Snow 20" Too Much Snow

[farm23]

We have over 20" and 18 degrees. I went to the barn to start my 1430 and clear a path to the road so we could go to church tomorrow. The 1430 started great but when I started to come out of the barn the snow was so deep the undercarriage hung up and the tires started to spin. I guess we will stay home tomorrow unless someone has an idea how to handle really deep snow. One of the disadavantages of our PT is when a wheel spins we loose traction.

 

[sal64]

chains.

 

[thatguy]

Do you have a FEL/bucket on the front? I dont own a PT, but a compact tractor, and in our 12" of snow I was able to float the FEL and push the snow a pretty good ways.. When I lost traction I just backed up and started dumping the snow to the side.. Then went back to pushing down the same track until I lost traction again.. lather rinse repeat

Not the most efficient - especially if you cant get the snow off the road.. But I was able to open up some space to be able to turn around push from different directions.. BUT I am going to look for some chains, i lost traction way too many times..

brian

 

[farm23]

I have been reading some of the old threads and came to the conclusion that come Monday I would order chains. Now to pick which ones.

 

[RegL]

If you do get chains, get the one's with cleats. I bought a set without the cleats and they were just about worthless. I also found they didn't work out very well because of so little clearance on the inside of tires. I have turf tires and don't usually have traction problems unless the snow is wet and clogs up the treads in the tires. I do 8 driveways with the light material bucket. I have a plow but that doesn't work as well for me.

 

[farm23]

I am thinking of getting the ATV6152 diamond pattern from tirechainsrequired.com, but am open to all suggestions.

 

[tracdoc]

I had the same exact problem today in southwestern VA---20" snowfall overnight, and my PT425 was under shed roof ready to go. Only problem was the deep snow AND the fact that I had to go up a pretty steep hill to get to my driveway. Shoulda' moved the tractor last night, but then it woulda' been full of snow! Anyhoo, I managed by using the 5' plow to skim layer by layer inching forward bit by bit. I have used the light materials bucket with success, but today the snow blade took the cake. The left-right angling of the blade is very helpful---you can go into the snow forward w/ blade vertical and straight ahead, and as the snow starts to build up, tilt the blade up to scoop up a load, and then use the right-left angle as you are lifting it to chute the load to whatever side you want. I managed to do the 900' driveway today (took 4+ hr), and the blade saved the day.

I had chains on all 4 wheels today. In the past, I used chains only on the front, but I wasn't fooling around today. I got my chains from www.tirechains.com out of Johnstown, PA. I've ordered stuff from them twice and they are excellent to work with---the stuff you want is in stock, and they ship same day, and prices are great. For the PT425 I am using GT18-2 -Two Link Heavy Duty Tractor Chains fitted to my standard BAR tread tires. I would caution about two things:

1) think twice before getting chains with an aggressive cleated link pattern if you have a finished asphalt driveway. Those chains will eat your driveway for lunch. I had no problems with "HD" chains on all 4 wheels today.
2) I would also caution that if you get chains for a PT, do not get ATV chains. Most ATV chains are made for ATV tires which are much rounder at the shoulders than the PT wheels. The folks at tirechains.com will point you in the right direction.

My driveway is about 200' downhill and 700' uphill, and I have to plow up hill to get to the street. The 6-way action of the blade, especially the left-right when the blade is up in the air and tilted back is a very effective technique to chute snow out of the path you are making.

I would definitely not want to make a living doing this with a PT425 in 20" snow on 900' driveways. Me thinks it would be better to have a PT snowblower attachment for that scenario. Today was a very long day, but a satisfying one. We may see more of this white stuff here next week to finish out a year which has been one of the top 5 wettest years in this area.

 

[MossRoad]

We have over 20" and 18 degrees. I went to the barn to start my 1430 and clear a path to the road so we could go to church tomorrow. The 1430 started great but when I started to come out of the barn the snow was so deep the undercarriage hung up and the tires started to spin. I guess we will stay home tomorrow unless someone has an idea how to handle really deep snow. One of the disadavantages of our PT is when a wheel spins we loose traction.

Your 1430 weighs quite a bit more than my PT425, so I guess I have to ask a few questions...

First, how can the undercarriage be getting hung up if you are clearing a path in front of you?

I back my PT25 into the garage with the blade facing out so once I get the doors open with a shovel (they swing out side to side) I clear down to the ground from the very start. I am always driving on a cleared path. In really deep snow I just push off at alternating angles until I clear a path to my snow storage area(s), then go back and shave off the sides of the path with the blade angled straight, pushing the snow to the storage area(s) and stacking it.

Second, what tires do you have? I have turf tires and they work excellent on cleared asphalt and flat grass. I do crab walk on side slopes, however, so it would be easy to get off a cleared path on a side slope. If we had more slopes I would get tire chains, but right now, we do not need them.

When one of my wheels spins I still have pretty good traction from the other side. The only time I have some trouble is if both front wheels are off the ground because I have the blade pushed down instead of floating when back dragging on a icy pavement, like when pulling snow away from a gate or my other garage doors.

 

[farm23]

Tracdoc thanks for the info. I have the 5' bucket with a Markham tooth bar installed. I don't have any pavement to worry about and it is 1/4 mile to the road. I wonder if I should take the Markham off before moving snow?

 

[farm23]

I have bar tires and the tractor was headed into the barn [will not make that mistake again]
Today there were drifts in front of the barn and I guess I could have tired to shovel a path but the drifts were high and many and I was lazy. I have found when one tire starts to spin there is often not enough traction on the others to get out of serious toruble. I was able to retrace my path and get back into the barn. Which is where the tractor will stay till I get chains[if the snow doesn't melt I still may have to shovel some]