# Small tractor for personal driveway/lot?



## Iawr (Sep 2, 2012)

We have a long driveway (About 800ft) The first 200 ft of that is up hill, we also have a small "Country store" on our property with a small lot (100x150) Since I normally work 50+hrs a week plus time out plowing I dont always have time to shoot home and clear the lot for my wife/ bang out the driveway for here to get to the store. I'm not interested in buying another truck just to sit in our yard. Plus the over head on another truck will be to much. I was looking at buying a lawn tractor/garden tractor with a blower on it so my wife can take care of the drive/lot well I am away. 

Somebody please throw some ideas at me about what I should look for in particular models of tractors. I'd like to keep the on the cheaper side but hey it is what it is.


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## mud (Dec 15, 2005)

If you want something that is going to be reliable and time effective your going to need a larger machine, and if you expect your wife to use it during a snow storm it better have a heated cab on it if you wish to stay married.

If snow is the only use it would be far cheaper to get a second truck and more efficient as well.

I own six tractors, and do have a 9 foot loader mounted plow for my TN75 (75 horse 4x4 cab tractor). My truck is still much faster overall for plowing out my farm though with the exception of if Im plowing over a foot of snow at a time. That's when the tractor begins to work better. The tractor will however obviously stack much higher.

To buy a used tractor that would meet your needs even without the cab by the time you added the blower you would still be looking at probably ten grand minimum to get something decently new that would be at all time effective on what you listed.

Conversely you can pick up a beater plow truck often for as little as two grand and five and six thousand dollar rigs are a dime a dozen. All will be far faster than any small tractor.


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## jb1390 (Sep 23, 2008)

mud;1623703 said:


> If you want something that is going to be reliable and time effective your going to need a larger machine, and if you expect your wife to use it during a snow storm it better have a heated cab on it if you wish to stay married.
> 
> If snow is the only use it would be far cheaper to get a second truck and more efficient as well.
> 
> ...


This.

Unless you have other uses for the tractor and are just looking for an excuse to get one. It that's the case, get whatever you want and use it for snow too. But if it's just snow use, the truck is the way to go. Forget a garden tractor for an 800 ft driveway.


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## B-2 Lawncare (Feb 11, 2012)

Take a look at the JD 1026 will do every thing you need.


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## Iawr (Sep 2, 2012)

I think my problem here is im trying to justify buying a tractor, and saying "Yeah we can use it for the snow" when I really want to play with it (We all are children at heart who love big toys, admit it) I can certainly put the machine to work on my property all year long, along with side jobs. I used my buddies Kubota today to help him blow some driveways and that is a nice machine. Im sold tractor is the way to go, just need to find the right one.


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## mud (Dec 15, 2005)

So then the question is what is your intended use's outside of snow and how many acres do you have, also what is your budget.

Lots of guys prefer the compact tractors. I'll be the first to admit I am not one of them. I look at things from a farmers prospective though, not a homeowner or a landscaper. To me the utility tractors offer much more bang for the buck and are much more capable with not being much if any more expensive than the high end compacts.

Might want to check out tractorbynet.com. Its mostly geared towards compact tractors but there is a good bit of guys that run utility sized and larger machines as well., 

And as far as the toys thing goes. I really dont need all six of my tractors. I could in theory get by with just two tractors and wouldn't need a plow on my truck. Instead I have a v on the truck, six tractors, a skid, a dozer, three atv's, and a side by side. I get the toys comment!


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## RJ lindblom (Sep 21, 2006)

Look at a BX2000 or other smaller machine. Perhaps an older John Deere 955 or 1026. I guess in this situation I'd look for something to move snow, and a bellow mower to use durning the growing season.


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## Iawr (Sep 2, 2012)

A buddy of mine offered up his Bx2200 with loader, weight box, belly blade and 52" snowblower for 8K has 1,862 hrs in it. 

How does that factor in for hours to price?


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## DFLS (Dec 24, 2007)

Iawr;1624124 said:


> I think my problem here is im trying to justify buying a tractor, and saying "Yeah we can use it for the snow" when I really want to play with it (We all are children at heart who love big toys, admit it) I can certainly put the machine to work on my property all year long, along with side jobs. I used my buddies Kubota today to help him blow some driveways and that is a nice machine. Im sold tractor is the way to go, just need to find the right one.


Well here is your answer from yourself. However I agree with the enclosed cab with heat -- snow removal sitting on a tractor exposed to the cold and wind sucks. Plus what about when it rains after the snow you get soaked. Just get the biggest used one that you can afford without going too big.

What about a tracked loader with enclosed cab:








Still tons of attachments available for summer work...


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## J-Quad (Aug 15, 2008)

Now that tracked loader with a cab looks like the cat's meow...but it comes back to, "Is it cost effective?" 

I also would love to have one of those, but I wouldn't have enough firewood to drag out, paths to clear, stumps to root out, etc. to justify it's purchase. 

For me, my '95 Jeep Wrangler will do most of those chores and still plow the snow in heated comfort AND go to the local store or even take me to work if my daily driver is down..... 

J-Quad


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## DodgeRam1985 (Nov 30, 2006)

It really is going to depend on what you want to do with it in the off season (i.e. move dirt, scrape and level, just play around, etc.). I would caution you though about buying one of the small compact tractors though, if you just put a loader on it and expect to plow your drive, you are going to be sadly dissapointed. The smaller tractors simply just to do not have the weight on them to keep from just spinning tires once you get a laod of snow in front of you. You have to realize that if you see a JD8200 with a loader shoving a mountain, you aren't going to be able to do that with a compact tractor, it simply just doesn't weigh enough to get enough good traction to really push a heavy amount. You will spend far longer making short passes and pushing small amounts then if you step up to a medium-large size tractor. If I was in your situation I might actually look at getting an old Backhoe type setup, they have the weight and HP, can move a ton of snow, and well lets face it, who can't find the use for the ocassional backhoe dig?


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## aczlan (Jan 10, 2009)

Iawr;1624379 said:


> A buddy of mine offered up his Bx2200 with loader, weight box, belly blade and 52" snowblower for 8K has 1,862 hrs in it.
> How does that factor in for hours to price?


Decent price for what he is selling, perhaps a little bit higher than most, but most dont come with the loader, blade, blower and mower. We have a newer BX with a cab/60" blade and it works well, BUT it has turfs without chains and will get stuck at the drop of the hat on an icy paved side slope (slides sideways into the snowbank). In your case, adding chains should make it like a mountain goat.

Aaron Z


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## snocrete (Feb 28, 2009)

Compact tractor sounds like the way to go for you....what is your budget?


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## beanz27 (Dec 22, 2012)

Or if you don't mind older tractors, you could go the route of an older IH tractor, like a 706 Diesel....75 horse, diesel, cab, heat, all the uses of a tractor, the power and weight to do something, get a loader for it. Reliable and cheap parts. Best part is they are generally 4-8k.


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