Let it snow....

[ndnewbie]

Given I have a nice snowblower (and not much money left after buying it), is there any reason I would want to also want a blade/plow? I just clear out the yard (which is gravel) and a couple of short gravel roads on our little farmstead. Now that I leveled them last winter, I am hoping not to blow quite as much of the Class 5 into the grass this winter.

After a blizzard, the blower is clearly the ticket. Are there circumstances when a blade is better?

 

[Thomas]

I'd say the blower should do the trick..one shot deal if you will...blade would make good ballast or quick clean up for light snow fall.

 

[jabbahop]

I have both and for me the blade comes in real handy late in the season when there is several inches of hardpack snow and ice melting on the base (I have a gravel drive). The blower doesn't do well with the slush but the blade pushes through.

 

[Spudgunner]

I have both and for me the blade comes in real handy late in the season when there is several inches of hardpack snow and ice melting on the base (I have a gravel drive). The blower doesn't do well with the slush but the blade pushes through.

I have had similar experiences. Additionally, early-season snows can contain alot of water and be quit slurpy.

On the flip side...I'm sure you'll gain experience in using your blower with slush/slurp. Early last season I was constantly plugging my blower with slush but I developed techniques which eventually made this occurance a relative rarity.

I do snow removal commercially and feel that both attachments are necessary. If I was not doing this commercially I would probably give the blower a year and then re-evaluate my need for a blade.

The bucket occasionally comes in handy with snow but that is very rare for me.

FWIW, about 99% of my snow removal is on roads that are composed of "roadmix" (3/4 crushed stone with sand).

 

[Mtngrancher]

Just traded my skiddy for a 2007 Toolcat. We average 400 inches of snow at the ranch. I ran tracks on the skiddy with very few traction problems. Do I need chains on the toolcat? I would rather not because part of the job has patterned concrete I would rather not tear up. Most of the snow removal are road base/gravel roads. I'll be running the SB 240 72" blower. Thanks.

 

[ndnewbie]

I like my 72" 240 blower, but how much snow do you get there?? Wow. I have not had any problems with traction on a good surface, but the Toolcat is clearly not an off the road vehicle. A few times I drove off what had become compressed snow, and had a heck of a time getting out.

I have a new addition (which has already proved useful after I found water at the bottom of a ditch I mowed into): A 4000 lb electric winch that I can plug into the trailer receiver, with a long cable. I also purchased a trailer receiver that I can clip onto the lift arm, useful for both moving trailers and for putting the winch up front.

I am looking forward to having it as an option for snow problems as well.

 

[Mtngrancher]

Yeah, we get a lot. We are just below the summit of Rabbit Ears Pass. Great powder for snowmobiling. We had 500" last year. Epic.

Winch for the trailer receiver is a great idea. Which product did you buy? I found a mounting plate that fits in the receiver that gives me many choices for the winch itself. Also, what product for the trailer receiver for the lift arm did you buy and do you recommend it?

Thanks again for the great ideas.

 

[jabbahop]

I live in Vermont and we don't get THAT much snow but we get the changing conditions that make traction very challenging. That and our 15 percent road!

We went with chains and there is no comparison. I got stuck 3 times in one day with the standard tires. Haven't gotten stuck since with the chains.

Some folks on the snowplow forum think that snow tires (studded I think) work well. Apparently the Toolcat wheels can accommodate Truck sized snow tires.

 

[ndnewbie]

I got the 4700 lb WARN Works from Northern Tool. (Item 142002-1806) I would have been willing to go bigger, but it was what they had. One great feature to look for is the 15' extension cord for the on-off switch, so you can activate the winch from inside the cab while operating the Toolcat and driving out. Another thing to keep in mind that if it has a pully, and you have adequate cable, you can double its pull.

The cables to hook the winch to the battery were too short. I cut the ends off of them, and made extensions by joining them to a pair of jumper cables with copper bolts, after cutting one end off those as well.

I was incredibly impressed with the people at Northern Tool. Big store, but I called at closing, and they opened up for me and stayed open a half hour to get me set up. Toolcat had one set of tires in soft mud in a ditch and others on steep bank. I was afraid to leave it overnight, or might have had a bigger job in the morning. Hooked the 4700lb WARN to a tree with a pully, and it came right out. I was really happy. Brought them cookies the next day for the break room.

 

[timm9]

In a perfect world with all flat roads/driveways chains are not necessary with the TC's. Most of the time we run chains on the rear and run chains on the front only when we have to. FWIW you might look into the large "cable chains". These are not the typical cables you put on a car. I'm referring to the kind that they run on fire trucks and semi trucks. They tout that they can run over 300 miles on dry pavement without repair. I have been looking at them for the TC's as they are only $130.00 a set. I just bought 200 feet of harden case cross link and with shipping it was almost $1,000. The money is bad enough but the time and energy (you can only cut the bulk chain with a O/A or plasma torch) to rebuild regular chains gets old. They will only work on regular road tires as their long life is due to the cross links rotating as the wheel turns. Snow tires with agressive "lugs" will not work. I have a source if anyone wants it.