The venerable Onan is long in the tooth and while a reliable power plant parts might get hard to find and can be very expensive.

The Kwacker is a more contemporary design and offers the simplicity of a one lunger. For decades all there was in L&G tractors were low HP singles and they did just fine.

Plastic hoods work until you bang them against something so don't crash and you'll be OK. You'll see lots of the old 3xx series missing grills and side panels so they are not invulnerable.

Foot hydros are addictive and snow removal often finds us with fewer hands than we need to steer and operate the blade or blower... enough said?

Weight doesn't cost much... with a plow you'll need suitcase weights and wheel weights and chains if you get serious snow. You can fill the rear tires but I'm not a big fan of that.

Chains on rear turf tires works but if you have a paved driveway avoid the chains and get rear Carlisle Field Trax or All Trail tires depending on the size you need... often referred to as HDAP tires. With weight they STICK... my chains are still sealed in the bag they came in.

The limit to plowing snow with a small tractor is that it has less a$$ than a big tractor and can only move so much snow so far. If it snows repeatedly your driveway will get narrower and narrower. I had a blade till we had three storms in four days. Bought a blower as fast as I could get one and sold the blade to get it out of the way. Now when there's a couple feet of snow I just chuckle and blow that stuff 30 feet or so out of the way.

If you're set on a blade check into finding a used JD blade for whatever you end up with. I'm not a fan of Johnny products or the guy who owns it, but that's just my feelings.

Thank you for the reply! It seems like you would choose the 325 model. I agree with the foot hydro and the plastic hood, but the thing is the plastic hood on the 325 I'm looking at is already cracked. I'm not sure how hard it would be to find a good used hood, but a new one is around $430!

I had planned on upgrading the rear tires to possibly a good aggressive ATV tire with a soft sticky rubber and avoiding chains if possible.

I know I'm limited with a plow, but I also have a walk behind blower to keep my driveway from getting too narrow if needed.

I don't know much about the Johnny Plow, just thought it was neat and I liked the ability of up/down and side to side control. I wanted to avoid a manual lift plow so that means I would need a 316 or 318 with front hydraulics unless there is another company that makes something similar to the Johnny products. I can live without the side to side but i do want power lift and lower.

I did an online search for used JD plows with hydraulics and they don't seem very common. Anyone know of any aftermarket plow for garden tractors that have hydraulics? I suppose a manual lift plow could be converted to hydraulic lift with a little work.

Thanks again

I plow using a small CUT style tractor with hydraulic capabilities. Previously I tried using a lawn tractor with a cheap Sears type plow. If you go with a plow, you're going to want power angle capability. As JAL indicated, a blower, although more expensive, is usually the better choice.

"I also have a walk behind blower to keep my driveway from getting too narrow if needed". So doing the same work twice?

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

If you can't get a good enough deal on the 325 with a cracked hood keep shopping... but don't wait too long. Prices go up after the first snow.