Which tractor to buy?

eiresurg · May 1, 2019

Hello! This is my first post.

I'm sure this has come up a billion times, so I apologize for the monotony in advance.

We recently purchased a house on 80 acres in northern Minnesota. There is 30 acres of hay field, 40 acres of hard wood and the rest is pasture/yard/buildings. The land is flat. The driveway is 200 yards long and drifts like crazy in the winter. The hay field is being rented out, so I don't have to worry about that.

In my mind, I'm looking for a compact tractor that can:

accommodate a front snowblower
grade driveway
haul firewood
till 1 acre garden and food plots

I've read all the pluses and minuses of a front snowblower, and I'm still hesitant to consider a rear mounted blower. It has been a heck of a struggle trying to figure out which tractors can do what, despite many hours on the internet.

At this point I've been looking at the B series (2650 & 3350), but I'm open to any suggestions or thoughts. One question that has come up is whether or not any of the L series can take a front-mount snowblower? I've seen a thread on a FEL mounted blower and have seen what looks like a front-mounted blower that runs off a rear PTO, too. The snowblowing issue seems to be the biggest hang up for me. The other tasks are pretty simple and standard with any tractor I would think.

Thank you for reading my post.

Craig

SDT · May 1, 2019

eiresurg said:
Hello! This is my first post.

I'm sure this has come up a billion times, so I apologize for the monotony in advance.

We recently purchased a house on 80 acres in northern Minnesota. There is 30 acres of hay field, 40 acres of hard wood and the rest is pasture/yard/buildings. The land is flat. The driveway is 200 yards long and drifts like crazy in the winter. The hay field is being rented out, so I don't have to worry about that.

In my mind, I'm looking for a compact tractor that can:

accommodate a front snowblower

grade driveway

haul firewood

till 1 acre garden and food plots

I've read all the pluses and minuses of a front snowblower, and I'm still hesitant to consider a rear mounted blower. It has been a heck of a struggle trying to figure out which tractors can do what, despite many hours on the internet.

At this point I've been looking at the B series (2650 & 3350), but I'm open to any suggestions or thoughts. One question that has come up is whether or not any of the L series can take a front-mount snowblower? I've seen a thread on a FEL mounted blower and have seen what looks like a front-mounted blower that runs off a rear PTO, too. The snowblowing issue seems to be the biggest hang up for me. The other tasks are pretty simple and standard with any tractor I would think.

Thank you for reading my post.

Craig

Agree that you will be much more happy with a front mounted snow blower than a rear mounted one.

Grand L series tractors with mid PTO can accommodate front mounted blowers.

You will need a LARGE counter weight to use a FEL mounted blower due to the weight of the FEL and the weight of the blower far in front of the front axle. Not advised.

The mechanically injected engine used in the B3350 is being replaced with a new common rail engine in the foreseeable future. If considering one, I would wait for the changeover. Rumor is fall but nothing has been announced.

Snow blowers suck HP and 200 yards is a long driveway. How much time do you want to spend blowing snow? I would certainly want something more powerful that a 2650, and probably more powerful than a 3350.

SDT

leoric · May 1, 2019

The B series is the biggest tractor that will have a mid PTO that will run your front mounted blower. Personally I wouldn't want to have a rear pto that runs a front blower. Seems pretty complicated to me. I've heard some horror stories about the 3350 because of it's regen issues with the DPF filters since it's over 30HP it's tier4.

leoric · May 1, 2019

leoric said:
The B series is the biggest tractor that will have a mid PTO that will run your front mounted blower. Personally I wouldn't want to have a rear pto that runs a front blower. Seems pretty complicated to me. I've heard some horror stories about the 3350 because of it's regen issues with the DPF filters since it's over 30HP it's tier4.

I stand corrected that the Grand L series also has a mid pto. Today I learned!

russell.still.5 · May 1, 2019

Word of advise. Decide what size tractor you think will meet all your needs, then go up 2 sizes in HP. You would rather have a tractor that is a little big instead of one that is too small.

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hseII · May 1, 2019

russell.still.5 said:
Word of advise. Decide what size tractor you think will meet all your needs, then go up 2 sizes in HP. You would rather have a tractor that is a little big instead of one that is too small.

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This All Week Long.

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SidecarFlip · May 1, 2019

russell.still.5 said:
Word of advise. Decide what size tractor you think will meet all your needs, then go up 2 sizes in HP. You would rather have a tractor that is a little big instead of one that is too small.

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That applies to a lot of things in life...................

Muzzy · May 1, 2019

Nice Property, are you looking for a Cab Model

PaulL · May 1, 2019

Easy to spend someone else's money.

How much is your budget, are you looking new or second hand? Are there any limitations in your wooded areas that would push you to a smaller tractor?

If you have no budget limits, and no size limits based on places you want to use the tractor (e.g. mowing around the house or similar), then get the biggest tractor you can afford with the biggest snow blower you can afford. Realistically that probably means a Grand L, not a M class, but no point getting a B if you could have had a Grand L - they're not _that_ much more expensive.

If you're more thinking about a compact tractor, you want to lean over the back to adjust things, you want to drive down trails that your side by side goes down, you want to drive it on your lawn and maybe mow with it, then maybe the B2650 is the machine for you.

conropl · May 1, 2019

You won't have enough hydraulic flow available to do an FEL mount blower (they use hydraulic motors). So you would need a PTO driven hydraulic power unit which takes a fair amount of HP to get the flow required. By the time you buy all that, you might as well buy a front mount snowblower with a mid PTO or even a front mount with rear PTO.

As was said, stay away from the B3350 (to many issues, and no guarantees on a new version coming). The B2650 would he nice.

If you want a bigger heavier duty blower and more power/lift, then go with an L Grand series and make sure to get the mid PTO with it. I got an L3560 with a 74" blower (2 passes - one down, one up - and your done). Works good, but if you can swing the cost of a L4060 or L4760, then do that and you will be less likely to have to slow down to keep from bogging down the engine.

Also, all those option have available cabs. You said your drive drifts a lot... that means a lot of snow blowing back in your face. I would go with a cab. I did and blowing snow go so much easier and comfortable.

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hseII · May 1, 2019

eiresurg said:
Hello! This is my first post.

I'm sure this has come up a billion times, so I apologize for the monotony in advance.

We recently purchased a house on 80 acres in northern Minnesota. There is 30 acres of hay field, 40 acres of hard wood and the rest is pasture/yard/buildings. The land is flat. The driveway is 200 yards long and drifts like crazy in the winter. The hay field is being rented out, so I don't have to worry about that.

In my mind, I'm looking for a compact tractor that can:

accommodate a front snowblower

grade driveway

haul firewood

till 1 acre garden and food plots

I've read all the pluses and minuses of a front snowblower, and I'm still hesitant to consider a rear mounted blower. It has been a heck of a struggle trying to figure out which tractors can do what, despite many hours on the internet.

At this point I've been looking at the B series (2650 & 3350), but I'm open to any suggestions or thoughts. One question that has come up is whether or not any of the L series can take a front-mount snowblower? I've seen a thread on a FEL mounted blower and have seen what looks like a front-mounted blower that runs off a rear PTO, too. The snowblowing issue seems to be the biggest hang up for me. The other tasks are pretty simple and standard with any tractor I would think.

Thank you for reading my post.

Craig

The absolute biggest you can afford.

With that much acreage I’d skip the B & L personally & go for a M series, but I don’t know if a hydraulic powered front mounted snowblower would do well in You application.

I know they are offered for Skid steers, but my M7060 HD-12 is only 16gpm.

What about a snow plow?

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hseII · May 1, 2019

hseII said:
The absolute biggest you can afford.

With that much acreage I’d skip the B & L personally & go for a M series, but I don’t know if a hydraulic powered front mounted snowblower would do well in You application.

I know they are offered for Skid steers, but my M7060 HD-12 is only 16gpm.

What about a snow plow?

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Edit:

I didn’t read it all the 1st time around.

I guess an L series that does the PTO snowblower.

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hseII · May 1, 2019

conropl said:
You won't have enough hydraulic flow available to do an FEL mount blower (they use hydraulic motors). So you would need a PTO driven hydraulic power unit which takes a fair amount of HP to get the flow required. By the time you buy all that, you might as well buy a front mount snowblower with a mid PTO or even a front mount with rear PTO.

As was said, stay away from the B3350 (to many issues, and no guarantees on a new version coming). The B2650 would he nice.

If you want a bigger heavier duty blower and more power/lift, then go with an L Grand series and make sure to get the mid PTO with it. I got an L3560 with a 74" blower (2 passes - one down, one up - and your done). Works good, but if you can swing the cost of a L4060 or L4760, then do that and you will be less likely to have to slow down to keep from bogging down the engine.

Also, all those option have available cabs. You said your drive drifts a lot... that means a lot of snow blowing back in your face. I would go with a cab. I did and blowing snow go so much easier and comfortable.

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I never want to live where I need a snowblower, but that is a cool setup!

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mikester · May 2, 2019

I would suggest a bigger PTO HP tractor (40+HP), spend the money for the front mounted snowblower on a OEM heated cab and hydraulic remotes, and buy a nice rear 3PH blower.

If you are warm and toasty out of the elements and you have plenty of PTO HP, going backwards isn***8217;t a problem because you will get the job done quicker than if you were operating a small tractor with a front mounted blower and no cab.

Poulin · May 2, 2019

Interesting to read folks.

I own a L3800 and often l think about upgrading it. It handles a 72 inches rear pto driven snowblower pretty well though, but sometimes I feel the FEL lift capacity is limited.

My point is some suggests the M serie and other the grand L. When l think about a beefer tractor l’m a bit lost between the grand L and M.

Why do you guys suggest more one than another ?

Don’t want to hijack this post so answers can be related to the original question here.

Thanks

eiresurg · May 2, 2019

SDT said:
Agree that you will be much more happy with a front mounted snow blower than a rear mounted one.

Grand L series tractors with mid PTO can accommodate front mounted blowers.

Snow blowers suck HP and 200 yards is a long driveway. How much time do you want to spend blowing snow? I would certainly want something more powerful that a 2650, and probably more powerful than a 3350.

SDT

Thank you for the response. I didn’t know this about the Grand L series! Great suggestion. I thought I was stuck with the B series for front mounted blowers.

eiresurg · May 2, 2019

leoric said:
Personally I wouldn't want to have a rear pto that runs a front blower. Seems pretty complicated to me.

That’s what i figured. Only found one company that makes them and haven’t seen anyone running them in YouTube videos.

eiresurg · May 2, 2019

russell.still.5 said:
Word of advise. Decide what size tractor you think will meet all your needs, then go up 2 sizes in HP. You would rather have a tractor that is a little big instead of one that is too small.

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Roger that! I’m now considering the Grand L series.

eiresurg · May 2, 2019

Muzzy said:
Nice Property, are you looking for a Cab Model

That would be ideal, but $$$. I can live without it. The other concern is maneuvering through the thicker parts of the woods with a big cab on the tractor. Not ruling it out, though.

conropl · May 2, 2019

hseII said:
I never want to live where I need a snowblower, but that is a cool setup!

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Thanks. Works great for blowing snow, box blading my drive, rototilling (72"), and clearing trees/brush (love the LP GC1060 grapple). The cab adds a lot of weight which helps with a lot of that work. In fact, the L3560 with cab weighs more than the bigger MX5200.

I like snow. I like the looks of it, I like driving in it, and I like blowing it. Not many of us do, probably because we have constant news reports telling us how we are going to die if we go out in 2" of snow... just silly. But I like winter. Maybe it is just a little to long... had a little snow mixed in with the rain this week. I spent the last 5 years working in Hampton, VA and East TN, and was only home in Michigan on weekends. I really missed the lake effect snow living along Lake Michigan. So I retired this year so I could spend more time home, and not feel guilty leaving my wife at home alone in the winter. That was a good decission.

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Which tractor to buy?

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