plowing a driveway

[macdad]

We are having a house built on 60 acres. The driveway will be 1600' - 1800' long and will have an elevation change of approx. 250 feet. What's the minimum tractor setup to efficiently clear snow?
The other requirements for the tractor won't be major -- small mowing projects, moving some firewood in a front end loader, maybe running a log splitter off the PTO, etc.

Thanks,

macdad

[beenthere]

Attached is "my" minimum. Fast, good view, fun, quick change to FEL.

[GaryM]

Where are you located? Your profile is empty so we don't know if you're looking at 2" of snow four times a winter or 12" once a week.

[Autotech]

I'm considering the snowplowing issue myself. I plan to add a backhoe/loader to my growing fleet this spring, but this winters combination of extremely cold temperatures/or wet, rainy snow have left me wondering if I want to be plowing in an open vehicle.

That 1600-1800 feet will seem like 1800 miles on a bad night...

I'm also thinking a pick-up mounted blade could probably pay for itself in 2 or 3 years with a few local jobs on the way to work...

Hmmmm....


Gregg

[macdad]

Sorry, I'll get the profile filled out.

North Idaho - 8-12" overnight accumulations happen at least a couple times a winter and there will be snow on the ground for 3-4 months most years.

Thanks again.

[MikePA]

With that much snow and that long a driveway, I'd vote for a rear mount snow blower. If I had enough money, I'd get one of the inverse blowers, the kind that work when moving forward. The standard rear snowblowers only work when moving in reverse. 1800' downhill is a long way to go in reverse. Here's a link to a thread on TractorByNet of just such a set up.

The issues with the alternatives, as I see them...

1. Front mount blade - Lose the use of the FEL. Not good if you have to relocate snow. Plus, with that much snow, you have to be sure you will have enough area to push the snow. This issue is my biggest concern with blades, front or rear, and why I don't think they're that much better than just using a FEL.

2. Front blade mounted in the FEL bucket - Could be an alternative since you retain use of the FEL, but could be a bit of a pain removing the blade when you need to use the FEL.

3. Just use the FEL - 1800' is a long distance to push snow straight ahead. This is what I use on my house driveway, parking area and at my barn driveway.

4. Front mount snow blower - more expensive and you lose use of the FEL. Front blowers are more expensive than rear ones.

5. Rear blade - lots of people use the rear blade in conjunction with a FEL.


Whatever solution you decide upon also consider;

1. Rear remotes to control the snow blower. Extra rear remotes are a good idea anyway. At least one, maybe two. Front remotes if you decide to go the front blade or front snowblower route.

2. Extra weight, either wheel weights or filled tires.

3. Tire chains

4. Cab - Clearing an 1800' driveway will take a while and it will be cold. Add in a snow blower coating you with drifting snow...yikes!

5. Lights - Lights on the ROPS facing forward and backward. The standard headlights are useless with a FEL.

[beenthere]

MikePA
What are you using now to move snow? Any pictures?

[zuiko]

I use a 7' rear blade and it works pretty good, esp for the price ($185). I wouldn't mind having a rear snowblower though and might pick one up eventually if I found a used one cheap enough. The downside of the blade is when you get snow after snow after snow with no melting. Also the piles are right along the driveway so they will tend to drift back into the path from the wind. I use a 4WD JD 990 with loaded R1s and dont have a problem with traction.

[RobS]

At the risk of offending the tractor owners among us (myself included), how about a truck mounted blade... mounted on a truck? That's a long drive to plow and now that I'm doing my own 750' drive with my tractor/rear blade I'm struggling a bit. The typical tractor blade is only about 14" high so once you've got that bank built up along the drive you're out of luck. A truck blade is quite a bit higher and a truck can go faster to throw the snow higher and further. Also a nice warm cab to sit in. Plow the drive on your way out to work in the morning.

OK, having said that I'll ask the more general question: Which is better, a truck or a tractor for snow removal?

Hope I didn't open a can-o-worms [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

[egon]

Rob:

Where we live there are many trucks with front blades and sand/salt spreaders mounted on them. Many are obviously custom plowing driveways and parking lots etc.

For the long driveway they would be quicker and easier. Probably even push more snow than most small tractors.

One could even have an old truck, unlicened, just dedicated to snow removal for much less cost than a small tractor.

Egon