# Who else moves snow with a garden tractor?



## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

Just wondering who else moves snow with a garden tractor and if you do post up some pics. Here is my 78 John Deere 312 with a snow blower and a 4 way hydraulic blade.


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## mitchp (Dec 23, 2008)

Im on my third JD and Im glad Ive got it. I started with a 112, got a blade, then a blower. Stepped up to a 316 that came with a plow. Found a mint blower for it a year later. Now I use a 425. Same deal. Plow and single stage blower. There are times that I wish I had a two stage blower but at the time it was all I could find used and all the others were single stage and they always did the job. It took care of the 12-15 that we got last night.


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## normplow (Jan 17, 2009)

I use a little 10 year old Craftsman tractor with a 42" plow. I have wheel weights and tire chains. It works very good for snows under 8 inches.


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## Ibuildmyown (Jan 2, 2011)

Thats funny saw a guy today on a very similar tractor to yours with a blower. His driveway is a slight hill he was trying to go up the drive without chains and no weight. Next thing I know I look over again and he has his wife standing on the rear hitch for balest. Didnt think of taking a picture but she did not look ammused at all.


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## RBRONKEMA GHTFD (Dec 17, 2006)

I've got a craftsman with a 4 foot blade on it. The blade is off it right now and it hasn't been used yet this year. I think i might try and put the blade on it tomorrow. We'll see.


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## mitchp (Dec 23, 2008)

Heres a picture of my 425 with the plow attached. Its an '03 and its got 87 hours on it.


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

Very nice Deere.


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## jasf (Nov 7, 2004)

I use a Craftsman w/a 42"blade. Junk as a mower,but works OK as a dedicated snow machine.


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## mitchp (Dec 23, 2008)

Yooper75;1194247 said:


> Very nice Deere.


Thanks ! At first my wife thought I was crazy buying it but I use it all year long. I mow my yard (cant say lawn because its mostly crab grass and weeds), pick up the leaves in the fall right up to Thanksgiving week (this year I had well over a 1000 lbs of mulched up leaves in two trailer loads) and then I clean my driveway with it every time is snows. The old 112 worked well but I wanted something newer than a '68 and I wanted hydrostatic drive. I got the tractor for a couple of hundred $$ when I bought it. I think I got it in 83 and sold it in '98 for $1200. Then I bought the 316. I painted the seat pan and rebuilt and painted the mower deck. It was a nice tractor but I think the early 300 series were a poor design. The forward/reverse was done with your right hand and the levers to control the lift were on the left side. Seems like you needed a third hand to steer the thing. Plus the only way to stop or slow down was to move the dash mounted lever back. The brakes were really useless. I think they changed that on the later 300 series. I sold it almost 7 years later for almost exactly what I paid for it. It seems like JD really hold their value. I wish I had the money to buy the newer X series with 4WD but thats not going to ever happen. I'll have the 425 until I move into a condo !!


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

I really love my old Deere and I use mine all year long as well I picked it up for $850 with a mower deck and the blade. I have a 65 110 round fender wating to be restored when I have more time.


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## .5racer (Jan 2, 2009)

Heres what I got .


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## IC-Smoke (Feb 15, 2008)

Nice Deere! I retired my 455 Diesel with 2300 hrs on it a couple years ago and replaced it with the BX24. 

I scrape the sidewalks with the BX, It works out great Thumbs Up


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## Willman940 (Dec 21, 2008)

you guys with 4 way's was that stock, all I've seen stock is a 2 way hydraulic? Do you have pic's or disgrams or any information on this build or anything of that nature?

Thanks,

John


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

Willman940;1194501 said:


> you guys with 4 way's was that stock, all I've seen stock is a 2 way hydraulic? Do you have pic's or disgrams or any information on this build or anything of that nature?
> 
> Thanks,
> 
> John


My tractor came stock with the two function hydraulics but if you have an older Deere like mine it's pretty easy to add the H2 and H3 valve. I am comtemplating adding the H3 valve to mine so I can have rear hydraulics to run a 3 point hitch if I can ever find one that I can afford.

This site is a great resouce for information.
http://www.weekendfreedommachines.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi


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## mitchp (Dec 23, 2008)

Yooper75;1194666 said:


> My tractor came stock with the two function hydraulics but if you have an older Deere like mine it's pretty easy to add the H2 and H3 valve. I am comtemplating adding the H3 valve to mine so I can have rear hydraulics to run a 3 point hitch if I can ever find one that I can afford.
> 
> This site is a great resouce for information.
> http://www.weekendfreedommachines.com/cgi-bin/discus/discus.cgi


I think you would have to have a 300 series to have that option. 312,314,316,317, or 318 tractors are all in the series. I know the 140 was like that also. I dont know if any other tractors could be modified. My old 112 came with a hydraulic lift and a manual angle plow. The lift controls were part of the pump. I was told that not many people ordered a lift like that because it was so expensive. The local dealer told me that just the lift was almost 20% of the price of the tractor back then. The front mount on the 425 stays on the tractor during the winter. The blade unhooks and the blowers go on in place of it. The angle lines get disconnected and the blower has two lines that go in their place that control chute direction. It takes about 5 minutes to make the change from plow to blower. It was a pain in the butt with the 316 that I had before because of the belt.


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## BushHogBoy (Nov 30, 2000)

My Wheel Horse built to the hilt: http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=114690 Action pics and vids on page 2


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

mitchp;1194758 said:


> I think you would have to have a 300 series to have that option. 312,314,316,317, or 318 tractors are all in the series. I know the 140 was like that also. I dont know if any other tractors could be modified. My old 112 came with a hydraulic lift and a manual angle plow. The lift controls were part of the pump. I was told that not many people ordered a lift like that because it was so expensive. The local dealer told me that just the lift was almost 20% of the price of the tractor back then. The front mount on the 425 stays on the tractor during the winter. The blade unhooks and the blowers go on in place of it. The angle lines get disconnected and the blower has two lines that go in their place that control chute direction. It takes about 5 minutes to make the change from plow to blower. It was a pain in the butt with the 316 that I had before because of the belt.


You are right I should have clarified that for him thanks for doing that.


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## JohnnyU (Nov 21, 2002)

Looks good David!


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

Thanks John, post up pics of your 212 I would love to see them.


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## JohnnyU (Nov 21, 2002)

Yooper75;1194829 said:


> Thanks John, post up pics of your 212 I would love to see them.


Here is how it sits now: :crying:

















Last summer before the tear-down:


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

Good looking tractor but I know how you feel. I have a 65 110 in that condition right now and can not seem to find the time to put it back together.


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## LawnProLandscapes (Nov 15, 2007)

heres a vid of a wheel horse tractor i almost bought. loved the tractor but the guy wasnt willing to come down to a reasonable price for the condition. im still looking through the local sway sheets for a wheel horse tractor in decent condition to restore and of course its going to get the dually treatment!


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## mklawnman (Jan 29, 2001)

Nice 425 Mitch, I have a 97 425 with a 46"snowblower single stage. Has about 530hrs on it. Nice tractor wish it had a cab on it but those aren't cheap. 
My dad has a 314 from 1982, rebuilt motor back in the 90's but he still cuts grass with it, he wants to put a blower on it but with no power steering im sure that will be fun with that blower out there. 
Those 300 series from the 80's seem like they are built like the 400 series in the mid to late 90's.


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## Yooper75 (Dec 30, 2010)

mklawnman;1196730 said:


> Nice 425 Mitch, I have a 97 425 with a 46"snowblower single stage. Has about 530hrs on it. Nice tractor wish it had a cab on it but those aren't cheap.
> My dad has a 314 from 1982, rebuilt motor back in the 90's but he still cuts grass with it, he wants to put a blower on it but with no power steering im sure that will be fun with that blower out there.
> Those 300 series from the 80's seem like they are built like the 400 series in the mid to late 90's.


Actually it's not to bad as long as you keep the tires inflated and the steering greased because I normally have a 49 blower on mine.


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## mitchp (Dec 23, 2008)

X2 ! When I had the 316 I had a single stage blower on it and it was OK to steer. The 2 stage blowers are a lot heavier and they might make it tough but a single was no problem.


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## FSUPERDUTY (Jan 1, 2003)

Here's my X585 4x4 54'' plow,JD 45 end loader


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