Should I upgrade from LX2610 to 4020?

[greenlifevt]

For the past two winters I've been using an LX2610 with an HLA 180072 snow pusher on the front and a 64" snowblower on the rear to plow a 500 ft road and small condo association parking lot at a ski resort in the Vermont mountains that get's an insane amount of annual snow. 8"-16" dumps in less than 12 hours are pretty common. It's pretty much done what I've asked of it, but struggles when the pusher is loaded with snow and nearly stalls on an incline without dumping some of the snow weight. This was my first tractor and a great learning experience, but after two winters, it feels slow and tedious moving snow with it. The small footprint of the LX let's me backdrag snow out of a single parking spot when cars are on both sides and turn around in some tight spots surrounded by parked cars even with the snowblower hanging off the back, where I'm concerned that wouldn't be possible with a larger tractor. I haven't really felt like the snowblower was underpowered... it does just fine blowing snowbanks 30+ feet back when needed. A larger snowblower would be nice, but also couldn't fit into the tight spots I need it to.

My question is: Will the higher horsepower of the 4020 increase the "pushing strength" so pushing a heavy load up an incline won't stall the tractor, or is it only good for more PTO strength? I asked my local Kubota dealer this and he 'yes' and is trying to sell me a 4020, but I'm not sure he isn't just trying to make a sale. The 4020 is pretty sweet and doesn't have that damn hydraulic whine, but if it isn't going to increase my snow pushing strength and speed, there's no sense upgrading to it. Thanks.

 

[jimh406]

Yes, more HP will help it go up hills better. If you have the money, I think it's a great upgrade. From what I've seen the 20 is quite a bit better than the 10 series.

This might be obvious, but do make sure you get the tire type you want.

 

[BruceMc]

It's pretty much done what I've asked of it, but struggles when the pusher is loaded with snow and nearly stalls on an incline without dumping some of the snow weight.

When you say 'stall', do you mean the engine stalls? Or you lose traction? I've got an LX2620 with the 72" pusher and while I'll sometimes lose traction, it's never actually stalled. Just loses forward momentum. More horsepower wouldn't have made any difference other than spinning the tires easier.

 

[greenlifevt]

When you say 'stall', do you mean the engine stalls? Or you lose traction? I've got an LX2620 with the 72" pusher and while I'll sometimes lose traction, It's never actually stalled. Just loses forward momentum.

I mean the engine stalls pushing snow uphill. I have studded tire chains all around. Traction isn't the problem.

 

[greenlifevt]

Yes, more HP will help it go up hills better. If you have the money, I think it's a great upgrade. From what I've seen the 20 is quite a bit better than the 10 series.

This might be obvious, but do make sure you get the tire type you want.

Good point about the tires. Right now I've got excellent condition R14s, loaded rears, with studded tires chains and we're on a mostly unmaintained dirt road. The road and all of the parking spots are being paved summer 2026. I can't run studded tire chains on brand-new asphalt, even if there is a layer of ice at some point during the winter season. Iknow I need to reconsider and research alternativce traction options for our situation.

 

[#40Fan]

Instead of pushing harder on the HST pedal, have you tried letting up a little?

 

[PaulL]

What gear are you in when it stalls? Low ratio would/should give more push. Usually these smaller Kubotas will spin their wheels long before they stall - they're normally traction limited.

More HP should let you push faster when you're in a situation where you have enough traction.

More weight would/should mean more traction.

If you can't run chains and studs soon, then you should look closely at what you buy. You may go from being HP limited to being traction limited. Is there something with rubber tracks you can buy that would do the job - a small skid steer perhaps (although skid steers aren't exactly easy on asphalt).

 

[BAP]

Have you considered using a front mounted snowblower and blowing the snow instead of trying to push it? Then put a rear mounted blade to pull the snow out of the tight spaces? If new pavement is going to be an issue, front mounted snow blower will take less traction than a snow pusher will.

 

[SDT]

For the past two winters I've been using an LX2610 with an HLA 180072 snow pusher on the front and a 64" snowblower on the rear to plow a 500 ft road and small condo association parking lot at a ski resort in the Vermont mountains that get's an insane amount of annual snow. 8"-16" dumps in less than 12 hours are pretty common. It's pretty much done what I've asked of it, but struggles when the pusher is loaded with snow and nearly stalls on an incline without dumping some of the snow weight. This was my first tractor and a great learning experience, but after two winters, it feels slow and tedious moving snow with it. The small footprint of the LX let's me backdrag snow out of a single parking spot when cars are on both sides and turn around in some tight spots surrounded by parked cars even with the snowblower hanging off the back, where I'm concerned that wouldn't be possible with a larger tractor. I haven't really felt like the snowblower was underpowered... it does just fine blowing snowbanks 30+ feet back when needed. A larger snowblower would be nice, but also couldn't fit into the tight spots I need it to.

My question is: Will the higher horsepower of the 4020 increase the "pushing strength" so pushing a heavy load up an incline won't stall the tractor, or is it only good for more PTO strength? I asked my local Kubota dealer this and he 'yes' and is trying to sell me a 4020, but I'm not sure he isn't just trying to make a sale. The 4020 is pretty sweet and doesn't have that damn hydraulic whine, but if it isn't going to increase my snow pushing strength and speed, there's no sense upgrading to it. Thanks.

Yes, the significantly increased HP of the LX4020 will increase both PTO and tractive power.

That said, once you can no longer use tire chains (at least ice type chains) you will become traction limited. Without chains, there is little you can do about this in snow and ice. Might want to consider both front and rear blowers in your case. The added HP of the 4020 will be very helpful in this case.

FWIW, your 2610 will not be HP limited while pushing snow if in low range.

 

[greenlifevt]

Instead of pushing harder on the HST pedal, have you tried letting up a little?

Thanks. This is good to know. However, I do "feather" the pedal when it's struggling pushing snow uphill.. I don't just slam it down, but as I increase pressure on it, it approches a stall unless I dump some of the snow weight.

 

[greenlifevt]

What gear are you in when it stalls? Low ratio would/should give more push. Usually these smaller Kubotas will spin their wheels long before they stall - they're normally traction limited.

More HP should let you push faster when you're in a situation where you have enough traction.

More weight would/should mean more traction.

If you can't run chains and studs soon, then you should look closely at what you buy. You may go from being HP limited to being traction limited. Is there something with rubber tracks you can buy that would do the job - a small skid steer perhaps (although skid steers aren't exactly easy on asphalt).

It's in low gear. Medium or high it would stall much sooner.

 

[chim]

I'm usually a bigger is better than fan. However in this situation it sounds like you have a size suitable for the work / accessibility. My first thought would be to do an occasional "shove it off the side" and take another bite.

Next would be switch to an angled plow so the snow doesn't gather but slidesoff to the side. I can back drag with my blade. Witha lot of large snows you could run out of space to push it off the sides.

 

[SDT]

Thanks. This is good to know. However, I do "feather" the pedal when it's struggling pushing snow uphill.. I don't just slam it down, but as I increase pressure on it, it approches a stall unless I dump some of the snow weight.

A HST pedal does not function like an automotive accelerator pedal.

Pushing down on an HST pedal reduces the effective gear ratio of the transmissioin reducing torque.

If you are running out of power you need to increase throttle and/or apply less HST pedal.