I'm struggling with a similar situation. In the past, there were a couple of us that worked together to keep our private road clear, about 400 yards long. This year, the year I bought a decent enough size tractor to handle it myself (TC24D with blade and blower), everyone has turned into snowbirds heading to Florida. That leaves me, a widow, and a retired guy next door who would give you the shirt off his back and has always brought my Gravley back from mowing full of gas and cleaner than when he took it, but only has a walk behind snowblower. I'm considering showing him how to at least run the tractor with the blade to open the road for those occasions when we're away on ski trips or holiday weekends visiting family.
I don't charge anyone for plowing the road, and I wouldn't worry too much about someone being snowed in for a few hours. I'll get to it when I get to it. But what if they need to get a fire truck or ambulance in quickly? /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif I would feel pretty bad if the only reason they couldn't get through was because I had my tractor under lock and key. For that matter, if I'm away during a storm, I'm going to need to get down the road somehow when I return. I'd rather be able to drive than walk through snow up to my knees.
I'm sick as a dog right now with a foot of snow predicted for tonight. Maybe that will help me make up my mind.
Brad