealer and no other option. Here is your bid, take it or leave it, and every bid is the same, to the penny. That sticks in my craw. After diving in and learning how it operates, I won't buy from them no matter who endorses the product. I am a Buy Once, Cry Once guy, in a free market. But not this way. Eight thousand bucks is too much unless earning money with the tool, or money is no object, or you can write off the equipment. I do not, am not, and can not.
That amount of money will buy sustainment for several winters TRAPPED at the house. So, count me out. No sale.
Regarding implements for snow, the JD dealer here sells one blade style, and two were available in the whole country, both the wrong size. Wasted trip.
The aftermarket outfits are barely represented around here. I may buy an implement direct from manufacturer later, but for now traction is the goal and using of my ancient, manual angle, tilt, offset blade and the 4-way bucket that I have. Certainly with your suggested mods to save the gravel.
Since at this point, I had no need but to solve for traction. I bought chains for the tractor.
SMT Tryggs for front and rear.
No Trygg dealers I contacted had an offering in that line for Tryggs for the front tires on my tractor, and instead sell lesser chains for those.
But WHITE MOUNTAIN CHAIN did. They had Tryggs for all 4 tires and sell the Trygg made tightening tool as well. At good prices that more than made up for shipping to my door.
Since I am old and falling apart, I got the tool, to make things easier for myself and for whoever takes over the chore. Those rear chains weigh 125 pounds apiece. In the cold, the tool will be a Godsend.
That's where I landed, and even with discounts it cost me most of $3000. What I bought will never wear out, have a motor or pump fail, or a wiring harness corrode or a part bent or a controller failure or have some other expensive problem. Chains are repairable with simple tools, and these chains will never be more than a quarter mile from all my tools and supplies.
Now, at my convenience, I'll find a 3 point adapter for the loader or a direct mount front blade or whatever else I decide might work better and which can be had used or at a fair, competitive price. Meanwhile, I'll make do with what I have. There is no question it will suffice. The driveway will be passable, equipment maintenance simple and no more expensive than before, and though the chore itself will be cold, it won't be too time consuming.
That is all I really wanted. That is what I bought. Frankly, it is hard to value chain in this quantity at $3000. But slipping off the driveway into the creek bed struck me as worthy of the expense in a way that being seated in a heated UTV cab while pushing snow for 30 minutes with an $8000 blade (that's under a tarp 9 months/year) did not.
I'll miss the dozer. It spit in the face of snow and ice and heavy lifting and dragging. I have pictures of myself pushing 3 foot deep snow with it effortlessly, apparently. But that many tons of frozen steel sucks the heat out of my old bones awful quickly, was very hard to avoid scalping off the crushed rock, and as the decades roll past, maintaining the heavy machinery gets to be too much regardless of season. Just no fun any more. You'll see, some day.
Of course, with the tractor I'll have to plow the storm without fail if it will be a deep snow, catch the rest on a second pass later, and the tractor won't be near as Manly......But I think it will do. If I can feel it is not up to the challenge, we'll sit it out.
