I'm thinking about getting a lawn/garden tractor. My requirements are that it must
be able to hook up to a snow plow blade, and be decent quality while cheap.

My yard & driveway are quite small, but I have health issues so am looking for something
I can drive around. Any recommendations on brands/models would be appreciated.

Thanks, Phil

Cheap means cheap and disposable, prone to parts failing, no local service
available, poorly engineered. Pushing snow is very hard on equipment, keep
that in mind. Do you want to spend $1000.00 and have it fail in 3 years, or
spend more and have it last 20 years. Don't buy a lawn tractor from a big
box store, go to a garden specialty store, where you can touch, operate and
test it out, and where they have service facilities, they are often cheaper
than the big box stores.

For example, I once sold a 22 year old John Deere lawn tractor for more
money than I got for a 12 year old Oldsmobile Station Wagon, the start-up
costs were considerably different for the two.


"Phil" wrote in message
...
I'm thinking about getting a lawn/garden tractor. My requirements are that
it must
be able to hook up to a snow plow blade, and be decent quality while
cheap.

My yard & driveway are quite small, but I have health issues so am looking
for something
I can drive around. Any recommendations on brands/models would be
appreciated.

Thanks, Phil

On 21 Feb 2008 17:42:19 GMT, (Phil) wrote:

and be decent quality while cheap.

There lies the rub.



Nothing runs like a Deere.

On 21 Feb 2008 17:42:19 GMT, (Phil) wrote:

and be decent quality while cheap.

There lies the rub.



Nothing runs like a Deere.

"Joseph Meehan" wrote:
It might be helpful if we knew how much snow you normally get at one
time. 3 inches or 3 feet?

I live in Michigan, so we get a good amount of snow. But the area I'd plow
is small, 20'x20' , a parking pad, and I'd plow b4 it got too high.

John Deere preferably from a JD Dealer


"Phil" wrote in message
...
I'm thinking about getting a lawn/garden tractor. My requirements are that
it must
be able to hook up to a snow plow blade, and be decent quality while
cheap.

My yard & driveway are quite small, but I have health issues so am looking
for something
I can drive around. Any recommendations on brands/models would be
appreciated.

Thanks, Phil

ole wrote:
John Deere preferably from a JD Dealer

You've got to be kidding!

I work for JD, and I'm not a believer in our product. If you only knew.

There is much better equipment on the market, for less.

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:00:05 -0500, "Mick V." wrote:

I work for JD, and I'm not a believer in our product. If you only knew.

There is much better equipment on the market, for less.

enlighten me, a bit

--
Oren

On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:00:05 -0500, "Mick V." wrote:

I work for JD, and I'm not a believer in our product. If you only knew.

There is much better equipment on the market, for less.

enlighten me, a bit

--
Oren

"Phil Marshall" wrote in message
...
"Joseph Meehan" wrote:
It might be helpful if we knew how much snow you normally get at one
time. 3 inches or 3 feet?

I live in Michigan, so we get a good amount of snow. But the area I'd plow
is small, 20'x20' , a parking pad, and I'd plow b4 it got too high.

A push plow is not a good idea. I have used a much larger farm tractor with
a push blade. The first problem is that once you have pushed the snow over
to the edge of where you want to clean, the snow is there and you cannot
just keep pushing, either the engine will not have enough power or traction.
Once it freezes in place then you find the next snow starts to build up in
the area you want to clear. Without a bucket that can lift and dump the
snow, you will find it frustrating to clear with just a push blade. I see
everything that is happening here in Canada with pick-up truck plows that
clear store parking, eventually most of the parking is taken up with stored
snow that they cannot move. Doesn't matter if you do little bits or a large
drift that forms overnight, the result is the same.

Don't waste your money get a snow blower. Or a tractor with a blower.

"Phil Marshall" wrote in message
...
"Joseph Meehan" wrote:
It might be helpful if we knew how much snow you normally get at one
time. 3 inches or 3 feet?

I live in Michigan, so we get a good amount of snow. But the area I'd plow
is small, 20'x20' , a parking pad, and I'd plow b4 it got too high.

A push plow is not a good idea. I have used a much larger farm tractor with
a push blade. The first problem is that once you have pushed the snow over
to the edge of where you want to clean, the snow is there and you cannot
just keep pushing, either the engine will not have enough power or traction.
Once it freezes in place then you find the next snow starts to build up in
the area you want to clear. Without a bucket that can lift and dump the
snow, you will find it frustrating to clear with just a push blade. I see
everything that is happening here in Canada with pick-up truck plows that
clear store parking, eventually most of the parking is taken up with stored
snow that they cannot move. Doesn't matter if you do little bits or a large
drift that forms overnight, the result is the same.

Don't waste your money get a snow blower. Or a tractor with a blower.

"Oren" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:00:05 -0500, "Mick V." wrote:

I work for JD, and I'm not a believer in our product. If you only knew.

There is much better equipment on the market, for less.

enlighten me, a bit

--
Oren

Don't know about the "for less" part, but Kubota makes lots of models that
are built well

"Oren" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:00:05 -0500, "Mick V." wrote:

I work for JD, and I'm not a believer in our product. If you only knew.

There is much better equipment on the market, for less.

enlighten me, a bit

--
Oren

Don't know about the "for less" part, but Kubota makes lots of models that
are built well

On Feb 21, 1:11*pm, GWB wrote:
On 21 Feb 2008 17:42:19 GMT, (Phil) wrote:

and be decent quality while cheap.

There lies the rub.

Nothing runs like a Deere.

Or costs more...

Joe

On Feb 21, 1:11*pm, GWB wrote:
On 21 Feb 2008 17:42:19 GMT, (Phil) wrote:

and be decent quality while cheap.

There lies the rub.

Nothing runs like a Deere.

Or costs more...

Joe

Quality and cheap are contradictions, an oxymoron if you will. If you
don't want to bust the budget, find a good used Wheel Horse garden
tractor (PRE TORO) and both a snow thrower attachment and the dozer
blade attachment. It takes about 20 minutes to go from one to the other,
and you will have the best of both worlds, a blade for light snows, and
the thrower for the heavy stuff. Don't sweat the fact that a Wheel Horse
snow thrower attachment is single stage instead of a two stage blower.
The huge diameter chute, and the narrow center "paddle" of the auger
make the Wheel Horse single stage thrower very efficient and very hard
to plug. Also, those old cast-iron Kohler engines used in the vast
majority of those tractors are almost impossible to kill if you keep
them full of oil.


Phil wrote:
I'm thinking about getting a lawn/garden tractor. My requirements are that it must
be able to hook up to a snow plow blade, and be decent quality while cheap.

My yard & driveway are quite small, but I have health issues so am looking for something
I can drive around. Any recommendations on brands/models would be appreciated.

Thanks, Phil