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Kevin b
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2003-01-07          47081

Hi,
I live in the snow belt of NY state and I am building a home with 500-600 foot long gravel driveway. I am looking to buy a Ford 9n or tractor about that size. My question is what is better? getting a 3pt snowblower or plow? Will the snowblower dig into the diveway? How much of a difference does a rear mounted plow make over a front?
Any help or ideas is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Kevin


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Art White
Join Date: Jan 2000
Posts: 6898 Waterville New York
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2003-01-08          47148

With that model tractor I would say to stay with a blade. Those tractors have a transmission driven pto and hydraulic system, that means to push down on the clutch it stops everything. I to live in NY in a snow belt and I would not own a blade to do my snow removal. Blowers are the best for here as you soon run out of places to pile it. ....

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KIOTIMAN
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 47 ,MI
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2003-01-08          47170

as Art touched, how much snow, area to work with, and finally tractor and budget. I use a back blade, but aslo have a fel if the snow piles get to high. Were I live we usually get about 4-6" in a good snow so the big piles are not much of an issue for me. Just another note, this is one of the funnest tractor activities for me. ....

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larry
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 0 St.Davids
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2003-01-08          47180

Yes even though it's freezing cold,blowing,etc it is fun pushing snow around with my Cub & a blade-now shovelling the roof thats another story ....

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JAZAK
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 31 COXSACKIE,NY
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2003-01-09          47234

I TO LIVE IN NY , AROUND ALBANY. I HAVE AN OLD F 350 4WD WITH A 9FT FISHER SPEED CAST AND ABOUT THE SAME LENTH OF DRIVEWAY SWINGING BEHIND MY HOUSE. WITH ONLY 4 1/2 FT OF SNOW FALL I HAVE RUN OUT OF PUSHING SPACE. I WILL BE BUYING THE FRONT MOUNTED SNOW BLOWER FOR MY JD 790 BEFORE NEXT WINTER !!!!! BLOWING IT INTO MY YARD SO I WONT HAVE TO DEAL WITH MELTING REFREEZING ISSUES. ....

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hardwood
Join Date: Dec 2002
Posts: 3583 iowa
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2003-01-09          47236

When push comes to shove in heavy snow conditions the blower is the definite winner. On a tractor the size of yours without live pto, you will be real dissapointed. Blowers take lots of horsepower even to move slowly into deep snow, so a live pto is a must, you also need to blow a path at least as wide as your tractor on the first pass thru then you can take half width passes. I have an 8ft. blower on a 100 hp. tractor w/live pto, and I still have to slip the clutch the first pass thru in deep snow to let the blower keep up. Be real careful where you aim the chute as small rocks etc. become missiles that break windows, dent siding, etc. Hope this helps. ....

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Jeff Earthwerks Unli
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2003-01-09          47241

We all love using our tractors but...for anything over 3-4" deep that is the least bit wet you'd be better off just buying an old 4x4 or something along that line with a snow plow. I plow commercially here in SE Michigan and it is amazing how heavy snow can be. I had a 9N up until last Fall (have a new NH 33D) and wouldn't even consider using either tractor for plowing. The 9N is only 2wd which means you would have to plow driving backward (and it's a killer on the neck and back)--driving forward may work for the light, powdery stuff but not heavy snow. Also driving in reverse will cause the blade to "submarine" no matter how good the hydraulics--which will cause you to dig in to the gravel and make tire ruts from spinning about every few feet. Going forward and you now have no down pressure so the blade will just skip along. Another thing is, up here we let about 3-4 inches build up on gravel, drive on it to pack into the gravel and let it freeze, then plow it always keeping a crust of snow --otherwise in the Spring your yard will be peppered with gravel, and now you have to buy and spread new gravel. Buy a truck. If you have the money, buy a power V-plow as opposed to a standard straight blade--that way you can literally scoop up the snow into piles like at the end of the road and by the entrance. V-plows are about $1000 more but worth it. I show one on my website if you are curious. ....


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R.J.
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2003-01-14          47520

just to put in my $0.02 worth about snow removal. I live in northern minnesota and have blown , pushed ,bladed, and shoveled snow , i have found that the problem with 3 point blowers is that they blow snow and if you dont have a cab on your tractor a fair amount of that snow ends up on you ,rear blades dont work to well if you get over 4" .allot od people up here have snow buckets (wider and lighter than a dirt bucket) for thier loaders and that works well but it still isnt any fun going out a 5:00 am when it is -10 F outside with no cab to protect you from the elements ,so i recomend if you are set on using your tractor for snow , get one with a cab. i think the best way to remove snow is to get a 3/4 ton 4x4 truck with a good plow and a good heater ,just remember to start out wide , and if you have to you can always use the tractor loader to push the banke back if you get an exceptional year of snow hope this helps. ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-01-15          47534

I think of live PTO as almost essential for a 3ph blower. When I stop the tractor I have to run the blower until it clears snow off the auger or the chute clogs. I guess raising the 3ph before stopping is an alternative but not a very good one. I'm not sure how many reverse gears a N has but my Ford 1710 has 4 which give decent control of ground speed.

My working ground speeds range from .8 mph, which still isn't slow enough for very heavy snows to a bit over 2 mph. The tractor may be willing to go faster in reverse with a working blower but I'm not. For a gear tractor it's good to have a bunch of reverse gears.

I do the blowing w/o a cab bit. For a 3ph blower, I don't think a cab without a rear defroster would be a very good solution. Despite the blowing in the wind problems, I wouldn't trade my 3ph blower and loader bucket combination for any other tractor mounted equipment. My Ford weights about 3,500 lbs. with the blower and loader. It has 4wd and unloaded turf tires. I don't need chains for the work but I sure do need 4wd, and I'd probably need chains if I depended on a plow or bucket.

Blowers require less traction than blades and generally turfs are better than ag tires on ice. An N-tractor with ags and chains and a plow might get by but I don't think I'd want to depend on it for plowing deep snow. There'd probably be a lot of 'shovel' work with the bucket needed.

A blower or a blade will tear up a gravel drive before freeze-up. A bucket rolled back and with the lift floated works reasonably well.
....

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Smahler
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 25 Oneida New York
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2003-01-21          47864

I dont know what your budget is, but I would think seriously about buying something as old as an 'N' for a primary use tractor. I too live in upstate NY, and for the price of a decent 'N' (3500) you could buy a newer ford 2000 or 3000, or a Massey Ferg 135 which would give you more power and a live PTO. ....

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tallman
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 2 Girard, PA
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2003-02-20          49654

I have used a blade and a snowblower. I prefer the snowblower over a blade. I have a 1300 Ford 2wd 12-4 gears with turf tires and chains and an Allied 60 inch 3ph snowblower. I clear a 350 feet driveway and a 40 X 40 turn around. It does a great job. I don't have big piles and I don't have to push it back like you have to do with a blade. We get 12 to 20 inches sometimes and I take my time to clear it out and have not had a problem yet. We got over 120 inches of snow so far this year. Usually we get about 90 inches but the last few years we have been way over that. This is my first posting although I have been reading this site for a couple of years. Lots of very good information and lots of interesting comments. ....


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dcsmith02
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2003-02-20          49657

I live in the snow belt of N.E. Ohio. I use a back blade and always have. Maybe it is because that is the only thing available to me(I am cheap). I'm sure you can get by with this set up. I have plowed 20" plus(stiff neck and all), all be it in smaller bites. Whatever you can afford now while building a new house, you can always upgrade to a blower later. You can move the piles as they build up, it is another eason to run your machine in sub freezing weather. DC Smith ....

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larry
Join Date: Mar 2004
Posts: 0 St.Davids
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2003-02-21          49691

You will be surprised at what you can do with a blade in the snow ....

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tallman
Join Date: Jul 2003
Posts: 2 Girard, PA
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2003-02-24          49932

D C Smith, You stated that you live in N.E. Ohio. I live in N.W. Pa near lake Erie so I know all about snow. I get a lot of lake effect snow. I live between Erie, Pa and the Ohio state line. We have had over 125 inches of snow so far, which is over our normal snowfall of around 85 inches. But I enjoy my tractor time just to get out of the house. It has been a cold winter this year.
THINK SPRING ....


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Canuck
Join Date: Dec 2003
Posts: 15 Manitoba Canada
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2003-02-25          49943

I've run a 9N tractor for clearing snow for over 30 years. It had the following: calcium filled rear tires for weight, heavy duty front and rear tire chains with studs ( it is very important to have the studs big enough to stick above the lug bars on the tires- even dealers get confused over this main point) and a FRONT blade for pushing the snow. The front blade was about a thousand dollars more than the rear blade but worth every penny. A tractor isn't worth a damn thing if the wheels just spin so get good chains above all else. For winter starting make sure the engine is nice and warm. I used an electric heater (the new ceramic heaters are the best for this) put under the hood and I covered the tractor hood with a lot of blankets to really warm up the front end of the tractor. I was planning to get a magnetic heater to heat up the transmission to get the hydralics working faster, especially when it got really cold. A battery blanket is a very good idea. Then get a tuneup before every winter and this machine will do what you need. Also buy yourself winter work coveralls, good winter boots, gloves and polar fleece underwear. ....

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beachspuds
Join Date: Oct 2003
Posts: 1 Arnold,California
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2003-10-17          66513

Don't waste the money for a blower I live 1.2 miles out a gravel road and have my blower up for sale because it blows more rocks then snow, besides freezing up with the rocks in the chute. I went to a 5' meyer plow blade/now in 3rd winter works great ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-10-18          66524

Can't argue with whatever works for a person. There are ways of dealing with blowers on gravel roads and clogging chutes. There's plenty of archive discussion.

I think that if I had almost two miles of road to clear (that's probably at least four miles depending on the width of blower and road) I'd be looking at a truck plow. I get about 3-mph ground speed with my blower and less for heavy snows. The time alone would make me want something faster. Unless there's no place to store plowed snow, a tractor with a plow is faster and a truck is much faster. But I prefer my 3ph blower for what I have to do. It does take a lot of time and difficulty if a plowed road runs out of space to keep the snow before spring. ....

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harvey
Join Date: Sep 2000
Posts: 1550 Moravia, NY
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2003-10-18          66546

I'd agree with the warm cab deal. Clogged chutes have never been a concern.

Long driveways with pickup truck plows can be a real problem if there is not enough push back room. My neighbor ran out of room this spring. I pushed it all back both sides of a 1 mile drive. Actually 3 neighbors called for help to get their banks back.

I really like the plow it a few times, with what ever, get a nice wind row then BLOW IT!!! B 4 the banks get to high or wide. A nice sunny day is a good time to Blow snow.

Thanks again Art for a good blower that does a great blow job ;-). It is all apart now, new shoes, cutter, drive chain. Want to get it sand blasted and painted but may run out of time. ....

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TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002
Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2003-10-19          66558

I'm pretty much out of time too. My blower drive chain is almost to the end of its adjustment. I was going to take a link out of it but now I'm reasoning that it'll be OK through this season. Of course, I set myself up to be lazy by spraying the chain with lub before deciding. Now the mess of taking out a link on a freshly lubbed chain makes delaying the work easier, or maybe I'm just thinking the mess would be worse than it is. Oh well, laziness is it's own reward unless I break a chain this winter.

Most of the time it's my own fault when my blower chute clogs. It happens with wet snows when I clutch to stop and forget and clutch the pto as well. Doesn't happen very often as long as I remember to run the pto when I stop until the auger clears. That alone is a very good reason to have live pto.

When the Township guys guess wrong and run out of space, their tandem axle dump with a blade won't push the frozen banks back (or maybe the dump can't drive where the banks need to be pushed). They call a guy who brings his big wheel-loader. Pushing back banks that have been there awhile is a real problem. ....

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