Really any compact tractor can do that. Also, check out a machine called a Ventrac. Pretty cool piece of equipment. Lastly, I think a company called Walker makes it available on some mowers to put a snow blower on.
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The majority of people do this with a yard/garden tractor.

Ventracs are hideously expensive in comparison.

Grasshopper and walker are commercial mowers that also have snow blower, blade and cab attachments for the purpose you are looking for.

IF you get a tractor, my advice is to not get a belly mounted mower deck, get an out front deck.
belly mowers scalp more, and much harder to trim with and when switching attachments during the season are more of a pain to change attachments.

Im not sure how many tractors besides a ventrac have the out front deck any more tho… there used to be a few options, but I can't say Ive seen that many anymore…. must be a reason for that… garage storage space?

 

Maybe I should have provide more info. I currently have a 52" Hustler zero-turn that does a decent job on the lawn. I have an old Classic 312 hydro wheel horse tractor that has a 48" blade. It doesn't always start unless I spray starter fluid into the carb. I keep going another winter with these machines thinking that the next year I'll do something different. Would like one reliable machine.

 

1 series deere
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I call BS on a belly mower scalping more. I have been mowing with L&G tractors, CUT's etc for more years than many guys here have been alive. I have never had, nor have any scalping issues.


For what you want to do on your own place, a decent garden garden tractor like a JD X500 or X700 series, or Simplicity Prestige or Legacy will do nicely at both mowing and snow removal work, and a whole lot of other things to boot. There is nothing hard or slow about changing implements over either, especially on the JD's. 2 minutes off, and 2 minutes on (or less) for most attachments. I know this firsthand.


For a small amount more money, you can get into a SCUT and have even more versatility.

 

I call BS on a belly mower scalping more. I have been mowing with L&G tractors, CUT's etc for more years than many guys here have been alive. I have never had, nor have any scalping issues.

For what you want to do on your own place, a decent garden garden tractor like a JD X500 or X700 series, or Simplicity Prestige or Legacy will do nicely at both mowing and snow removal work, and a whole lot of other things to boot. There is nothing hard or slow about changing implements over either, especially on the JD's. 2 minutes off, and 2 minutes on (or less) for most attachments. I know this firsthand.

For a small amount more money, you can get into a SCUT and have even more versatility.

Thank you! If I go with the garden tractor, do I get a snow blower or blade?

 

Depends on how much snow you need to move. It can't hurt to have a blower but the prices are greatly more than a blade
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Thank you! If I go with the garden tractor, do I get a snow blower or blade?

I think a blade is much more versatile, but I have owned both for various tractors over the years, and I have a 2 stage blower, blade and broom for my CUT. I only have blade for my garden tractor now.

On pavement, the blower is really nice since yu don't end up with large piles of snow to block your view or take forever to melt in the spring, but if there is any gravel anywhere that can get picked up in the snow while blowing, it can become a problem in the yard in the spring (not to mention hitting a car or window etc). I have a paved driveway, but live on a dirt road, and clearing along the mailbox and shoulder are a PITA with the blower. My blade stays on most of the time.

One other negative about blowers- unless you have a cab, you will wear about as much as you throw/blow unless your house is situated to where the wind will always be to your back while blowing.

 

Depends on how much snow you need to move. It can't hurt to have a blower but the prices are greatly more than a blade
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Central Indiana. Usually 3-5". Occasional big snow of 6-9".

 

Central Indiana. Usually 3-5". Occasional big snow of 6-9".

With a heavy duty garden tractor (especially a 4wd model) or a SCUT, that amount of snow is cakewalk with a blade.

 

I think a blade is much more versatile, but I have owned both for various tractors over the years, and I have a 2 stage blower, blade and broom for my CUT. I only have blade for my garden tractor now.

On pavement, the blower is really nice since yu don't end up with large piles of snow to block your view or take forever to melt in the spring, but if there is any gravel anywhere that can get picked up in the snow while blowing, it can become a problem in the yard in the spring (not to mention hitting a car or window etc). I have a paved driveway, but live on a dirt road, and clearing along the mailbox and shoulder are a PITA with the blower. My blade stays on most of the time.

One other negative about blowers- unless you have a cab, you will wear about as much as you throw/blow unless your house is situated to where the wind will always be to your back while blowing.

100% paved area. Maybe I should consider walk behind unit.

 

If you mean a WB blower, a decent one will run you about what the attachment for the tractor will run, but you will either need to keep your current mower, or get another one to go with it.
IMO, for 99% of HO's with an acre or more, a good quality grade tractor with attachments is way more useful and practical than any ZTR and/or WB blower.


A good blade can also be used for small landscaping projects around the house too, so they have more than just one use.

 

Is this strictly for your home or for business too?

Or, do you have a business that you could use a machine like a Walker in also?

Because if you do, or even if you don't.... You should go to YouTube and look up "Walker Lawn Mowers snow removal."

Awesome stuff...

 

I just went from a garden tractor for mowing 2.5 acres and a 1028 Ariens walk behind for the snow to a Hustler 60" X-One ZTR for the grass and a JD 445 with a 2 stage blower for my 100' of driveway. After the past two winters I'm getting too dang old to be wrestling that Ariens around.

 

I call BS on a belly mower scalping more. I have been mowing with L&G tractors, CUT's etc for more years than many guys here have been alive. I have never had, nor have any scalping issues.

For what you want to do on your own place, a decent garden garden tractor like a JD X500 or X700 series, or Simplicity Prestige or Legacy will do nicely at both mowing and snow removal work, and a whole lot of other things to boot. There is nothing hard or slow about changing implements over either, especially on the JD's. 2 minutes off, and 2 minutes on (or less) for most attachments. I know this firsthand.

For a small amount more money, you can get into a SCUT and have even more versatility.

I used to own a Simplicity Legacy.

Have you been doing your work longer than the late 1970s?
Ok then. Hush.
The belly mowers are not as good as the out front decks which is why I said something about it.

Belly mowers on tractors scalp ALL OVER the place, largely because they are already into/on top of where they shouldn't be by the time they are scalping.

Fully half the machine is past the point of no return. I know this, First hand.

The out front elec-trac mower decks my dad bought in the early 70s and we ran until early 2000 did way better than any of the wheel horses or even the simplicity legacy that followed after it.

 

Thank you! If I go with the garden tractor, do I get a snow blower or blade?

This depends on type and amount of snow..

the wetter slushier stuff does not agree with snowblowers, easier to clean off with a blade.

Volumes of white fluffy stuff can overwhelm most of the simpler blades on the majority of tractors.

We always had both… but with the blade it really depends… if you wake up or stay up enough at night to hit it more than once as it's coming down its not a big deal… if you let it collect, and wait until it stops snowing, and expect to just get it done before going to work… not so much

 

Is this strictly for your home or for business too?

Or, do you have a business that you could use a machine like a Walker in also?

Because if you do, or even if you don't.... You should go to YouTube and look up "Walker Lawn Mowers snow removal."

Awesome stuff...

except for the price of the walker with attachments he could get way more tractor than a homeowner would ever need

 

I have a long driveway as well. One of my mowers is a JDx720. If you look at the cost of adding a snow blower and or blade to a GT, you can buy a used atv with a blade for less. The atv will push more snow, be a lot quicker and you will have a toy in the summer. Problem is the blade on a GT is great for snows under 6". If you get the deep snow, or drifts, you will have to plow every six inches or so to keep the piles moved back. I go with an atv with a blade, and for the big nor easters, I keep a tracked snow blower on hand

 

Scalping is more a result of too wide of a deck, not the location, unless one is going over the crest\crown of a berm\hill\ditch.

A 72" deck will scalp far quicker than a 60" or 52" or 36", no matter where it is mounted.

I started mowing with out front mowers, Toro Groundsmasters. I'll take a 72" Z over a 72" Groundsmaster all day long.

 

I used to own a Simplicity Legacy.

Have you been doing your work longer than the late 1970s?
Ok then. Hush.
The belly mowers are not as good as the out front decks which is why I said something about it.

Belly mowers on tractors scalp ALL OVER the place, largely because they are already into/on top of where they shouldn't be by the time they are scalping.

Fully half the machine is past the point of no return. I know this, First hand.

The out front elec-trac mower decks my dad bought in the early 70s and we ran until early 2000 did way better than any of the wheel horses or even the simplicity legacy that followed after it.

I don't need to "hush" about anything. I have been mowing since the early 70's on all sorts of machines. Out front decks do cut nicely, but they also make the machine a lot longer, and often a lot less maneuverable.

You're flat wrong about belly mowers scalping. They can if you don't know what you're doing with one just like a Z. They don't if you do know what you're doing with one, just like a Z. All mower decks need to have their anti scalp wheels up correctly or any of them can scalp if not used correctly over uneven terrain. I run a belly mower on a garden tractor still, along with my Z and I never have a scalping issue with it, and it's just a plain old JD garden tractor that is going into its 25 th season. It lays down a beautiful stripe without any striping kit of any sort, and it cuts nice and clean and DOES NOT scalp. I've ran a LONG list of JD and Toro/Wheelhorse garden tractors ranging from 38" to 60" in size over the last couple decades, and never had any scalping issues with any of them.

A HO is way better off overall with a good quality garden tractor than any out front mower, including a Walker if he is trying to narrow his inventory down to one machine to do it all.

 

I just went from a garden tractor for mowing 2.5 acres and a 1028 Ariens walk behind for the snow to a Hustler 60" X-One ZTR for the grass and a JD 445 with a 2 stage blower for my 100' of driveway. After the past two winters I'm getting too dang old to be wrestling that Ariens around.

Well, I'm only 150 lbs and 63 years old. So, I'm not sure I want to wrestling anything around either. Sounds like I better go with a blade. Besides, I have a big parking area in a configuration that would make it difficult to manage the placement of snow with a snowblower.

I'm starting to get the sense from the helpful responses that a 4WD Lawn Tractor fits my needs. A CUT is simply overkill for my property and I don't have any need for an ATV. Are there any other AWD lawn tractors I should consider besides Simplicity?

 

Well, I'm only 150 lbs and 63 years old. So, I'm not sure I want to wrestling anything around either. Sounds like I better go with a blade. Besides, I have a big parking area in a configuration that would make it difficult to manage the placement of snow with a snowblower.

I'm starting to get the sense from the helpful responses that a 4WD Lawn Tractor fits my needs. A CUT is simply overkill for my property and I don't have any need for an ATV. Are there any other AWD lawn tractors I should consider besides Simplicity?

The JD X700 series come in AWD. A CUT and a SCUT are two different animals really. The SCUT is the same basic size as a heavy duty garden tractor, and not much more money for all the upgrades you get. The Kubota BX and JD 1 series are two that come to mind immediately. Their advantage over a L&G tractor is a bit more weight for pushing snow, a 3 pt hitch as std equipment instead of an attachment option, and in the case of the JD 1 series, a position control 3 pt hitch vs an up or down only hitch like the BX and HD garden tractors have. Plus, they have a shiftable transfer case so 4 wd isn't always on when not needed. What's nice about a 3 pt hitch is you can use a blade out back and a blower on the front and then use whichever one is most appropriate for the situation.

 

X700 series-
http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US...ducts/equipment/riding_mowers/x700_signature_series/x700_signature_series.page?

1 series-
http://www.deere.com/wps/dcom/en_US...roducts/equipment/tractors/sub_compact_utility_tractors/1_series/1_series.page?

Kubby BX series-
http://kubota.com/product/BXSeries.aspx

There are other brands of SCUt like Massey Ferguson, Mahindra etc., but the JD and BX are the most common and most popular.

 

A guy on lawnsite with the member name Jaybow last winter had a cool post. He had an older model scag swz walk behind that he took off the deck and fabbed a blade too. Ive been trying to contact him to see how it worked. But it looked awesome and his preliminary use of it was good. Google "walk behind plow lawnsite". I'm not good at copying thread addresses on my phone.
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A guy on lawnsite with the member name Jaybow last winter had a cool post. He had an older model scag swz walk behind that he took off the deck and fabbed a blade too. Ive been trying to contact him to see how it worked. But it looked awesome and his preliminary use of it was good. Google "walk behind plow lawnsite". I'm not good at copying thread addresses on my phone.
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