Walk Behind vs. Lawn Tractor Blower

Long story short, we’re in the process of purchasing my in-laws place and I’m looking to either A) buy a new walk behind blower or B) Find a blower for the lawn tractor (2005 JDL111). Mower is a 20 horse, and there is a 44″ blower for sale locally that will fit for it. Otherwise I’m looking at one of the bigger Ariens or Cub Cadet walk behind blowers in the 28″ to 30″ range. Driveway is a big horseshoe (80-ish yards long total) plus mowing the parking spaces, keeping the area around the camper/wheelhouse clear, and mowing the drive to the pole barn (about another 40 yards).

I like the idea of the LT mounted blower, but wonder if the extra wear and tear wouldn’t be worth it.

What say you IDO?

I had a Simplicity Conquest with a 44″ blower and liked it, but had issues with the pulley system and the belt blowing, etc. I bought a new conquest and then bought a walk behind Simplicity. It takes so much longer to blow everything that I am now contemplating getting a blower for the tractor again. I will say I had a single stage before and if I do decide to move forward with getting another it will be a 2 stage.

I had to look up what that model mower was.

There’s no way I’d put a blower on that. It looks like a pretty small residential sized mower. I highly doubt that transmission and some of the components will hold up long term

buckybadger wrote:

I had to look up what that model mower was.

There’s no way I’d put a blower on that. It looks like a pretty small residential sized mower. I highly doubt that transmission and some of the components will hold up long term

That was my concern being a smaller mower. We are getting the mower for next to nothing and it runs/cuts great. At some point in the next 3-5 years I’ll probably be upgrading the LT but for now plan on using this machine while we get everything situated and make some updates on the house.

For reference, the lawn size I’ll be mowing is about 1.7 acres.

Yeah after looking up that model I would be concerned with a blower on there too. That is pretty small. No doubt it can cut just fine, but I would be planning to upgrade with that size of yard to mow for sure. These machines are not cheap however, but you should be able to find a good used one for far less. I traded my 2001 Simplicity Conquest with 42″ mower and 44″ blower for $4k. Making the $6800 for the new conquest more palatable.

buckybadger wrote:

I had to look up what that model mower was.

There’s no way I’d put a blower on that. It looks like a pretty small residential sized mower. I highly doubt that transmission and some of the components will hold up long term

yea i’d heavily recommend not putting a blower on it. depends on the length of driveway. we had one at the cabin years ago…..we fixed more then used. we pay someone now to clean out our road in!!!!!

I’d at least look at the economics of hiring it out. Tons of people have all the extravagant snow clearing equipment for relatively few or small uses. I’ve got an aunt who is widowed and lives in Trego, WI out of her cabin year round. Last year with a Yukon she was never snowed in once on a ~800′ driveway in the Northwoods. Her neighbor plowed her driveway for a case of beer exactly twice.

In rural SE MN guys will take care of a fairly large driveway for ~$50 or so (insured and strategic). If you only hire them for snowfalls over 3″, you could have as few as 6-8 occurrences up to maybe 12-15.

When you price out a plow or heavy duty lawn tractor setup you can “buy” a lot of plowings. If I had only my driveway to worry about and the main driveway wasn’t 1200′ long, I’d hire out some young buck with a truck and plow who loves doing it. There are tons around our area undercutting each other every chance they get.

How old are you? I’m 65 and I live on a 2 1/2 acre farmstead. I had a walk behind for years but a several years ago I got a small 23 hp Kubota with a 48″ blower on it. It’s not the same as your lawn tractor but I wish I’d have gotten a tractor mounted blower years ago. A walk behind blower is fine early in the season when there isn’t alot of snow, but later in the winter when the snow is deep and the wnd blows every day, blowing snow with a walk behind can be a big job, especially for an older person. Yes, you could hire it done but it’s nice to have it done when you want it done.
My choice would be buy that snow blower attachment for sale locally and use your LT. It also allows you to make fuller use of your LT.

Early 30s and good shape. The physical aspect of the walk behind is a non-issue, but moreso looking at the time to do everything, especially when we get 8+ inches of snow. I know a couple guys who plow residential so that would be an option too for larger snowfalls.

Although I have been thinking about a smaller Kubota for food plotting….

Like mentioned previously, though, not opposed to “making due” with a new walk behind for the next few years and then when we upgrade the LT, size accordingly and add a blower as well.

Like mentioned previously, though, not opposed to “making do” with a new walk behind for the next few years and then when we upgrade the LT, size accordingly and add a blower as well.

I don’t think that is a bad idea. I have an x370 JD with the blower and also have an Ariens walk behind, and use them both. If the snow is wet, heavy or extremely deep, trying to get the JD to clear it can be an issue. I have a sloped driveway and a large parking area to clear. A smaller LT without 4WD can be an issue due to traction on the tires. I know someone will say you need chains and weights, and believe me I have both on the LT. Ice is the worst and deep snow over 8” can also be a challenge. I would like to upgrade to a 4WD but you are looking at big bucks even for a 700 series JD, but my lawn is small so no need for a larger LT. I use the walk behind when I can’t use the LT and use around the house where I can’t get the LT, like after clearing the snow on the roof.

Go with the ARIENS 28 in. deluxe walk behind. You won’t regret it.

You can find a lot of good used JD500 series tractors at a decent price on MP or CL. Get it in 4wd and you won’t need chains or weights. That’s a lot of driveway with walk behind.
1.7 acres is a LOT to mow with your small mower. I mow 1.3 acres and it takes 2.5 hours with a 54 inch deck. JMO

I had a JD LX178 (1998) with blower that I used for 12 years (summer and winter). Last year I replaced it with a JD 345 (2001) with a blower. One of the drivways is concrete and the other is class 5. So I set the scraper height about 3/4″ above the surface. My wife likes the house driveway clean, so when I get less than 3″ I use my cheap Craftsman (1995) paddle type 2 stroke walk behind. The walk behind takes twice as long as the tractor, but a happy wife is important.

The hydraulic transaxle on the LX178 failed which forced me to replace it. After replacing the transaxle, the LX178 became my eldest daughters suburban yard lawn mower.

I have a blower for the LX178 listed on the Brainerd Craigslist if you are interested…

Forewarning, if I show up at home with a new LT in tow y’all are going to have to back me up! “I swear all the guys on IDO said it was the best path forward”

Hahaha

What? Who? Never heard of the guy.

Just bite the bullet and get a JD 300 series with a front mount snow blower. DONE

You don’t need new.

The problem I’ve seen with lawn tractors running snowblowers isn’t what most people think. It’s not the power that they lack, it’s often the traction that gets them. Small tires with turf tread and small chains are fine if there’s pavement under the snow, but add packed down snow and ice and/or a hill or incline and they can very quickly run out of traction.

Personally, I’d say look first for a good used blower and go as wide and get as much HP as you have room to store. If you like it and it suits your needs, problem solved. If you think down the line that you’d like to go the tractor route, at least you will have a good idea of what will work and not work on your particular property.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The problem I’ve seen with lawn tractors running snowblowers isn’t what most people think. It’s not the power that they lack, it’s often the traction that gets them. Small tires with turf tread and small chains are fine if there’s pavement under the snow, but add packed down snow and ice and/or a hill or incline and they can very quickly run out of traction.

Personally, I’d say look first for a good used blower and go as wide and get as much HP as you have room to store. If you like it and it suits your needs, problem solved. If you think down the line that you’d like to go the tractor route, at least you will have a good idea of what will work and not work on your particular property.

THIS…….is exactly the issue we had with the LT/snowblower attachment at the cabin. traction was horrid!!!

My simplicity has automatic traction control kinda like limited slip in your truck. I also can lock them both in by stepping on a pedal. No issues with traction with this thing. At first I had chains on, but they tear up the driveway so I took them off.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

The problem I’ve seen with lawn tractors running snowblowers isn’t what most people think. It’s not the power that they lack, it’s often the traction that gets them. Small tires with turf tread and small chains are fine if there’s pavement under the snow, but add packed down snow and ice and/or a hill or incline and they can very quickly run out of traction.

Personally, I’d say look first for a good used blower and go as wide and get as much HP as you have room to store. If you like it and it suits your needs, problem solved. If you think down the line that you’d like to go the tractor route, at least you will have a good idea of what will work and not work on your particular property.

Agreed.

Weight (and corresponding traction) is your friend. The difference in weight between a JD X500 or X700 series LT and some of these ones like listed in the original post is substantial. Even chains don’t do as much as you’d hope on a light machine – plus they are hard on everything else. I’d for sure rule out putting a blower on the mower that was originally posted.

The JD X500 series LT have 4 wheel steering but I haven’t seen a 4WD in that series. Not sure but I don’t think 4 wheel steering is the same as 4 WD. Grouse was spot on with his description the the traction issues.

I’m considering what way to go also. Have a John Deere x739 4wd and 4 wheel steer. Has anyone had a blower on that and if had how did it work? I have only had walk behind before. 70 and bad back and hip so might be easier with the front mounted tractor type.

I have a JD X370 with a front mounted snow blower. It does a good job, even with heavy/wet snow. My main problem with my LT is traction and how low to the ground it sits. My driveway is sloped and if it’s icy the LT struggles. If I get too far off to the side it like to pull me off the driveway. I wish it was a 4WD but my lawn isn’t huge so to upgrade doesn’t seem feasible. I wouldn’t hesitate to put a blower on your LT, I think you would be happy with it.

I am a little disappointed with the responses. No one suggested you buy a new 3500 Denali with a 9′ V plow. That would be the normal IDO kind of response. Please no more answering with logical responses.

I have a JD X310 with a 44 inch. It has power steering and hydraulic lift. Have fluid in tires, chains, and heavy weights in back. Does a good job. The lift is great to have on a blower.

Mike S wrote:

I’m considering what way to go also. Have a John Deere x739 4wd and 4 wheel steer. Has anyone had a blower on that and if had how did it work? I have only had walk behind before. 70 and bad back and hip so might be easier with the front mounted tractor type.

You could handle a fairly sizeable driveway with that setup. Those are pretty heavy machines and 4wd on top of it.

mojogunter wrote:

I am a little disappointed with the responses. No one suggested you buy a new 3500 Denali with a 9′ V plow. That would be the normal IDO kind of response. Please no more answering with logical responses.

“Babe, we’re heading to the dealership”

waldo9190 wrote:

“Babe, we’re heading to the dealership”

thats where your going to mess up.. you dont invite her or even tell her your going