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 | rdb961
Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4 Warwick, NY 
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2007-11-17 148384
I have 10 acres of land – generally reasonably flat. I am building a home on the property with a long (1,800’) driveway. We will have landscaping to do including moving dirt and removing small trees as well as a lot of planting. We will need to remove snow in the winter (average snowfall 6-7” per month but large storms do happen) as well as mow roughly 3 acres. We are getting a RTV900 for general use and are looking for a tractor that will be able to do the heavy stuff.
My questions are:
1. Can we use the RTV900 with a blade to clear the snow or do we need a blower on tractor? Our driveway will be roughly 1500 feet of schedule 4 and 300 feet paved.
2. the “B” series is being updated next year. I’m looking at the 2329 HSD with a LA304 loader, BH65 Backhoe and Thumb and a RCK60-29B Mower. Any comments about the new series or its application to my needs?
Thanks!
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 | candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota 
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2007-11-18 148391
Rdb961,
I don't believe the RTV900 will handle much more than an inch or two of snow. Your biggest problem with the RTV900 will come later in the winter months, when you attempt to clear snow that is blocked in by the previous piles you created. You'll have no way of moving that snow up and over the berm you created previously. Essentially, it would be like painting yourself into a corner.
You'll need some way to lift and push the snow over the berm you created when using the blade. This has always been a problem for me, which is why I switched to a snowblower. Problem solved. No more drifts, berms, or blocking myself in. My driveway never grows narrower throughout the winter, as it did previously.
Additionally, when snow is blown, it tends to freeze in place. High winds no longer blow that snow around. I now move far less snow than I ever did with a blade.
With 1800' of driveway to maintain, I believe you'd really appreciate having a front-mounted blower. I feel this is the only way to approach the problem. Backing all the way down an 1800' driveway would get old in a hurry.
Look for a tractor that offers you the option of adding a front-mount blower. You'll need a mid-mount PTO for this, unless you opt for one of the rear-to-front conversion kits, which aren't very convenient and take up a lot of indoor storage space.
With 10 acres, you'll have plenty of room for a 30hp tractor. The Kubota B7800 would be right at home on your place.
Joel
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 | DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada 
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2007-11-18 148394
I owned an RTV and it is made for scooting around on hard surfaces. They do not do soft ground or snow. There is lots of discussion in these archives on RTV issues.
I would agree that a front blower is the primo way to go, but with a word of caution: blowing snow from an open tractor seat is a cold, wet, miserable operation.
Seems most folks who start off with a blower also end up with an enclosed, heated cab. That is ok if it fits the budget, but if it doesn't you can buy a power angle front blade at a much cheaper price and use the FEL to move the berms that form later in the season. ....
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 | bvance
Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 280 The Great Pacific NorthWet, Olympia, WA
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2007-11-18 148397
RDB,
While I generally believe that most folks sell a BX model short when it comes to what it can really do, the B model would be the route you need to go.
As to removing snow, the advice you already received here is good. I have a 2nd home in Idaho that gets several feet of snow every winter and I move it with a Skidsteer with a cab and electronically activated directional chute to throw the snow where I want.
As has been mentioned, a cab is nice to have if you are moving a lot of snow frequently. On the other hand, if a cab is out of the question, then a directional chute that can be changed from your tractor seat on the go is a must, and will allow you to change the direction of the snow to eliminate most of the wind-drifted snow that will blow back onto you. Even then, you will get a lot of drifted snow on you which is not fun!
If a snow blower is out of the question, the angled blade that Mark suggested is the way to go.
Brian ....
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| rdb961
Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4 Warwick, NY
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2007-11-18 148399
All,
First, thanks for all the quick and detailed replies! This is more and quicker than I expected on my first ever post. It looks like the consensus is that I need a tractor for the driveway with a snow blower (cab if I can afford it).
Thanks for the help!
I’ll keep you posted.
Ron
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 | nosteiner4me
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 113 ohio
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2007-11-18 148400
RBD....6 TO 7 inches of snow a month is really nothing at all that your rtv really couldn't handle on pavement. I have a homedepot 18hp regular tractor with a 4 ft blade on the front. I have never needed chains and it pushed a lot of snow. My driveway is concrete and 200 foot long and then goes off to a circle driveway another 80 ft long plus the circle. Your rtv should do ok on the concrete but the long part....don't know. I also would think you would not need a snow blower with only 6-7 inches per month!!! Just get a front blade on the tractor of your choice and if the snow really piles up then use your loader to move it. ....
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| rdb961
Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4 Warwick, NY
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2007-11-18 148401
Good point. Given the cost of a blower vs. a blade I think that would be a good place to start. The B29 should be able to push well beyond 6"... ....
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| kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas
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2007-11-18 148405
A few replies have kind of got me stumped here regarding the RTV and plowing. A couple inches of snow, are you kidding? I know two different guys that keep telling me that a RTV will out perform a Gator- now I have had three different Gators, but nothing else in the same class. Becuase I have never worked anything else in the class, I can't tell you how good a Gator is compared to anything else. However, my first Gator could plow snow like a Son of a B****. 12 inches of light snow with no problem- of course it would take a few passes because the snow would come over the blade.
So I am assuming a RTV should be able to do something similar. Right? Now I'm not trying to steer anybody away fron a utility vehicle as a plow, in fact, I'm getting a tractor just so I have more versitility and a plow. However, I think a RTV would be an exceptional snow plow for a quarter mile stretch of whatever it was used on. ....
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| candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2007-11-18 148406
Kleinchris,
You're right.
The problem comes later in the snow season, when the blade has pushed up large berms of snow along the side of the driveway. With each successive snowfall, the driveway gets narrower and narrower, because there is no way to push the built-up snow back away from the drive.
A few inches of snow is no problem for most any machine. Maybe even a foot of snow.......once or twice. After the second or third snow event, a person begins to wonder where and how to stack the snow.
With a blade, your options are extremely limited. Your only choice is to ram the berm with the blade and attempt to push it back away from the driveway. Take lots of headache pills, and get ready to spend a day in the shop straightening all the bent stuff.
Everyone has a right to try to get by with a plow or blade, rather than spend the extra money for a blower......but most people will eventually end up buying a blower at some point in the future.
I think it better to spend the money on the blower right away, and save the expense of buying both.
Joel ....
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| bvance
Join Date: Jul 2004 Posts: 280 The Great Pacific NorthWet, Olympia, WA
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2007-11-18 148407
The real issue is not necessarily how much snow one gets, but how long the snow stays around. RDB said he gets about 6-7 inches per month but if it comes and usually melts relatively soon, then the issue of where to put successive snow falls is irrelevant. In this case, a blade would be fine.
On the other hand if it typically comes and keeps coming and then does not melt until the spring, then the piling up becomes a real pain and the only real (but expensive) solution then is a snowblower.
At my place in Idaho, we get snow that sticks around Thanksgiving, and doesn't go away until late March. During this time we will get 6-8 inches weekly and will get 3-4 feet as it compacts through the winter. The only solution is a snowblower....and one that will blow it 20 or more feet out of the way.
Brian ....
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| kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas
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2007-11-18 148409
Candoarms,
Okay, yes I see your point now. I wont argue that a blower will move the snow further, or that a tractor can push it harder. I just didnt want anybody knockin' the little fellows in the utility class. I used think of my Gator as the the Little Engine That Could. You can get alot done with a utility vehicle when you don't have anything else to fall back on. ....
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| candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2007-11-18 148410
Kleinchris,
You may still be correct.
I sometimes forget that I live in a place in which we have 5-6 full months of snowfall each year. Few places in the U.S. have such a long snow season as I do.
Additionally, I have very few melting days during the snow season, which means that the great majority of the snow that falls in October will be with me until April, or even May.
With such a long winter season, handling the snow is a VERY IMPORTANT issue for me. Finding a place to put it was once a HUGE problem. With the snowblower, all of those problems have disappeared. I could now go 8-9 full months without worrying about where to put the snow, or how to move the ever-growing piles.
Joel ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-11-18 148411
My RTV could not get itself through less than a foot of snow just trying to go to the wood pile. It would have gone nowhere with a plow hanging off the front.
I chained up the rear wheels thinking more traction would help. It still wouldn't push its way through the snow and now the wheels just refused to turn in reverse. Just sat there.
Did the same thing when the tires sunk more than two inches into sand. Just sat there.
And yes, it went back to the dealer where it passed every test criteria. The regional rep and the factory guys were called. They all said it was running perfectly.
You can take the chance and spend a lot of money on a plow for your RTV, but I think you will be disappointed.
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-11-18 148412
Just added Pix #11 and #12. These show the conditions the RTV got stuck in as described in the previous post.
In #12 you ca see the tracks going up the hill past the tan wagon where all motion stopped. ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-11-18 148415
#12 ....
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| candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2007-11-19 148416
DRankin,
That's some of the prettiest snow I've ever seen. Rarely have I ever seen the snow sitting on the branches, or covering the ground so evenly, as shown in your photos.
North Dakota has some of the worst winds imaginable. When we get snow, it doesn't come down.....it comes at us parallel to the ground. We'll have spots where it doesn't look as though it has ever snowed, and other spots where the drifts are over 12 feet high.
If you ever get lost while in North Dakota, just look at the trees......if you can find one. Nearly all of them lean to the southeast. They are permanently bent over from the strong northwest winds.
Joel ....
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| kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas
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2007-11-19 148418
DRankin,
I am sorry to here that about you RTV. I will pass that info along to my buddies.
Your pictures are making my homesick. ....
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| DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000 Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-11-19 148431
Not much lasts forever. The RTV was a failed experiment as a reliable off-road vehicle.
But I learned a lot from it and the Honda Rincon that eventually replaced it will go places and climb grades that will scare you.
Sand, snow, mud..... nothing seems to faze it and it will still haul both the wife and I around on a Sunday afternoon outing. ....
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| rdb961
Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 4 Warwick, NY
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2007-11-19 148443
All,
Thanks again for the thoughtful comments.
Regarding the snow… in the Hudson Valley we do occasionally get big storms (more than a foot or two) but they come every 3-4 years not multipul times a year… also, the winters are nothing like the mid-west (once lived in MN) so the snow melts off quite a bit during the year – we NEVER have the Thanksgiving snow still on the ground in March…
I think my purchase is going to be both a RTV and a B29 so the question of snow blower now or later is the operative one I guess… the B29 with a blade should be able to push any likely amount of snow but a blower is clearly the best long-term solution.
On another topic… tires… my land is relatively flat (some nice rolling hills but nothing tough) and I intended to mow about 3 of the ten acres so the issue of turf versus other tires is a concern. Will turf tires perform ok on the B29 for pushing 6” or the occasional 12” of snow?
Thanks,
Ron
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| candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2007-11-19 148446
Ron,
Unless you plan on doing some plowing, or other farm related work, the turf tires will suit your needs better than any of the other types.
Turf tires are very good in the snow, much like winter radials on your vehicles. If you reduce the air pressure by about 5 pounds per tire, you'll find that you'll have excellent traction on both snow and ice.
If you have a lot of ice to deal with, you'll need tire chains. You won't have any problem driving around on the ice, but you'll have all kinds of trouble getting enough traction to push snow with a blade, or loader.
Joel ....
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| lbrown59
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2007-11-20 148473
<< You can buy a power angle front blade at a much cheaper price and use the FEL to move the berms that form later in the season.
DRankin >>
In a message dated 11/20/07 2:03:05 AM Pacific Standard Time, LB59 writes:
I just bought a power angle front blade with a BX1500 on it to go with the FEL with a BX23 on it.
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