Snow Removal

4002 Views 68 Replies 21 Participants Last post by gt275, 2 mo ago

mshea69

Discussion Starter · 3 mo ago

I have a lake cabin in Minnesota that I am trying to figure out snow removal for. The drive way is long, about 350ft and is gravel. Over the 350 ft, it rises about 20 ft, so there is a bit of a grade there. It is also a narrow driveway, so a blade is not an option, I need a snow blower. I talked to my local John Deere dealer and have narrowed my choices down to two, the X739 with four wheel drive and the X584 with four wheel steering. The X739 is about $8500 more expensive but I get four wheel drive. Do you think it is worth it? Any advise is welcome!

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UrbanTractor

· #7 · 3 mo ago

The X739 has all-wheel-drive (AWD) AND all-wheel-steer (AWS). So you would be getting both features with the X739.

If you have the budget for the X739, the combination of AWD and AWS will make it a far superior snow removal tool. Especially given the narrow confines and slope of your driveway.

By comparison, a 1025R will not be nearly as maneuverable, especially with mechanical 4WD engaged. In you narrow driveway a 1025R would probably end up needing to do a 3-point turn, whereas with the X739 you could just bang a u-turn.

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UrbanTractor

· #34 · 3 mo ago

mshea69 said:
Anyone have any thoughts on the way the blower is powered between the X5xx and the X7xx? I think the X5xx is belt and the X7xx is PTO. Is this a deal breaker?

Correct. The X7 uses shaft drive for everything - - transmission and PTO-driven implements/attachments. Shafts are generally considered to be an upgrade/higher-spec/heavier-duty approach.

That said, belts do the job very well on many machines, and allow manufacturers to offer similar capabilities at a lower cost.

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UrbanTractor

· #53 · 2 mo ago

vinmar said:
My driveway is 80 feet some I have done are 150... I angle my blade and push it off to the side not flat pushing it in front of me when going down a driveway.

Yup, same here. With my 2WD 14hp 140H3 I’ve plowed out some big snowfalls, well over a foot. Traction (ballast) and dynamic hydraulic blade angling are key.

This was about 14” of heavy wet concrete snow: