700' gravel driveway with 2 acres of lawn in snow country
- Thread starter mg448
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airbiscuit
Super Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2004
- Messages
- 6,520
- Location
- NW Wisconsin
- Tractor
- New Holland T2310 (40hp), Kubota L3010 GST, New Holland TC21DA *** Previously - Farmall H, 1941 John Deere B, Shibaura SD1500, John Deere 850, Bobcat 642, New Holland 1925
airbiscuit
Super Member
- Joined
- Aug 28, 2004
- Messages
- 6,520
- Location
- NW Wisconsin
- Tractor
- New Holland T2310 (40hp), Kubota L3010 GST, New Holland TC21DA *** Previously - Farmall H, 1941 John Deere B, Shibaura SD1500, John Deere 850, Bobcat 642, New Holland 1925
hawkeye08
Elite Member
Should work great for you... I have a pair of insulated coveralls and nice boots that I use when needed to stay warm.
Blstr88
Silver Member
$10-$12k?!
I have about 6-7 acres that I mow and a 1200' driveway in northern NH to plow during the winter...with that money you can very easily buy a great high quality ZT mower and a dedicated plow truck.
My Ferris IS700Z zeroturn was about $5500 and my particular plow truck was $9k but its a 1st Gen Dodge Ram w/Cummins...you can find a great Ford/Chevy/Dodge reg cab 250/2500 with plow and 100k-150k miles for $5000 all day long by me. The one thing Id recommend is dont buy something so beat up/rusty that it ends up being a dedicated yard-only plow truck...I had one of those and sitting around 8 months a year did more harm to it than anything. Something you can actually use locally in summer to pick stuff up, go to the dump, etc will serve you better. Heck even a 1-ton dump truck would serve you well and can be found in the $6k-$8k range!
Coming from someone who mows a lot and plows a lot - dont try to get one machine to do it all...its much easier to have dedicated equipment. A truck with a plow is the way to go in my opinion and nothing beats a ZT mower.
If you wanted to spend a little less on mower and a little more on truck I think a nice lawn tractor w/mower deck would do ok for mowing too.
I have about 6-7 acres that I mow and a 1200' driveway in northern NH to plow during the winter...with that money you can very easily buy a great high quality ZT mower and a dedicated plow truck.
My Ferris IS700Z zeroturn was about $5500 and my particular plow truck was $9k but its a 1st Gen Dodge Ram w/Cummins...you can find a great Ford/Chevy/Dodge reg cab 250/2500 with plow and 100k-150k miles for $5000 all day long by me. The one thing Id recommend is dont buy something so beat up/rusty that it ends up being a dedicated yard-only plow truck...I had one of those and sitting around 8 months a year did more harm to it than anything. Something you can actually use locally in summer to pick stuff up, go to the dump, etc will serve you better. Heck even a 1-ton dump truck would serve you well and can be found in the $6k-$8k range!
Coming from someone who mows a lot and plows a lot - dont try to get one machine to do it all...its much easier to have dedicated equipment. A truck with a plow is the way to go in my opinion and nothing beats a ZT mower.
If you wanted to spend a little less on mower and a little more on truck I think a nice lawn tractor w/mower deck would do ok for mowing too.
Blstr88
Silver Member
Whoops, shoulda read this before posting....congrats!
SpringHollow
Elite Member
Funny how we all prefer different things. I would much prefer a tractor with a front end loader vs a plow truck. The loader gets used for so many other things, much more than you would ever expect.
When the snow gets so deep that the professional snow plower run into trouble on my street, I take my tractor and push the snow banks back for them with my front loader plow. He's a nice guy so I do not mind helping him out. And a snowblower is just too slow for me. But one plus of living on a steep hill is that I can always push large piles of snow off on the down hill side of the driveways. There is one driveway that is flat side to side but it is mostly in the woods and so drifting is not a severe problem with that one.
But what is important is that you got the setup that is right for you and your property/needs. Let us know how it goes this winter.
Ken
When the snow gets so deep that the professional snow plower run into trouble on my street, I take my tractor and push the snow banks back for them with my front loader plow. He's a nice guy so I do not mind helping him out. And a snowblower is just too slow for me. But one plus of living on a steep hill is that I can always push large piles of snow off on the down hill side of the driveways. There is one driveway that is flat side to side but it is mostly in the woods and so drifting is not a severe problem with that one.
But what is important is that you got the setup that is right for you and your property/needs. Let us know how it goes this winter.
Ken
