[AT] Cold weather: 3 pt. snow blowers

[Greg Hass]

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