Snow Equipment Owning/Operating snow plows for zero turn mowers.

[kevin72]

Im going to start mowing around 5.5 acres. With that comes a pretty long drive with turn around. I was wondering if anyone had advice on snow removal with a zero turn. after using a zero turn would you prefer a different method. Thanks

 

[Backlight]

I have a zero turn, Kubota Z700 series, it gets suck on hills with slightly wet grass. I've not used it to plow, that said if your plow area is somewhat flat, you don't have allot of snow and you use chains it might be ok... Main concern would be traction IMO.

There are a number of youtube videos of guys with ZTR's and plows if you've not looked already.

 

[Sprinklerman]

Plow every time you get an inch of snow and it should be fine .

 

[Sawyer Rob]

I use my Grasshopper 725D for snow removal,

It works MUCH better than I ever expected!

Although the pict. shows, just six inches of snow, a foot or more is NO problem at all, you just have to go slower. I've blown out some big drifts with it...

The bar tires work just fine on hard packed snow, but if you get a lot of ice, you will have to buy the optional chains, or just get the tires studded.

I've had trucks/plows, tractors/plows, rear 3 point blower and plows, and even a tractor/front blower, but I really like the way my GH can get get in and around things, blowing the snow out, that I couldn't do with the others...

SR

 

[civilian]

Is the ztr a belt driven snow blower or shaft driven? When I was looking at tractors that had snowblowers, I stayed away from the belt driven snowblowers. I feel the shaft driven blowers transfer the power better. That being said, what kind of snow do you have? Wet and heavy, or cold and light?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Mine is pto shaft/chain driven, it blows EVERYTHING well, light or heavy snow, even heavy snow with water in it...

It's easy to put on too...although that's because my GH has the electric lift that makes the front mower easy to remove,

so the mower is a snap to take off, then you drive right to the blower and hook it up...

SR

 

[Backlight]

Here's my zero turn after I lost traction (and slipped sideways) going up my drive.. :ashamed:

Plowing with it is not an option, at least on my property.

 

[Creamer]

The hopper is set up well for a blower or plow because it is a front deck. If you do not ahve a front deck I do not know how you would do it. My Deines has a blower option and I know some people who have them and really like them. Not sure why belt drive would be any worse that shaft drive - I prefer the belt drive because it absorbs the shock so that it doesn't get transmitted to your driveline/engine. I have a good friend who is a good Hopper dealer and know probably twenty people who have blowers on their hoppers like Robs and they all love them. Some use cabs though.

Chevron tires make a world of difference for traction in the little bit of snow. Turf tires tend to fill up and ride over the snow eliminating a push force.

 

[3238dpw]

https://www.meyerproducts.com/snow-plows/off-road/ztr-snow-plow Meyers makes plows for zero turns. There are a few manufacturers that do. It makes me believe that it does work reasonably well. I think the big key is do you have asphalt or gravel? I have never seen one plowing with a zero turn on anything other than asphalt or concrete. I had a friend who had a timecutter (homeowner toro zero turn) with a plow and he said it worked great,but he couldn't plow more than about 6-8"

 

[roadhunter]

Very interesting. I hadn't considered using the mower for snow but I guess for flat applications and small amounts of snow it woudl probably work really well and be really fast.

For things like sidewalks it would be really slick.

Now just gotta figure out a way to angle the deck up in the front so I can mow snow drifts and shoot them out the side LOL.