Should I upgrade from LX2610 to 4020?

[greenlifevt]

For the past two winters I've been using an LX2610 with an HLA 180072 snow pusher on the front and a 64" snowblower on the rear to plow a 500 ft road and small condo association parking lot at a ski resort in the Vermont mountains that get's an insane amount of annual snow. 8"-16" dumps in less than 12 hours are pretty common. It's pretty much done what I've asked of it, but struggles when the pusher is loaded with snow and nearly stalls on an incline without dumping some of the snow weight. This was my first tractor and a great learning experience, but after two winters, it feels slow and tedious moving snow with it. The small footprint of the LX let's me backdrag snow out of a single parking spot when cars are on both sides and turn around in some tight spots surrounded by parked cars even with the snowblower hanging off the back, where I'm concerned that wouldn't be possible with a larger tractor. I haven't really felt like the snowblower was underpowered... it does just fine blowing snowbanks 30+ feet back when needed. A larger snowblower would be nice, but also couldn't fit into the tight spots I need it to.

My question is: Will the higher horsepower of the 4020 increase the "pushing strength" so pushing a heavy load up an incline won't stall the tractor, or is it only good for more PTO strength? I asked my local Kubota dealer this and he 'yes' and is trying to sell me a 4020, but I'm not sure he isn't just trying to make a sale. The 4020 is pretty sweet and doesn't have that damn hydraulic whine, but if it isn't going to increase my snow pushing strength and speed, there's no sense upgrading to it. Thanks.

 

[jimh406]

Yes, more HP will help it go up hills better. If you have the money, I think it's a great upgrade. From what I've seen the 20 is quite a bit better than the 10 series.

This might be obvious, but do make sure you get the tire type you want.