700' gravel driveway with 2 acres of lawn in snow country

[mg448]

Thinking about this one too
https://albany.craigslist.org/grd/d/deere-2305-tractor/6262735075.html
Just not sure how much it would cost me to get a belly mower and a front snowblower for it.

 

[airbiscuit]

Ok I get it. Do buy something. We were just talking about your next tractor

 

[mike69440]

Thanks for all the tips, I'm going to try and answer a few of the questions and comments here. The house is about 30 minutes nw of Albany. It's outside of the lake effect snow belt, but it's got enough elevation where it gets significantly more snow then Albany does. 3 foot storms are rare, but 1 foot storms aren't.
Half of the pond in the picture is mine. There is a smaller dug pond behind the house for swimming too!
As for hiring out my snow removal and letting the land "go back to nature" that's not even an option. I don't want to be stuck in my driveway until a contractor with 20 other driveways to clear can get to my house. I know how much time it takes and I know how cold it gets snow blowing a long driveway. I grew up on a farm with a 400' driveway and an '82 wheelhorse riding mower with a 30" snow blower for snow removal. As for the lawn, I love the way it looks now and I don't want an overgrown weedy field full of scrub brush in front of my house.
Mike69440-I don't drive a prius!:laughing: I'm going to need a CUT for enough different things that that's probably the route I'm going to go. The more I think about it the less I want to have to do maintenance on an old truck that I just use for plowing. And I'm not going to beat up my truck by plowing with it. I have a feeling I will probably buy a soft cab after the first big windy storm this winter.
Anyone have a kubota bx? Does $8,000 sound like a fair price for one in decent shape with a bucket and mower?

Thanks,
Mike

Just teasing about the Prius. Good kinda slow dependable Car. Plow wont kill your truck, you just have a tiny driveway. A BX is a great little yard tractor, and can do real tractor stuff, but those tiny tires and small size will result in a lot of frozen seat time.
Big B or small L I hate to say for blowing and plowing The BX for summer and a plow on your truck will work too A good 1/2 ton PU can handle a light weight full featured 7-1/2' plow blade.

 

[Grandad4]

As a 12 year BX owner and 15 year Grand L owner, I've got to agree you "can" do a lot with a BX sized machine, but keeping a long driveway open in heavy snow country would mean a lot of "frozen seat time". I do just fine with the one or two "snow events" we get this far south each winter, but northern winters, where I grew up, are a whole different ball game. You can see plenty of Youtube videos of BX's moving some serious snow and a Kubota dealer could probably point you to customers who rely on their BX's to keep their driveways open, but I think it is just a bit small to tackle a 700 ft. drive with a foot of snow. You need more weight, power and traction to get that kind of work done efficiently.

 

[check]

As a 12 year BX owner and 15 year Grand L owner, I've got to agree you "can" do a lot with a BX sized machine, but keeping a long driveway open in heavy snow country would mean a lot of "frozen seat time". I do just fine with the one or two "snow events" we get this far south each winter, but northern winters, where I grew up, are a whole different ball game. You can see plenty of Youtube videos of BX's moving some serious snow and a Kubota dealer could probably point you to customers who rely on their BX's to keep their driveways open, but I think it is just a bit small to tackle a 700 ft. drive with a foot of snow. You need more weight, power and traction to get that kind of work done efficiently.

Efficiency. Much of this discussion is really about efficiency. I have a BX25, and I use the rear blower on it, which is absolutely deadly. I clear two driveways with it, totaling about 700 feet, and if handles anything that has come down in the way of snow. But, of course, a blower goes much, much slower than a plow on a truck or an ATV, so how quickly do you need your driveway cleared after a big snowfall? If you have to get up at 4 AM because you need to get to work that same day, that is different than my situation, where I have plenty of time. But I also have a 60 inch plow on the front of my ATV, so plowing smaller amounts of snow goes real, real fast. But I also need the blower, because like many have said the berms on the side build up and then you need to blow them out. You will note as well that a rear mount snowblower is much cheaper than a front mount on the same tractor, and of course you don't have the FEL to use when you have to push the banks back or attend to a particular big pile of snow. And many here on TBN have used mirrors or rear cameras to save their necks from getting sore when using a rear mount blower. (I just tough it out myself.) And don't forget the fun factor when it comes to using the snowblower!

For mowing, I would never spend $2000 plus for a belly mower on my tractor, when there so many used lawn tractors around everywhere, for sale cheap.

Best of luck to you, and nice place by the way!

 

[Egon]

No hard cab for winter??

Need a nice soft sided heated one?

Look at electrically heated snowmobile suits with a helmet that has a full face shiel, heated gloves and boots.. Should work nicely

 

[newbury]

for the snow, hire it out. I hire out our snow plowing for $300-400/yr. 10-12K for snow removal!!! that covers me for about 30 years.
For the law, I suggest cutting the amount that needs mowing to what can be cut in about 1 hr on a small riding tractor (think 42-48" deck).
This will save you lots of money and time, you'll enjoy more wildlife and the scenery will be better. A win for everyone and every critter.

Seriously, reconsider the amount of time and money you'll be spending. I bought a place in the country very similar about 25 years ago. 900 ft driveway, 10 acres with about 2 acres in lawn. It did not take me more than a couple of months in June and July to realize that having a lawn of more than 1/4-1/2 acre is folly. I do not understand why anyone does it. Lawns are ecological waste lands compared to the alternatives. And I won't even go in to the added cost if your going to buy weed and feed. Looking at the picture its clear this place is a perfect candidate for letting the vast majority going back to nature.

Snow plowing. Are you serious? Why anyone would entertain buying a 10-12K tractor is bad enough but spending 60K is totally out of any kind of financial responsible planning, I hope newbury is kidding.

I fully agree on limiting the size of the lawn, big enough to prevent fire danger from trees, small enough to mow with a gas 140cc lawn mower in a half hour. And then plant trees (tree farm, orchard) on the rest.
But a nice F350 King Ranch Crew Cab set up for plowing plow would be a decent investment and should last for many years. And then you plow when you need it.
But the OP hadn't mentioned he had a truck.

Thanks for all the tips, I'm going to try and answer a few of the questions and comments here. The house is about 30 minutes nw of Albany. It's outside of the lake effect snow belt, but it's got enough elevation where it gets significantly more snow then Albany does. 3 foot storms are rare, but 1 foot storms aren't.
Half of the pond in the picture is mine. There is a smaller dug pond behind the house for swimming too!
As for hiring out my snow removal and letting the land "go back to nature" that's not even an option. I don't want to be stuck in my driveway until a contractor with 20 other driveways to clear can get to my house. I know how much time it takes and I know how cold it gets snow blowing a long driveway. I grew up on a farm with a 400' driveway and an '82 wheelhorse riding mower with a 30" snow blower for snow removal. As for the lawn, I love the way it looks now and I don't want an overgrown weedy field full of scrub brush in front of my house.
Mike69440-I don't drive a prius!:laughing: I'm going to need a CUT for enough different things that that's probably the route I'm going to go. The more I think about it the less I want to have to do maintenance on an old truck that I just use for plowing. And I'm not going to beat up my truck by plowing with it. I have a feeling I will probably buy a soft cab after the first big windy storm this winter.
Anyone have a kubota bx? Does $8,000 sound like a fair price for one in decent shape with a bucket and mower?

Thanks,
Mike

If you are going to need a CUT get a CUT. A BX is a SCUT Put that 8K down on an L2501 w/ FEL , snowblower (or another brand for less $$).
But get more height and power than a BX.

And hurry, does it still start snowing in September?
I can remember going to classes when school opened at the University of Vermont and having snow flurries.

 

[Slowpoke Slim]

I think the BX is going to be too small for you. The BX's have a reputation of being quite capable but they have two innate issues. The first is they're too light. The second is their wheels are too small.

Weight defines how much work a tractor can do. My neighbor has a BX and while it's a reliable machine it's limited in its capability by its light weight. We tried removing some rocks from my pasture with the backhoe on his BX and those rocks just laughed at the little BX. The backhoe just dragged the tractor around like it was nothing. It couldn't get planted.

The other issue is it's tiny wheels and short wheelbase. They fall into every hole in the ground making for a really rough ride. They are also tippy on hills due to their narrow width.

If I was in your situation I'd pick up a riding lawn mower for your yard and a larger heavier more capable machine for the snow removal and other chores around the rest of the property.

Husqvarna makes a good and relatively inexpensive riding mower with a diff lock and a K66 transmission. I would then take the rest of your cash and put it down on a 4wd CUT with SSQA loader in the 30-40hp range.

Pretty much all the new CUT's are good. Kubota and Yanmar are the Japanese offerings and the rest are Korean. Can't buy an American made tractor anymore unfortunately.

I would edge towards this plan. Get a CUT with a few attachments, and a decent riding mower, both used, and I think you'll be much happier with your end results vs. time spent on outside chores vs. money spent on equipment. And thinking you can get snow removal hired out for $300-400 a year (@ Weedy Fields) made me launch coffee out my nose. Not around here buddy. Not even for a "standard" 25 ft driveway, let alone a 700 ft driveway. Most of the "pros" here won't take their tractor off the trailer for less than $100 PER VISIT. And after a "real" storm, it will take days to get someone to clear your driveway, it may not be your "regular guy", and you'll be in NO position to haggle over price. Then, once he's done and gone, the county will come by and plow the road, and bury your entrance in a 6ft wall of rock hard ice and snow.

Good Times.

But we do get a bunch of snow here, so it's different.

Our solution has been a 37hp 4x4 CUT with cab and heat, FEL, 3pt snow blower is coming before winter, we do have a walk behind 48" snow blower that I'm planning on not needing this year (grins), and a riding mower for the lawn, 3pt rotary mower for the pasture and road ditches.

 

[hawkeye08]

Get what you can afford, know that it likely won't be perfect and you'll find a better way after working it a few years. I wouldn't go out a buy a bunch of new stuff, stay with used (if you can find it)... oh, that's the other thing, sometimes staying within your budget is not the limiting factor, but rather what you want is not available locally.

 

[LogChain]

Mike,
l just saw your post and recognize your property. My in-laws live on the 4000 "block" of Scotch Ridge Rd. in D'burg. I ran by your place with my daughters a number of times in July while on vacation at the in-laws. Small world!

-- LogChain