Snow moving. Not as easy as I thought

[oosik]

I have a good friend that lives in Ontonagon, MI. Retired now - but worked his entire life in a big copper mine there. Been there twice in the summer but he keeps wanting me to visit in the winter. I have seen what they get from that lake effect snows and I think I can enjoy it sufficiently by looking at picture postcards.

 

[NBKubota]

You guys have me all worried now! LOL

We just moved this summer, we went from a 150' - 200' gravel drive, to a 1000' gravel drive with loads of parking areas.

At the old place, I would use a plow mounted on my Polaris ranger for most snowfalls up to about 10" then clean up after with a walk-behind blower. That seemed to work great, the plow blade on the ranger wouldn't dig up the gravel at all.

Here at our new place, I was planning on using the ranger with the plow blade for the first few snowfalls (and any lighter snows), then using the 64" 3pt blower behind my B2650 HSTC. I was kind of figuring the FEL would only be used for moving piles of snow around.

You all have me worried now that I'm going to need more/better equipment, and a large supply of sand/salt on hand. Thankfully the driveway is fairly level, just a very slight grade (almost unnoticeable).

We have no idea what the snows will be like here compared to our previous home, as we're in a completely different province now

 

[RoyJackson]

You guys have me all worried now! LOL

We have no idea what the snows will be like here compared to our previous home, as we're in a completely different province now

I guess you'll find out soon enough...

I wouldn't go out and spend much money until you get an idea of what conditions will be like.

 

[BleedingOrange]

NBKubota, I think the equipment you got will work out just fine. The only other item you might want is a cab of some sort to keep the blowing snow off of you while operating your tractor, or at minimum, a snowmobile helmet with an electric shield.

 

[NBKubota]

^ Thanks guys, appreciate the info. Total tractor newb so I'm absorbing as much info as I can.

My B2650 has a factory cab (thank goodness), and I will definitely heed your advice and not go out and buy a bunch more equipment just yet. I think I'll feel much better after getting this first winter under my belt.

I'm an old(er) guy, so I have lots of experience removing Snow, just no experience whatsoever with tractors removing Snow ha ha ha

What's the worst that can happen....might have to re-grade my driveway in the spring

 

[RoyJackson]

^ Thanks guys, appreciate the info. Total tractor newb so I'm absorbing as much info as I can.

My B2650 has a factory cab (thank goodness), and I will definitely heed your advice and not go out and buy a bunch more equipment just yet. I think I'll feel much better after getting this first winter under my belt.

I'm an old(er) guy, so I have lots of experience removing Snow, just no experience whatsoever with tractors removing Snow ha ha ha

What's the worst that can happen....might have to re-grade my driveway in the spring ��

That's the spirit!!

One thing to consider...if your drive has lots of crown (center being higher to the outer parts), skid shoes on a blower aren't much help. You'll know this soon enough, I'd wager. Come Spring, you may want to "top" the crown a bit for next winter. Again, you'll know soon enough!

 

[ruffdog]

When I worked at a ATV dealer, the owner wanted to try to plow the parking area with one of our demo units. He tried to plow like a truck would by plowing forwards, then back up, over and over. This took forever. The next snow, I plowed an area in the middle of the lot the size of the ATV's turning radius, then started to go in circles working my way out. This allowed me to run at a higher speed which throws the snow better off the plow and you are not wasting time backing up. Then all I had to do was clean up the corners and by the store. It didn't take long at all.

 

[NBKubota]

That's the spirit!!

One thing to consider...if your drive has lots of crown (center being higher to the outer parts), skid shoes on a blower aren't much help. You'll know this soon enough, I'd wager. Come Spring, you may want to "top" the crown a bit for next winter. Again, you'll know soon enough!

Cheers Roy, I will keep an eye on that. From what I can tell, there's not too much crown, there are a couple of spots where there are "depressions" from driving on it leaving a slight hump in the middle. I should really knock those couple of spots down.

Thanks again for the advice!

 

[Soldier415]

That's the spirit!!

One thing to consider...if your drive has lots of crown (center being higher to the outer parts), skid shoes on a blower aren't much help. You'll know this soon enough, I'd wager. Come Spring, you may want to "top" the crown a bit for next winter. Again, you'll know soon enough!

Depends on how wide the drive is. Mine is 10' wide so going down one side and back on the other I don't affect the crown

 

[LD48750]

^snip...................................

I'm an old(er) guy, so I have lots of experience removing Snow, just no experience whatsoever with tractors removing Snow ha ha ha

What's the worst that can happen....might have to re-grade my driveway in the spring ��

No... the worst that might happen is you find you ENJOY play.... working in the snow.
That can prove to be expensive.

OR.... you just like "working" the tractor... that can be even MORE expensive.