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What snow removal method for me

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dgeesaman
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 9 PA
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2007-10-14          146958

I live in southcentral PA and I'm thinking about a 10 acre property with a level 500' long packed gravel driveway. I'm looking at compact tractors in the 15-25hp range with FEL.

We get a few snowstorms each year of a foot or less, sometimes powdery, some heavy and wet, some mixed with freezing rain. My wife and I have 9-5 jobs and FWD cars so we need to get things cleared efficiently and thoroughly.

It seems I could scrape/scoop with the FEL, push with the blade, a 3pt snowblower, or buy a plow for our 4WD F-150.

Keeping cost in mind, what HP and attachments would you suggest for both an adequate and deluxe solution?

Dave


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kleinchris
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 269 Westminster, Texas
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2007-10-14          146960

I cant suggest a specific method for your tractor, but I do think that if you are looking into the tractor anyway, you might be smarter to plan on spending the money on the tractor for snow removal rather than the F-150. That is, if you can bear throught the cold temps. A plow for the tractor is going to cost roughly the same as a plow for the truck, give or take a few hundred. I have done a bunch of plowing with F-150 and though most of the time the truck performed well, occasionally, after a big storm, I was asking that truck to do an awful lot of work which it wasnt built to do. Unfortunately, I have not actually plowed snow with a CUT, but it something I am working toward-(getting a tractor with a nice plow.) ....

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candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2007-10-14          146975

Dgeesaman,

I live in North Dakota, where we don't get much snow, but the wind never stops blowing. We move the same snow around, many times, all winter long.

I've tried every method under the sun. For me, the best option, by far, is the snowblower. Snowblowers don't leave any piles around. It's the piles of snow that drifts form behind. Any pile of snow, even if it's only a few inches deep, will cause a drift to form behind it. Therefore, anything I can do to eliminate any snow pile, is going to place me miles, and many frozen hours ahead of the game.

A snowblower leaves a nice clean finish. By far, the best finish you'll ever get with any machine. It also makes the yard look so much better during a long winter, as you'll never have any piles of snow lying around.

Additionally, snow piles take much longer to melt in the Spring and that isn't a good thing, due to the amount of mud that remains in the driveway for so long. That wet gravel and sand gets tracked into the house much longer than it would if you had a blower. With the blower, all of the snow melts at about the same time, allowing the driveway to dry out nearly a month sooner than when making large piles.

I like snow blowers. There is simply nothing better, nor more expensive. It isn't the cheapest route to go, but it is the best.......and you can get blowers to fit a tractor in the 20hp range.

You'll just want to make sure you don't get one that's narrower than your tractor.....nor much wider. Heavy, wet snow, is very difficult to blow, and it requires a tremendous amount of muscle to move it. (It's best to take a 1/2 width cut in the wet stuff) It is important to match your blower to your tractor, especially anywhere you receive heavy, wet snowfall.

For most of your snow removal work, you'll be able to go pretty fast. It's those deep, wet snows that require a lot of time. Even so, you'll find nothing that does a better job of moving the snow, nor nothing that leaves a cleaner finish.

Joel ....

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kwschumm
Join Date: Feb 2003
Posts: 5764 NW Oregon
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2007-10-14          146976

Using the loader bucket to clear snow is not fun. The bucket is small and fills quickly. When it fills you have to dump it somewhere, which means backing up, turning, and dumping it to one side. As you do the snow packs down under the tires. A little packing is good because it keeps the gravel down, but if it turns real cold the packed snow turns into slick ice fast. It's also hard to control the bucket scoop depth. If you must go this route you probably should use a "Murf" pipe on the loader bucket edge to keep the edge from digging into the drive as you scoop. I clear snow with the loader because it doesn't snow here very often, but if it snowed any more I'd be looking for another solution. ....

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Iowafun
Join Date: Jul 2004
Posts: 955 Central Iowa
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2007-10-14          146977

I've used a loader and a rear blade to move snow with a tractor. I've also used ATV's with a plow in the past and snowblowers. For bigger drives like what you are looking at, I'd go with the tractor. It's less strain on the F150 and the tractor is usually built to handle work.

Using the loader worked ok for clearing the top of the driveway between the barn & the main house garage. Limited area, not a long drive. The loader is good for clearing snow drifts too. I would sometimes use the loader to clear snow and once full, keep pushing like a plow. But my tractor had 4x4. I used an old 2wd tractor in a similar fashion, but it was much easier to spin the wheels. Drawback of using a loader is moving the gravel back in spring.

For the main drive, I used a rear blade angled to kick the snow out the side. But my main drive usually didn't have deep snow due to being the highest point around so the wind kept it fairly clear.

Depending on the size of the gravel on the drive, I think a tractor with a blower would be the sweatest setup. But I lacked the $$ to pull that off. So I stuck with the loader and $75 rear blade. If you have deeper snow to clear with a rear blade, I'd be sure to have a 4x4 tractor to get the extra traction. Be wary though, wet snows and spinning tractor tires cause ice really fast. That's why I have a 4x4 tractor instead of a 2wd tractor anymore. I had a really bad experience with wet snow and the 2wd tractor. If you must have a 2wd tractor, I'd put a blower out front or a front blade so the rear tires are running in the cleaned path.

My 2 cents. ....

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dgeesaman
Join Date: Sep 2007
Posts: 9 PA
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2007-10-14          146978

Thanks for the answers.

Will turf tires be too big of a handicap on packed snow/ice?

FYI, we don't get long winters here. We get snow followed by a little melt, followed by cold,.... you get the idea. It sounds like a snowblower is overkill, but in a good way.

Is there any way the tractor can help break up pack ice? Tire chains?

Dave ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-10-14          146982

Turf tires are actually much better that either Ag or Industrial tires on snow.

Even better would be a set of radial mud and snow tires like the ones on your truck if you can get them in a size to fit your tractor. That is what I use. I inflate them to about 8 psi for normal use and 20 psi if the backhoe is in place.

When it comes to traction and ride comfort on dry ground and snow they are miles ahead of ANY standard tractor tire.

Check my #3 Pix. ....

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candoarms
Join Date: Mar 2007
Posts: 1932 North Dakota
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2007-10-15          146985

Degeesaman,

Turf tires work very well in the snow. They work even better if you run them with about half the normal air pressure in them. When fully inflated, any tire will act more like an ice skate. Be sure to increase your tire air pressures accordingly, when hauling heavy loads during the winter months.

As for breaking up the ice pack, I use a spike-toothed harrow, which I drag down the length of my driveway several times during the early Spring months. (March or April) This looses the ice and snow, allowing the sun and wind to quickly dry out my gravel driveway. Without this, the driveway will remain wet and muddy much longer.

You'll want to keep about two inches of snow-pack on your gravel driveway during the winter months, as this will prevent you from pushing or blowing rocks and sand. If you have a paved driveway, you won't need to keep the snow-pack in place.

Joel ....

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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2007-10-15          146989

I had a plow on a pickup, it did fine till the really hard packed stuff, then it needed help. I used to have an 8ft. blower on a 100 HP tractor when we were on the farm, that was a great machine, but with a shorter, (100 ft.) driveway now I sold it and use the 4310 and loader. With a pickup plow you need a good pickup that will start on a cold snowy morning and a plow for it can be a 3-4500 dollar deal unless you find a used one. So if you really don't need a pickup for other things this is a pricey way to go. A 500 ft. driverway with a little 3-4 ft. blower on a 25 HP. tractor with no cab working in the dark will get old fast. If you are buying a tractor and loader anyway use the loader for cleanup after work and have a guy with a pickup plow do the early morning get you to work plowing. When I had the pickup plow I had several folks who had me "Get them to Work" plow at 5 or 6 in the morning and they would trim up after work with their loader or a shovel in the daylight. I usually have the quarry deliver a load of crushed limestone about this time of year and use it to scatter on the ice, that seems to break it up after driving over it a few times, plus it keeps the salt out of the lawn. Frank. ....

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fcolosimo
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 7 Pennsylvania
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2007-10-23          147262

Has anyone used chains on their tractor and found them to be effective? I am a little afraid to play in the snow with my B7800 4x4 on my 1000 ft drive because of the steep dip in the middle, where our drive goes down and up thorough a ravine. I can just imagine that tractor stuck down there blocking even our cars from getting by.

Frank C ....

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Murf
Join Date: Dec 1999
Posts: 7249 Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada
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2007-10-24          147290

Frank, worry not, chains make a HUGE difference on traction in snow.

You should know however, that chains are only half (or less) of the battle, proper ballasting is also very important. Just like with tire selection, all the tread in the world won't do you any good at all if the tire isn't pushing down enough to develop traction.

Hopefully DRankin will chime in on this one, he has a similar problem with terrain.

You don't say whether you intend to use a blower or a blade, but IMHO your B7800 would need a bare minimum of about 200 pounds per wheel if the 3pth has something on it, or double that on the 3pth, with a few hundred pounds on the nose as well if you don't have a FEL on it.

Best of luck. ....

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DennisCTB
Join Date: Nov 1998
Posts: 2707 NorthWest NJ
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2007-10-24          147294

fcolosimo,

In my experience I have not seen a snow situation where a 4WD tractor would be stuck but a car could drive through the same area.

Your ravine does present an interesting situation, have you ever had a 4WD car or truck stuck in there?

I have a 1000 foot drive and about a 14% slope, the only problem I have had is when I drove it on the slope with black ice, that was fun. I usually check things and sand first if that happens. That is with turf tire and NO Chains!

One of my neighbors has a super steep 1500 foot drive with 4 or more switchback turns. He has the BX with full chains and a blower and has no traction problems with a full weight box of sand on the back.

Conditions here in western NJ should be close to yours in PA.

I should add that we are both using snowblowers, in my case I have a heavy grader on the back for ballast. If you are pushing snow you need a lot more weight than if you are blowing. ....

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fcolosimo
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 7 Pennsylvania
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2007-10-24          147296

Wow, great info. Thanks much. I have a FEL on the front, 6 ft landscape blade on the back. Last year as the place was being built we did have a 4wd pickup knock down most of the snow so our AWD Murano was able to chug through. Sounds like the B7800 will work fine.

Any good source for chains and weights? How easy is it to put wheel weights on a Kubota? My dealer did not seem to know much about wheel weights, although I did not press him.

I don't have hydraulics in the front and lots of potato-sized rocks - I am afraid of quickly killing a 2 stage snow blower.

I may try to find a guy to do the plowing, but there will be times when I need to do something myself or be trapped. I like being independent!!

Thanks again,

Frank
....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-10-24          147297

My tractor without chains will go in snow where the 4wd truck might not. When I add the rear chains it turns into a little tank.

I plow snow with a front blade and anything up to a foot or so is do-able without chains. If the snow is heavy and very wet I sometimes end up with so much weight ahead of the plow that it will push the tractor sideways.

That is where the chains come in, along with the diff lock. It just crawls straight ahead.

What sort of tires do you have on the tractor?

....

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fcolosimo
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 7 Pennsylvania
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2007-10-24          147299

That puts it into perspective. I like the tank comparison.

I have industrial tires.

Actually traction on normal gravel, grass, etc (we don't have anything like real soil so I can't say 'mud'), has been perfect. I wish I could say the same for 'tippiness'. My land is all slope, although not terribly steep. When I pull my bush hog I have to travel up and down the slope Forward and Reverse - if I try to go across I get that nasty feeling that things are going to tip. I have learned that the feeling is real, based on some heavy lifts with the FEL on slopes where one of the rear wheels came up a ways.

Our RTV takes the slope straight across with no problem but I think the motor and whole design has a much lower center of gravity.

BTW, the RTV has a cab and might be more comfortable in the winter. Do you think it could be useful for snow removal? I did not think so but it never hurts to ask.

Frank ....

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DRankin
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 5116 Northern Nevada
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2007-10-24          147302

The industrial tires will need to be chained up much sooner than my radial tires. Industrials are very poor on snow but will come up to snuff real quick when chained.

I had an RTV also and sold it at a loss. It is NOT a tractor and it is NOT an off road machine. It got stuck so many times in soft sand and snow (even with chains!!) that I could no longer rely on it.

To clarify.... I never tried to plow snow with the RTV, I just tried to drive it to the wood pile and could not make it work. Putting a plow on it would have made it even worse.

There are extensive threads here discussing RTV ups and downs. Use the search feature if you are interested or ask me questions. ....

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fcolosimo
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 7 Pennsylvania
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2007-10-24          147313

Thanks again. I had the same thoughts, but you certainly put the last nail in the coffin. Our RTV works great for hauling stuff around to the garden, getting the mail, and general transportation - very useful. But I, too, had some strange occurences when in the rough where no wheels seemed to make it want to go. I had to get out and lift one end to get another wheel down while my wife drove it. I like it for what it is but will keep it out of the snow.

Off to get some chains..... these weird tractor wheel sizes are driving me crazy...
Frank ....

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