Snow Fun in the snow

[Dmacleo]

It's really the only reason I got mine. I put the MMM on it so that it would not sit all summer and so that I do not need to find a place to store another tool for mowing. I didn't take any pictures, it took me 4 hours over 2 days to clean up after last weeks weather. Then it got windy and I spent another hour moving the drifts on Saturday.

I got lucky on Dec 17 storm, but I've been in them 40+ inch storms in a PU truck. long days

 

[AlbanySamurai]

The usual, my 2360 front-mount blower. Hard to beat that, and I don't get the high ridges plows leave -- there's certainly enough of that around here, blocking views of the road on driveways, intersections, etc. A bit dangerous in places, methinks.

View attachment 680778

I would love to have that snowblower. But, they are not cheap.

 

[AlbanySamurai]

What are you kidding?...if it were not for playing in the snow a good portion of the TBN membership could get by with just a lawn mower...!

:laughing: Yes, man they are certainly fun! I am looking forward to spring time and more time on the seat and with the backhoe. I need many more hours to become passable operator.

 

[irvingj]

No, they're not cheap, which is why, after hours of deliberation, calculation, self-doubt and worry, I opted for the whole shebang when I ordered mine -- TLB + blower. Never regretted it. I picked up a gently-used MMM a couple years afterward, but that blower was the main reason I got my 2310.

 

[ray66v]

I once had a snow blower on an open tractor, no thank you.

The fun goes out of it real fast when the wind shifts, and it blows back at you.

That's why God invented the snow plow. :stirthepot:

 

[blackd]

Ray66, agreed re: the open tractor and blower use. I built a cab, but then didn't use the blower for 2 years so sold it. I now have a home built blade which also hasn't been used in 2 years. Keeping it though.

 

[hube2]

I've never really considered moving snow to be a fun job.

I do have an open tractor with a blower, but after more than 20 years of dealing with it I really don't find it a problem as far as getting covered with snow goes, I dress for it. Snowmobile suite, balaclava, hats, hood, goggles.

The main issue I have with wind is when it blows across my view of where I'm going and I can no longer see where I need to aim the blower and this would not be corrected by having a cab. There are times when I simple have no choice but to blow into the wind, I just lower the chute deflector to minimize how much I get covered with but even this does not always stop the plume from obscuring the view. This means I have to stop every few feet so that I can make sure I'm still going in the right direction.

To be honest, the worst thing was what we go last week, 6 inches of snow followed by 2 inches of rain that compressed the snow down to between 2 and 3 inches of slush. Blower was completely useless, it was like trying to blow a lake of water. I've still got between 1 an 2 inches of solid ice in some places because it froze up the following night before I could finish scraping it out. It really is not fun working in the rain when it's 33F outside.

 

[AlbanySamurai]

I once had a snow blower on an open tractor, no thank you.

The fun goes out of it real fast when the wind shifts, and it blows back at you.

That's why God invented the snow plow. :stirthepot:

ray66v, did you build that plow yourself? Does it angle? Do you remove the wheels when you use the plow? Very nice setup!

 

[LouNY]

I used several pieces of equipment for that big storm, I got at least 38 inchs that day.
It was not the nicest storm for me, lost the water pump on the Branson 8050 which is cabbed after just getting started.
Had my neighbor finish getting me opened up, then had to dig and tow my backup tractor (no cab and 2wd) out to get it chained up
for using the next day. The old backup plow truck wouldn't stay running, GMs wonderful key security system

ended up with the blower (8 footer) on the IH 574 for several hours then back on the blade for final cleanup.
But new water pump on the cabbed tractor so good to go when needed, figured out what relays to jump on the old truck when the security decides to act up, so it's usable for now.

 

[ray66v]

ray66v, did you build that plow yourself? Does it angle? Do you remove the wheels when you use the plow? Very nice setup!

Thanks. Yes, I did build it, (mostly).

The photo is the prototype. It was supposed just be a proof of concept, and a test to see if a GC can push a 72" plow.

Currently, 14 years later, I am still using the prototype. I made one change. I realized in testing that with good planning, I only need to change the angle twice when I plow my drive. So, I decided to be cheap, rather than lazy. I actually get off the tractor twice, and change the angle. In this version, I did beef up the manual angle adjusting area, and add hinges where it mounts to the loader frame, so it can float.

The casters are to keep the blade above the gravel drive. Using the bucket tilt function on the joy stick, raises or lowers the cutting edge height above the drive.

A loader mounted plow gives you flexibility a traditional plow doesn't, like being able to push the top off a snow pile.

And yes, my GC easily pushes a 72" plow.

I plow with turf tires,(no chains), on a gravel drive. I do leave the Backhoe on for ballast. Which works great, if you live on the flat land, were people are supposed to. If you live with the mountain goats, you may not want to do that.