Best tractor for snow moving in gravel lots

[Lowlysubaruguy]

There probably is an MX6000 somewhere in the NW but if im buying new I will buy from my local dealer they have sold us three tractors and treated us well and I have had good luck with Kubota products. Issues i face there all slow to build unless someone has one ready theres a number of MDX6000 without cabs within 100 miles or so. But I either have a tractor in place here to replace mine by mid January at the latest or its no rush as shipping my current tractor that things got to be on a ship headed to Hawaii by that date or it wont be there when i land there in February. Earlier is better things go awry in shipping. So theres that.

Next the MX6000 while it will suit my needs its not much more tractor then the L4701 I currently own. The cab will change some of my snow plowing wows which is being soaking wet for days when plowing out the shops. Im old enough now that I dont have to man up to anything.

The John Deere ive found puts me in at half the money of a new MX6000 will it be what I am looking for who knows. This tractor will probably only see another 600 to 800 hours use in its life with me. But this purchase in theory is the last one to get me through to the finish line. And I think the bigger tractor could very well become a fairly lucrative winter earner for me and plowing snow in a climate controlled cab is right up my ally. I have the ability to move it around in bad weather as well.

And I really the perfect tractor for my shops needs and other needs doesnt exist its really two different things and then there always in the location at the wrong time any way. It will work out. If I get a chance I will go see the John Deere if not ill let it ride a little longer and think about putting money down on the MX6000 here locally.

 

[GrumpyFarmer]

Good day. I personally think a 5 series is a closer competitor to an M than an MX. not sure if you are considering green apples to oranges or not…sort of hard with green as I think they are about a half size off a kubota. JMHO.

 

[BAP]

If the dealer really wants your business, then they would sell you the MX6000 and find themselves another to use themselves. I personally, wouldn’t consider myself married to a local dealer that won’t accommodate my needs. When I was farming, we had a local dealer that we used a lot, but if they didn’t have the equipment we wanted, we starting searching for dealers that did and bought from them.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

thats a double edge sword here on the dark side of the moon. Getting things fixed is a nightmare. The next dealers 60 miles away and I’ve seen there shop really means I’m taking it 150 miles away. And really i don’t want to buy a new tractor this round. $80k at this point in my life for a tractor that will probably only see another 500 to 600 hours really isn’t high on my list mind you i will then have three tractors. I’ve been two years from retirement since 2018. I could foresee me committing to that immediately after i buy this next tractor. But it is vital to business functions and will either be part of the sale or part of buy in if an employee does so. There really is nothing used in my interest locally other than that John deere. Which I’m going to go see Saturday now. But it will work out worse case scenario i hold on shipping my current tractor to Hawaii until I’ve solved this and my next trip there will be a vacation not me installing fencing and a driveway to accommodate my boat and truck. It’s really about landing my boat there i think. Something i didn’t acknowledge until just a couple days ago.. One day when I’m really retired I’ll laugh about all this I hoped.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I'm still really confused as to how much snow you get in Hawaii????

This tractors is for use in Oregon and Washington

 

[McMXi]

There's a 2020 MX6000HSTC with three rear remotes and third function in Sheridan, WY. It has 1,245 hours on it and the asking price is $39,500. If you add another 500 to 600 hours on it you'll still be way south of 2,000 hours. I bought my M6060 from Heartland Kubota as well as a SSQA PHD and they're really good and fair folks. It's a family owned dealership.

2020 Kubota MX6000 4WD HST | Heartland Kubota

Heartland Kubota is an agricultural dealership located in Sheridan, WY. We sell new and pre-owned UTV, Tractors, Mowers and Construction with excellent financing and pricing options. Heartland Kubota offers service and parts, and proudly serves the areas of Acme, Wyarno, Beckton and Big Horn.

www.heartlandkubota.com

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

There's a 2020 MX6000HSTC with three rear remotes and third function in Sheridan, WY. It has 1,245 hours on it and the asking price is $39,500. If you add another 500 to 600 hours on it you'll still be way south of 2,000 hours. I bought my M6060 from Heartland Kubota as well as a SSQA PHD and they're really good and fair folks. It's a family owned dealership.

2020 Kubota MX6000 4WD HST | Heartland Kubota

Heartland Kubota is an agricultural dealership located in Sheridan, WY. We sell new and pre-owned UTV, Tractors, Mowers and Construction with excellent financing and pricing options. Heartland Kubota offers service and parts, and proudly serves the areas of Acme, Wyarno, Beckton and Big Horn.

www.heartlandkubota.com

Thanks I am trying to be within 200 miles from home. Wyoming is my home state to I could see family but winters rolling in looks like Wednesday and getting one from out of the area is harder and im now in tire season followed by I broke my car going snow skiiing session so soon my time for anything that cant be achieved close to home is over.

 

[SDT]

Ok follow up to my first post same subject different direction.

If I focus on one thing that seems to be the biggest task I do with my tractors its snow relocation. While some of its plowing the bulk of this are two gravel lots in two commercial settings while one of these has a 300 foot long paved two car width driveway I have to clear about an acre of hard packed gravel parking lots in total. And what plow accessory would you recommend I do not think a blower is a solution these are parking lots. And the total weight needs to be under 6500 pounds.

If there was a tractor that fits this scenario it might be the real solution for my tractor hunt. It will need a quick change loader bucket if im not using its loader bucket for this task maybe a larger tractor will do this with a loader bucket and not snow implements im not opposed to updating an older loader and bucket.

Snow when it’s deep is wet heavy snow so not the dry fluffy stuff you guys see in some areas. I dont even touch it when its less than 4 or 5 inches unless mores coming or it is going to stay around.

Plowing with a truck is tough first they gouge up my lots something fierce I can figure a couple grand in new gravel if im plowed out twice. Ive given up on this and just use my L4701 with a rear box scraper and the loader bucket. Trucks with plow blades cant work close around cars and were automotive shops. Many of these cars are inoperable. And after its all been pushed to areas its got to by piled up at some point. Which a truck can only do so much or id just buy a plow blades cant for one of my wreckers.

Any input here is great.

Couple of comments:

Box blades are not designed to remove snow. A three point mounted blade, preferably hydrauliically angled, is a much better rear mounted solution.

Snow blowers are not well suited for removing snow from parking lots.

It is not possible to remove snow from crushed rock surfaces without moving crushed rock but some methods will remove less crushed rock than others.

I would probably use a good side by side with front mounted blade but a 30-40 HP tractor with front mounted hydraulically angled blade and three point mounted hydraulically angled blade would also work well.

 

[nbryan]

Couple of comments:

....Box blades are not designed to remove snow. .....

....Snow blowers are not well suited for removing snow from parking lots.....

I don't agree. But that's just me and my situation!

My boxblade and front mount blower are my best winter combo, for clearing my gravel driveway AND gravel parking lot that's semi-surrounded by buildings. And at winter's end there are NO snowbanks bordering them all.

I scoop and drag snow drifts away from structures using the boxblade, all lined up piles, and hit it once with the blower and GONE.

I lower the blower skid shoes an inch or 2 to start winter if gravel soft, then one the gravel's frozen up they come for the rest of the winter.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I don't agree. But that's just me and my situation!

My boxblade and front mount blower are my best winter combo, for clearing my gravel driveway AND gravel parking lot that's semi-surrounded by buildings. And at winter's end there are NO snowbanks bordering them all.

I scoop and drag snow drifts away from structures using the boxblade, all lined up piles, and hit it once with the blower and GONE.

I lower the blower skid shoes an inch or 2 to start winter if gravel soft, then one the gravel's frozen up they come for the rest of the winter.

I also use about scraper for snow I’ve got a rear blade but I have only used it a couple time times and not once after i bought the box scraper. Snow blowers almost useless for my needs, almost that is. One of my shops driveway is sloped paved and tricky when it’s icy but i chain up and push snow diagonally off it but its two car widths plus a little so its not a couple passes and im done its a combination of things because at a certain point it requires moving it in the loader bucket.

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

I looked at the John Deere yesterday. Now I have a case of the wellughs. Reality is it’s just a little bigger than what i need at this point in life. When I first started developing my businesses and properties this would have been the right size tractor. But I
was dead broke and fighting city hall and the building department when I bought them B7800 it was about all i could afford at the time. Me and that little tractor worked each other half to death. But we got a lot accomplished.

When the L4701 arrived i was five years late buying it. It was a game changer. The tractor was now doing more work than me. It’s funny you buy your first tractor thinking you’re going to get so much done which you do but i never worked so hard in my life until I bought a tractor. Now I’m five properties in down from six. The work never ends.

I have one question for you Was equipment in general or in the case of tractors in the hp and size I’m looking at built better pre covid than new stuff today. My opinion is yes but i have a contributing factor in that which is just a complete mess. It’s something i think about when i consider passing on the 2018 John Deere and buying new.

Back to my thoughts on the John Deere. My wife told me i was glowing when i got out of it and surprised i didn’t lock it down. But i have to think about this one. It’s like new the underside of the bucket tells the real story. For sure it was not used for any serious work ever. The power reverser is fine and I don’t mind shifting gears fact is it’s fast just start in the right range for the trip to dump or fill and you can up or downshift. I move things around both of these properties and always wish I could change gears without stopping so theres that. The loader is huge compared to the mx6000 while i didn’t actually load anything its functions are decent. I really didn’t leave thinking i disliked anything. I’m just not sure i need this big of a tractor most of them time. But i also think it combined with my B7800 at the smaller shop will be ok. I’ll use the little tractor for shop needs and moving snow from close to broken cars and up close to the buildings and then clear that lot much easier with the bigger machine. I doubt I’ll find this clean and low hours of a tractor even in a smaller tractor for the same money. It’s a matter of deciding if i really want this size of a tractor. If someone else beats me there then i have my answer and I’ll live with it.

 

[PaulL]

Sounds like you should buy it. It's hard to have too much tractor, and if you get a bargain, you always have the option to get out of it again for pretty much what you paid if it turns out you made a mistake. A tractor isn't an expense, it's an asset - you've just parked money there for a while, but you can have the money back almost any time you like.

Interested in the shift on the fly. So changing range requires stopping, but changing gear within the range is OK on the go? Does that mean it has a synchro gearbox, or is something else clever going on?

 

[Lowlysubaruguy]

My tractors have paid for themselves quickly and I never sold one. I believe if i ever sell the property this tractor is kept at the tractor will be part of the sale. So i do see this as a low cost investment where a new tractor at this point in my life will probably be a fifty fifty event.

Kso not an expert in my ten minutes of power shifting geared tractor transmissions. But heres what i experienced. And for those who don’t know. Theres a shifter thats like your manual transmission car. Then theres a range shifter low med high neutral. Then theres the forward reverse power shifter.

Selecting low med high range requires being stopped and I used the clutch pedal it may or may not be necessary if the transmission is in neutral ? Select the range you need for a given task. Now it is a geared trans if you come to a stop you have to use the clutch pedal, or shift it in neutral in one of the three ways possible otherwise your burning up a clutch or still moving.

You select a range low medium high. Then you have the normal gear set this can be shifted while in motion at least I did so without issue but was unloaded. And this combination is what you have to figure out you may need any number of combinations to get a load started and have the right match to need to shift up or down. I tinkered with it a bit and I think they have it covered theres a combination there for just about every need. Medium might be perfect for a full loader bucket that your moving a ways on flat ground and you shift through all the gears. But a full heavy bucket going down a steep grade low range starting out in 2nd or 3rd will give you control and speed etc. Maybe with a heavy load it’s different does anyone know ? I hope you can shift loaded. I am always wishing i was in another gear after getting in motion loaded. To answer your question you can upshift and downshift using the clutch and throttle just like driving a manual trans car. Maybe not quite as fluid like but not like driving a model T i owned one of them to.

The power reverser. As you slow down and if you need to change from forward to reverse just move the power shifter lever which ever direction no stop or clutch required below a certain speed. Effortless. And it really is simple Now again how will a loader bucket overflowing with snow while pushing a big pile of snow in reverse and the rpms up high affect this. Something my L4701 cant do but i think this will. Plowing snow I’ll most likely be in one range and one main gear so forward and reverse no issues but I question actually moving a heavy loaded bucket will i be able to upshift fast enough that i dont loose momentum and the ability to upshift on a slope. I have two such areas that are part of my life.

One thing i liked amongst many things is an actual throttle pedal. Theres still a throttle that you can set by hand but being able to use a pedal for certain conditions is nice.

I’m going to figure out a path now that my horizon expanded a bit. I wasn’t looking at tractors in this size there may be a Kubota out there thats a fair buy. And I’d really prefer to put more money into implementation which is possible if I don’t buy new.

Now something I’d like to have done was stuff that loader bucket until it was overflowing seen how well it’s can fill it because its a big bucket in my world and then driven it around shifting stopping taking off etc. theres a few videos of this model creeping into a pile of dirt or gravel effortlessly and coming out with a heaping scoop. Im pretty sure this tractors never had a load of gravel in the bucket. I look at my tractors buckets and think man your owner treats you hard.

I seem to have complicated things i have more things to weigh into it but i think this tractor could be a solution. I need to go look at the 4 series theres a new one in Portland with a cab so I can compare that first.

 

[McMXi]

Sounds like you should buy it. It's hard to have too much tractor, and if you get a bargain, you always have the option to get out of it again for pretty much what you paid if it turns out you made a mistake. A tractor isn't an expense, it's an asset - you've just parked money there for a while, but you can have the money back almost any time you like.

Interested in the shift on the fly. So changing range requires stopping, but changing gear within the range is OK on the go? Does that mean it has a synchro gearbox, or is something else clever going on?

My M6060 is the same. You have to be stopped to change the range i.e. creep, low or high, but the gears in the transmission are fully synchronized so you can shift between gears while moving.

 

[McMXi]

Theres a shifter thats like your manual transmission car. Then theres a range shifter low med high neutral. Then theres the forward reverse power shifter.

Selecting low med high range requires being stopped and I used the clutch pedal it may or may not be necessary if the transmission is in neutral ? Select the range you need for a given task. Now it is a geared trans if you come to a stop you have to use the clutch pedal, or shift it in neutral in one of the three ways possible otherwise your burning up a clutch or still moving.

You select a range low medium high. Then you have the normal gear set this can be shifted while in motion at least I did so without issue but was unloaded.

The power reverser. As you slow down and if you need to change from forward to reverse just move the power shifter lever which ever direction no stop or clutch required below a certain speed. Effortless. And it really is simple Now again how will a loader bucket overflowing with snow while pushing a big pile of snow in reverse and the rpms up high affect this. Something my L4701 cant do but i think this will. Plowing snow I’ll most likely be in one range and one main gear so forward and reverse no issues but I question actually moving a heavy loaded bucket will i be able to upshift fast enough that i dont loose momentum and the ability to upshift on a slope. I have two such areas that are part of my life.

One thing i liked amongst many things is an actual throttle pedal. Theres still a throttle that you can set by hand but being able to use a pedal for certain conditions is nice.

All of these features are common to the M6060/M7060, M4 and M5. I like the throttle on the floor and the hand throttle too that are in my M6060. I use the foot throttle for fine control when backing up to an implement, but mostly use the hand throttle to control speed.

As @GrumpyFarmer said, you're looking at a JD that is comparable to an M6060/M7060/M4.