Snow Plowing Snow with 2WD

[kbarrett]

Chris,

Thanks for the input! - 4WD would be preferred. But if a clean 2WD presents itself, well I might have to bite.

What snowblower did you go with?

 

[Youare]

My neighbor plowed his driveway for a number of years with a small older Kubota (somewhere around 16-18 horsepower) with a front mounted blade. His drive was all of 600 feet long and up hill, moderate climb.

We had some pretty big storms here in New Hampshire and the little Kubota never failed to cut the mustard.
He was retired so time was on his side and he did have a good set of tire chains.

Randy

 

[Soundguy]

Wondering here.... the difference between ag tires? and the rice tires. The pics of my lil'green ym1700 were on the old club.,. don't know if they made it over or not to the group. How do I tell the difference?

Chris

 

[pennwalk]

We used to clear the drive with an International 185. It had a front blade and turf tires with chains. It was 2WD and weighed about 1500lbs. I don't believe the tires were filled. It always got the job done but it took time and sometimes in deep or wet snow it was a struggle. I was always afraid that I was pushing it to hard but we used it for years. Now I have a Yanmar 186D. It weighs just over 1500 lbs. For a tractor this size and weight the 4WD really is nice. We haven't had any deep snow since I got it but it has plowed what snow we have had easily. If you had one of the heavier Yanmars 2WD would probably work. I found a Yanmar YSS 48 snowblower. My wife thought I was crazy cause I really didn't need it. But it goes so well with the tractor and I have always liked snowblowers. Some people collect Hummels./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Chris

 

[couchsachraga]

For 20 years my parents have plowed their driveway (200' or so, up a hill) with a 1965 Farmall Cub (a little smaller in stature than a YM336D, but only 13hp (engine) or so, and gas). It will get the job done, but a few things are necessary:
1) Filled tires and wheel weights
2) Chains
3) If the snow gets over 3" wet or 6" dry, you've got to plow. If you're getting a 36" storm, that's every few hours, which gets a little old after a while without a canopy....

So is it possible? Certainly! But if you can save for a bit longer and get a capable 4wd machine, you won't regret it. Or just purchase a "yard truck" with plow (in the Northeast they are plentiful, and generally under 1k).

Couchsachraga

 

[clifst2310]

The 36+ inches of snow is one of the reasons I now live in KY. We had an old 63 Willeys cab foward Jeep 4WD for plowing but there was alot of places it couldn't reach. That was when the manuel FEL's were put to work, my parents had 5. Here 6" is the norm and my 2310 with 5' box has no trouble at all.

 

[Soundguy]

Yikes.. small engine...

As for the canopy.. When i got my ym1700... i tended to do alot of box blade and dirt movement, and got tired of the overhead sun all of the time. I got one of those buggy style canvas-over-frame cannopies... Didn't even have to drill a hole.. the mounting bars were parallel with the fender hand bars.. just ring clamped them on.... was wonderful.

Chris

For 20 years my parents have plowed their driveway (200' or so, up a hill) with a 1965 Farmall Cub (a little smaller in stature than a YM336D, but only 13hp (engine) or so, and gas). It will get the job done, but a few things are necessary:
1) Filled tires and wheel weights
2) Chains
3) If the snow gets over 3" wet or 6" dry, you've got to plow. If you're getting a 36" storm, that's every few hours, which gets a little old after a while without a canopy....

 

[couchsachraga]

Greetings...

For years I assumed the hp was higher-it's a 4 cyl engine, takes about 4 quarts of oil with a filter change (old canister type, of course!), and just runs forever. It's a well built, under-powered machine. Kind of like the older Land Rovers and Jeeps....

Couchsachraga