Best implement for snow removal

[chickenman]

i do more than that with a fel bucket

 

[clayhardock]

How much snow do you get and how often?

If you need to clear the road more than 2-3 times a week then having something of the front is really going to save your back/neck. A front blade could be mounted on the FEL bucket attachment and be fairly inexpensive and be good for upto 8-10" of snow depending on how wet it is. A rear blade will work the same but be really cheap purchase. You can clear deeper snow with a plow but it gets much more difficult. Dealer may try to sell you a plow that doesn't use the FEL mount but instead uses a bracket kit that goes on the front of your tractor that it mounts to. They are usually more expensive.

A snow blower isn't really effective(as compared to a plow) until you get 6"+ of snow. A rear snow blower is a good option if you only get a few deep storms a year or have a problem area or two that drift in. Snow blowing is much slower than plowing. A rear blower, used, can be as cheap as $500 and is good insurance for those occasional storms. If you get lots of heavy snow then a front mount blower is a good idea.

My plan is to use a rear blade and rear snow blower. We all drive 4wds to the road doesn't need plowing everytime it snows and the Chinooks melt it off in a week or so anyway so we don't get big accumulations building up. The snow blower will take care of the 3-4 big dumps we get a year.

 

[Arc weld]

450' is nothing for a rear blade. If you get large snowfalls put some chains on the tractor or get a blade that swivels 360 deg. so you can push backwards as well.

 

[crazyal]

I got a front blower because when I remove it I want it gone. I have a plow truck and usually by mid Feb the banks start getting big. With the blower it's gone deep into the woods. For 450ft I would think about a 3 pt blower for about 1/3 the cost of a front. But it really does depend on how much snow you get and how much snow you get during a major dumping.

 

[PHPaul]

'nuff sed. :thumbsup:

 

[homedad]

It really depends on where you live in Michigan. Michigan has areas that average 100's of inches and some that average 40 some inches. I'm in Howell and 10" snowfalls are getting pretty rare. I've used a back blade and FEL and found it to be fine unless there is ice underneath. My drive is just a bit longer and the best thing I ever did was take the money I would have spent on a nice front mounted blower and have an asphalt drive installed. I love how much easier it is to plow, especially when the sun hits it. No more mud. No more gravel in the grass. No more dust blowing into the house, and the kids love it for wheeled toys and basketball.

 

[Docwho]

I use a rear scrapper blade while moving forward. I try to move snow as far off of the road as I can. If I start to run out of space to put the snow. Then I mount the 3 point snow blower and blow the frozen chunky mess further back. I have never had a problem braking up and blowing this further back. I also like to get ready of the snow build up before a large thaw. This allows water to drain away from the road.

 

[super55]

As homedad said it really depends on where you are in Mi and how much snowfall you get. Your needs for eastern Mi are going to be vastly different than someone one the west side in the snowbelt region.

I live in NW LP and 180+ inches of snowfall a year is fairly common. My driveway is 300' long and the only thing I will ever use is 3pt blower and my front end loader. I have my driveway plowed when I'm not home and I'm not a big fan of plows. They build banks on the side of the drive up to 3' tall and if there is a wind parts of the drive will plug up with 3' of snow. With the blower no banks which since the drive is crowned usually put no more than a foot in the drive. I use the loader almost as much as the blower to push the banks back around my mailbox.

Front mount blowers are nice but I would only consider one if you didn't have a loader on the tractor. If you get some significant snow sooner or later you are going to wish you had the loader on instead of the blower. In my case I just prefer to have both all the time.

 

[RoyJackson]

Although a lot of guys don't care for using the bucket, I do...works quite well too!
So, I'd suggest using the bucket for the first year and see how things go.

I used a rear blade for several years (150' drive). They do OK, but I had no other use for the blade so I sold it. If you have other tasks for a blade, it might be worth picking one up.
How one uses that rear blade is important. Those lower arms aren't built for pushing and there are no trip springs on a rear blade. Using the concave side of a blade can dig into your drive, so make sure any blade you buy can rotate 180 degrees. I'd also consider adding skid shoes, especially if you want to use the concave side.
The first year or two I used my rear blade, I did push with it. After that, I drove over the snow rather then push. With judicious use of the rockshaft lever, I could minimize any damage or digging in by the blade.

Now, as far as your dealer's suggestions, my choice would be the FEL mounted front blade. Adding $2K to the price of the tractor isn't too bad.

As others wrote, front snow blowers are very expensive and are limited to one tractor model (note, the 59" front blower Deere sells can be used on various Deeres...it's different brackets used between models....so, you can use a front mounted blower on different Deeres....but if you buy another brand tractor, it won't work).

BTW, this year I'll be using a UTV mounted plow and let the tractor take a break...

 

[super55]

The other thing I forgot to add is that if you end up using a blade on gravel plan on raking or buying a sweeper to get it all back on the drive in the spring. You really have to take it slow and be meticulous to not grab the gravel without shoes or a pipe on the blade. With my snowblower I just adjust the top link so it doesn't scrape the first few snows to build a hard base and then I will expand the top link so the blower will bite down and scape more.