Not enough tractor or bad strategy?

[gladehound]

5000lbs! No where near that but would guess under 3000 lbs. Rule of thumb I have, if the snow is deeper than the plow height you are in for real work. Learned the hard way (as always). Years back got 30 inches of the real wet stuff and could not get the tractor out of the barn. My wife kept saying I should go out and plow and me being a MAN said nah tractor can handle it. The real issue was I had pulled the tractor in the barn instead of backing it in and had to back out of the barn (front plow blade), what a mess. It's the initial pass that gets ya. Wife said "told ya so". I love being married to a smart women.:thumbsup:

Did you have chains. I can't put chains on the rear because of clearance issues. I do have chains for the front but I avoid using them as much as possible because of garage floor damage and possible stress to the front axle shafts. We've only had 6 inches at a time since I got the front blade and that I can plow in 2wd. I hope we get a storm that at leasts tests the set-up so I know what it can do... But I know... be careful what you wish for! :confused2:

 

[Gizmo2]

Did you have chains. I can't put chains on the rear because of clearance issues. I do have chains for the front but I avoid using them as much as possible because of garage floor damage and possible stress to the front axle shafts. We've only had 6 inches at a time since I got the front blade and that I can plow in 2wd. I hope we get a storm that at leasts tests the set-up so I know what it can do... But I know... be careful what you wish for! :confused2:

Another rule of thumb I have, always ensure your front tires can spin before your rear tires and the front axle and drive train should work out fine with no problems or damage. I run rear chains year round and front chains only when it gets icy. You will never stop all the tire spin while moving snow, just live with it. With these smaller tractors just when you think it to be impossible to spin your tires and your tractor is unstoppable something will break. If you become obsessed with total ground engagement or traction on snow buy a bigger tractor.

 

[Gio]

Wow..I have learned an amazing amount of information. Thank you all.

I few things I learned:


Corn goes down, Fence goes up!

Stay very friendly with my neighbor and his JD 8300

Understand that sometimes I just won't make it to work and that is OK

Use all these pages of info to sell my boss (wife) on buying some new equipment. Still thinking but maybe a blower/blade/cab or bigger rig if I catch her on a glass of wine or two.

Keep working on my strategy and know that I may never nail it down

Mother nature is always more powerful then Diesel.

Most importantly I learned this Forum is an excellent source of info and filled with good people willing to help out.

Thanks again

Gio

 

[Dutch445]

I'm with the front snowblower crew on this one,
I would put my X585 with blower, curtis cab, chains
and loaded tires out there and have a blast blowing the
snow and seeing it go go go gone!
then when i got done, i'd blow all that bank on the
windy side and make that gone too!

i have a tendency to widen the driveway where it drifts,
back as far as i can, if i have time, to reduce the bank
near the driveway that catches the snow. if you can get it
right, the wind can be your friend, look at a large portion of
your driveway that would blow clean if it weren't for the banks.

 

[bdeboer]

I have a quarter mile long driveway also. When drifted in I have used a loader and filled and turned to dump. I also kept the loader low enough to push a little snow when turning. Then used the a rear blade to clean it up. This would take 2-3 hours.

I currently use an old truck with a plow, but think that in the long run a new plow on one of my newer trucks will be the solution. The truck also is used to clear a couple of rental driveways and a commercial property. The truck cleans it out quickly plus I can drive over to take care of the other properties. The downside is that the truck sits for long periods of time and requires maintenance and repairs.

In your situation, I would use the snow fence, and chains for the tractor. Try pushing forward with the loader to break through. The rear blade will work better for clean up.

 

[SandburRanch]

Wow..

Understand that sometimes I just won't make it to work and that is OK



Gio

After you get that bigger better equipment and get the drive cleared you can go back to the house, stoke the fire and spend a day or two on TBN..

If your rural counties are average they only have a couple or so maintainers to clear all the east/west roads. Or maybe you have all north/south roads to get to work.:laughing:

 

[Gio]

The funny thing is, the Main road that runs East/West in front of my house and leads me to rt80 (5 miles away) is clear and dry as a bone. It is an emergency route and they keep it in great shape.

The day i was Snowed in I could watch cars flying down the main road. When I called in to work they thought I was joking. I had to send them pics to believe me.

 

[Chilly807]

North south roads are usually drifted over, prevailing westerly winds do that.

I have a similar situation now, a driveway I clear has drifting problems. Rule of thumb is never put any snow on the upwind side that you don't have to, otherwise the wind will use it to dump fresh snow behind in the lee.

A rear blade will only deal with so much snow, anything more than 12" you need serious weight and power to deal with. My L3400 is quite a bit bigger than the 2400 you have, and it struggles with deep snow at times. Tire chains, ice chains in particular, are a very good investment.

A blower is your best bet if you have enough power to drive a good sized one. The 5 HP per foot rule applies if you're not in a hurry.

Invest in some good snow fence in the short term, a hedgerow is a good long-term strategy. What you'll save in fuel will pay for the snow fence in a couple years.

Sean

 

[bstrom]

Snow fence and call a plow truck. You can pay him for many years while you drink coffee in the warm kitchen for what you will will pay for a bigger tractor and equipment. Or if you've got the bread buy a 4wd pickup if you don't already have one and a homeowner or used plow setup. Use your tractor to clean up around the house. Forget plowing that open road with a tractor in that wind unless you get a big one with a cab and what a waste of money unless you are going to use it for a lot of other farm type stuff.

I'm a tough guy and work outside in the winter here in Maine but I wouldn't sit on my butt plowing on an open tractor in that wind. Crazy.

Nice place, it's got a nice feel at least from the photos and I love the way that open country looks. Nice house with real character and carpentry too, like the ones here in Maine.

 

[Sackett2]

In the missile fields of ND, the main equipment they gave us was a payloader.
It was adequate. big snows you worked longer but it would do the job. It would have helped if they had given us a snow bucket, or a blade to angle.

Just before i left they gave us Bobcats with a blower. These were nice too. The nice advantage was one pass and the road was clear with left over; but it was a bit easier to get stuck.

Long term I would think a blower attachment would do you OK, I would just save for that myself...