Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Tractor to blow lots of snow

[smfcpacfp]

Ok, I may be out in left field here, but what about a large articulated front loader? I know they use them with blowers at airports and other mountain areas. It may be a one trick pony, and I have no idea about maintenance costs, but it's a thought.

It would be so slow compared to a snowblower and with 500" of snow, where would you put it all? The advantage of a snowblower is that you can have a fairly narrow driveway and blow the snow 50 feet in the woods so you never have to worry about it again. With a front end loader you would always be wondering if you had made your snow dump areas big enough.

In WV you may have a big snow, but then it all melts and the ground is clear before the next snow. Where I live it gets below freezing in December consistently and rares gets above freezing until late March. Here once the snow starts it is here for the duration. Places like Walmart uses plows for speed and pile the snow 30 feet high hoping they have allocated enough area to accumulate all the snow that will fall during the winter in their huge parking lot. If we get too much snow then they haul it out at $1,200 a dump truck load and stick it in the woods somewhere. When big box stores build a store here they think about these issues.

 

[mjncad]

Even if the money works out breakeven, I think I would rather be independent and plow the road when I need it, not when someone else can get to it.

I may not be the fastest person at getting things done; but I sure like the freedom to do chores when I'm good and ready and not rely on someone else's schedule.

Look at it this way, after 5 - 6 years and you've recouped the cost of the tractor; you'll be saving that $6,000+ a year for better things to do then giving it to someone else.

You are not always going to be 50 yrs old and in great shape, get something big enough and comfortable enough that you will be able to use it for a long time.

I'll second that one, especially if you intend to live in your present home till checkout time.

Are studded tires still legal in Colorado?

I've lived here all my life and never had snow tires, let alone studded snow tires. I don't know if studs are legal or not; but I doubt it considering how our illustrious governor and his cronies keep coming up with new ways to tax...err...fee us to death to fix our roads.

 

[Duffster]

It would be so slow compared to a snowblower and with 500" of snow, where would you put it all? The advantage of a snowblower is that you can have a fairly narrow driveway and blow the snow 50 feet in the woods so you never have to worry about it again. With a front end loader you would always be wondering if you had made your snow dump areas big enough.

In WV you may have a big snow, but then it all melts and the ground is clear before the next snow. Where I live it gets below freezing in December consistently and rares gets above freezing until late March. Here once the snow starts it is here for the duration. Places like Walmart uses plows for speed and pile the snow 30 feet high hoping they have allocated enough area to accumulate all the snow that will fall during the winter in their huge parking lot. If we get too much snow then they haul it out at $1,200 a dump truck load and stick it in the woods somewhere. When big box stores build a store here they think about these issues.

I think polekat was talking about a blower on the loader.

$1200/load, I am moving there. :laughing:

 

[irvingj]

I'll second smfcpacfp-- if that snow is as light as I remember Utah snow to be, the HP required will be substantially less than for those of us who occasionally (OK, fairly often ) get heavy, wet snow.

I don't think I'd like to do it every day, but with snow that light I wouldn't hesitate to sic my SCUT on it. When we get relatively light snow in NH, it'll throw snow 50 feet easily. If it can be thrown downslope, OP may not need a monster....

 

[JDGreenGrass]

Definately look for a new tractor. You're paying 6grand a year now.!!!! Therefore, you can afford to go new AND big....say 40hp.

Snowblower out front and you will have this task licked.

Congrats on your summits. Extraordinary accomplishments.!! Very ambitious.

 

[jenkinsph]

klausb,
I think your budget of 30,000 is a little low, I suspect a good cabbed tractor with a front blower setup will be closer to $50,000. While this may seem high you should recognize that the $6,000 figure may go up over the next few years too. This will also involve alot of your time too over the next few years, less with the larger machine and more with the smaller one.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[beenthere]

..................
Yah, it's a lot of snow. If you do the math, with five+ months of snow and 500 inches, that's about 3 inches a day. Piles up quick, it does.

Currently the road is cleared by a Versatile (?), huge articulated thing, overkill actually. Probably a 6 foot blower. I am thinking dedicated front mount blower used solely for clearing the snow. Other folks up here use Bobcats or the like.

Here is the used one I was talking about, but it may be a bit small.
ksl.com - Classifieds for Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming

Thinking on this some more (and I keep a quarter mile road/drive open with a 7' blade because a snowblower for me would be too slow), as long as the Versitile with 6' blower is available for the really deep snows as backup, your 'smaller' idea just may work out the best.
It would likely keep the majority of the snowstorms in check and possible for you to handle. Bring in the "outsider" only when needed.

 

[lungdoc]

Golly. That is a lot of snow. Years ago,early 70s, we drove from Denver to Aspen on packed snow,with studded tires. It was a hopeless drudge for the highway folks to keep the road cleared to the asphalt. Get your blower,but I would not try to keep the road cleared to the asphalt or gravel. Just keep the road packed and drive on top of the snow. Are studded tires still legal in Colorado?

You want to keep it scraped down to a hard base of only 1-2" otherwise in the spring you'll have massive ruts and bumps.

I agree with front blower on a cab 4WD tractor of 40+ HP. Our Deere 4320 (40 PTO HP) drives a 78" rear blower without problem (but I only use occasionally as vacation property with someone also using a truck plow - for regular use if I lived there I'd get a cab).

 

[Deadman]

You still need to figure in your time, fuel, maintenance, insurance, storage space, etc.... I think its obvious to let the current crew just do it. Unless you plan to spend every free minute of your nights and weekens sitting on a tractor watching snow blow off of your driveway.

My time is worth too much for me to mess around with such a job. You only live once...........

 

[lungdoc]

You still need to figure in your time, fuel, maintenance, insurance, storage space, etc.... I think its obvious to let the current crew just do it. Unless you plan to spend every free minute of your nights and weekens sitting on a tractor watching snow blow off of your driveway.

My time is worth too much for me to mess around with such a job. You only live once...........

If we limit ourselves to only things where it makes perfect economic sense to do it ourselves this would be a pretty small forum! Most of us get at least some enjoyment out of doing some of these jobs.

I can't imagine it'll be that much time. If he gets a 6' blower and a 12' path is ok for his road he just needs to go up and back - probably an hour most times and probably a few times a week.