Not enough tractor or bad strategy?

[gladehound]

Don't cut your tractor short here. My old JD 650 would handle 2 feet of snow rather well with a 5.5 ft blade, engine was 17 HP but weighed about the same as the newer JD 2720. Miss the 650 but not the 8 speed manual transmission or the no power steering.

That's good to know. What was your operating weight when plowing with the JD650? I'm at 5000 pounds now. I'm sure a dry 2 feet would be no problem at all. But I don't know about the wet stuff. Were you doing 2 feet of dry snow or wet? I guess time will tell!

 

[Reg]

Well could be worse, just saw an Amish plowing his drive with a horse and a homemade v plow.

Nothing wrong with that.
Probably knows what he is doing, as well as why he is doing it that way (-:

 

[SandburRanch]

That is a long drive to not have something out front to clear snow fast with.

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:laughing: With those winds he better have something fast or he may find himself out at the main road drifted out. And we've always heard of being drifted in.:laughing::laughing:

 

[JoeL4330]

Short of raising the road about four or five feet, I can't see how a blade could cope efficiently with a succession of storms like that ...only chains and a blower ...3ph is fine and cheaper, and you still have the use of the FEL.

I have an 8' fully hydraulic rear blade and an 8' plow blade on a QA, but for snow like that I'd put on my blower.

Depending on how many such storms you get in succession, even a plow truck would be challenged once the snow banks are as high as the blade ...unless (a) you have a wing, or (b) you have good enough footing the shoulders so you can plow really wide, or (c) you redesign your road in a series of zigzags so you can push the snow straight ahead of each road segment.

In a windy clime like yours, a single storm is the equivalent of several (as you found out) because you create a catchment for the snow. To mix metaphors, you will be moving all the snow from your windward field to your lee ...and that's a lot of snow because you have such long "fetches". As several have noted, windbreaks are the proven answer ...or, an elevated roadbed where the wind is your friend.

Finally, get to know your neighbors and find out what they have found to be successful ...this board has a lot of advice, mostly good, but local practitioners may give you the best advice.

 

[David Devuono]

Regardless of whether you get a blower or not, your going to need chains. No way you are going to be able to blow up that hill with R4's alone. Once you get the chain, if the drive is gravel, you will be unstoppable. I think you did an amazing job looking at the uphill picture but to get a car through, you will need to scrape down to the hard surface.
A blower will always be the slower option (over a proper snow blade not a scraper blade) but I suspect your only option. I made up a hinged assembly that I used to use to break trail. It bolted to my front bucket and I could do 18 inches with my 1200lb Kubota (four tire chains). Once I had a path created I would go back and move the banks back with 1/2 of the V. This V-blade was 2ft tall

 

[slowzuki]

As a note, I contract to the plow truck operators who do driveways like that. Every few storms they have to hire me to remove the banks with the blower.

 

[Jzondor]

You could go for one of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6T5b8-jFD0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz-YKdvM9RE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[Sackett2]

Having lived in ND for 11 years and 6 of them was in a payloader trying to keep roads clear, there is many things to be done.
Fall preventative...
When fall hits, mow every bit of standing grass 15-20 feet away from the drive. mow it short. one small clump of of grass will have snow will stick to it and create a snow drift 5' tall. Watching the ND highway prep the ditches- all were mowed clean, often the snow drifts would start at sign posts.

Get the fences up.

After the snow hits, push it way away from the road, sometimes making a snow bank snow fence. As said before, you have to make it as wide and flat as possabile, this prevents the drifts from building-the snow blows on past.

That hill with the bank looks to be the worst area. get the snow pushed back and clean, small "snowballs" can start the next drift

Steve

 

[Gizmo2]

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:laughing: With those winds he better have something fast or he may find himself out at the main road drifted out. And we've always heard of being drifted in.:laughing::laughing:

Good one!

 

[Gizmo2]

That's good to know. What was your operating weight when plowing with the JD650? I'm at 5000 pounds now. I'm sure a dry 2 feet would be no problem at all. But I don't know about the wet stuff. Were you doing 2 feet of dry snow or wet? I guess time will tell!

5000lbs! No where near that but would guess under 3000 lbs. Rule of thumb I have, if the snow is deeper than the plow height you are in for real work. Learned the hard way (as always). Years back got 30 inches of the real wet stuff and could not get the tractor out of the barn. My wife kept saying I should go out and plow and me being a MAN said nah tractor can handle it. The real issue was I had pulled the tractor in the barn instead of backing it in and had to back out of the barn (front plow blade), what a mess. It's the initial pass that gets ya. Wife said "told ya so". I love being married to a smart women.:thumbsup: