I wouldn't have him blow my driveway, Its called a yard for a reason but no Ill cover the cars and canvas cover so it can collapse. Start from the right and blow everything into the yard Daaaaaaaa.
Thanks for watching. Since you are such a professional at blowing snow I'm sure that you have considered the following in your analysis of my video: 1) The lay of the land. Although it is hard to see in the video the driveway is actually a bit lower than the lawn on the left side. During freeze/thaw cycles the snow melts and runs across the middle of driveway and when it freezes again it becomes a slippery area. 2) The owners walkway to his front door is on the left side and he doesn't want to shovel packed down snow from the blower. 3) If the snow was piled on the lawn on the left side of driveway (which is in front of the house), it would be the last to melt in the spring and the owner doesn't want that as it would be wetter there longer. 4) The right side of the driveway has a more natural drainage area which moves the melting water away from his house a lot quicker. 5) The OWNER doesn't want the snow blown on his front lawn. Finally, as it may look that I do but I do NOT blow snow on the car or the car port. You will notice in the video that I stop forward motion before I rotate the chute of the blower so that the blown snow does not fall on the car or the car port. But I'm just an amateur, what do I know.
Thanks for watching and your comment! This setup with the diesel tractor, heated cab, hydraulics and front mounted snowblower certainly has made my life easier. It's a lot better than previous tractor that I had for a couple of decades that had a rear 3PH blower and no cab. I get cold just thinking of the way it use to be!
Always nice to up-grade. You get to appreciate the improvements that much better. I only have an 87 214, 38" blower, W/O cab. It beats shoveling, but not as comfortable as yours.
X748SE I could def see you starting this as a business man. Get yourself a full size JD and an industrial screw, start making major money just by doing 40-50 a driceway and lengrh of house=street.
That would be really nice to do, but I do live out in the country on a country road and most people have there own method of clearing snow unfortunately. I guess that I'll have to move to a little more populated "subdivision".
The only reason people would give this video Thumbs down is they don't have a tractor like this, Very nice tractor and good job removing the snow. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching and your comment. It seems it doesn't matter how great a video is, there are some people that thrive on giving thumbs down or negative comments or try to to tell how to do things even though they never owned a tractor. If you post videos on TH-cam you have to have thick skin too is seems!
I used to clear off my neighbors driveway and sidewalk for 19 years. Then she complained about my trees and called me a horrible neighbor. $3000 later the trees are gone and so is her snow clearing neighbor doing her driveway/sidewalk. Don’t even talk to her since I’m such a horrible neighbor. That setup you have looks nice!
1, really nice machine i am old now and my IH 123 and 127 are a real struggle 2, dont mind the nut heads i am greatfull if any one shows up to help. i helped the old folks a lot when i was younger God bless it was a nice present
Thanks for watching and your comment! These X700 series definitely make quick work of clearing snow no matter what front implement it has attached. I have a 60" blade too that I use now and again.
You did a nice job helping out your neighbor, customizing it to their needs and using common sense in operating your equipment. About the negative comments, consider the source by how it was worded and move on. I live in the city on a corner lot and usually do 1 or 2 additional yards for those that aren't so capable with a 24" 2 stage Ariens. OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS ONCE.
Used to plow driveways back when. I never could figure out why someone with a two car garage would fill one side of it with odds and ends of junk worth less than $1000, usually much less, and park their $20,000 plus vehicle out in the elements.
Thanks for watching. He's been trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff but his wife likes to hang onto things. I am sort of guilty too. I have a 2 door garage and our vehicle are parked outside. A few years ago I insulated my garage and made it into a workshop. We've talked about building another garage but that is as far as we got.
uhh . . . . one look at the way he comes out to move his car might explain it, lol. Basketball-jams and sneakers with no socks. See it here in Maine all winter long, then they bitch about the snow and cold weather. No common sense but at least they are stylin'.
@@wxman46 - agreed. what in the hell are these people dressing like that for? it's WINTER. sometimes i see people in stores with flip-flops and shorts on - with the temp below 20 degrees.
Thanks for watching and your query. Yes I find that they are quite helpfully when blowing deeper snow. I usually blow snow with the blower in float mode thus the the weight of the blower is not on the front axle. Those extra weights put weight on the front axle so that I have more steering authority in deeper snow. See this video of mine for more info :--> th-cam.com/video/6crT8dAljcw/w-d-xo.html
It certainly was nice of the neighbour to move their vehicle for you once you had the left side of the driveway done. LOL That blower of yours really seems to scrape pretty close to the pavement. Nothing like hydraulic down pressure.
Thanks for watching. We are still lucky to have fairly even pavement in our driveways which makes it easier to set the cutting edge of the blower fairly low.
Regarding your PTO switch; Neither of my 2032 R, or 2038 R tractors with a 3 point snow blower will shut down the engine when backing up as you may have realized being a 3 point blower, I'm always backing up when blowing. Possibly, do you have both mid and rear pto's turned on? That might be the issue. I have only the rear one turned on.
Thanks for watching. The JD lawn and garden tractors have RIO switch/lever that must be engaged whenever you reverse in order for the PTO to keep from shutting down. It is a "safety" feature that JD has implemented. I usually have my RIO engaged/enabled/overriden all the time when I'm using a PTO implement so that I don't have to pull the lever/switch each I want to back up. See this video of mine for what I mean :--> th-cam.com/video/3_MT0GsA3B0/w-d-xo.html My fix/trick/tool wasn't in all the way!
What model tractor do you have? I live on a small farm with 1/2 shared lane with one Mennonite neighbors. I'm using a drag plow on my JD 4310 to clear our driveways, but a blower like that would definitely help.
Thanks for watching! We did have a white Christmas this year but in the last couple of days, it's been raining just like it is in England. I'd rather have the snow any day at this time of the year.
Thanks for watching. I did some modifications to my chute to rotate it further than stock. I have a video of what I did and it can be found here: --> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html The mod really helps putting snow where you really want it to go, especially in and around vehicles and houses/buildings.
Thanks for watching. The front and rear LED lights are the SR series made by Rigid Industries. The fronts are 10" and the rear is 6" wide. I lucked out and I got them quite cheap at a surplus dealer. They are really expensive now! The hazard lights are from a surplus place too and they are basically used for utility trailers.
The question I have a JD x710 with the same 54inch blower I was wondering if you know a kit or way to have an adjuster for up and down instead of getting off all the time to adjust it? I know I can't do hydraulic or at least not that I know of. Any thoughts?
Most people use a 12V linear actuator with a 4" stroke to control the up/down adjuster. I know on a NEW X710, there is an area on the left side of the steering wheel that has 2 removal-able switch blanks/covers. You can remove one of the blanks and install a Momentary DPDT rocker switch to control the linear actuator. Wiring for this type of switch and linear actuator can be found on the web by searching for it. Install an inline fuse with proper current rating from the battery or alternator to the switch. I picked up a weatherproof 12 volt power adapter and plug off eBay. You may source to it locally. I made a simple bracket and mounted the 12V adapter just in front of the SCV. That way it gets connected at the same time as I connect the hydraulic lines for the snowblower. Have a look at this video for more info on the way I installed my linear actuator:--> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html
I have been a blower operator for 5 years and now run my own company, i do 35 driveways in 12 hours. If you are doing shorter driveways do you turn around as well or do you just back up and restart? I only do the turn around on the really long driveways. But i run a 1445 with 60" blower.
Thanks for watching! Ninety-five percent of the time when clearing snow from this driveway with the blower I'll do a swipe then back up and restart. I find it actually faster to do it that way. This time around for this video I decided to turn around at the garage just to give the viewer a different view of the surroundings.
One thing I always wonder about with setups like yours (auger, instead of plow): What about newspapers delivered before the snowfall became heavy -- so the paper's halfway (or more) hidden by snow? Do you phone ahead to see if they've walked out to pick it up yet? I'd imagine that could so some expensive damage if you 'find' one the hard way.
Thanks for watching. Yes newspapers have been sucked up by the auger and they broke a few shear pins on my previous tractor and blower setup. Since I've had this tractor and blower I have not broke a shear pin yet. My neighbor and myself are very good at picking up the newspaper fairly quick after it has been dropped off as we know which day it comes. If by some chance that it really has been snowing when the newspaper is delivered, I'll stop and find it before I start to blow snow.
Is that driveway flat or are you working up an incline? I have a 22-24 degree incline, about 60' and I need something to blow the snow out of the driveway. Cannot plow it, has to be blown away. Thanks for your anticipated reply.
Thanks for watching. There is a slight incline in this driveway but no where near what you are talking about. The tractor as Hydraulic Four Wheel Drive (HFWD - full time) and with the correct amount of ballast (weight) it should give the the traction the you require to safely blow the snow off your driveway quite easily.
Thanks for watching. I too know a guy besides the one in the video and if he could, he would wear shorts all the time any time of the year and in any weather.
i have a 28 inches snow blower. my neighbours driveway is beside mine together they are about 3 widths of your machine same length roughly . we share the gasoline expense and every year he buys a bottle of rum and we share that to. good arrangement
Thanks for watching. I only had it freeze up once and this was after trying to blow heavy wet snow. It was sort of my fault as I didn't clean the slush off very well and it got much colder after that and froze.
Thanks for watching and your comment. My defector is electric. If you would like more info on it and other mods to the blower have a look at this video --> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html
Love your videos. I have a X748 also. I need to get a snowblower for it. Did you get yours from the JD dealer? Are you happy with it. Can you tell me the model number? Thanks very much.
Thanks for watching and your comment! Yes I bought my blower from a JD dealer when I purchased my tractor and other implements as a package deal. I am VERY happy with it. Mine is a 54" model. The model number at the time of purchase is 02C1M.
Just heads up . I run a 2520 John deere snowblowers. Pretty much same as your running. When ever you raise the snowblower turn off the pto. You can ruin the barings or blow them out. But great vid.
Thanks for watching and your advice! So far I haven't seen any wear on the u-joints of the pto shaft or any wear on the blower bearings but you have sound reasoning that it would be better to turn the pto off when raising the blower.
How's the machine do against ice berms from the county plow? Moving fluff around is no trouble, but the County enjoys leaving a 36 inch high by 48 inch deep berm of ice and very dense snow across my property line and the street. I bought an Ariens Platinum 30 SHO and it's getting torn up battling the berm.
Thanks for watching Gordon! Ice is always a tough one and usually quite hard on equipment. I personally haven't had ice berms as large as yours but when I do have smaller ones left by the plow at the end of my driveway the X748 and blower had no problem clearing it away. It takes a bit more time as you have to go slower as chip away at it in smaller bites with the blower.
Thanks for watching. I did some modifications to my chute to rotate it further than stock. I have a video of what I did and it can be found here: --> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html The mod really helps putting snow where you really want it to go, especially in and around vehicles and houses/buildings.
I thought you did a damn fine job, you stopped the blower whenever you were next to a car.. I know it’s an old video but I see some dumb comments from “expert” snow blowers🙄 Btw, Do you have chains or wheel weights on the back tires? How is the tractions on the hills?
Thanks for watching and your comment!! I love those experts on snow blowing especially when you find out that they are from the "south" and probably never seen snow in their life. I don't use chains as I have a paved driveway and find that the traction from the AWD is really great. I have in the past put weights on the back for extra traction but I find that the weight of the cab is usually enough. I do find that the weight bracket that I made for the front (in other videos) does help out with steering authoring in heavier deeper snow. Traction on my driveway (in other videos of mine) which has an incline has not been and issue unless I have a bit of ice or packed how snow underneath.
Your neighbor has a very nice antenna mast off to the right. Amateur radio operator? As a long time ham, I tend to notice (envy) such things. Thx, K5SNO
Thanks for watching Earl! Since we live out in the sticks we have no cable or internet running by our houses. We put up these towers for point to point internet, so no ham radio.
Nice work! I've often wondered if it would be a profitable side-gig to get a rig like this and just stroll around a posh neighborhood door-to-door and asking to clear their driveway for $35 or so....
It is! Especially when the plow dudes can't keep up... no homeowner horking shovelfulls of snow will let you pass by...I've made $4-500 of an evening several times...a.m. on weekends is even better...
@@thestcroixkid That's a good plan. I expect if it doesn't take you more than 15 min for a city driveway, you can't go wrong with even $20! Thanks and good luck!
Thanks for watching. When using the snow blower in float mode there is less weight on the front axle and in deep and/or heavy snow the blower wants to track straight ahead. The extra 168 lbs of suitcase weight plus the weight of the bracket itself puts that weight on the front wheels so that it can grip and turn better. The same goes when using the front blade when it is angled.
What is the HP on that tractor? I have a Craftsman riding mower. It's a bit older with a 24 HP twin cylinder motor. I'd love to get an attachment like that if my machine could power it.
Thanks for watching. The tractors has a diesel engine with HP rated at 24 HP. Your 24HP Craftsman gas mower should have no problems powering a properly sized blower made for it.
Thanks for watching. Since I live in a very rural area I use that tower to receive my internet. Sorry no Amateur radio at this time but maybe in the future!
Thanks for the excellent vid. Had to quit reading the comments though. Some real jerks lurking out there!. Must be all those fragile egos and feelings of inferiority! (small equipment?)
Thanks for watching and your comment! I guess that when you post videos on TH-cam, you should expect to get some idiot comments that shows the viewers mentality. There definitely are "trolls" out there that post these type of comments in order to get a reaction from you. I don't get upset and I usually just laugh at them!
Thanks for watching! Going from summer mode to attaching the snow blower I would guess that it would take 5 to 7 minutes. This would include installing the mid to front PTO shaft, quick attach hitch, the blower itself, blower PTO shaft plus connecting up the hydraulic lines and 12V connection to the chute deflector.
I think it takes me half a day to do the same thing with the John Deere 955. But I really like it once its on. My Chute Deflector is manually controlled...but it doesn't matter. I never change it.
WOW - The JD 955 is a fairly good sized tractor compared to mine. Things weren't designed to be quick attach like they are now. Still a 955 is a real nice machine.
Sometime I would like to work with the new machines. I really like my machine.... My wish for an easier mount and dismount is hardly a complaint since I was raised putting cultivators on our John Deere B. But I am told the new machines are much easier.
Thanks for watching. There are a multitude of reasons why I blow the snow to the right but basically the owner doesn't want the snow blown onto his front yard. That's why I blow snow left to right for his driveway.
I love how the neighbor comes out in shirts to move his car to the clean side of the driveway and then clean it off there,and to top it all off the dumba** leaves all the snow on the roof
Damn, this was timely! A couple of years ago, I parked my 430. It has a Kozy Kab, 60" Tri-Cycler mower deck, and 38" 'sno-thrower' (I had a 2-stage blower too, for a while). I parked it because it's getting old. Parts, while still available, generally aren't in stock. I got to the end of my driveway, that winter day, and blew a hydraulic hose on the lift cylinder. That hose is no longer available, but the dealer could make me one...once he got enough of the appropriate fittings. 3 weeks later, I finally had a chance to go get the new hoses. I need something dependable. Something that, when it breaks, parts are readily available. When I get home at 5am, to 6" of snow, the last thing I need to do is hunt parts and fix on the tractor, when I have to be back to work in 10hrs! When that line failed, I was looking around on machinefinder.com and found a good deal on a one year old x540 - complete with; hard-top weather-enclosure, 54" mower, 48" blade, 47" 2-stage blower, and 7 bushel 'power-flow' bagger. I bought it. It's been a love/hate relationship ever since! It cuts grass faster, and better, than my 430. It blows snow better than either of the blowers I had for that 430. But it just DOES NOT have the power, or the fuel economy, that that old 430 has (there are other issues too)! The 2nd snow storm of the season, a few weeks ago, dumped about as much snow (+ drifting) as I see in this video. My x540 couldn't move that much snow as quickly as you did. That convinced me that I need to start looking around again. I found a used (2012 x748 with almost 1,800hrs) at my favorite dealer. It comes with a 54" deck and a 47" quick-hitch blower (with electronic chute deflection - which I assume is what you have). This video pretty much convinced me that I need to buy that machine! A couple of questions: 1) My 430 had 3 levers, to the left of the steering wheel, that controlled the hydraulics. The x748 has the two levers on the right side of the steering column. Are they easy (instinctive) to operate? 2) My x540 has a 'reverse lock-out' feature. I have to lift a lever, to back up, without disengaging the PTO. This leaves me juggling the chute rotation, chute elevation, and steering when I'm trying to back up. Does the x748 have this? Does it cause problems? 3) I just stumbled on your channel, so forgive me for asking...does the blade (that I saw on the opening video) share a common 'mount' with the blower? My x540 has an 'extension' that mounts to the front of the frame and either, the blower, or the blade, mounts to this extension. 4) Do you just run the suitcase weights? No wheel weights, no chains? I contacted the dealer about that x748 last week - it was just traded in and NOTHING has been done to it. I have an extra day off this week. I think I'm going to bug him some more, and see what kind of deal we can arrange! THANKS for the visual info!
Thanks for watching Dave! I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge. 1) The two column mounted lever will become very instinctive after a while as your brain learns which one does what. It just takes a bit of seat time to get use to them. 2) The X748 does have this same “safety” feature and it’s called the Reverse Implement Option (RIO). I find that it is a “pain in the, you know what” too! A lot of people have bypassed it using jumpers but I like to keep the safety features intact. I DO bypass it though and I have a very simple method of doing it. I use a ordinary clothes peg. I keep a couple on hand. See this video of mine to see what I mean: --> th-cam.com/video/3_MT0GsA3B0/w-d-xo.html It’s simple and works very well. I use it all the time. 3) The front quick hitch (QH) is common for JD X748 implements whether it being a blade, blower or broom. For a blower or broom, a mid to front PTO is also required. 4) I just run suitcase weights on my unit as it is AWD as I find it the easiest way to add weight/ballast for traction in the winter and when I’m using my loader. People have “loaded” their tires, but I don’t want the extra weight on my tractor in the spring so I haven’t. Wheel weights I find are real chore to out on . These X748s are amazing machines and I’m sure you will be very impressed with it. It will be night and day difference from your X540 on how it handles and performs. Mine gets great fuel economy. Hope that you get the X748!
Thanks for the info! One more question, if you don't mind. How tall is it from floor to the highest point on the cab - excluding lights mounted on top? I really miss that Kozy Kab in winter! The weather enclosure does a pretty good job of keeping the snow out, but it's not near as nice as the metal cab. The current Signature 700 series cabs are designed to fit through a 7 foot door, but I only have about 6.5 feet. It seems to me, that the older 700 series weren't quite as tall, so I thought I'd ask. Thanks!
SWEET! I found my notes...I have just under 80" of clearance from the floor to the frame of the garage door opening. Now, I just have to decide whether I want to spend the money AND whether I can find a hard-sided cab for it! Curtis currently doesn't list cabs for anything other than 1-series and up and Cozy Cab only lists cabs for the X700 Signature Series... Anyway, once again, THANK YOU for all of the information!
I wouldn't have him blow my driveway, Its called a yard for a reason but no Ill cover the cars and canvas cover so it can collapse. Start from the right and blow everything into the yard Daaaaaaaa.
Thanks for watching. Since you are such a professional at blowing snow I'm sure that you have considered the following in your analysis of my video: 1) The lay of the land. Although it is hard to see in the video the driveway is actually a bit lower than the lawn on the left side. During freeze/thaw cycles the snow melts and runs across the middle of driveway and when it freezes again it becomes a slippery area. 2) The owners walkway to his front door is on the left side and he doesn't want to shovel packed down snow from the blower. 3) If the snow was piled on the lawn on the left side of driveway (which is in front of the house), it would be the last to melt in the spring and the owner doesn't want that as it would be wetter there longer. 4) The right side of the driveway has a more natural drainage area which moves the melting water away from his house a lot quicker. 5) The OWNER doesn't want the snow blown on his front lawn. Finally, as it may look that I do but I do NOT blow snow on the car or the car port. You will notice in the video that I stop forward motion before I rotate the chute of the blower so that the blown snow does not fall on the car or the car port. But I'm just an amateur, what do I know.
X748SE I was impressed with your video and then your response.
Thanks for watching and your comment! Some people don't realize that there can be more to snow blowing than to just dump the snow into an open area.
Anthony is a pratt
Thanks for watching and your reply!
You must be everyone on your blocks favorite neighbor. Nice job and sweet Rig!
Thanks for your comment and thanks for watching. I try to be a good neighbor.
I am
You are the most sensible TH-camr when it comes to snow blowing! The only one who doesn’t keep backing up to road.
Thanks for watching and I appreciate your comment!
Now I know two things about you.,,,you like John Deer and more important...you are a good neighbour........way to go...
Thanks and THANKS for watching! I try to be a good neighbor especially during the cold snowy weather.
Gutta love a hyd. lift, and a cab. (and powdered snow is a delight too) Good job on the video, and thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching and your comment! This setup with the diesel tractor, heated cab, hydraulics and front mounted snowblower certainly has made my life easier. It's a lot better than previous tractor that I had for a couple of decades that had a rear 3PH blower and no cab. I get cold just thinking of the way it use to be!
Always nice to up-grade. You get to appreciate the improvements that much better. I only have an 87 214, 38" blower, W/O cab. It beats shoveling, but not as comfortable as yours.
Yeah that was really awesome of you to do for xmas for them man. Props for bein a really good neighbor.
Thanks very much for your comment and for watching!
X748SE I could def see you starting this as a business man. Get yourself a full size JD and an industrial screw, start making major money just by doing 40-50 a driceway and lengrh of house=street.
That would be really nice to do, but I do live out in the country on a country road and most people have there own method of clearing snow unfortunately. I guess that I'll have to move to a little more populated "subdivision".
I love that homeboy just strolls out in shorts!!!
THANKS for watching and he's quite the character!
Northern Ky here too.
Hey, he’s like darn it snowed imagine that. Shorts are awesome. Is my car In the way.
You seen mommas car was in garage high and dry tho😂
Somehow, I find it calming to watch somebody clear snow from a driveway. I don't know why.
Thanks for watching. I do too. I find that it is my "down" time when I'm in my tractor.
My wife was laughing at me because I was watching a 20 minute video of the clearing snow in eastern canada last night, very relaxing
As long as it’s not me shoveling
My neighbor used to plow everyone’s driveway’s thru out the neighborhood
The only reason people would give this video Thumbs down is they don't have a tractor like this, Very nice tractor and good job removing the snow. Thanks for posting.
Thanks for watching and your comment. It seems it doesn't matter how great a video is, there are some people that thrive on giving thumbs down or negative comments or try to to tell how to do things even though they never owned a tractor. If you post videos on TH-cam you have to have thick skin too is seems!
Great video and I like that you can direct the shoot to throw the snow behind the tractor vary cool. GREAT VIDEO!!!
Thanks for watching. I modified the blower so that it could do that. It. comes in very handy
Thisss is America! Man with resources develops relationship with neighbour. Finds agreeable terms for services. No government needed.
Thanks for watching. I think it is cheaper for him to have me blow his driveway than to go out an buy his own machine to do it.
I used to clear off my neighbors driveway and sidewalk for 19 years. Then she complained about my trees and called me a horrible neighbor. $3000 later the trees are gone and so is her snow clearing neighbor doing her driveway/sidewalk.
Don’t even talk to her since I’m such a horrible neighbor. That setup you have looks nice!
Thanks for watching. I would do the same if this neighbor complained about anything on my property.
Great machine and video done back in the good pre-COVID years.
Thanks and THANKS for watching!
That's very nice of you to help out your neighbor
Thanks for watching. He's been a GREAT neighbor and we help each other out when we can.
Making snow storms fun again. Good stuff.
THANKS for your comment and for watching. With the heated cab, I really like blowing snow now!
That is a nice little machine, smooth, perfect size...
Thank for watching and your comment. I really like the size of my machine. It is quite nimble and as you said perfect size.
I've lived in my house for the last 11 years, and I don't even know my neighbors names. I guess we should all be more like you
Thanks for watching and it's GOOD to know the neighbors!
I met my neighbours once and I dont want to know them !
That is sad
1, really nice machine i am old now and my IH 123 and 127 are a real struggle 2, dont mind the nut heads i am greatfull if any one shows up to help. i helped the old folks a lot when i was younger God bless it was a nice present
THANKS and thanks for watching! He is a good neighbor and I help him out a lot.
Nice job, Dude!
That weather is on it's way again. But not here.
Hello from Las Vegas NV!
Thanks for watching and I can't wait for the snow to fly once again! I guess that there isn't much snow in Vegas! LOL
I have the same rig for my company but with a plow instead of a snowblower and I love it we can clear a 10x60 driveway in under 10 minutes
Thanks for watching and your comment! These X700 series definitely make quick work of clearing snow no matter what front implement it has attached. I have a 60" blade too that I use now and again.
Snowblowing videos and zamboni’s...2 things you just can’t stop staring at.
Thanks for watching. I never thought of it before but a Zamboni is just another type of snow clearing machine. I can see the relationship.
That is one appreciative neighbor
Thanks for watching and I find that he is appreciative.
Looks like it works well...
Nice job👍
THANKS and thanks for watching! The X748 when paired with the 54" blower I believe are a great combination to clear snow in the winter.
You did a nice job helping out your neighbor, customizing it to their needs and using common sense in operating your equipment. About the negative comments, consider the source by how it was worded and move on. I live in the city on a corner lot and usually do 1 or 2 additional yards for those that aren't so capable with a 24" 2 stage Ariens. OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS ONCE.
Thanks for watching and your comment!
Watching from Florida 👍
Thanks for watching from the sunny state of Florida!
What a nice neighbor!!!
Thanks for watching! We try to help each other out when we can.
Thats a nice setup. Makes the work a lot less like work.
Thanks for watching. You got that right! Blowing snow with a heated cab certainly seems more like having fun than work.
I'd be praying for snow if I had that rig.
Thanks for watching! You bet that I pray for snow. Still waiting for a really good downfall of it. Hopefully it will happen this season.
Used to plow driveways back when. I never could figure out why someone with a two car garage would fill one side of it with odds and ends of junk worth less than $1000, usually much less, and park their $20,000 plus vehicle out in the elements.
Thanks for watching. He's been trying to get rid of a bunch of stuff but his wife likes to hang onto things. I am sort of guilty too. I have a 2 door garage and our vehicle are parked outside. A few years ago I insulated my garage and made it into a workshop. We've talked about building another garage but that is as far as we got.
uhh . . . . one look at the way he comes out to move his car might explain it, lol. Basketball-jams and sneakers with no socks. See it here in Maine all winter long, then they bitch about the snow and cold weather. No common sense but at least they are stylin'.
Glad I wasn't the only one thinking this way.
@@wxman46 where in Maine are you from I'm from east Millinocket
@@wxman46 - agreed. what in the hell are these people dressing like that for? it's WINTER. sometimes i see people in stores with flip-flops and shorts on - with the temp below 20 degrees.
Pretty awesome. It throws the snow far.
Thanks for watching and your comment!
That looks like a blast!
Thanks for watching and I do have a blast blowing or pushing snow. Hopefully we get a ton of it this year.
Great video 👏🏽💙
THANKS and thanks for watching.
This thing is awesome, I want one!
Thanks for watching!
good job and a good neibour you are to !!
Thanks for watching Raymond!
I love that thing wow,hope to see a video with a real big snowfall.
Thanks for watching! If mother nature cooperates, I'll definitely will do a video blowing a really big snowfall!
Really nice equipment! Good job too...a pro
Thanks for watching and your comment!!!!
Right down to the pavement......very impressive!
Thanks for watching! On paved driveways it is easy to do.
She’s cuttin’ real nice. Cool diesel
Thanks for watching. I love using this blower and tractor combo. I just can't get enough snow!
Nice setup! I have almost same one. One question for you is the weights upfront. Are they necessary with the weight of the blower? Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching and your query. Yes I find that they are quite helpfully when blowing deeper snow. I usually blow snow with the blower in float mode thus the the weight of the blower is not on the front axle. Those extra weights put weight on the front axle so that I have more steering authority in deeper snow. See this video of mine for more info :--> th-cam.com/video/6crT8dAljcw/w-d-xo.html
this guy is a hero!
Thanks for watching and your comment!
It certainly was nice of the neighbour to move their vehicle for you once you had the left side of the driveway done. LOL That blower of yours really seems to scrape pretty close to the pavement. Nothing like hydraulic down pressure.
Thanks for watching. We are still lucky to have fairly even pavement in our driveways which makes it easier to set the cutting edge of the blower fairly low.
Mmm love them John Deere.
Thanks for watching and as you can tell I love my Deere too!
Just watching this video for motivation knowing I’ll be snow blowing in about 12 hours since we are expected to get 10 inches of snow😂
Thanks for watching and I hope that this video gave you the motivation that you were looking for!
Regarding your PTO switch; Neither of my 2032 R, or 2038 R tractors with a 3 point snow blower will shut down the engine when backing up as you may have realized being a 3 point blower, I'm always backing up when blowing. Possibly, do you have both mid and rear pto's turned on? That might be the issue. I have only the rear one turned on.
Thanks for watching. The JD lawn and garden tractors have RIO switch/lever that must be engaged whenever you reverse in order for the PTO to keep from shutting down. It is a "safety" feature that JD has implemented. I usually have my RIO engaged/enabled/overriden all the time when I'm using a PTO implement so that I don't have to pull the lever/switch each I want to back up. See this video of mine for what I mean :--> th-cam.com/video/3_MT0GsA3B0/w-d-xo.html My fix/trick/tool wasn't in all the way!
I enjoy your video
Thanks for watching and I'm glad that you enjoyed the video!
That’s cool how the blower head actuates
Thanks for watching.The hydraulics on this tractor definitely makes times easier to control.
These are some of the best hydraulic/shaft driven snow blowers around
Thanks for watching! I agree these blowers work very well and I've had zero issues with since i bought it back in 2012.
What model tractor do you have? I live on a small farm with 1/2 shared lane with one Mennonite neighbors. I'm using a drag plow on my JD 4310 to clear our driveways, but a blower like that would definitely help.
Thanks for watching Joseph! The tractor is a John Deere X748 that has a diesel engine and I really like how the front mounted blower works on it.
That's awesome! I would love to get one for mine, but I'm not sure how an stx38 would handle it?
Thanks for watching. Your stx38 may handle it if you put a turbo in it! Thanks again for your comment.
Snow blowing Channel........ just what I need when I'm desperate for it to snow in England and all its doing is raining
Thanks for watching! We did have a white Christmas this year but in the last couple of days, it's been raining just like it is in England. I'd rather have the snow any day at this time of the year.
I notice your chute goes further than 180°. How do you manage that? Mine doesn’t even make it 180°.
Thanks for watching. I did some modifications to my chute to rotate it further than stock. I have a video of what I did and it can be found here: --> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html The mod really helps putting snow where you really want it to go, especially in and around vehicles and houses/buildings.
please tell me more about front/rear led lights. also, love the low profile hazard light . brand/model ##. thanks!
Thanks for watching. The front and rear LED lights are the SR series made by Rigid Industries. The fronts are 10" and the rear is 6" wide. I lucked out and I got them quite cheap at a surplus dealer. They are really expensive now! The hazard lights are from a surplus place too and they are basically used for utility trailers.
The question I have a JD x710 with the same 54inch blower I was wondering if you know a kit or way to have an adjuster for up and down instead of getting off all the time to adjust it? I know I can't do hydraulic or at least not that I know of. Any thoughts?
Most people use a 12V linear actuator with a 4" stroke to control the up/down adjuster. I know on a NEW X710, there is an area on the left side of the steering wheel that has 2 removal-able switch blanks/covers. You can remove one of the blanks and install a Momentary DPDT rocker switch to control the linear actuator. Wiring for this type of switch and linear actuator can be found on the web by searching for it. Install an inline fuse with proper current rating from the battery or alternator to the switch. I picked up a weatherproof 12 volt power adapter and plug off eBay. You may source to it locally. I made a simple bracket and mounted the 12V adapter just in front of the SCV. That way it gets connected at the same time as I connect the hydraulic lines for the snowblower. Have a look at this video for more info on the way I installed my linear actuator:--> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html
I have been a blower operator for 5 years and now run my own company, i do 35 driveways in 12 hours. If you are doing shorter driveways do you turn around as well or do you just back up and restart? I only do the turn around on the really long driveways. But i run a 1445 with 60" blower.
Thanks for watching! Ninety-five percent of the time when clearing snow from this driveway with the blower I'll do a swipe then back up and restart. I find it actually faster to do it that way. This time around for this video I decided to turn around at the garage just to give the viewer a different view of the surroundings.
One thing I always wonder about with setups like yours (auger, instead of plow): What about newspapers delivered before the snowfall became heavy -- so the paper's halfway (or more) hidden by snow? Do you phone ahead to see if they've walked out to pick it up yet? I'd imagine that could so some expensive damage if you 'find' one the hard way.
Thanks for watching. Yes newspapers have been sucked up by the auger and they broke a few shear pins on my previous tractor and blower setup. Since I've had this tractor and blower I have not broke a shear pin yet. My neighbor and myself are very good at picking up the newspaper fairly quick after it has been dropped off as we know which day it comes. If by some chance that it really has been snowing when the newspaper is delivered, I'll stop and find it before I start to blow snow.
Who still gets news papers?
I ran over a newspaper with a single stage and it flew out of the chute super easily. I don’t think it would come out the same way with a duel stage
Is that driveway flat or are you working up an incline? I have a 22-24 degree incline, about 60' and I need something to blow the snow out of the driveway. Cannot plow it, has to be blown away. Thanks for your anticipated reply.
Thanks for watching. There is a slight incline in this driveway but no where near what you are talking about. The tractor as Hydraulic Four Wheel Drive (HFWD - full time) and with the correct amount of ballast (weight) it should give the the traction the you require to safely blow the snow off your driveway quite easily.
I had a neighbor who wore shorts in winter too, and he too stood outside far longer than you would think a man wearing shorts in winter would 🩳❄️
Thanks for watching. I too know a guy besides the one in the video and if he could, he would wear shorts all the time any time of the year and in any weather.
If I wasn’t sitting here watching this I thought the guy walking to his car through the snow sporting the shorts and slippers was me ! Crazy .
Thanks for watching. Too funny as I thought it was a bit bizarre and odd when I saw him walk out like that but I guess its quite common! LOL
just cleared my windshield off. Where did the snow come from on a sunny day?
Thanks for watching! Yup its getting close to that time of year again to get the snow equipment rigged up.
i have a 28 inches snow blower. my neighbours driveway is beside mine together they are about 3 widths of your machine same length roughly . we share the gasoline expense and every year he buys a bottle of rum and we share that to. good arrangement
Thanks for watching. It looks like you and your neighbour are in good "spirits" with each other!
I totally want this!
Thanks for watching!
just about ready to pull trigger on x758, 54" blower, curtis cab. any problems with chute direction freezing up? love your deflector set up !
Thanks for watching. I only had it freeze up once and this was after trying to blow heavy wet snow. It was sort of my fault as I didn't clean the slush off very well and it got much colder after that and froze.
I have a 212 JD with blower attachment. I bought my Garden Tractor in 1978, Tractor still runs but not the blower.
Thanks for watching. WOW that nice to hear that your tractor is still running strong for after 40 years!
Works great.
Thanks and THANKS for watching!
Finally someone that made a snow blowing video that actually knows how to use a snowblower
Thanks for watching and THANKS very much for your comment!!
Doesn’t take long with the right equipment. Is your deflector hydraulic or electric?
Thanks for watching and your comment. My defector is electric. If you would like more info on it and other mods to the blower have a look at this video --> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for the Great video. May have to move into snow country to have some fun.
Thanks for watching. I may even have to move more north to stay in snow country to have some fun in the winter season.
Only thing upsetting is the guy clearing the snow off on the already plowed part lol. Great video though!!
Thanks for watching and your comment! The guy is the brother in law and he has his moments!
Love your videos. I have a X748 also. I need to get a snowblower for it. Did you get yours from the JD dealer? Are you happy with it. Can you tell me the model number? Thanks very much.
Thanks for watching and your comment! Yes I bought my blower from a JD dealer when I purchased my tractor and other implements as a package deal. I am VERY happy with it. Mine is a 54" model. The model number at the time of purchase is 02C1M.
Is it me, or did the sweet, little ol' lady clean her vehicle off on the driveway that you just cleaned?
Thanks for watching. It's not you and it's not a little old lady but I think that sometimes he acts like one.
I need one of those, is it 2or4, wheel drive? Ballpark figure with snow blower
+Q
Kewl, more snow. I think you're going to be busy this coming year, 2018.
Thanks for watching another one of my videos Levi !!! I certainly hope that I'll be busy this snow season.
m
Thanks for watching Gerard!
Just heads up . I run a 2520 John deere snowblowers. Pretty much same as your running. When ever you raise the snowblower turn off the pto. You can ruin the barings or blow them out. But great vid.
Thanks for watching and your advice! So far I haven't seen any wear on the u-joints of the pto shaft or any wear on the blower bearings but you have sound reasoning that it would be better to turn the pto off when raising the blower.
3 times a charm
Thanks for watching. I hope that you like my videos.
How's the machine do against ice berms from the county plow? Moving fluff around is no trouble, but the County enjoys leaving a 36 inch high by 48 inch deep berm of ice and very dense snow across my property line and the street. I bought an Ariens Platinum 30 SHO and it's getting torn up battling the berm.
Thanks for watching Gordon! Ice is always a tough one and usually quite hard on equipment. I personally haven't had ice berms as large as yours but when I do have smaller ones left by the plow at the end of my driveway the X748 and blower had no problem clearing it away. It takes a bit more time as you have to go slower as chip away at it in smaller bites with the blower.
I have a 150' driveway. I do it with a corded. Works well if nobody has driven over the snow.
Thanks for you comment. WOW that a long cord! Like you I also find that it is easier to clear snow when nobody has driven over it.
show us what you did to make the chute go more than 180 degrees. great vidio
I believe he has a video on that.
Thanks for watching. I did some modifications to my chute to rotate it further than stock. I have a video of what I did and it can be found here: --> th-cam.com/video/tE819PnpUjE/w-d-xo.html The mod really helps putting snow where you really want it to go, especially in and around vehicles and houses/buildings.
I thought you did a damn fine job, you stopped the blower whenever you were next to a car.. I know it’s an old video but I see some dumb comments from “expert” snow blowers🙄
Btw, Do you have chains or wheel weights on the back tires? How is the tractions on the hills?
Thanks for watching and your comment!! I love those experts on snow blowing especially when you find out that they are from the "south" and probably never seen snow in their life. I don't use chains as I have a paved driveway and find that the traction from the AWD is really great. I have in the past put weights on the back for extra traction but I find that the weight of the cab is usually enough. I do find that the weight bracket that I made for the front (in other videos) does help out with steering authoring in heavier deeper snow. Traction on my driveway (in other videos of mine) which has an incline has not been and issue unless I have a bit of ice or packed how snow underneath.
@@X748SE i thought you did a great job too??? what do people complain about ??
Your neighbor is one tough son of a gun out there in shorts!
The guy is a big boy that's for sure but it is a facade, he really is like a teddy bear.
Your neighbor has a very nice antenna mast off to the right. Amateur radio operator? As a long time ham, I tend to notice (envy) such things. Thx, K5SNO
Thanks for watching Earl! Since we live out in the sticks we have no cable or internet running by our houses. We put up these towers for point to point internet, so no ham radio.
Earl Ware ...I was going to ask the same thing. Nice looking tower, thought he had a tribander up there! 73..de ND3R.
Great job!!!!!! The people should have stayed in the house period. They were just in the way.
Thanks for watching. Yes sometime people do get in the way when snow blowing.
Nice work! I've often wondered if it would be a profitable side-gig to get a rig like this and just stroll around a posh neighborhood door-to-door and asking to clear their driveway for $35 or so....
Thanks for watching. I think a setup like this would be quite profitable to clear driveways in a posh neighborhood.
It is! Especially when the plow dudes can't keep up... no homeowner horking shovelfulls of snow will let you pass by...I've made $4-500 of an evening several times...a.m. on weekends is even better...
@@thestcroixkid Nice! Could I ask what you charge?
@@Kcducttaper1 let them tell you what theyll pay...generally $20-40 is what you'll hear...just say no to lowballers and gravel driveways!
@@thestcroixkid That's a good plan. I expect if it doesn't take you more than 15 min for a city driveway, you can't go wrong with even $20! Thanks and good luck!
why the weights on the front? I understand the rear weights when the blower is on, but what purpose does the front weights serve?
Thanks for watching. When using the snow blower in float mode there is less weight on the front axle and in deep and/or heavy snow the blower wants to track straight ahead. The extra 168 lbs of suitcase weight plus the weight of the bracket itself puts that weight on the front wheels so that it can grip and turn better. The same goes when using the front blade when it is angled.
helps to keep front wheels from skidding on turns.
Thanks for watching Bill! You are correct that extra weight up front definitely does help prevent skidding in turns.
I understand John Deere no longer manufacturers "walk behind" snowblowers. True?
Thanks for watching. I believe the last year the JD made walk behind snowblowers was 2012.
What is the HP on that tractor? I have a Craftsman riding mower. It's a bit older with a 24 HP twin cylinder motor. I'd love to get an attachment like that if my machine could power it.
Thanks for watching. The tractors has a diesel engine with HP rated at 24 HP. Your 24HP Craftsman gas mower should have no problems powering a properly sized blower made for it.
You can power it as long as you got 20 hp or better.
I like the blower’s on the front of the tractor
Thanks for watching! Me too, I've ran tractors with the blower on the rear and it's so much easier with them on the front.
I see that antenna tower! Amateur Radio??
Thanks for watching. Since I live in a very rural area I use that tower to receive my internet. Sorry no Amateur radio at this time but maybe in the future!
Ford Rangers have really come a long way
Thanks for watching!
Could be motivated by something as good as Pecan Pie with Turkey dinner. Life is good.
Thanks for watching. Pecan Pie would be a great motivator.
Thanks for the excellent vid. Had to quit reading the comments though. Some real jerks lurking out there!. Must be all those fragile egos and feelings of inferiority! (small equipment?)
Thanks for watching and your comment! I guess that when you post videos on TH-cam, you should expect to get some idiot comments that shows the viewers mentality. There definitely are "trolls" out there that post these type of comments in order to get a reaction from you. I don't get upset and I usually just laugh at them!
How long does it take you to mount the blower on the tractor?
Thanks for watching! Going from summer mode to attaching the snow blower I would guess that it would take 5 to 7 minutes. This would include installing the mid to front PTO shaft, quick attach hitch, the blower itself, blower PTO shaft plus connecting up the hydraulic lines and 12V connection to the chute deflector.
I think it takes me half a day to do the same thing with the John Deere 955. But I really like it once its on. My Chute Deflector is manually controlled...but it doesn't matter. I never change it.
WOW - The JD 955 is a fairly good sized tractor compared to mine. Things weren't designed to be quick attach like they are now. Still a 955 is a real nice machine.
Sometime I would like to work with the new machines. I really like my machine.... My wish for an easier mount and dismount is hardly a complaint since I was raised putting cultivators on our John Deere B. But I am told the new machines are much easier.
Yes the new machines are probably easier but If your JD 955 is still doing the job then I wouldn't change it.
What state is this at? It’s a lot of snow
Thanks for watching. I live in Canada in the province of Ontario.
is there a reason he did not blow the snow on the other side?
Thanks for watching. There are a multitude of reasons why I blow the snow to the right but basically the owner doesn't want the snow blown onto his front yard. That's why I blow snow left to right for his driveway.
Looks like a good neighbor to me. Don’t think that’s happening without the Deere showing up.
Thanks for watching! I think he likes seeing my Deere as much as I do!
I love winter
Thanks for watching and I'm glad that I'm not the only one that loves winter!
Being from Minnesota, I love winter too!
Angle the shute down. If you blow a little lower, you won't cover your windshield as much. You don't need to throw 10' in the air.
Thanks for watching and the tip!
7:29 now he's gonna sweep the snow off where you just cleaned.
Unbelievable.
Thanks for watching. Well what can I say. It's his driveway.
Plus, he's wearing shorts.
I love how the neighbor comes out in shirts to move his car to the clean side of the driveway and then clean it off there,and to top it all off the dumba** leaves all the snow on the roof
Thanks for watching. What can I say but, it is what it is!
Damn, this was timely!
A couple of years ago, I parked my 430. It has a Kozy Kab, 60" Tri-Cycler mower deck, and 38" 'sno-thrower' (I had a 2-stage blower too, for a while). I parked it because it's getting old. Parts, while still available, generally aren't in stock. I got to the end of my driveway, that winter day, and blew a hydraulic hose on the lift cylinder. That hose is no longer available, but the dealer could make me one...once he got enough of the appropriate fittings. 3 weeks later, I finally had a chance to go get the new hoses. I need something dependable. Something that, when it breaks, parts are readily available. When I get home at 5am, to 6" of snow, the last thing I need to do is hunt parts and fix on the tractor, when I have to be back to work in 10hrs!
When that line failed, I was looking around on machinefinder.com and found a good deal on a one year old x540 - complete with; hard-top weather-enclosure, 54" mower, 48" blade, 47" 2-stage blower, and 7 bushel 'power-flow' bagger. I bought it. It's been a love/hate relationship ever since! It cuts grass faster, and better, than my 430. It blows snow better than either of the blowers I had for that 430. But it just DOES NOT have the power, or the fuel economy, that that old 430 has (there are other issues too)! The 2nd snow storm of the season, a few weeks ago, dumped about as much snow (+ drifting) as I see in this video. My x540 couldn't move that much snow as quickly as you did. That convinced me that I need to start looking around again.
I found a used (2012 x748 with almost 1,800hrs) at my favorite dealer. It comes with a 54" deck and a 47" quick-hitch blower (with electronic chute deflection - which I assume is what you have). This video pretty much convinced me that I need to buy that machine!
A couple of questions: 1) My 430 had 3 levers, to the left of the steering wheel, that controlled the hydraulics. The x748 has the two levers on the right side of the steering column. Are they easy (instinctive) to operate? 2) My x540 has a 'reverse lock-out' feature. I have to lift a lever, to back up, without disengaging the PTO. This leaves me juggling the chute rotation, chute elevation, and steering when I'm trying to back up. Does the x748 have this? Does it cause problems? 3) I just stumbled on your channel, so forgive me for asking...does the blade (that I saw on the opening video) share a common 'mount' with the blower? My x540 has an 'extension' that mounts to the front of the frame and either, the blower, or the blade, mounts to this extension.
4) Do you just run the suitcase weights? No wheel weights, no chains?
I contacted the dealer about that x748 last week - it was just traded in and NOTHING has been done to it. I have an extra day off this week. I think I'm going to bug him some more, and see what kind of deal we can arrange!
THANKS for the visual info!
Thanks for watching Dave! I will try to answer your questions to the best of my knowledge.
1) The two column mounted lever will become very instinctive after a while as your brain learns which one does what. It just takes a bit of seat time to get use to them.
2) The X748 does have this same “safety” feature and it’s called the Reverse Implement Option (RIO). I find that it is a “pain in the, you know what” too! A lot of people have bypassed it using jumpers but I like to keep the safety features intact. I DO bypass it though and I have a very simple method of doing it. I use a ordinary clothes peg. I keep a couple on hand. See this video of mine to see what I mean: --> th-cam.com/video/3_MT0GsA3B0/w-d-xo.html It’s simple and works very well. I use it all the time.
3) The front quick hitch (QH) is common for JD X748 implements whether it being a blade, blower or broom. For a blower or broom, a mid to front PTO is also required.
4) I just run suitcase weights on my unit as it is AWD as I find it the easiest way to add weight/ballast for traction in the winter and when I’m using my loader. People have “loaded” their tires, but I don’t want the extra weight on my tractor in the spring so I haven’t. Wheel weights I find are real chore to out on
.
These X748s are amazing machines and I’m sure you will be very impressed with it. It will be night and day difference from your X540 on how it handles and performs. Mine gets great fuel economy. Hope that you get the X748!
Thanks for the info!
One more question, if you don't mind. How tall is it from floor to the highest point on the cab - excluding lights mounted on top? I really miss that Kozy Kab in winter! The weather enclosure does a pretty good job of keeping the snow out, but it's not near as nice as the metal cab. The current Signature 700 series cabs are designed to fit through a 7 foot door, but I only have about 6.5 feet. It seems to me, that the older 700 series weren't quite as tall, so I thought I'd ask. Thanks!
Dave, as requested, just measured it. Mine is just under 74" to the highest point on the cab - excluding lights mounted on top.
SWEET! I found my notes...I have just under 80" of clearance from the floor to the frame of the garage door opening. Now, I just have to decide whether I want to spend the money AND whether I can find a hard-sided cab for it! Curtis currently doesn't list cabs for anything other than 1-series and up and Cozy Cab only lists cabs for the X700 Signature Series...
Anyway, once again, THANK YOU for all of the information!
Your welcome! Used Curtis hard cabs do come up for sale now and again but you have to be quick to get them.
Cool
Thanks for watching!