I have areas that "fill in" with snow, 20 inches deep... I look over a foot away at almost bare ground (pasture). So I might be doing the same thing, a more permanent solution.
How far away does it need to be cut back?
Not enough tractor or bad strategy?
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How far away does it need to be cut back?
gladehound
Veteran Member
I second this idea. :thumbsup: I frequent the Northern Kingdom of Vermont and they can get a lot of snow. Hundreds of inches a year. The first thing I noticed there is that many of the roads are elevated about 4 feet above the surounding fields. People do the same with their driveway. It makes a huge difference with the blowing and when you plow the snow just falls down the bank and doesn't impede plowing for the next storm.
As for the tractor... ADD WEIGHT! You'll not only need it for snow removal, but for all that ground engagement you'll be doing to raise your driveway!
Some thoughts on adding weight:
1. used exercise plates can be bought very cheap. I added over 700 pounds to the 3 pt. with exercise plates.
2. Fill tires, but with those small tires you wont get a lot of weight. Maybe 200 pounds.
3. Add weight other places. I have a 300 pound FOPS. I also leave my loader and bucket on when I use the blade because it adds 800 pounds to the front end.
These are all just inexpensive things you can try before spending real money. If it doesn't work out, then a blower on the rear, blade on the front is the best of both worlds. Fast removal of light snow with blade and you can get through the heavy stuff with the blower. Or something bigger if you choose.
TripleR
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This has been a very interesting thread with some very good advice from people with a lot of knowledge on snow removal. I cannot add anything to the discussion as it has all been covered very well.
All I can add is that after operating tractors for well over fifty years and now owning them from 23 to 85 HP, don't make any decisions on trading until you get enough seat time to learn the capabilities of your tractor. Look at your overall use and not just snow removal. In most though not all cases using one tractor for everything is naturally going to be compromise. A bigger tractor will help in one area, but hurt in another.
All I can add is that after operating tractors for well over fifty years and now owning them from 23 to 85 HP, don't make any decisions on trading until you get enough seat time to learn the capabilities of your tractor. Look at your overall use and not just snow removal. In most though not all cases using one tractor for everything is naturally going to be compromise. A bigger tractor will help in one area, but hurt in another.
Jaylegger
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Considering the OP stated he's been at a 1/4 mile drive for 4 hours it's pretty good. The road I blow has a lot of juts, large turn around areas and driveways feeding into it which I requires extra time and care to do a correct and clean job, if just running 4 passes up and down it could easily be done 1/2 hour or so. However, the time will remain consistent storm after storm after storm and if using a blade it would not. I used to plow with a 7.5 foot blade on a F150 and to do a decent job it would take quite a bit longer than a couple minutes, a few heavy concurrent storms and a blade will take considerably longer than a couple hours. I hired some guys to plow for a couple seasons and they had the couple minute mentality that's why I decided to do it myself again so it could be done, what I consider, right.
Anyway, blades definitely have their place and am thinking about getting one for the tractor for small accumulations and slush. Personally I much prefer clearing snow with a front blower over a front blade and feel overall it's a better tool plus it's the only one you need ie: won't have to don the fel and spend hours and hours moving snowbanks around.
I remember staying overnight at North Platte, NE in early April.
Then setting out for Wilson, WY - just west of Jackson, WY the next morning.
I had a long'ish horse trailer on that was empty, there were winds and had been a lot of snow that night.
I think I counted 5 tractor/trailer rigs wrecked in the center median of I-80 before I got to Cheyenne.
I thought I recognized a couple of them as rigs that I had seen at some point the day before, or the day before that.
There are interesting snow breaks built alongside the highway in various places, they seemed very effective at keeping drifts off the highway, though obviously not PERFECT enough for the drivers who had lost their rigs.
I would study those if I had property in that area - whatever else we might think/say about "Engineers" those folk seem to have got it right, perhaps by trial and error, but it works.
Then setting out for Wilson, WY - just west of Jackson, WY the next morning.
I had a long'ish horse trailer on that was empty, there were winds and had been a lot of snow that night.
I think I counted 5 tractor/trailer rigs wrecked in the center median of I-80 before I got to Cheyenne.
I thought I recognized a couple of them as rigs that I had seen at some point the day before, or the day before that.
There are interesting snow breaks built alongside the highway in various places, they seemed very effective at keeping drifts off the highway, though obviously not PERFECT enough for the drivers who had lost their rigs.
I would study those if I had property in that area - whatever else we might think/say about "Engineers" those folk seem to have got it right, perhaps by trial and error, but it works.
Couple comments,
1) Don't try and make your tractor something it isn't, and sooooo many people do try. If you get a large amount of snow you are done or at the very least it will be an all day job.
2) I would leave a few rows of the corn standing for the winter (snow fence)
3) I would not even consider a snow-blower, the environment is just too windy loose snow will blow right back in.
4) I would think a tractor with a 7ft - 8ft blade after the initial cleanup, out once and back in....done.
1) Don't try and make your tractor something it isn't, and sooooo many people do try. If you get a large amount of snow you are done or at the very least it will be an all day job.
2) I would leave a few rows of the corn standing for the winter (snow fence)
3) I would not even consider a snow-blower, the environment is just too windy loose snow will blow right back in.
4) I would think a tractor with a 7ft - 8ft blade after the initial cleanup, out once and back in....done.
Well, I'm glad to see some of you getting seat time. Looks like the snow that usually falls here has decided to go south and NE. Not that I like snow all that much, but plowing is kind of fun! Last year I had massive drifts and only a JD LA115 lawn mower with 4' JD blade on the front to work with. Now that I have something leaps and bounds better, there's no snow here....
slowzuki
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You need a snowblower, and snowfences back 30 feet or so from your driveway, and cut the brush adjacent to the driveway. Plowing makes banks, the banks make the drifts deeper and more work for you next snow.
I clear several driveways like yours, I hate it when my blower breaks because you can plow 5-6 times a day and it will fill back in continuously.
The brush causes the wind to slow down and drop snow in and behind it. This would be good away from your driveway, not right next to it.
I have no idea why the poster above said no snowblower. I've been plowing open country driveways like yours for hmm, 15 years now. I always regret it when I plow one of them and I try to get back asap with the blower to remove the plowed banks. As long as there are banks, it will fill in as deep as the bank is tall.
I clear several driveways like yours, I hate it when my blower breaks because you can plow 5-6 times a day and it will fill back in continuously.
The brush causes the wind to slow down and drop snow in and behind it. This would be good away from your driveway, not right next to it.
I have no idea why the poster above said no snowblower. I've been plowing open country driveways like yours for hmm, 15 years now. I always regret it when I plow one of them and I try to get back asap with the blower to remove the plowed banks. As long as there are banks, it will fill in as deep as the bank is tall.
gladehound
Veteran Member
Good point. I was thinking single lane out and back. I'm just jelious because I'd love to have a 3pt blower in the back and the blade on the front. Would be a sweet combo. :thumbsup:
kevinj
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Why would one want a blade up front when you can have a blower? I have heard others like that setup.
I prefer to have no banks to promote drifting.
I am on my 4th winter and NEVER wished I had a blade on the front. If I wish to scrape slush in the spring then I use a back blade.
Yes, and you left out, most of the time a plow is faster, and it does not blow snow in your face when it's windy. :thumbsup:
kevinj
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I have a cab:thumbsup:
Yes, in some situations a plow is faster. In mine it is slower and the banks make the drifting that much worse.
I have a drive down around the walk out and my shop is down there so when the snow blows over the buildings in can get deep!!
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kevinj
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I did not write that very well, some up above wanted a blower on the back AND blade up front.
If you have a blower I am not sure what value the blade would be as there should be no snow left to push with a blade!!!!
Mace Canute
Elite Member
My vote would be to relegate your GC2400 to yard work and get a decent sized tractor with a blower.
One bit of advice I haven't seen mentioned (I might have missed it) is knocking down the ridges on each side of your road after you have cleared it. Back when I was a kid on the farm, I would often do this on our little country road, after it had been blown out, from our farm to where it joined a better, more traveled road. We had an old telephone pole, about 25 foot long that I would drag up and down the road behind our WC Allis Chalmers. It would not only knock down the ridge, it would pack the snow down on each side and smooth it out so the whole road cross section was kinda saucer shaped rather than a square cut through the snow. This made a big difference in the amount of snow that would get trapped on the road since the wind would carry it through the smoothed out banks rather than dump it into a trough. It was fast to do, since I would travel in high gear...all of 9 mph!
Front blower, with a cab, will work. :thumbsup:
Unless you have a gravel drive :thumbdown:
If you have a plow attached to the loader arms, the snow is never too deep, and you never have piles that are too high.
gladehound
Veteran Member
A plow up front and blower in the back would be sweet because...
1. I'm not in a drift zone and we often get < 1 foot of snow at a time so you can fly with a plow. I often plow at 8 mph. I don't think my 19 hp engine could blow a 6 foot path that fast!!! :laughing: A few days ago I did 7 driveways in 1 hr 30 minutes. If I were blowing I still would have been on number 1 !!!
2. Sometimes you are in a situation where you want to move snow but because of obstacles there is no easy way to plow it. Then you simply turn around and blow it out.
3. Sometimes you want to move a pile back that is too big to push so you could blow it.
4. Every once in a while we get a wet 2-3 foot snow at a time and I'm speculating that I would not be able to push the plow through that much snow so I could use the blower if it were too much for the plow. But this is my first year with the front blade so I'm not sure what it can handle.
Don't cut your tractor short here. My old JD 650 would handle 2 feet of snow rather well with a 5.5 ft blade, engine was 17 HP but weighed about the same as the newer JD 2720. Miss the 650 but not the 8 speed manual transmission or the no power steering.A plow up front and blower in the back would be sweet because...
1. I'm not in a drift zone and we often get < 1 foot of snow at a time so you can fly with a plow. I often plow at 8 mph. I don't think my 19 hp engine could blow a 6 foot path that fast!!! :laughing: A few days ago I did 7 driveways in 1 hr 30 minutes. If I were blowing I still would have been on number 1 !!!
2. Sometimes you are in a situation where you want to move snow but because of obstacles there is no easy way to plow it. Then you simply turn around and blow it out.
3. Sometimes you want to move a pile back that is too big to push so you could blow it.
4. Every once in a while we get a wet 2-3 foot snow at a time and I'm speculating that I would not be able to push the plow through that much snow so I could use the blower if it were too much for the plow. But this is my first year with the front blade so I'm not sure what it can handle.
That is a long drive to not have something out front to clear snow fast with. I have a BX that I use to clear a 600 ft drive with. I have only a rear blade, but is is a 5 footer, not a 4. I got a 5 so that when it is fully angled, it is bigger than the tractor wheels. I face it backwards and back up when the snow is too deep to drive forward through. I had to add weights to the blade to keep it on the ground or it rides up over the snow when it is deep. I have cleared 18 to 24 inch storms with it and the FEL. Generally up to a foot is no problem, just back down the drive once, turn around and back up the other side. Done. I think I could have gotten the 6 foot blade for snow pushing. If I had your drive, I would have the front blade, power angle and lift, and a rear blower. A cab would be on my list if the first 2 things didn't break the budget.
