Well it snowed around 18 inches here in Maryland last night. When I woke up and saw all that snow plus drifts, I figured the old 332 would never make it up the hill from the shed let alone plow the drive. I threw on the tire chains but still haven't put the wheel weights on. It's just been too warm here this winter for all that fuss.

I have a 250 lb weight on the 3 point hitch that does the job. After I got the chains on, I came out of the shed and gave her he!! and lo and behold the old girl plowed right through the 2'+ drifts without stopping once all the way up the hill. There were times when the blade had more than 3 skidsteer buckets of snow in front of it and it just kept going. Of course after the first pass it was kinda like eating an elephant (one piece at a time until you are done), but it got the job done and even did it faster than all the neighbors with their snowblowers. You just can't beat those old JD L&G tractors. That 332 has been the best investment that I ever made. Those little Yanmar diesels are the tops also.

720Deere,

I sure would like to work my 70D in that stuff. Can't say I have ever driven a tractor in that much snow. The farm I grew up on had a 1/4 mile long drive way that used to drift that deep but we just went around it through the field. I did plow some drifts this past week on our road with my 70 that were about one foot deep. That made her smoke alittle going up hill in 5th gear but the snow was light(dry) and fluffy. Sure would make calling in to work for a snow day a no brainer. Have fun, it won't last long.

Have 49 snowthrower on my 332 in 10 inchs of snow in IOWA it would make it smoke good and black moving and throwing the snow on the driveway, about 6 passes wide. Works harder in snow than mowen lawns {50 inch deck}

QUOTE (barkfarm @ Feb 13 2006, 09:47 PM)

Have 49 snowthrower on my 332 in 10 inchs of snow in IOWA it would make it smoke good and black moving and throwing the snow on the driveway, about 6 passes wide. Works harder in snow than mowen lawns {50 inch deck}

I would love to have a blower! The 54 blade makes her smoke plenty too. Coming up the hill from the shed through 24" and better snow drifts with the blade about 8" off the ground she was smoking pretty hard. Dad always gets disgusted because his 430 just falls on it's face when the going get's tough and the little 332 has always held it's own. I swear they run much better than their rated 16 hp! I've never had the opportunity to go head to head with a 318, but I know they won't outwork the 332 and the Yanmar will definitely burn half the fuel doing the same work.

Over 1000 hours now and only a voltage regulator has been replaced. The muffler cracked several years ago, but we welded it up and haven't had to replace it. That little tractor is some of the best money I ever spent. The only one I've seen come close to it in reliability is the old 112 we had, but it wasn't near as fun to play with.

You know, that Old 140 JD we have used to push snow just like that 332 did. That was a tough tractor and we worked the snot out of that little kohler 14 horse. I can't wait to get it back together.

Also, I've been plowing with a 210 and 38 inch blade, which does a pretty darned good job for it's size, but it tears the heck out of the driveway with skids and chains on fully ballasted tires.

The 332 has ag tires loaded with antifreeze, 258 lb weight on the 3 point and tire chains. The chains aren't really necessary for snow pushing, but If we get much I can't get up the hill without them. I have a set of wheel weights, but with everything else they are overkill. I usually run them in the winter if I don't have the chains on and the weights get to rest in the shed for the summer. An overballasted lawn tractor won't do much more than leave ruts in during the wet season.

The only complaint about pushing show with the old girl is you just can't steer with the plow on the ground. If I pick up on it just a little and put weight on the front wheels, it will usually do better, but it still likes to follow the angle of the plow. I learned many years ago that there is no use trying to push snow with the plow angled. Do all of your pushing with the blade straight and then clean up with it angled. She's no CAT 12 grader but she gets the job done!

I plow snow by running into it really fast and push it off to the side when the tractor spins out. When you have a tractor with a mechanical plow lift, you can only do so much when you're pushing. Now with that 140's hydraulics, I was able to accomodate steering a little better by jumping the plow up and down. I could plow up to 12 inches with these tractors in light or medium snow. Anything more than that, I call out the loader and rear blade.

You just can't go without chains even on a big 10,000 pound 2wd tractor in over 1 foot of snow. Especially on hills.

I do all of my pushing with a straight blade as well, it's really funny to attempt to keep the tractor straight with an angle. Brings a couple of good laughs and some fun as well. Now, when i do get it done, I widen the drive with the angle real quick.

However, the float plow on my 210 L&G makes a holy mess out of the stone driveway with those skids. I'd personally rather use the loader when it comes to that. BUT, the reason it may have dug in is that the ground never really froze over here this whole winter!!

Blowing snow tonite was not to bad made the 332 blow some black smoke snow was about 4 inchs deep but somewhat wet blow good. So the 430s are not the Big horse they look like?

Blowing snow tonite was not to bad made the 332 blow some black smoke snow was about 4 inchs deep but somewhat wet blow good. So the 430s are not the Big horse they look like?

QUOTE (barkfarm4020 @ Feb 16 2006, 08:31 PM)

So the 430s are not the Big horse they look like?

I think that's most of the problem, too much extra mass for the little bit of extra hp. The smaller engine in the 332 is only rated at 16 hp, but it makes closer to 18. The 430 has more displacement and is rated at 20 hp, but has to lug around a good bit more weight. The dealer even set the pump up on dad's 430 and it still doesn't seem as strong as the little 332. Even without the black smoke that the 332 will produce, the 430 burns more fuel doing the same work. Maybe we just have a bad 430!

Do any of you have the rubber squeege attachment for your snow blades? I asked my local Deere dealer if he could order one for my unit, and he told me to save my money and just go to a place that sells conveor belts and as for a piece of scrap material to make one.

I haven't needed to plow my front yard yet, but there is a lot of asphalt, and it seemed like the squeege was a good idea. Any thoughts?

Tractor-trailer mudflaps would work for a good squeggee.