Snow Equipment Owning/Operating 2 wheel drive

[foggy1111]

25+ PTO HP should run most blowers for what you are looking for. Figure approximately 5 PTO HP per foot of blower. Keep in mind this may require about 5 more ENGINE HP to get the needed PTO HP.

If it were me.....I'd think long and hard about a front-mount blower for the length of driveway you talk about here.....and I'd buy enough HP. The good thing about a tractor and blower is that they are a long-term "investment". Buy the RIGHT ONE....and it will serve you for 20++ years.

In the past...it seems lots of us got our money back (resale value) after using use of the tractor for many years. Not so sure going forward tho.....:confused2:

 

[lungdoc]

I'd go 4WD with chains - with 2WD and a hill you may get stranded and also may run into trouble if you put a wheel off the side which is easy enough to do. I'd consider a plow for truck for the routine plowing/smaller snowfalls with a rear blower on the tractor to clear the banks and the big dumps. We do that (pay for the truck plowing, do the tractor blowing myself) and it works well.

 

[flyingcow]

I don't know what part of Atlantic Canada you're from. But i am just south of Houlton, by about 40 miles. If you're going 2 wheel drive i wouldn't go any less horse than 70hp? or so. I've had a 70hp MF(paid $6000), a 125hp MF($6500) and a 145hp MF(paid $4100. older Massey's but reasonable priced.

I have a 650ft driveway. Behind the bigger tractors i used a 9ftx4ft blowers. But backing up a mile? Be a little hard on the neck and back. Find a reasonable priced 90-100hp tractor(2WD), w/cab. front balde on front with blower on back? Probably have more into the attachments than the tractor? Or one of these?Michigan Iron & Equipment: Kioti Dealer


Or a rear pull blower? A 2Wd 80-100hp tractor with chains will wade a lot of snow. Good set of wheel brakes a must.

If you go 4WD, I don't think you want anything less than 50-60hp unit. You can get into some serious money this way, but good financing will give you a new unit and no headaches. i forget the unit number, but i was looking at a 60hp 4Wd John Deere unit. Hydro, good heavy unit. Alot of tratcor for the frame.

IMO 30hp range is too small. But tend to be on the big side of things. I like my TN75 new holland, but the 125/145hp MF had big azzed cabs. Could sit sideways stretch your feet out. But they were a bugger to start in the sub-zero weather, if something went wrong.

 

[LBrown59]

What is more important, hp or traction?

What good is the HP it you don't have the traction .:confused2:

 

[Todd_C]

I live one mile off the road up a decent incline on a gravel road in SW VA and in my opinion you will need more than a 30hp 4wd tractor in Canada. I had a NH TC 30 and now I have a NH TC 40 4wd with a FEL and chains. In my opinion weight is also important to me when it comes to snow removal. In 2010 my area got hit with a few feet of snow within a week. I do not have a snow blower and my rear blade became useless. The extra weight and ground clearance offered by a larger chassis tractor is important. I got stuck several times with my tractor because the snow was over the front tires in a few places. I used the FEL to push the tractor out of the drifts. My neighbor has a 30hp 4wd tractor and we were both using the FEL on our tractors to push the snow. He would stop and spin long before my tractor. I have another neighbor who has a 65hp Ford 2wd tractor and his did a decent job. There were a few places that I could go that he couldn't get too.

Several of the big names offer economy grade tractors with 4wd in the 50-60hp range. I think a 40 hp 4wd tractor is the bare minimum in your situation in Canada. Most of the members on here will offer you great advice. Buy the right tractor the first time so you don't find yourself selling a smaller tractor later at a possible loss.

 

[whistlepig]

I may get beat up for saying this but I think a 2WD tractor with chains will push more snow than a 4WD with out them.

 

[foggy1111]

I live one mile off the road up a decent incline on a gravel road in SW VA and in my opinion you will need more than a 30hp 4wd tractor in Canada. I had a NH TC 30 and now I have a NH TC 40 4wd with a FEL and chains. In my opinion weight is also important to me when it comes to snow removal. In 2010 my area got hit with a few feet of snow within a week. I do not have a snow blower and my rear blade became useless. The extra weight and ground clearance offered by a larger chassis tractor is important. I got stuck several times with my tractor because the snow was over the front tires in a few places. I used the FEL to push the tractor out of the drifts. My neighbor has a 30hp 4wd tractor and we were both using the FEL on our tractors to push the snow. He would stop and spin long before my tractor. I have another neighbor who has a 65hp Ford 2wd tractor and his did a decent job. There were a few places that I could go that he couldn't get too.

Several of the big names offer economy grade tractors with 4wd in the 50-60hp range. I think a 40 hp 4wd tractor is the bare minimum in your situation in Canada. Most of the members on here will offer you great advice. Buy the right tractor the first time so you don't find yourself selling a smaller tractor later at a possible loss.

If you don't try to PUSH everything with a FEL OR PLOW....and instead operate a BLOWER over a driveway that has been BLOWN clear with a snow-blower (as the OP stated)....then you do not have as big of tractor or as much weight and power. You really don't have to spin your tires when using a blower and 4wd if you have good tires IMO. Same is true in Canada as the USA.

 

[RoyJackson]

I may get beat up for saying this but I think a 2WD tractor with chains will push more snow than a 4WD with out them.

I think you're right...
Just gotta learn to use those steering brakes. Since I got chains, I leave it in 2WD. However, we didn't get any substantial snow (> 6" accumulation) last year.

 

[IndyIan]

My driveway starts off by going down a hill thru the woods then follows a winding level path beside open fields at the edge of the woods. We get probably 6 feet of snow at least and all of my driveway is drift area so the truck plow option wouldnt work. I have also considered the atv option for getting into the woods as most of my wooded property is waterfrontage along a river and not very deep. Dont really need to get into the woods. My main use for a tractor is snow blowing & road maintenance. Very little of the driveway is actually my property, it is right of way to my property and is used by farmers to access their fields. Having said that, it gets chewed up real bad in the spring and fall with them hauling their equipment in. Not bashing them, they gotta do what they gotta do but if I want to prevent destroying mine & my families vehicles, its up to me to maintain it. Also, i am the only one that has a residential property there so i cant count on any help. By the way, thats a nice tractor you have, cabbed?

No cab, we spent abit more than we wanted to already and I've got all my ice fishing clothing already, so I figured I would keep the tractor simple as I could.
What's your budget for this? 8, 18, or $28K? For 8k I think you just get an old 2wd farm tractor with a 7 or 8 foot blower and do lots of yoga so you can bend your neck 180 degrees. 18K gets you a 30-35 hp used CUT with a front mounted blower which you might have to do 3 or 4 passes. $28K should get you an almost new cabbed bigger CUT with a front blower that could get the job done in 2 passes. Also I guess you really need to find a tractor with lots of creeper gears or HST, as 2 or 4 miles at .5mph or .89 mph starts to become significant time and you definetly can't be slipping the clutch the whole time for heavy snow and a tractor without a low low gear. Your leg will fall off...
I guess for driveway maintenance you'll want a front end loader but if your just buying gravel probably all you'll need is a rear blade and perhaps a box blade. If your lot is mostly level and fairly dry you probably don't need 4wd either.

 

[flyingcow]

My driveway starts off by going down a hill thru the woods then follows a winding level path beside open fields at the edge of the woods. We get probably 6 feet of snow at least and all of my driveway is drift area so the truck plow option wouldnt work.


I am still in the camp of a bigger unit than 30-40hp. Mainly because you are following headlands of fields. He's not exaggerating when you talk 6 ft high of drift. On a windy night, by the time you make one pass it will be drifted back in before you return. On the chance you want to open up driveway for someone to come home, it may be impossible to get the vehicle in before the road closes back up. But, thats life living a mile off the beaten path. I have snowblowed 5 and 6ft drifts, be quite a job with a blower 2ft high. And going out in the middle of a storm to clear a mile long driveway, just because your unit is small, could create a dangerous situation.

I would keep in good graces with a local farmer that has the big blowers, might need 'em once in a while. Just had a thought, you might be able to talk to the local farmer about moving your access out towards the middle of field once the ground freezes. It would get you away from the line fence and away from some of the drift issues. Stake out the two paths. Blow open the original road early on, than blow the one in the middle of the field once the drifting becomes a serious issue. If it's sod ground, you could smooth up with your tractor before ground freezes. But, the farmer may not go for it. Is it a defined, in a deed, path for access?