[AT] Cold weather: 3 pt. snow blowers

[Mike M]

Greg.
Being from Michigan, I can appreciate your perspective on snowfall. Last 
year it seemed like I was plowing every other day, and this year, (aside 
from the freak 17" we got earlier), I _really_ haven't needed to plow at 
all. I can also appreciate the issues of getting on and off a tractor 
umpteen times, as I am going though the diagnosis phase of some right 
knee pain right now.

Have you considered a back blade for the 3020? Or do you already have 
one? I have around 1200 ft of drive to plow, that I do with a 7 ft back 
blade, pulling the blade. The part that takes me the longest is dinking 
around the garage area; clearing the other 1200 ft, can be done it about 
10 minutes, with one swipe each way.  If your tires are loaded, and you 
don't have any serious hills I highly doubt you'd have any trouble with 
that 3020, especially with the diff lock.

It seems to me that we (the list) had a similar discussion last year 
around this time, and the consensus was that looking over your shoulder 
gets real old, real fast.  Unless you have areas that drift really badly 
and you run out of places to put the snow, a blade is easier to deal 
with. Just my .02

Mike M


On 1/14/2016 2:15 AM, Greg Hass wrote:
> Have been thinking snow blower on and off for several years but was
> never very serious. However, a couple of things have got me thinking
> again. First, my skid steer has been down for a couple of months. Due to
> a knee problem I have not been able to work on it ( takes over 6 weeks
> to see a knee Dr. x-rays from reg. Dr. say bone spurs in knee). Also a
> guy I know at the coffee shop has one for sale. I looked at it today,
> did not bother him, just stopped by the road. Main problem I see is I
> think it's a little narrow (65 inches- he had it on a New Holland
> compact with a fairly narrow wheelbase). Both tractors I might use it on
> have a 74 inch or slightly wider wheelbase; IH 574 or JD3020. How much
> this matters I do not know. I thought about putting 6 inch wings on each
> side but question that. His asking price is not bad- around $1200 but we
> found a new one at a dealer 45 miles from here for under $4000. Besides
> new it is 74 inches wide. It might be nice to go a little wider than 74
> inches but that change really ups the price. My drive is only 300 feet
> long and in our part of Michigan some years you only clean twice and
> sometimes 20 times. Snow fall varies but nothing close to what Ralph
> gets. I have used a skid steer for 35 years and have gotten by; the
> hardest part is because you do not know the snowfall you will get, you
> must start by cleaning a big area so as to not get boxed in ( don't ask
> how I know this). A blower would avoid this problem. We plan to look at
> the dealers tomorrow. It is a Land Pride SB15 series. If the salesperson
> told the wife correctly, the one they have in stock has hydraulic turn
> on the spout. I did not see a brand on the used one but it looks the
> same in every detail to the Land Pride. Also,how important are tire
> chains. I don't have any and have put some on before and certainly don't
> like that job. As to tractors, my 574 is handy to get on and off but is
> diesel; the 3020 on the other hand is harder to get on,higher up, but is
> gas and has differential lock. I know I could get along without one but
> at my age,68, I fight with myself whether to stay cheap or enjoy a few
> things in life. My dad taught us that having fun in life was wrong and
> that all that mattered was work, work, and more work. Enough of that.
> Anyway; any advice on snow blowers would be welcome; if they work, don't
> work, if I should stick to my loader, etc.  One last thing; a front or
> rear blade are not in my future.
>        Greg Hass
>
>
>
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