When purchasing my 3 pt blower in the early 90’s for my JD750 the recommended front mount blower seemed to be made of light weight stamped steel and for light snow that wasn’t too deep. Plus, it was at least 25% more expensive. That front mount blower wouldn’t have made it too many years before it was all bent or broken up with some of our hard packed wind driven snow here. The Lorenz blower I bought has double augers with paddles instead of the spiral cutters and will slice and dice the hardest of snow pack…..even behind that 17 PTO HP JD. I’ve rescued neighbors with it when their higher HP tractors with their front end blowers couldn’t blow themselves out of their garage when the snow had swirled in and become packed so hard they needed a spade to clear along their overhead door to open it.
Another true story: I used to rent out half my steel building to a trucker who used it for a shop and to keep/work on his semi tractors and flat bed trailers in when they were back in town. After a windy week long storm my renter asked if I could come to his aid. While his truck was in my shed, one of his trailers was parked at the truck stop in town and snowed in. Every snow contractor was busy and wouldn’t even guess when they could help. That snowpack was almost hard as a rock. The truck stop had a large payloader cleaning the main area but wouldn’t go between the trailers that were less than 10 feet apart.
We pulled up to his trailer and were sizing up the situation when the trucker next to him walked up and the first words out of his mouth were something like, “What the bleeepety, bleep, bleep, heck do you think you’re going to accomplish with that bleepety, bleep, bleep, small toy?” My renter said, “I guess we’ll find out.” The loud mouth walked away.
I cut through that hard pack snow layer by layer and with the bucket scooped out under and in front of the trailer wheels and stand. Less than an hour later we were ready to leave and the smart mouth came running up, “Hey buddy, can you help me too?” I told him I was too busy elsewhere and sorry, I wasn’t his buddy! That stopped him in his tracks for a few seconds. Then he pulled out his big wallet and took out a few $100 bills and said in a most polite voice something like, “I can’t believe what you can do with your nice rig. I really need to get back on the road. If you would help, I’d sure appreciate it and offer you this”. Less than an hour later he was hooked up and gone, but not before thanking me again. After he left, my renter was laughing. He had told “Mr. Loud Mouth” my comment that if he hadn’t lipped off to me, he could have had all that help for just fueling up my tractor. Instead, I found three $100 bills in my pocket. There is no way the optional front mount blower for that JD750 could have done the same thing. Plus, the bucket would have been missing.
Regarding price difference: Did I mention that over the years this blower has been on three different tractors (different brands, different HP) with no modifications to anything. It’s been on my JD750, an MF220, and now sits behind the Kubota B2650. I doubt that can be said of most model specific front mount blowers. That alone has saved $1000s. Other than faded paint it still functions as new. Built like a Sherman tank, there are no dents, dings to be seen,
If the driveways were fairly straight the odds would be pretty even as to which blower type would complete the job first. Operating with the mirror becomes second nature very quickly if your visibility out the back window is good. And using a snow pusher blade on the front loader for light snows really speeds things up and makes piling the snow easy. Especially if you have a large area to clean and would have to turn the snow over a few times with your blower to clear outward from buildings as I had to.
The rear snowblower is also nice ballast when you’re swapping between the bucket, pusher blade or grapple while performing other duties! If the 3 pt blower was a pain to use behind the first tractor it certainly wouldn’t have been behind the 2nd tractor and now the Kubota. The mirror is an integral partner with that blower! About the only times I don't rely on the mirror and do turn around are at the end of the driveway to check for traffic, and if I'm on the first pass next to the big shed.
Saying that just because you have the capabilities to run a front mount blower negates any thoughts of considering a rear mount blower is pretty short sighted. It would be like saying because you live next to an airport you must fly to your destination. When in fact you might drive, take a train, ride a bus, take a boat, hire a truck, or what ever suits your present needs.
It’s doubtful at my age another new tractor will be in the future. But if there is, my mirror and 3 pt blower will be on and behind it. Yet another couple of $1000 saved. In my situation the small amount of time I might save (if any) during a day of snow blowing is far outweighed by the other benefits mentioned above and by the others posting. Everybody’s needs are very seldom the same. Best to consider all your needs and see which benefits outweigh the others before you purchase.
