Which tractor ?
 

Should I mount my plow blade on? Both the 125 and 104 have ags and hydraulic lift.. Not that I expect any snow buy hey seat time with a blade kicking around is always cool...Suggestions, pros cons, arguments and well heck opinions are accepted...lol

HP wise it's a no brainer, but for a blade I think I would go for a gear transmission.

It's an easy choice, flip a quarter.:HeadScratch:

I vote for the 104. There are far more hydrostatic out there with a blade on them.....

I would use the 125. You don't have to worry about having to use the clutch to go between forward and reverse.

I am thinking the 104 as well it will eventually find home on the 126 once I get it built I like the concept of being able to "rock" the clutch if I get stuck...

Just purchase another blade, since two is better than one :beerchug: and then you can see whichever one you are in the mood for as the one to plow with.

Cub Cadet 123

A blade on a hydro is a LOT more fun and practical too.

I totally agree, Mark!

I used the blade on my 125 last winter, and I liked how I could accelerate into a drift and also reverse quickly out, sort of bouncing off the snow bank you just made. Fun, and works even in crazy deep snow!

I like plowing with a hydro too.

Gear drive, every time :beerchug:

I've got a 1050 with a "mere" 10hp but with loaded tires, chains, etc, even with big 'ol piles of snow or dirt, that thing just keeps on pushing and asking for more. :biggrin2:

My blade is on a hydro. No complaints.

wooooahhhh!!!! first thing's first... NO SNOW????

I've had the luxury of mounting blades on both and as a preference I like the hydrostatic better for pushing snow.

I love the snow we get coz it is simply another reason to go play with the cubs

________________________________________
Let me tell you a story of gear drives and plowing snow...

Before I got "Big Blue" I used my 108 to plow snow--it's all I had. I can remember one snowfall (actually two) in 1982 I think. I got the Ford in 1983, so it had to be either '81 or '82. Anyway, we got about 15 inches of snow. We live ¼ mile down a lane from the state road, and our driveway is another 600 feet long. So, with the forecast for so much snow, I head out in the blizzard with about 6 or 8 inches down, plowing wide enough so as the next 6-8 inches fell, I had room to push that aside. Had chains on the 108 but no weights. Gravel road and drive. Managed to clear a path to the state road. I was so proud! First tractor, first big snowfall, young buck, I got 'er done.

Then. Another forecast for another 18 inches! The next day! That would make over 30 inches on the ground. IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA!

Faced with that knowledge, I spent the next 6 hours, up and down the lane and drive, pushing everything wider so there would be room for the next blizzard's snow. Again, out in the middle of the snow (every 6 inches or so) pushing the snow off the drive and the lane.

All this time, clutching, shifting, backing, accelerating into the drifts and piles, pushing snow for all that little tractor was worth.

Now, fast forward a couple years to 1987, a massive, 24 inch snowfall. I'm sipping coffee, watching TV with nary a concern. After the last few flakes fell, I donned some warm clothes, clambered out to the stable, started up Big Blue (with fluid in the tires and CHAINS), and simply backed out, pushing snow aside with the 7 foot blade like it was bubble bath suds. Up and down the drive, and lane to the state road, it was, what? 20 min? Heck, not enough fun! So I headed up the lane, plowing the entire 3/4 mile of it, and most of the neighbor's drives as well.

Again, clutching, shifting, with a gear drive. Never had a hydrostatic tractor, didn't know any different.

Now that I've had some experience with a hydro on the orange tractor and these other cubs, I think I'd go for the hydro for pushing snow. So easy to stop, back up, and go forward again, no gear grinding, left leg getting sore, etc.

Even though we do get some snow here in VA from time to time (and those guys in western parts of the state get it a bunch more than us Piedmont dwellers) it's not like you guys up north. It's a novelty--once every 5 years--when we get anything over a foot.

But since I got Big Blue, the mower deck stays on the 108 all winter. He's lonely, I imagine, sometimes, sitting in the garage. Seldom started, and only occasionally addressed. "Hey, little 108, how ya doin' today?" "Let me check your oil for you, maybe put you on the charger for a little while." "What? You want to go out and play? No, it's too cold. Here, let's crank you over and get you fired up for a little bit. Keep that little engine warm now. It's only a couple months 'til the grass will need you again." That green stripe swells a little as I climb up on Blue, hit the starter, and roll out the door, lifting the rear blade to clear the concrete apron. Time to push some gravel, ‘cause we ain't got no snow!