Maybe the factory cou;ldn't keep up to all of the orders, is why your machine didn't arrive. After all--you weren't the only person ordering a machine. And with the large amount of snow that fell here, its not surprising.
And, unless the earth has changed its axis, and you are expecting southern Florida winters, you had better get yer order in NOW! They will probably get more than two or three orders this fall!

Just in time is the mantra of most manufacturers in this economy and production is scheduled well ahead of the time of anticipated demand.

Lots of businesses missed the call on last year's winter and since winter does come again around the same time next year Rusty is right on the money... get your order in NOW.

Had some luck, the dealer was able to order one from the manufacturer and it will get here next week. All in with the mounting kit, wheel weights and the 2 stage unit it came to just under $2,000.

bogey,

You just killed any chance you have for real snow this winter... maybe you'll get aine just to tease you but not enough to really feed the new blower.

yeah I know, there is snow in the forecast here for Sunday and Monday of next week. With my luck all the snow will show up before the new blower does.

I have a Snapper 7/24 that is about 16 years old and while it still runs ok, I know it could call it quits at any point.

I've been buried here in the Northeast Ohio snow belt for about the last 3 weeks. Between the 2-3 feet of snow and persistent temperatures below 30F, it feels more like late January then it does December. I normally plow but I have already broken out the walk behind snow blower in order not run out of room for snow piles.

I am not looking forward to the next couple of months.

Wheely boy - I heard this morning that Syracuse NY has had record snowfall for December and its not over yet. You guys in that snow belt are getting hammered on this year.

All the best to you.

Well as predicted, we are expecting a solid 8 inches of the white stuff tomorrow afternoon/evening.

So bogey...

how goes the blowing?

Was out last night took care of about 10 inches with the old Snapper, wrapped up another 6-8 this morning. Dealer comes for the Conquest tomorrow todo the install etc. I hope to have it back by Friday. Good thing the stuff that dumped on us was light and fluffy, that 7hp unit was sufficient for the property I had 17 years ago when I bought it, but is way under sized for what I have now.

I am looking forward to 42 inches a pass vs 24 now.

Keep us posted :)

Pray for snow!

bogey,

Once you sit and blow you'll never walk behind again.

Well, the snowthrower unit is in, but Simplicity didn't ship all the parts. When the shop called them, they promptly overnighted the wrong parts so its going to be next week at the earliest. We just had 4 inches of snow and are expecting a bit more tonight. Another storm coming on Wed next week. Oh well.........not much I can do at this point but wait.

There's always next year... after the warranty on the blower has expired.

Well, I spoke with the shop, the correct part arrived yesterday and the tractor and blower will be delivered tomorrow. Figures I am away on business in Minnesota, my wife will be surprised when she gets to put it away in the garage. She has never even turned the tractor over once.

Now just need some snow, we had 4 inches yesterday then ice and rain on top of it. Had to resort to using a shovel to clear things last night. It was plenty icy early this morning when I left.

Well got home last night around midnight and as expected the dealer delivered finally. Had a chance to read thru the manual last night as I knew we were expecting snow.

Sure enough about 4 inches was on the driveway this morning. So I went to it. First off, what used to feel like a fairly mid sized machine now feels big. The 2 stage adds about 3 1/2 ft to the length of the tractor. This will take some getting used to as manuvering is a bit tricky in tight spots. I have a few tight curves which I ended up clearing up with the Snapper as I need that unit to clear the walkways as I can't use the tractor (its too big)

It took 2 passes down the drive and 2 up to clear it. Turn around area took another 5 minutes so a big time saver as it took about 1/3rd as long as in the past with my walk behind.

One question for those of you who have experience with these. The skid shoes are adjusted so they leave a thin bit of snow on the driveway. Do I adjust them down further to scrape it down better? It seems to me that the little bit of snow left is a good cushion for the tire chains so as not to beat up the driveway too much.

If you have a paved driveway you can adjust the shoes as you like it. If you have a gravel driveway you want to keep the snow blower from becoming a rock thrower so keep the shoes down as far as they will go.

You may want to consider adding a couple or few suitcase weights to the back of the tractor to counterbalance the blower on the front.

You can also install a pair of drift cutters on the blower to make it easier to see where the blower is when in tight quarters...

{{gwi:356227}}

I have wheel weights on, those combined with my 225lbs seemed to work well. I have drift cutters installed, they are angled forward vs yours which seem to be more verticle. Not sure it matters or not.

I almost forgot to mention that this thing throws snow 30 ft+ so no more throwing the same snow 2 or 3 times in my turn around area.

Wheel weights are fine for increasing traction and the more mass in the seat the more traction for sure. Suitcase weights on a rear bracket increase traction AND counter balance (with leverage multiplied by the weight's distance BEHIND the rear axle) the 200 lbs or so of blower you have hanging a couple feet off the front of your GT.

Believe me...it works... notice the wheel weights and the suitcase weights and the HDAP tires and I don't need chains in feet of snow @ 7000 ft in the rockies.

{{gwi:356229}}

Thats a nice rig you have there. I did notice those tires too. Since I already have the chains and I have an absolutely flat driveway and surely don't get anywhere near the snow you get I think I will stick with what I have going and see how it works out. If I have some troubles then will go for the additional weight.

Is that some type of seat cover you have on there? Do you also use those tires for mowing?

It's a factory JD seat cover and it only cost $25... what a surprise.

For a flat driveway turf tires and chains work nicely unless it's paved and then the chains will leave marks if you spin the wheels.

The HDAP tires work fine for mowing but I swap front and rear back to the turfs for mowing season. Two sets of wheels and tires makes swapping EZ.

The weather service predicted 4-6 inches of snow for us yesterday, we got 20. The 2 stage worked like a charm and made clearing all that snow a blast.

Pictures?