Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Newbie with a 3 mile snowplow challenge

[vtsnowedin]

Mine in the pictures above is 45 horse. We are talking snow here not blasted rock. What you run out of is traction not horse power (assuming the attachment is matched to machine). Loaded tires and some good chains that are right for the underlying road surface and you should have no trouble. The ones I have on here are great but would not be good on a paved road.

 

[North Country]

If you're not convinced that a 3/4ton will do the job, and the budget is big enough for a 150hp tractor, why not use this?


SICARD 5150 SNOW BLOWER FOR SALE IN NY NEW YORK. 1977 SICARD 5150. USED SICARD 5150.

This is a screw, not a nail - use a screwdriver, not a hammer. You asked on a tractor board, so everyone's leaning towards tractor. But the reason you see huge 8' blowers on large ag tractors in the upper midwest is because the farm already *has* a large ag tractor. This OP's starting from a clean slate - why not get the right tool?

 

[Lt CHEG]

If you're not convinced that a 3/4ton will do the job, and the budget is big enough for a 150hp tractor, why not use this?

View attachment 319637
SICARD 5150 SNOW BLOWER FOR SALE IN NY NEW YORK. 1977 SICARD 5150. USED SICARD 5150.

This is a screw, not a nail - use a screwdriver, not a hammer. You asked on a tractor board, so everyone's leaning towards tractor. But the reason you see huge 8' blowers on large ag tractors in the upper midwest is because the farm already *has* a large ag tractor. This OP's starting from a clean slate - why not get the right tool?

Truthfully I don't think that anyone can say that a plow truck is THE answer without at least seeing the road first. If the road is wide and there is 25 feet of flat gravel on either side of the road that a plow truck can drive onto then maybe a plow truck is the answer. However with heavy, wet snow you aren't going to get the snow to fly far off of the blade when plowing at a speed appropriate for a pickup truck. So when you get a lot of snow you are going to have to drive on the shoulder to get it far enough off of the road. If you don't then the snow banks will pile up higher and higher and get closer to the road until you eventually get to the point that there is not enough room to push the snow anymore. I used to be in charge of plowing snow for half of a city when I was in charge of the transmission and distribution systems for a municipal utility system. We had city streets that would require us to remove the snow through snowblower or wheel loader because the banks would get high enough that we couldn't push the snow any higher and the banks began to cut off traffic. In order for a plow by itself to work, especially a pickup plow and not a setup like DOT's use on dump trucks, you need to have enough space for the snow to go.

An Ag tractor with a heavy front blade can push snow a lot farther off the road than a pickup plow. Plus when you throw a blower on the back you can cut the snow banks back when they get high. Look at the equipment that Utah and Colorado uses on the roads near the ski resorts. They use big plow trucks to keep the road open through the storm and follow up after the storm with snowblowers to get rid of the banks that the plow trucks leave behind. Look in Europe at what they clear mountain roads with. They use big Ag tractors with plow blades. You can't compare those kinds of plows to pickup plows because they just don't compare. If you are taking care of a business where people stay you are responsible for ensuring access for fire department and EMS in the event of an emergency. You need to be prepared for the worst case scenario. If the OP's road is like the typical rural road around here he would run out of space to push the snow with the kind of snows that he routinely gets. Maintaining emergency access for a 3 mile road is not the place to skimp. If a guest suffers a stroke during the middle of a storm and suffers severe brain damage because EMS couldn't get to the patient the cost of even 2 Ag tractors will look like a bargain compared to the lawsuit payout. This is not the place where "good enough" is good enough. You've got to be able to handle the worst case scenario snow storm when you are responsible for the safety of your guests.

 

[North Country]

Truthfully I don't think that anyone can say that a plow truck is THE answer without at least seeing the road first.

Of course. But it's most likely to be the answer. Out of every 100 miles of pavement in this country that need clearing, a 3/4 ton plow will work on 99 of them.

If there's so much snow a 3/4 ton plow won't work, you'll need a blower of some kind - no matter what size plow you get. If it's just one man & one machine, why not buy a machine designed from day one to do the job?

 

[Lt CHEG]

Of course. But it's most likely to be the answer. Out of every 100 miles of pavement in this country that need clearing, a 3/4 ton plow will work on 99 of them.

If there's so much snow a 3/4 ton plow won't work, you'll need a blower of some kind - no matter what size plow you get. If it's just one man & one machine, why not buy a machine designed from day one to do the job?

I understand where you're coming from. Based on my experience, seeing how much carnage the guys who worked for me could wreak on pickup truck plows I just am not a fan of relying on them exclusively. Especially considering that with heavy, wet snow you had to have some speed to push the snow far away from the blade and speed equals carnage. The dumps that we started buying with true over the road type plows like Vikings, etc instead of just bigger parking lot plows were far more reliable for roadway use and were much better equipped for casting snow further away from the road. And trust me it was hard convincing the budget wonks to spend $15,000 for a plow setup instead of $6000 back in 2003, but it paid off in the end.

I guess that's why I'm a big fan of an Ag tractor with a heavy duty blade up front, not unlike something suitable for a DOT, coupled with a blower on the back. An Ag tractor can handle a heavy duty blade which will likely be far more reliable. Then when the piles get built up you can cut them back to size with the blower. If you get so much snow that you need a blower to cut banks down you will need an Ag tractor anyway, so why not just stick a blade on it and be ready for anything? That way you aren't maintaing two engines, buying tires for two pieces of equipment, etc. Plus you get the benefit of never having to really push your equipment which sometimes is more necessary with a pickup plow.

And for the record I'm not totally biased against pickups with plows as I have owned one and may end up putting a plow on my new truck. I just think for the OP's needs that a pickup plow is likely not the best choice.

 

[Egon]

Add a wing to that tractor and it gets even better? Scoop them 3/4 tons right up and over the bank no problem.:thumbsup:

 

[RFB]

That's kind of funny that pickup trucks move snow. We never see them around here except for a few homeowners that use them for their own residential driveways. Where do they plow the snow to when the berms get above 6 feet?

 

[schmism]

Also I probably went a little overboard in my previous post calling for a 150 horsepower tractor. I think 100 or 110 horsepower would probably be fine as a minimum. I know I'd have no worries about getting any snow removal work done with a NH T6.140 or equivalent.

check out the youtube vids of 150+ hp tractors moving 5' snow with blowers. you can hear them pull down.

Fendt 930 + Beaulieu 10 feet snow blower - YouTube

thats a 250hp PTO machine moving 5' snow.

I dont know what other type of machine you would choose to do that job. That clearly seems to be what is needed to get that job done.

Based on the OP's initial requirements (3 miles at 5' snows) i dont know how you guys can suggest anything other than 150+ hp tractors. anything else seems stupid small to suggest.

 

[farm88]

I could plow 5' of snow with a 35hp compact.

 

[leonz]

I understand where you're coming from. Based on my experience, seeing how much carnage the guys who worked for me could wreak on pickup truck plows I just am not a fan of relying on them exclusively. Especially considering that with heavy, wet snow you had to have some speed to push the snow far away from the blade and speed equals carnage. The dumps that we started buying with true over the road type plows like Vikings, etc instead of just bigger parking lot plows were far more reliable for roadway use and were much better equipped for casting snow further away from the road. And trust me it was hard convincing the budget wonks to spend $15,000 for a plow setup instead of $6000 back in 2003, but it paid off in the end.

I guess that's why I'm a big fan of an Ag tractor with a heavy duty blade up front, not unlike something suitable for a DOT, coupled with a blower on the back. An Ag tractor can handle a heavy duty blade which will likely be far more reliable. Then when the piles get built up you can cut them back to size with the blower. If you get so much snow that you need a blower to cut banks down you will need an Ag tractor anyway, so why not just stick a blade on it and be ready for anything? That way you aren't maintaing two engines, buying tires for two pieces of equipment, etc. Plus you get the benefit of never having to really push your equipment which sometimes is more necessary with a pickup plow.

And for the record I'm not totally biased against pickups with plows as I have owned one and may end up putting a plow on my new truck. I just think for the OP's needs that a pickup plow is likely not the best choice.

Add a wing to that tractor and it gets even better? Scoop them 3/4 tons right up and over the bank no problem.:thumbsup:

That's kind of funny that pickup trucks move snow. We never see them around here except for a few homeowners that use them for their own residential driveways. Where do they plow the snow to when the berms get above 6 feet?

check out the youtube vids of 150+ hp tractors moving 5' snow with blowers. you can hear them pull down.

Fendt 930 + Beaulieu 10 feet snow blower - YouTube

thats a 250hp PTO machine moving 5' snow.

I dont know what other type of machine you would choose to do that job. That clearly seems to be what is needed to get that job done.

Based on the OP's initial requirements (3 miles at 5' snows) i dont know how you guys can suggest anything other than 150+ hp tractors. anything else seems stupid small to suggest.

I ma so glad we think alike about this issue.
I hope that the OP gets back to us about this issue soon
as snow season starts in September in the higher elevations
and mother nature is very unforgiving.


Lets all hope they buy him good heavy high horse power iron
for this with a Degelman front plow/silage blade and an
eight foot snow caster anyway.

A new snow cat would work well with snow cat sized snow caster too.