Snow Removal

mshea69 said:

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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I used to have a x738 with a 54" plow widened to 62" and pushed 2 feet of snow on a flat driveway with no weights or chains. Rarely ever used the diff lock, maybe a couple times. I now have a 1025r and it's a great machine but not as nimble or maneuverable as the x738 was but suits my current needs. Sure it has a lot more options available but doesn't do any good if you aren't using them, I loved my x738 and am sorry I had to let it go but just outgrew it. I would say if you are going to use a snow blower and cut some grass the x738 will definitely do the job they are a snow moving beast.

Just pop onto Youtube and search "x738 Snowblower" and you will see most everyone has no weights or chains and what a beast the tractor is.

javjacob said:

I don't understand the infatuation with the 1025 on these forums, they are big, bulky, cumbersome and great at nothing. I would go with the X738/X739.

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Actually I've owned a x738 for over 5 years and a year ago stepped up to a 1025r. They BOTH have their place. Loved my x738 for lawn/yard work and clearing snow, awesome tractor for what it was capable of and was sorry to see it go. The 1025r isn't as nimble, maneuverable and a bit more tippy BUT it has a FEL, mower, backhoe and snow plow and runs circles around the x738 because of the capabilities and strength. It does for me what the x738 couldn't. With the 1025r it also takes little to no effort and mere minutes to switch from one work configuration to the next. Was the X738 better at what it could do, to a degree yes but not substantially. While I agree some 1025r owners like to push them both tractors have their place. Size wise, not much difference, capabilities are distinctive. I always recommend people think hard about the current and future needs then decide what fits those voids best. In this case I recommended a x738.

In case you never looked at a 1025r and x738 sitting side by side... don't know why people think the 1025r is a huge difference in size it really isn't. Bare 1025r tractor does weigh about 400 - 500 lbs more though.

c5rulz said:

These discussions regarding 1 series vs X7xx are frequent.

The common theme in them is people reinforcing their own purchasing decisions with the rationale being, "It must be better because I bought it". Often the author has no direct comparison due to not having owned both but that doesn't stop one from having opinions.

I have had a JD 2305, predecessor to the 1 series for 16 years and a X758 for 3 years.

My observations are:

...

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Not to steal the OP's thread but I couldn't agree with you more... actually this may add to what he may not have considered.

1: When mowing I too have steep hills and have mowed across a section of 15 degree hill (on my tilt meter) with both tractors no problem. I get in and out of all the same places as I did with the x738 no issues, just drop off the FEL it takes about a minute. With a 54" deck I see no difference in time to cut but maybe the X did it a little better.
2: After a couple surgeries having a FEL and backhoe are priceless. I went from moving 2 yards of mulch behind the tractor in a cart (pitch fork in and out) to picking up 5 yards of mulch with the bucket and dumping it where I want.
3: If it's heavy I have pallet forks and pallets... I don't lift anything anymore.
4: Done digging... backhoe does that for me. I can keep my stream free of debris with the backhoe thumb then pull stumps and never break a sweat.
5: I've only plowed once so far it wasn't much but I never engaged the 4 wheel drive. I too just have 50lb rim weights no other ballast and turf tires.

I can go on but those are the highlights. I'm back to what do you need to do. In 5 years my x738 had 100 hours on it but in 5 months the 1025r has 55 hours so I think the versatility speaks for itself in seat time.

c5rulz said:

I just don't understand how everyone thinks the 1 series is "tippy" compared to the X7xx. IMHO they are about the same.

It is hard to estimate slope without actually going out with a level and yardstick. Perhaps these picture will help. This can be mowed up and down or horizontally. The 2305 easily handles this with a 55 gallon sprayer on the back too without issue and that is heavy and complicated by how far the CG is behind the 3 point arms. With the spreader it is not nearly as obvious.

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I have to agree with you to a point. After owning both an x738 and 1025r I think the seating position on the 1025r makes it feel more tippy and less surefooted. That being said I have gotten a rear wheel off the ground on the 1025r but never had on the x738. For like condition's, mowing without the FEL etc. I really see no real difference other than getting used to the feel. I have a tilt gauge on the dash and mow the same area the same way and have pushed it to 15 degree's no problem with both.

Spartan said:

I have an x739 and love it. The all wheel steer is a must have only second to all wheel drive being #1. I use a 54” blade with the squeegee kit. It works great and doesn’t roll up stones much. Also doesn’t scratch cement or asphalt. I use it to push snow up to about 8” and if more I use my walk behind 1330Se, had it before the x739. The plow can push more but the blower does better with bigger snow falls. The plow is awesome for the 8” and less as it is quicker. Especially for the more common 3-6” snow falls.
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I've pushed 2 feet of lighter snow and over a foot of heavy wet snow with my x738 no problem... got rid of the walk behind. Oh and my plow was widened a foot to 66" with no weights or chains or anything extra.

Ariens93GT20 said:

Ok got to ask. How far you pushing it?
Lots of difference in pushing 30 or 40 feet as compared to 300 or 400 feet. That snow sure piles up fast the farther it needs to be pushed.

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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.

UrbanTractor said:

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:

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It's amazing what they are capable of... 8" isn't even a challenge for a x700 series they are known for their snow moving capability. What took me 3 hours to do with a good walk behind my x738 did in 45 minutes... and that was stopping to talk to the neighbors.

Frogmore said:

I am not an expert, but I always thought what you are doing is technically called "plowing". Technically, "pushing" is when the blade or "box pusher" moves the snow straight ahead.

Plowing works great if there is room to move the snow to the side. I have parts of my driveway that are in a depression that makes it like a valley. There is no extra space on either side. That means I need to actually push it forward to a spot that has some room. There is a limit to how much snow anything that is actually pushing (as opposed to plowing) it can do.

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I have area's that I need to push straight ahead as well, that's why I have power angle. For example going down the length of my driveway out to the road I angle my blade and push snow off to the right side. At the end I put the blade straight and push it straight ahead to the other side of the street. Either way I'm pushing snow. For an area like your describing I would most likely push down each side first with the plow angled to move the snow to the center and then with the plow straight push the pile in the center as far as I need to until I can push it off to the side. Yes I am plowing...

Plowing, pushing matter of semantics... "Okay honey I'm going out to plow the driveway now I'll be back in as soon as I'm done pushing some snow around" . Not sure what point you are trying to make. I think in order to plow snow you have to push snow whether it's ahead of you or off to the side or is there another way?

Maybe what you are looking at is the difference between a "Snow Plow" and a "Snow Pusher"... like you said a Pusher only moves snow straight ahead of itself and captures a lot in the "box" where a Plow has the ability to move snow straight ahead losing a lot out the sides as it does or move it to the sides by angling the blade. Both of them push snow or neither would be moving anything.

Ariens93GT20 said:

I have gathered some here with 800lb tractors can preform miracles. I need another three hundred pounds at the front axle then just maybe the front end will stay in place.
That would put me at about 2000 lbs total.
Even that may not be enough. Mainly because the more a stability the more snow I will try to plow.
But everything has it limits.

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Of course everything has it limits... machine weight, horsepower, 4 wheel drive and method (bucket, plow, pusher, snow blower) all contributing factors. But I've never seen anything I can't clear it's just a matter of how long and what method do I use. I have a 1025r so I can go from a bucket to a plow to a pusher in minutes... 2 pins and in the case of the plow 2 hydraulic couplings at the front of the tractor. My backhoe is a much bigger machine and in an open area will clear snow a lot faster than the 1 series but in a confined area is useless. I have had 5 feet of snow in my driveway, took longer than a foot of snow but it still got moved. Just needed the right "tool" for the job.

Frogmore said:

This is a snow pusher and why you might want one and why there is confusion about people saying they push snow with a plow. You can do that of course. But there is an actual thing called a snow pusher that can NOT be used as a plow.

https://www.goodworkstractors.com/product/hla-1500-snow-pusher-jdqa/

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I think you are still getting stuck on semantics let me try to be clearer for everyone...

A "Snow Pusher" can contain a lot of snow in a box but does not have the ability to angle to the side and can only "Plow" in one direction...

A "Snow Plow" can can go straight or angle to the side but cannot contain as much snow and will leave windrows...

They are two different pieces of equipment, "Snow Pusher" and "Snow Plow" but both "Push" and both "Plow" it's all semantics...

Maybe this helps...


I should also say that page is a little aged and the newer pushers have attachments that make back dragging possible with a FEL mounted snow pusher.

Another link...

UrbanTractor said:

The 800 lb tractor tips the scales closer to 1500lbs with ballast box, cab, and blade mounted. Or maybe it’s just the JD difference.😂

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That's a real snow mover! I'm sure not a lot stops it from pushing snow around. My shed doors are just a tad to low for me to have a cab... I'm jealous

Frogmore said:

Not really, you said push. I assumed that meant going straight, which is what "pushing snow" means to me. You meant it as what I understand "plowing snow to the side by angling the blade". I can do that for a mile without any issues. Pushing straight for more than about 40' will stop many machines. That was what I took the question of how long to mean.

I now understand what you meant by what you said.

It's like when someone is using the Boston vernacular and says "my starter runs but my engine won't crank". People in many other parts of the country/world would have little idea of what that statement means.

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Sort of...

More like "Snow Pusher" and "Snow Plow" are nouns which describe things and "Pushing" snow and "Plowing" snow are verbs which describe actions both pieces of equipment are capable of.


I hope the OP has decided what he wants to get because I'm sure this isn't helping...