Transitioning Compact Tractors for Winter Work 

As autumn edges toward winter, the days get shorter, the temperatures colder, and many small acreage owners and landscapers begin to transition their compact tractors from fall cleanup to snow removal. Compact tractors are winter workhorses—thanks, in part, to their ability to operate a wide variety of attachments—and play a vital role in both professional and personal snow removal. 

Some simple preventative maintenance and the right tire can help maximize the performance of equipment, avoid the thin ice of downtime, and ultimately ensure compact tractor owners don’t get left out in the cold this winter.

Tire Tips for Snow Removal

Wheeled equipment like skid steers, wheel loaders, tractors, and telehandlers deliver numerous advantages to snow removal operations. For example, they exert more ground pressure, function better on hard surfaces, and can travel at higher speeds than tracked equipment. Wheeled equipment excels in winter work, but there are some steps you can take to maximize their performance and extend their service life during the snowy season.

Winter Tire Tips for Your Compact Tractor

The arrival of winter weather brings a host of new challenges for small acreage owners and hobby farmers who are serious about getting maximum performance out of their compact tractors. These must-have machines are used for a variety of winter work—everything from hauling firewood to feeding livestock to pulling your neighbor’s car from a snowbank—but one application stands above the rest when Jack Frost settles in for the season: snow removal.

Wheels or Tracks: Which is Better for Snow Removal?

Skid steer loaders (SSLs) and compact track loaders (CTLs) are two extremely popular pieces of equipment for snow removal. Both machines are super maneuverable, allowing them to operate in areas like tight parking lots, and are able to move snow in a variety of different ways—such as pushing, piling, and lifting. Both these machines excel at tough jobs and work in harsh conditions, but the question remains: is a skid steer or a track loader better for snow removal?

Selecting an Application-Specific Tire for Snow 

As competition in the snow removal industry grows, the use of equipment like telehandlers, industrial tractors, wheel loaders, and skid steers is becoming more prevalent by snow removal contractors looking for an edge over other operations. Compact equipment provides numerous advantages over the traditional pickup and plow setup, including better visibility, more maneuverability, and fantastic versatility thanks to the wide variety of available snow-removal attachments. All of this adds up to increased productivity and efficiency and improved bottom lines.