Snow Removal on 22K SQ FT asphalt driveway
- Thread starter tyler84
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LD1
Epic Contributor
I vote plow on the truck.
With 22000sq ft, sounds like your drive is either very long, or a parking lot. But I am betting long. Truck plow will easily be 2x's faster than a tractor or skidloader, and even more so faster than a blower.
As far as the plow on truck not being maneuverable?? ITs a driveway. There shouldnt be anywhere in your driveway you cannot fit a vehichle. And if there is, it dont need plowed.
A tractor with cab and blower/plow set up to move snow is going to push $20k, and likely wont push as much or as fast as a truck.
With 22000sq ft, sounds like your drive is either very long, or a parking lot. But I am betting long. Truck plow will easily be 2x's faster than a tractor or skidloader, and even more so faster than a blower.
As far as the plow on truck not being maneuverable?? ITs a driveway. There shouldnt be anywhere in your driveway you cannot fit a vehichle. And if there is, it dont need plowed.
A tractor with cab and blower/plow set up to move snow is going to push $20k, and likely wont push as much or as fast as a truck.
aczlan
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It could be a 14' wide, 1400' long driveway with a 40x50 parking area at the end.
Aaron Z
LD1
Epic Contributor
And a Walmart parking lot would need another zero added to the end of his number
compact
Silver Member
Small tractors with a blade don't have enough iron or HP to give the bank depth - so the drive keeps getting narrower with larger storms. The snow rolls off the end of the blade and goes a couple of feet at most, then the bank gets high and the snow rolls back into the drive. OK if you start with a wide driveway but if you don't have width (ditches etc. prevent wide plowing) this will require pushing banks back with the FEL, "herring bone" stule, which gets old if you get frequent 2 foot dumps.
A pickup can throw snow very well on a long drive, probably gets the bank out 6 feet, and can get it up over a 3 1/2 high foot bank. It has the HP and stability to do this well plus a nice heated cab. Pickups don't do so well pushing snow back in a parking lot or a wide turn around in high snow areas (5 feet on the flat and level) - the drive will get smaller and smaller. The start big and finish small method works here, also if there is space. A small tractor is about useless for this also, the saying it takes iron to move snow is pretty true. Plus, the tractor will need chains, which may not agree with a paved drive. Tractors in winter with no chains are OK for flats but if there are any hills they are a hazard and ice / glassy wet snow makes them useless.
A 3 point blower on a tractor is not as quick as a plow, but there is no snowbank to contend with and it should throw snow a good 20-25 feet if it's dry and under a foot. I recently switched to this after using a blade for 20 years, would not go back. I have a 74" blower, 1 pass up and back and the drive is 10 - 11 feet wide. With 30 PTO HP I can feed it 18 inches of wet snow at about 1 MPH throwing about 15 feet on the way down, 2mph on the way back, so I'm down the 1/4 mile drive and back in 30 min, 40 if I clear out near the road. 18" of wet snow is bad news for a pickup on a curved hilly driveway. I've pulled a few of my neighbors out using a 9,000 lb tractor with double diamond ice chains - and the tractor wasn't any too big for the job. A pickup needs speed to plow that kind of snow and when things go wrong they can end up quite a ways down a bank - and they come out hard.
A pickup can throw snow very well on a long drive, probably gets the bank out 6 feet, and can get it up over a 3 1/2 high foot bank. It has the HP and stability to do this well plus a nice heated cab. Pickups don't do so well pushing snow back in a parking lot or a wide turn around in high snow areas (5 feet on the flat and level) - the drive will get smaller and smaller. The start big and finish small method works here, also if there is space. A small tractor is about useless for this also, the saying it takes iron to move snow is pretty true. Plus, the tractor will need chains, which may not agree with a paved drive. Tractors in winter with no chains are OK for flats but if there are any hills they are a hazard and ice / glassy wet snow makes them useless.
A 3 point blower on a tractor is not as quick as a plow, but there is no snowbank to contend with and it should throw snow a good 20-25 feet if it's dry and under a foot. I recently switched to this after using a blade for 20 years, would not go back. I have a 74" blower, 1 pass up and back and the drive is 10 - 11 feet wide. With 30 PTO HP I can feed it 18 inches of wet snow at about 1 MPH throwing about 15 feet on the way down, 2mph on the way back, so I'm down the 1/4 mile drive and back in 30 min, 40 if I clear out near the road. 18" of wet snow is bad news for a pickup on a curved hilly driveway. I've pulled a few of my neighbors out using a 9,000 lb tractor with double diamond ice chains - and the tractor wasn't any too big for the job. A pickup needs speed to plow that kind of snow and when things go wrong they can end up quite a ways down a bank - and they come out hard.
aczlan
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rmorey
Platinum Member
Agree fully. :thumbsup:
The only thing I might add would be to recommend a pull type blower vs a back up model. Just easier on the body as you dont have to drive in reverse down the driveway "twice".
aczlan
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If going with a blower, I really like front mount blowers and a B series Kubota would be a great platform for one...
Aaron Z
