My single stage JD snowthrower will pitch snow a good 30' feet. Probably any of the machines you mention will work. Consider the price of the thrower attachment! My JD thrower with tire chains was $1400 and the CC I looked at even more. With 700' of drive a tractor/blower combo is probably the best option.

Deck removal depends on where you have to work and how strong you are. The 54" deck on my JD 345 is 150lbs and the 62" on my X485 is probably a couple hundred. Wearing work cloths and working on the garage floor it is about an hours job to pull the deck and get the thrower mounted. That includes moving vehicles and making room to work on the cement. Much more trouble pulling the deck if you are working out in the dirt. The 345 is an older 18hp machine but it throws snow like a champ. Small enough to get in close and big enough to take on a couple foot of heavy snow like it was not even there. I actually had to slow down because the tractor would bounce causing a washboard affect on my drive. My bigger X485 with a 5' back blade is not even half the tool when it comes to moving snow!

Not much problem mounting a JD thrower. There are some attachment bars that once mounted stay in place permanently. Getting the bracket for the chute controls mounted is probably the most time consuming. It could be left on during the summer but I don't like it sticking out.

Here you can see the under tractor frame work and belt/pulley system of a JD 42" single stage thrower. Really pretty simple. That frame will fold up for tighter storage but I have more room then energy.
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The gold bolts are attached to a pivot bar. Pretty much a toolless job. The pivot bar requires snap ring pliers to install but it can remain in place during the summer mowing season.
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Here is a shot of that side bracket that I find most time consuming... really only about 10 minutes if I don't drop the nut. If you have a small child or wife with thin hands they could be a real help with that part of the job. Bit tricky for my fat fingers. Initial install of the mounting brackets took me a couple hours but it was a first time thing and I took my time. Lots of wiggle work getting the lift bar in place but it goes! Buy a ski mask to keep your face warm and hide the kid-with-a-new-toy grin.
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I forgot to mention that I used to clear the driveway with a 24" wide 8hp ariens snow blower. on the light fluffy snow, it takes about 2 to 2.5hrs. on the wet heavy stuff, it easily takes 4+hrs.

the areas in front of the house is very rectangular and wide, and I spend probably 30-45% of the time to clear that as oppose to clearing the 700' driveway.

thanks,

YT

Umm, just a thought - have you considered finding an old Jeep and a plow for $4000? Maybe I'm not calibrated to longer driveways, but 700' sounds like a lot. Since it doesn't sound like you'll be mowing with the tractor (maybe I missed it), an actual vehicle with a plow may be the same cost and much quicker.

thanks cvett and bunnyman for the replies.

bunnyman:
do you get wet/heavy snow in MI? how does the snowblower handle the snow after it has been driven over/compacted down?

cvett:
to give you a perspective. 700' is ~ 0.13 miles is ~ 233 yards (or 2 1/3 football fields!)

I've thought about a used jeep/pickup with a plow, but my wife shot that idea down pretty quickly: "where would we store it? will it look good?" j.k.

seriuosly though I have a 4acre wooded and hilly lot, unfortunately retaining walls alongside the driveway and near the house. the only area I could park something is in the area just in front of the garage/house. but we use that for turning around/backing up. even getting to the backyard or sideyard, requires climbing stone steps. :-(

if I did get the tractor though, I am already envisioning using it for the lawn, but I would have to figure a way to get it out back. my neighbor would no doubt try cutting his lawn with it. and perhaps it'll help with fall leave cleanup. currently I just blow it all into the woods.

thanks,

YT

Yeah, I thought that might be the case. Either that or I thought you'd say you had no where to plow it to and it's better to throw it to the side.

Anyway, good luck!

I clear my drive, me neighbor's, and sometimes another. Mine is hilly.

I have a GX345 with single stage snow blower, 54" deck. Last year we had 100" of snow for the season. Probably on average a bit drier than yours, but we had wet snow/slush as well.

The tractor worked like a champ. It doesn't throw real wet stuff far (maybe 6'-10') compared to 30' for the dry, but that is enough. It doesn't jam up! It clears the drive pretty close so no need for sand.

I am old, fat, arthritic, and lazy. Removing the deck and installing the blower is about an hours work, easy enough single handed.Some energetic kid could do it in half an hour easy.

The blower and mower have wheels, so moving them around is pretty easy.

I love the tractor. My only gripe is minor-- my model is liquid cooled and I find it needs a good 5 minute warm up period before it is ready for work. By the time it is warm, I am cold.

Mine is stored outside. Starts at 15 below no problem once I mastered the choke/throttle settings.

I run a 20 year old 312-8 Wheel Horse with a single stage blower to clear a 650' driveway in snowy Central New York. It works quite well at that task. Last winter we had 3.5' of heavy, wet snow on Valentines Day that the tractor cleared. It took me about 8 hours to do it. This winter we were getting 6-10 inch snow storms once a week or so and it would take me less than an hour to get the tractor out, clean off the cars and clear the driveway. The old Wheel Horses have a great attachment system that makes for an easy 15 minute change over from mowing deck to snow blower or vice versa. The one major drawback of this system is the manual lift is a pain to deal with on a day to day basis. From your choices, I'd go with the Cub...

The JD X-3xx series is competent but a lawn tractor.
The Cubs you noted are garden tractors and SHAFT DRIVE.

Either choice will require weights and chains.

Big factor is the quality of each brand's dealer.

I have a 1,100 foot driveway that I clear with a 42" single stage blower on a Simplicity Conquest. The Conquest has the locking differential which is great. It takes me about an hour for an average snowfall in western CT.

I have the wheel weights and chains.

As to the time it takes to switch over from mower deck to blower, doing it myself, about 45 minutes to an hour. I get better each year. My mower deck drops and it off in 5 minutes. The hitch and the blower take a little time.

For ease of movement, I store the blower on a furniture dolly. The dolly also makes it the correct height for sliding onto the the harness.

I also have a Toro 826. That's what I use to clear out a section of the driveway. I back out my car and then out comes the Conquest.

Enjoy the journey.
eal51 in western CT

ytstuff; I live at the CT, Mass, RI junction and am familiar with the slop you get during winter. I have a 2000 series Cub with 2 stage blower and it throws everything. i would not get a single stage thrower for the wet heavy snow you get. Of the tractors on your list my money is on the Cub 2500 series. Shaft Drive and the Blower is easy to take on and off. Chains and the rear suitcase weights Cub offers are what I use and traction on my very steep driveway is great.

Yup, plenty of snow in Michigan. My driveway in the winter. The road is down by the tall trees.
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With a 4x4 truck my drive almost always gets driven on at least once or twice. Not a remarkable problem for the snowthrower. If the snow freezes into an ice it won't clear very well. Very light snows also don't blow well as there is not enough to keep the auger fed.

You mention leaves! Get something with a decent bagger system and use it to pick up those leaves. Talk about a labor saving device!

thanks for all the responses so far.

Other questions came up as I was looking at other brands, toro, snapper, simplicity....

1) would a lower-end lawn tractor (say simplicity regent $3k/broodmore $4k) last longer than the cubby GT 2544 $3.5k(that's rated for ground-engaging tasks) or JD x300 $3k or JD x320 $4k?

2) how much does the creature comfort/bells and whistle count? relating to attachment lift and/or operating with the attachments? as well as driving the tractor itself? I've never own such a machine. so ease of use would be nice, but I don't mind learning.

3) are attachments interchangeable? ie if I wanted some attachment later on, do I have to stick to the same brand of the tractor? would JD be more flexible? since everyone else will make sure theirs work with JD tractors? I recall someone mentioning a Johnny bucket in another thread.

4) what is the difference between Shaft-drive and belt-drive? did I get the terminology right here? and what are their limitations. from the responses looks like shaft-drive is preferred?

thanks again for helping me out with this purchase.

YT

How long it lasts depends on what you do to it and what you can afford. In general a higher quality tractor even within a brand line will last longer then a cheaper tractor. Even John Deere makes some green tin cans! Most all tractors will last a few years if stored indoors and serviced properly.

Once upon a time I laughed at the notion of power steering on a lawnmower. Now I would not buy one without it. Foot controls are also a huge difference. With the same size machine ps and foot controls cut my mowing time in half! I mow for hundreds of hours in a year because I have a tree farm. If I only had a lawn to mow and a drive to clear such things might not be as important.

Pull behind attachments fit most any machine. Spreaders, wagons, rollers, and such just hook to the draw bar so brand is not very important. A John Deere thrower will fit many John Deere machines within its class. The snowthrower that fits my JD garden tractor will not fit my JD heavy duty garden tractor... different size machines! Even within a class of JD machines different attachment hardware kits are needed. Snowthrowers will move from brand to brand only if you have a welder and some engineering skill. I've seen it done but it is not easy or common. Then there are age issues. Attachments that fit a JD for the 70's will not fit a JD from the current year... technology and design changes. Last time I checked I could still buy attachments for my 1996 tractor from the JD dealer. That will come to an end with time. How long probably depends on what JD has in the warehouse. About once a decade JD will do a major design change.

Shaft and belt drive most often refers to how the powered attachments like decks and throwers are powered. Many will disagree with me but I see no real difference for a lawn and garden sized tractor! I currently have a JD 345 with belt powered attachments and an X485 with shaft drive. No real difference in how they cut grass. Both require the engine to be running at full rpm for a decent cut. Both will bog the engine down if I feed them tall wet grass. For the most part I prefer the belt drive because it is easy to work with... not that shaft drive is overly difficult. The belt drive deck disconnects with a hand lever and the shaft drive requires an allen wrench to loosen a set screw. Even with the shaft drive deck the blades are still belt driven! Most lower priced machines will have a belt drive system because they are simple and strong. Btw... under $5K is a lower priced machine these days.

I buy nothing but JD because there is a huge JD dealership in the county. It is common knowledge that Kubota and the other off brands have to be painted bright colors so you can find them when they die in the weeds....

: )