snow blade for ztr?

[Bulldog26]

Are thier snow blades for a ztr. This would be for driveways, only 5-10 customers. Your thoughts on this methods would be very helpful. I have an old F150 two wheel drive so I can not get a snow blade for that. Or do I have any other options for providing this service to my customers?
Thanks
bt

[Jack D.]

Jack D. runs several snow blades on Hydro Walks primarily for sidewalks. Depending on the size of your drives and the amount of snow the blades are generally useless for clearing open areas. They are much better suited to single pass side spilling like sidewalk work due to their size. Jack D. would recommend the blower attach for drives.

Please purchase Snow Hog tires and or use chains.

http://www.agro-tec.com/exmark.html

[Bulldog26]

Thanks for the help!!

[ahlgrenlandscaping]

Just going to throw this out there. Think about how hard it is to drive in the snow with rear wheel drive now imagine how hard it will be towing your ZTR in the snow. Don't want to dash your hopes just throwing this out there so you don't commit yourself and can't deliver.

[Bulldog26]

Just going to throw this out there. Think about how hard it is to drive in the snow with rear wheel drive now imagine how hard it will be towing your ZTR in the snow. Don't want to dash your hopes just throwing this out there so you don't commit yourself and can't deliver.

Thanks, just got the same advice from a buddy. Never thought about that. Looks like I should look into a blower I can drive up in the back of my truck. That's why you ask question on here. Thanks again.

[Scaper-S2k]

You don't need one of those big blowers that drive up into your truck bed. You just need a single stage Toro, at least 5hp.

They are the fastest things for driveways. They are light enough to pick up by yourself also.

[Bulldog26]

Really, what do they cost?

[TRANSMAN]

My next Purchase "If" i had the use.....

Are thier snow blades for a ztr. This would be for driveways, only 5-10 customers. Your thoughts on this methods would be very helpful. I have an old F150 two wheel drive so I can not get a snow blade for that. Or do I have any other options for providing this service to my customers?
Thanks
bt

Would be a Grasshopper ZTR....





I dont know if any of the other big commercials have the wide variety of attachments, but the Grasshopper site has some videos of these zero turns doing everything, including pushing dirt around like a mini bulldozer....

If it can push dirt, pushing ,and blowing snow, should be a snap....

Grasshopper was the first ZTR i ever drove ,and used commercially so i may be a little biased ,but they do some heavy duty , duty,,,, pardon the pun....

Sincerely truthfully,Tranny..............

[turfman]

what is a single stage 5hp Toro?

[Jack D.]

These are 6.5hp and 7hp Toro single stage blowers. Please note that the last Toro 5hp/Suzuki/3650 was produced 6 years ago.

Jack D. prefers the 7hp Snow Commander's

[Scaper-S2k]

Jack D's area gets much more snow than where you are Bulldog26. My units are 5hp, maybe they are now making them as 6hp. I'm not sure because they last forever and I haven't needed another one for a couple years. I will be getting 2 at the end of this month though. Hopefully they still have the 5hp. I was at the Toro dealer yesterday picking up a tire and he had many models. I'm sure one of them must still be a 5hp.


If memory serves me correct, the 6hp is the same exact thing as the 5hp. One of my dealers told me that a couple years ago (or something like that). He said he would take off the cover to show me, they just put a different sticker on it. It wouldn't surprise me as I have seen similar things before.



Personally, I like the units that do NOT have the manual crank style chute. I prefer the ones that you can just push the chute to the direction you want. I think they are faster, as do my employees. Maybe if you have 10" of snow, you are going slow enough to crank the handle around. But with less snow, when I get to the end of the line, I just reach up and fling the thing in the other direction in 2 seconds, and go. Seems quicker than having to hand crank the screw style chute. They are neat, but just not for me. Personal preference I suppose.

I wouldn't pay for the electric start option either. And don't be fooled by blowers that LOOK similar to a Toro. They aren't.

[MASTERMOWER]

Just going to throw this out there. Think about how hard it is to drive in the snow with rear wheel drive now imagine how hard it will be towing your ZTR in the snow. Don't want to dash your hopes just throwing this out there so you don't commit yourself and can't deliver.

Depends on the vehicle towing the trailer. I wouldn't tow a trailer in the snow without 4 wheel drive. If you only have a rear wheel drive truck I wouldn't even attempt to tow that trailer in snow.

Last winter I towed a loaded trailer with my 4 wheel drive chevy......never had a problem.

[Jack D.]

Mr. Skaper is incorrect as usual.

The 5hp and 5.5hp Toro 3650's were Suzuki engines which were phased out 5 years ago in favor of the Toro produced Duraforce 6hp and 6.5hp hp on the 3650's and 7hp on the Commander's.

Please note that the operator chute crank on the 3650 is not "preference" but vastly superior as any experienced operator will note as one can subtly adjust the throw angle to avoid buildings and walkways as one moves down the drive.

Jack D. has no problem w/traction with Snow Hogs on his Hydro Walks.

[TRANSMAN]

Front wheel drive fallacy... LOL...

Just going to throw this out there. Think about how hard it is to drive in the snow with rear wheel drive now imagine how hard it will be towing your ZTR in the snow. Don't want to dash your hopes just throwing this out there so you don't commit yourself and can't deliver.

That FWD stuff spread in the early production years ,was silly, and exaggerated..... I grew up driving all rear wheel drive automobiles ,and was very disappointed the first time i drove a FWD car in the snow....

When a vehicle starts from a stop, and accelerates the weight is transferred to the rear of the vehicle ,and to the rear tires... I think that's probably why most police, taxi , and trucks are equipped with rear wheel drive... Put a little weight in the back, and the weight transfer makes for much better traction...

Notice you will never find a tow truck equipped with FRONT WHEEL DRIVE....In this case FWD would be inferior ,and most likely useless in snow when the weight is sitting on the back tires....

I haven't seen any semi rigs ,such as tractor trailer like vehicles designed around a FWD style platform either, because it probably wouldn't work worth a shiet....

FWD/Front wheel drive automobiles were designed to be lighter, more fuel efficient, and make more practical use of the shorter V-6 and 4 cylinder engines used ,and the ability to provide a shorter chassis length further cutting the weight....

Thinking towing with a RWD vehicle would be any less safe then a front wheel drive just seems ridiculous , and silly in my opinion, but most auto engineers agree.... The old story the FWD was superior in snow was just a sales pitch, to get the public to accept something new....

I used to haul firewood and a 7 X 16 trailer also loaded with wood, and never had a problem in the winter snows of upstate N.Y using a 1 ton Ford 2 wheel drive full size van....Van , and trailer filled to the brim with precut heavy logs....

"Regardless of the vehicle",FWD or RWD, anyone would be wise to allow for the crappy driving /weather conditions, and just DRIVE MORE CARFULLY!!!

To assume that the same van equipped with a FWD drive train would be better ,or safer would be silly in my opinion ,because i`m constantly pulling front wheel drive vehicles, plus the boats there hooked up to off of the boat ramp down the street from my home....I`v saved many a boater as the outgoing tide was causing the water to speed up like a river ,and the swiftness of the water flow was pulling their boat ,and FWD vehicles out to the sea....

FWD has much less traction on a slick wet boat ramp ,and only a superior RWD vehicle will pull them out of the water without the need to keep ones fingers crossed and praying....

The most important thing is to know is how to drive properly to begin with, and drive more carefully under more dangerous snowy conditions..This is best achieved by using good old fashioned ,"common sense"/ being more careful....

Ooops to the main question , or suggestion:

The plows that that the State of N.Y were using when i lived up there were just plain old dump trucks filled with sand, wearing chains on the rear tires... These tanks would blow through 12 foot drifts like nothing... I couldn't even imagine them using some dinky fwd style setup, and assume they still use the same....School buses ,or buses in general all carry loads of living human beings, and have had a good safety record transporting living human beings through the snow....

That was a slightly longer post then ahlgrenlandscaping, but i just though i`d throw those observations out ,and hope you don't think i`m contradicting you... I just think the RWD is nothing to dismiss if its what you have and will work out just fine short of having a 4 wheel drive or track style , snow cat rig with a bed on it.... The snow blower isnt that heavy ,and as scape mentioned one person can load, and unload a typical snow blower.... Nothing special should be required and the guys who earn the money in the endeavour will get the blower where it has to go.... Wouldn't make sense to spend $50,000 for some special truck just to move a snow blower when your regular old work horse will work...

Thank you for your patience ,and consideration...TRANS...

[Jack D.]

Please note that Snow Hogs and or chains on your ZTR will provide plenty of traction.

Please operate only 4X4 vehicles for trailering or plowing in snow conditions.