Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom?

   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #21  
I thought I was back in Michigan where I grew up. But, alas, it was only central Virginia!
My L3940 was a beast in the snow. With only a FEL it pushed the snow like a plow. No chains, but I had my backhoe on for weight.
I quickly learned that with a gravel drive (1/2 mile long) I also scooped up a lot of stone and dirt. Guess I'll have some landscaping work to do in the spring.
The down side of the last blast were all the cedar trees I lost to the weight of the snow and ice....boo-hoo :>(
One more thing....if I knew we were going to have this every year I would add a snowmobile to my arsenal and a blade to my F-250!
 
   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #22  
Chains make a huge difference and check your quick hitch often for ice build-up
 
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   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #23  
On pushing your piles, I found out the hard way, in a blizzard on flat ground - it don't matter.
 
   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #24  
The first big one in December I made a mistake by leaving the tractor out back in the barn and waiting until the storm passed. It took me over an hour to move it 200 feet due to the snow depth. The last two storms I was smarter and parked it by the house for quick access. I covered it with a tarp to keep the snow off of it. After digging myself out I cleared the road and then helped my neighbors by clearing their driveways. My driveway is concrete but on a serious grade and impassible if not completely cleared.

Coating the FEL bucket with a shot of WD 40 really helped keep the snow from sticking. I kept the tractor in 4WD and just kept piling it on. I found that I could roll the piles over when droping new loads by lifting the bucket and pushing at the same time. I have R4 tires which did great in the snow so I do not see the need for chains. When pushing the snow it helped to keep the speed up. That helps overcome the hard packed areas when you cross them.
 

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   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #25  
Get some weight on the back of the tractor! I was plowing the first blizzard in a herringbone pattern because the plow was filling up with snow so fast. The first time my front tires went into a hole beside the driveway, I was stuck. I had to shovel it out, and still almost didn't get it out. Immediately drove over to my heaviest implement (Bush hog) and hooked it up to the TPH. It was like being on a different tractor! When the snow is that deep, a small tractor is gonna get fouled up quick unless you get some weight on the rears to dig down through the snow.
 
   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #26  
For big snows, stake your driveway out so you can find it.


I cleared some grass. :(

YES! I did that around some turns and put them much further apart for the straight aways and it worked very well.

I need to return the tobacco steaks to my father-in-law when done.
 
   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #27  
For the 2nd snow on tuesday, the first time I went out it was during the storm and it was miserable. The second time I borrowed my sons ATV cab and bungied it on and it was a completely different experience. No getting wet, no stinging snow in the face, etc. Just much nicer and warmer. From now on I'm going to hit it when it's still coming down and use my sons ATV cab.

Here's what it looks like:

Google Image Result for http://www.discountramps.com/atvImages/ATV-cab-enclosure.jpg

It's only $99, but my son picked it up at a yard sale for $25.

Other lessons:

Get in front of it as much as possible.

I've got to get me some skid shoes. The milling on our common road is pretty worn out from all the blading. I'm expecting complaints.

Set the windrows as far back as possible. Later runs will push the snow up against them.
 
   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #28  
One thing has caused me some mild angst - the cutting edges on my FEL and RB are chewed up pretty good. Now, I don't baby the BX at all, but running these edges over paved surfaces have really taken it's toll - mainly the street surface. Around here, they put a top coat of tar and crushed gravel over the older asphalt -I guess to dress it up - but makes a rough surface

I was going to put the strip of rubber (stall mat) or plastic pipe on the RB, but never got around to it. The RB with skidshoes hasn't hurt the asphalt driveways, so I didn't worry about it

Guess in Spring, I will run the angle grinder over the edges to remove the burrs and dress 'em up a bit
 
   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #29  
One thing has caused me some mild angst - the cutting edges on my FEL and RB are chewed up pretty good.

I take it you don't have a toothbar on your FEL?

I run with mine on year round. I keep it at just enough of an angle to not tear things up. The rear blade takes care of the rest.
 
   / Mid Atlantic Snow storm, words of wisdom? #30  
I take it you don't have a toothbar on your FEL?

I run with mine on year round. I keep it at just enough of an angle to not tear things up. The rear blade takes care of the rest.

Actually, I do - but took it off this year - I "plowed" some with the FEL - in float, slight down angle , that's why the edge took a little beating.

Like you said, usually I plow with the RB, then make piles with FEL, leaving the TB on - but this year, with all the snow, using the FEL saved some maneuvering
 
 
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