Hello everyone, i just joined the forums and looking for some advice. Ive never owned a tractor but im exploring my options, i live in southern new hampshire. I primarily want a tractor for plowing my dirt driveway, and some general property maintenance. Mostly moving fill dirt and possibly grading the driveway. I dont need a mower and im not a farmer so i dont need a ton of attatchments etc. I had reached out to the local kubota dealer to get some numbers. They had recommended the LX2620 with a loader and a front mount plow with hydraulic angle set up. Its within my price range at 32k. Im jist wondering is this tractor big enough to do a 500' dirt driveway ? It does have 2 inclines but they are not crazy steep or anything. I did some reading and i was a bit concerned about the rear end on this model being able to hold up with snow plowing. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Snow plowing
- Thread starter Voshan
- Start date
I have a B7610 that I bought from MB there in NH years ago. I have a clamp-on 60" plow on the bucket and a 54" Meteor rear snow blower. I use it to maintain a 1/4 mile of steep (100') gravel road. I generally plow down either side of the road and then snow blow the center pile back uphill. It handles all the snow we get here in the Catskills. I do wish I had the angle plow. Good chains are a necessity. There is a lot of side slip when plowing or blowing. If you don't have a blower you will need a lot of ballast to keep the rear end firmly planted. For summer maintenance I use a rear blade. I would be nice to have a land plane or box blade too. The LX2620 would do the same as this older model.
Welcome aboard! What have you seen written about the LX2620 that causes concern about the rear?
You'll want to have ballast on the rear. Maybe start with filled rear tires and a ballast box or hang an implement on the rear. I've been having very good results with grooved R4 tires on one tractor and R1's on another. No personal experience with any others, except for diamond turfs on a 2WD. They were bad.
If I didn't do parking lots, I'd go for front mounted blower. A benefit is a blower is easier to push than a blade. I had a rear blower for a few years, but it was awful for parking lots.
You'll want to have ballast on the rear. Maybe start with filled rear tires and a ballast box or hang an implement on the rear. I've been having very good results with grooved R4 tires on one tractor and R1's on another. No personal experience with any others, except for diamond turfs on a 2WD. They were bad.
If I didn't do parking lots, I'd go for front mounted blower. A benefit is a blower is easier to push than a blade. I had a rear blower for a few years, but it was awful for parking lots.
I live in Northern NH and I use a BX2230 (basically one step up from a mower) to take care of a gravel drive twice the length of yours with the same bucket/blower setup. The LX will get the job done faster. I'd add a back blade and a box blade to the setup for year round driveway maintenance. I'm assuming you're buying from Chappell tractor since they're the only Kubota dealer I'm aware of in the state, I've gotten a lot less BS from those guys than any other tractor or auto dealership/shop I've dealt with so at least have confidence that they are giving you good advice and a fair price.
Orange man
Active member
Equipment
Kubota L2501 LA525 loader , woods prd6000 mower, Land pride RB 1672
I would suggest a L2502, the LX2620 would work but it is much lighter and when plowing weight is your friend. The L is a more robust built tractor for about the same price.
I had read the the lx2620 has an aluminum rear axle and that it wouldnt hold up well with the abuse of plowing
I had reached out to pinnacle view in walpole nh, about the same distance from my house as chappels
My thought with the lx was if it ended up being awful for plowing, i could put a front mount snowblower on it, it was my understanding i couldnt do a front mount on an L series, is that not accurate information?
Orange man
Active member
Equipment
Kubota L2501 LA525 loader , woods prd6000 mower, Land pride RB 1672
MB Tractor is a large Kubota dealer in NH with four locations in the southern half of NH. so OP maybe dealing with them or Chappell.
Regarding the OP's question, plowing with an LX2620 will require multiple plow sessions for a storm with deep snowfall, maybe taking 6" or so at a time to avoid the plow from "steering" the tractor since it is a relatively light tractor. Also, with a plow you will eventually build up walls of plowed snow that gradually narrow your driveway since you cannot throw the new snow over the old snow banks. Plowing with a tractor is slower than with a truck so the plowed snow does not get pushed as far to the side. A snow blower would be a much better option. Rear mounted PTO driven is much cheaper than front mounted, but can involve a lot of uncomfortable turning around in the seat to operate. A backup camera would help. A rear mounted blower does have the advantage of allowing the loader bucket to remain on, which can be very useful as well for moving snow around.
I'm in the Lakes region of NH and have a 7/10s mile long driveway with a couple of semi steep hills and do it with a LX4020 cab with front mounted blower, a comfortable but definitely expensive combo. Going up those hills blowing heavy snow, I am very thankful for the 40 hp.
Check out the GP Outdoors Youtube channel. He is in Ontario and has an LX2610 with a front mount blower and a rear blade for snow removal on his long driveway.
fried1765
Well-known member
Equipment
Kubota L48 TLB, Ford 1920 FEL, Ford 8N, SCAG Liberty Z, Gravely Pro.
My dumbass read that you were getting a blower and not a plow. If all you're doing is maintaining a driveway, then either spring for a tractor with a blower, or spend a lot less money on a dedicated plow truck. Buying a light duty tractor just for plowing doesn't make a lot of since to me since it will be lighter, slower, and much more expensive.
If you will plow your driveway, I'd go with a rear mount blade which is a lot cheaper and also use it for dirt work and ballast. If you have very much snow, it's handy to have a front bucket to move the snow out of the way once it piles up.
Make sure you buy a wide enough rear blade to offset at an angle and still move snow. Fwiw, I have a 84 wide, and I find that pretty good to offset quite a bit and still stay on the road. The rear blade will also allow you to cut ditches or clean them out.
However, hydraulics are nice, but I'd buy the rear blade and grader/scraper instead. Well, that's what I did. Do budget for chains as well.
GP Outdoors has a LX2610 and shows how he moves snow on his property, but he went with a snow blower on the front.
www.youtube.com
Make sure you buy a wide enough rear blade to offset at an angle and still move snow. Fwiw, I have a 84 wide, and I find that pretty good to offset quite a bit and still stay on the road. The rear blade will also allow you to cut ditches or clean them out.
However, hydraulics are nice, but I'd buy the rear blade and grader/scraper instead. Well, that's what I did. Do budget for chains as well.
GP Outdoors has a LX2610 and shows how he moves snow on his property, but he went with a snow blower on the front.
GP Outdoors
If you enjoy working in the outdoors: working the tractors, the forest, splitting firewood, felling trees, clearing snow, projects around the property and just enjoying life up at the cabin or cottage, then tune in and spend some time with me and some friends, up at the cottage, here in the...
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North Idaho Wolfman
Moderator
Staff member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
L3450DT-GST, Woods FEL, B7100 HSD, FEL, 60" SB, 743 Bobcat with V2203, and more
There are thousands of Kubota models going back 40+ Years with aluminum housings on not only the rear end but the transmission and hydraulic three point cylinder, and there is not a "known or common issue with them, unless you use a three point Backhoe on them.
Welcome to forum. Nice folks here with helpful knowledge. I live in Sunapee/Dartmouth area of NH. Have a steeply sloped 800 foot gravel driveway. Highly suggest considering a snow blower capable tractor. Yes, a bit pricey with the subframe and front blower unit but performance beats a plow in my case. 4wd, chains, and filled tires add to better handling. Are you considering a cab? Good luck with decisions.
BAP
Well-known member
Lifetime Member
Equipment
2012 Kubota 2920, 60MMM, FEL, BH65 48" Bush Hog, 60"Backblade, B2782B Snowblower
Pinnacleview is a great, family owned and run dealership. They are one of the oldest Kubota dealers in the country. They will give you great advice and service. The LX2620 will do what you want without any problems. The good thing is that you can easily add more attachments to that tractor like a front mount snowblower, mid mount mower, rear mount mower, 3 point hitch attachments like blades and so on. I’m in mid-Western NH and use a B2920 a predecessor of the LX series. I do all you are looking to do and more. I started out with using a plow, and after several years of big snows, I ended up buying a front mount snowblower. Now, I use the plow on little storms and the snowblower on storms over 4-5”.
Thank you for the insight. A cab would be great but the factory ones push me out of my budget, I'm sure they are amazing though. I imagine the front snowblower is ideal but yeah the cost is significant. Ive considered a rear mount snowblower but i worry that it would be obnoxious to run as my driveway has kind of an S shape to it
Is the BH77 considered a 3 point hitch backhoe? Sorry if its a dumb question its the one i see on the kubota site if you build an lx, im not versed on 3 point hitches or backhoes.
Welcome!
The BH77 is not a 3 point. 3 point backhoes are very hard on a tractor and should be avoided if possible.