700' gravel driveway with 2 acres of lawn in snow country

[oosik]

As you can quickly see - each has their own method of determining needs and wants. The line that defines the two is often blurred.

I live in NE WA state, we get snow, not a lot, but enough that plowing your driveway is required. I have a mile long gravel driveway, 80 acres of open grass land & pine forests, two lakes and about an acre of lawn. For 25 years I used a 28hp Ford 1700 4WD to do all the chores. Eight years ago I bought a new Kubota M6040 and began with the projects I could never touch with the smaller Ford.

Both of the tractors I've owned are/were open station. I enjoy being out in the fresh air, don't mind at all bundling to plow the driveway and have a distinct dislike being cooped up in a cab.

In my case - with the smaller Ford, I used the rear blade until the berms would build up and I could no longer propel snow over the berms. I would then mount up the pto driven 3-point snow blower and clear the berms. With the Kubota and the rear blade I'm able to clear the driveway and berms, no need for a snow blower. The weight of the Kubota(10,100#) does have its advantages.

I was fortunate - I retired looooong ago, at an early age and have never been "pressed" into needing my driveway cleared so I can get to work. Most times after a heavy nighttime snow fall - I'm out in the morning, clearing the driveway and find that when I reach the county road, it hasn't been cleared yet. So - I can drive down my driveway but still must wait for the county roads to be cleared to drive the ten miles to the nearest town.

 

[9973720wb19]

An ATV will not move the snow like you think and it will be very cold. a cab tractor with a loader and mowing deck (brush & finish) will be able to get all the things done you want. A zero turn mows fast but that's all it can do. I'd try to find a used low priced zero turn and put most of my budget into a tractor. If you want a snow moving tractor, try to get one with R1 tires. R1 will be hard on your lawn but if you're mowing fields...who cares. I have a cab tractor with bucket and snow blade. the snow blade is the way to go (for snow only) if you can get one. my opinion, cabs are the best! no bugs in the summer and no cold in the winter. in importance of usability I'd suggest: 1) tractor with mowing deck and loader, 2) Zero Turn, 3) ATV. If you do get an ATV make sure it has a dump bed or it's then just something to cart you around. If you driveway is gravel, you should read about how to protect it when plowing snow on this forum. You can't use a snow blower...

 

[Tractorable]

I think the BX is going to be too small for you. The BX's have a reputation of being quite capable but they have two innate issues. The first is they're too light. The second is their wheels are too small.

Weight defines how much work a tractor can do. My neighbor has a BX and while it's a reliable machine it's limited in its capability by its light weight. We tried removing some rocks from my pasture with the backhoe on his BX and those rocks just laughed at the little BX. The backhoe just dragged the tractor around like it was nothing. It couldn't get planted.

The other issue is it's tiny wheels and short wheelbase. They fall into every hole in the ground making for a really rough ride. They are also tippy on hills due to their narrow width.

If I was in your situation I'd pick up a riding lawn mower for your yard and a larger heavier more capable machine for the snow removal and other chores around the rest of the property.

Husqvarna makes a good and relatively inexpensive riding mower with a diff lock and a K66 transmission. I would then take the rest of your cash and put it down on a 4wd CUT with SSQA loader in the 30-40hp range.

Pretty much all the new CUT's are good. Kubota and Yanmar are the Japanese offerings and the rest are Korean. Can't buy an American made tractor anymore unfortunately.

 

[cabover4us]

When we moved here in 1992 we faced the same questions, and as time went on the situation evolved into more land and private road. There's six neighbors on this private road so even when we didn't own it, I felt a sense of responsibility to keep road plowed and potholes filled. We were overwhelmed by the options being told to us with very little budget. Our next door neighbor did most of the 1st year plowing until I acquired an old 4 wheel drive utility truck, 1960s chevy, don't go that route, trust me. I also bought a Yardman 33" 13 walk behind snowblower that in itself proved to be one of the best purchases for the best money spent over the years, still in use to this day, eventually added a large Ariens as a sister machine. Eventually we bought an older diesel chevy 6.5 to plow and tow, another money pit, struggled with that right up to about 7 years ago keeping it running. Hired out plowing for a few years, that was stressful worrying whether plow guy would be early enough, to keep neighbors happy even though they never complained. 2010ish, bought 03 chevy 2500hd from my son, drove it few years Year before last went on Craigslist found minutemount 7.5 for it, which is what we used last and this year. Now that we have the control back in our hands life is good again. Right around the time of this 03 we bought a john deere 855 with backhoe loader and 5' mower, the land here is 3 acres and 1400' of private road. Been acquiring some 3 point hitch attachments over time, the best one is a 60" Woodmaxx SB60 snowblower rearmount, simply unbelievable the job it does. A zero turn mower we used until I gave it to my son, who showed an unrealistic attachment to it, he bought a home it Brunswick I gave it to him. Of all the time we have lived in Salem the best times were when I controlled the plowing, just too stressful to relinquish control. What we use to date is plow truck, two walk behind blowers, one tractor mounted snowblower, and loader, plus mower deck for summer. 2002 Honda Rubicon Forman with plow and chains, that's another unbelievable piece of machinery for snow. One year in the middle 90s we had 6' snowbanks here, if it wasn't for that yardman snowblower I don't know what we would have done. Mind you that none of these purchases were new other than the Yardman walk behind. Summertime I mow all the property, even up to the road edge of route 22, working on converting a 52" Bunton walk behind to pull behind offset for the john deere for a 9' swath, that should speed mowing up a bit. Extremely long winded and I apologize, get stuck on the details.

 

[Deere Dude]

My wife and I just bought our dream house in upstate NY. It has a 600-700 foot gravel driveway and a lot of lawn area to mow. I'm on the fence about what I should do with a budget of 10-12k to spend on snow removal, mowing and general land maintenance. My first instinct is a used sub-compact tractor, maybe a Kubota bx 2200(there's one local for sale with a fel and a 60" belly mower for $8,000. that would leave me enough $$ in my budget for a front mount snowblower and tire chains).
Or should I get a zero turn mower and a plow truck or atv and plow?
I bought a new ariens 28" sho deluxe walk behind snowblower last year that would do the job, but it would take a long time on the new driveway.

I'm leaning towards the tractor idea, but I'd like to hear what some of you think would be best. Here's a picture of the driveway and lawns I need to take care of courtesy of google earth
View attachment 519083

Thanks
Mike

I think you have it nailed. The BX (or another brand like that) is small and a loader clearing that driveway would be a real pain after 1/2 the winter. Get the BX, load the tires and get chains and a front mount snowblower if you can. I surely wouldn't walk the driveway or plow it because the banks make good snowfences and your drive will have 3' of snow just from drifting. Blow it.

As an example, I had 400 and 700' drives in central WI. that had roughly the snow you have it sounds like. I used a JD x7xx size garden tractor or smaller for 25 years and never had a problem. I think that is about the BX 22s size?

No cab, had one but it was a pain taking it on and off for the seasons. I had a 47" 2 stage blower and I would go out and be back in the house in an hour and a half or less. Most snows were 3-4 with occasional 12-13".

Fluid in your tires, wheel weights, chains and a 2 stage snowblower will be your friends.

I bought a 45HP teractor with FEL and decided to just bucket the drives but after about 1 time I went back to the small X7XX tractor, much faster.

 

[arrow]

Only way that BX will be of service for snow is with a blower and it will be slow but steady compared to a good plow vehicle. For your drive and if I were going to "plow", I'd want nothing less than a 6000-8000 lb something with a plow and not just a front end loader. If you go the blower route, you will best be served with a front mount. Your neck will thank you. Nice looking spread.

 

[Egon]

I'm thinking something of 25-30 HP. , 4x4, turf tire's with chains, front bucket, rear snowblower & rear mower might suit your needs. As to budget ??? The blower & loader allow you to nibble away and clear the really large snowfall/drifts.

With snow plows (truck or tractor ) the side ridges can get overwhelming in high snow areas & for deep snow & heavy drifts a heavy tractor that may not meet your other needs is required.

 

[dodge man]

A BX will get the job done with a snow blower. I think it will do a good job fairly quickly. I think it will move just as fast as a larger tractor, just a smaller width. They also make decent mowers and the FEL will be handy. I've got a 600 foot driveway and have cleared 20" of snow with the FEL, that was slow but got the job done, a blower would be great but we don't get a lot of snow.

Yes a plow truck or cabbed tractor would be great, but you have a budget, maybe latter you can upgrade after you see how the BX works out.

One thing you get from this site is opinions pulling you in a lot of directions. One guy will say you can't get by with less than 60 hp tractor while another guy will tell you he has been taking care of 300 acres with a BX. It's always easier to spend other people's money. I think you have a handle on what you need.

8k for a used BX sounds like market price in my area, depending on condition.

 

[Wsmitty]

When I bought my property, the first thing I got was a front hitch for my old Durango SUV and a Meyer Home Plow and chains. I also put a rubber blade edge on it. Best money I ever spent. I live up in the mountains and have several hundred feet of gravel drive and 1/4 mile gravel road to get to the state road. The first winter here we had quite a bit of snow. I'd make a run every 6-8 inches to keep it from getting too deep. I didn't spend a ton of money and this setup has served me well in the 3 years I've had it. Much nicer to sit in the comfort of my truck with a hot beverage and plow when I need to and not have to rely on anyone.

 

[rekees4300]

I'm leaning towards the tractor idea, but I'd like to hear what some of you think would be best. Here's a picture of the driveway and lawns I need to take care of courtesy of google earth

Since you're located in a high snow area, a snowblower would be the weapon of choice. The problem with a blade is that snow could pile up along the sides of your lane so high it will be immovable. A blower prevents that problem.