your snow thrower feedback, please
 

Hello, I have a 2001 Cub Cadet 3240 50th Anniversary Edition. I bought it new in 01, and it has been an excellent tractor. When I bought it, I chose this machine because I knew that, some day, I would want to buy the snow thrower attachment. Well, 11 years later and I'm finally ready to buy that snow thrower for my Cub.

But, at this point, I'm not sure it makes a lot of sense. Here are the pros and cons, as I see them. I would appreciate receiving some feedback from those of you who are familiar with this equipment.

Pros
* Everyone tells me this thrower will handle anything Mother Nature sends to Pennsylvania. I have a driveway and two-car parking area of 3,100 square feet. Along the edge of this area, I have a 75' stretch that gets tightly plowed in by township snow plows. Again, I've been told this cub blower on my tractor will have this job done in short order.

Cons
* It's expensive. To buy the blower, hitch, hydraulic line hardware, tire chains, load the tires and install all this gear, the cost is about $2,600. And, yes, my dealer has all of this brand new gear in stock for my 3240, even though Cub stopped making 3000 series tractors and their attachments two years ago. But here's the thing, I could buy the best walk-behind snow thrower on the market and not spend this much. *Plus, wouldn't I be spending all this money on antiquated technology? My tractor is great, but it is 11 years old. Does it make sense to spend $2,600 on a blower system that was designed years ago for a tractor that is now outdated, as well?

* Do I need this much power and equipment? As noted above, I've been told this blower-tractor combination will easily handle my property. But, I also had someone tell me it's overkill; I could easily do this job with one of the new Cub Cadet walk-behind snow blowers.

**Size and storage. I won't be able to move this tractor blower around in my garage by myself. It requires two people. So, it's inconvenient compared to a walk behind. And during Spring, Summer and Fall, it will take up premium space in my garage--way more than a walk behind.

* Switching out the mower deck for the blower, tire chains, etc. is a big job. I don't see myself having the time to deal with this job every fall, so that means I will have to pay my dealer to do the change over each fall. With a walk-behind snow thrower, I wouldn't have to deal with this.

So, I've always wanted a snow thrower for my Cub Cadet tractor. Now I can do it, but I'm questioning whether it's practical.*

What do you think? Any experience with the thrower-tractor combination I'm talking about? Any experience with the new Cub Cadet walk-behind snow throwers?*

Thanks for any thoughts/perspectives you can share.

Did you consider just a plow for the front of your Cub? I have about the same area, live in central PA and it handles the winters without a problem. I have an older 1863 Cub which I love and in my opinion a great tractor. You must also consider if you have a flat surface or incline. Yes, the blower will work great. I have an older model blower for mine which works awesome, but I choose not to put it on anymore because it's usually overkill. Just my opinion though. I feel that with my tractor I have more than enough weight with the tires filled to push through central PA winters.

Antiquated technology? :BB&YS:

1968 Cub Cadet 125 with QA-42 snow thrower ( single stage)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...DCP_4700-1.jpg

Here's my snow removal team, the 1968 125 and the 1966 122 with 42" blade.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v7...DCP_5800-1.jpg

Works great. I also clear snow from the left side of the road to take away snow truck "ammo".

If you take care of yourself than i would buy the walk behind. The blower for my cub was 1200 dollars which was way more than i was willing to spend. I always shoveled my drive which is 1600 feet because i like to keep active. when i saw a blower for sale for fifty dollars it was worth it to buy for me because i also like tinkering and this involved some work. if your under 70 and not 400 pounds than get the walk behind.

For Jeff in PA
 

Jeff, those photos are excellent. A 68 and a 66. Very impressive. While I see the point you're making, I'm still not sure about spending $2,600 on the gear I described -- gear that doesn't have the legacy of performance that you have with International Harvester.

Probably for under a thousand, you could get an IH Cub Cadet with snow thrower , weights and chains. That would leave a chuck of unspent funds for something else. Start it once a month during the off season and you should be good to go for snow removal.

Plus you could go to plow days too :beerchug:

Heck, go all the way back to 1962...

This 62 Original with factory weights, chains, creeper, fenders, blower, and cab will blow a LOT of snow.

I like your thinking. Not sure what I would do with my current Cub, but that's a lot of value for $1,000.

Wow, I'm surprised they did cabs on a 62!

I am too...and I'm surprised that I found this one in the shape it's in last fall.