I purchased a 2182 with a 54 inch haban blade, 48 inch model 317 deck, 75 lb wheel weights, ag tires, and 2 link chains new in Feb of 93 and have never pushed snow or dirt with a "small" cub cadet so I can't give you a comparison between the performance of the various sizes. I can say that it has never had a snow that couldn't be handled and we've had a number of 20 inch snows, with a very steep gravel/dirt driveway, in that time period. The only troubles were too little traction and not being able to penetrate the crust with heavy ice events. I put turf tires with 2 link v-bar chains on a couple of years ago and the traction is even better now than the ags with HD 2 links it had prior and don't think I need it to be any better. I did want to mention that I did break the aluminum rear end housing twice, both times using the blade. I do like the steering brakes for turning in tight snowy conditions and for when the front tires just want to slide sideways pushing heavy wet snows. If you can get one in good condition at a decent price you should be able to get your money back out of it if you don't like it ( but I don't think that will be the case ).
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