snow removal options

[RippySkippy]

You know the history of your drive and it's tendency to drift and the amount of snow you receive. If it drifts a lot, a blade can present challenges with following snow storms. You can spend a lot of time making your drive area wide enough to give you a place to put future snows. A blower does not have these limitations. I've used both and always come back to using a blower.

 

[truckdiagnostics]

Well I agree with the others picking rocks out of the lawn in the spring is a PITA. I use our blower only if i have to for large snow falls and drifting. I am actually thinking of getting boss v plow for the skid steer. A straight blade will push the loader or tractor sideways in a heavy snow. V would allow to break through then bench it on the sides. This would keep the rocks from going into the next county. it is real hard to keep the rocks from hitting stuff, and your siding does not like it!

 

[2ndhalf]

Where in PA are you and how much snow do you get at a time?

A plow on the front of a truck or tractor would be a whole lot quicker. But have their limits, just depends on how much snow you get. If you havent exceeded those "limits" Id forget the blower

X2 on this comment.. though you may want to have both for a drive that size.

 

[Fallon]

The past 2 years my tractor plowed just fine with no chains. The first nasty snow of the year left half my driveway bare gravel & the other half with 4' drifts. I couldn't plow those drifts, to even drive through without needing to push myself out with the loader.

I now own a 2 stage 3pt blower & hope it works for future snow. Have the right sized chains for the front (wrong sized are being returned) I still have the small truck plow on my loader. I'm planning to always use the plow unless it doesn't work, then flip a 180 & bust out the slow big gun.

 

[Cord]

Had one like that growing up. We'd use a plow for speed and then blow the bigger storms or drifts and when the piles got too big. Two stage without question, but there are some very high quality industrial single stage units out there. Just stay away from the homeowner grade junk. With blowers you definitely get what you pay for.

 

[Fallon]

You have to push a single stage into the snow just like a plow. The augur on a 2 stage pulls the snow into the blower. I'm assuming if you have problems pushing a plow, you'll have problems pushing a single stage, at least in the SCUT or CUT size range.

 

[Drtumolo]

Thanks for all the info. My driveway does drift extremely bad in one area. I have already had drifts 4 foot deep from a 4 inch storm. My concern though is which type of blower will handle the gravel better. I hate the idea of having to change sheer pins constantly.

 

[Amvcane]

What type of gravel are you talking about? Is it 3/4" like under a concrete pour, or modified, mixed with various smaller sizes and stone dust?
You should prepare the drive for winter by leveling, raking, picking out larger stones. Like others, I leave a couple of inches of snow after the first storm and drive on it. Let it freeze and pack down for a solid base. It's not until the last storm of the season that I may throw a few stones when that frozen base gets soft.
I plow anything under 6" with garden tractor and 54" blade. Larger storms get blown with 2 stage 3pt blower which has a chain driven auger.(typical)Also blow back the banks when the plow becomes useless.
I don't know but maybe the gearbox driven augers have weaker shear pins to protect them. I have never broken either shear pin.
Your adjustable wheels on your blower look great and should work fine. Not sure why your impeller fan housing looks like you backed into a 2 yard pile of gravel.
Possibly a box blade or rake would be a good idea to prep for winter.

 

[oosik]

My gravel driveway is a little over 5200 feet long. After the driveway freezes - which normally happens prior to any measurable snowfall - the gravel is pretty well stuck down. When I had the smaller 1700 Ford - I used a 3-point attached, two stage snow blower. It took 4-5 hours to clean the yard, driveway and mailbox area. Plus, by the time I was competed, my neck & shoulders were stiff & sore from "looking back". Going safely in reverse was mind numbingly slow.

Now I have the larger Kubota M6040 and use a 96" rear blade. What a joy - driving forward and I get the total job finished in 1-2 hours. The tractor & rear blade are heavy enough to bust up and move any berm that will form from normal plowing. The rear blade on the Ford 1700 just was not heavy enough to accomplish this.

The telling factor here is - we VERY SELDOM get a single snow event that leaves more than 12" of snow and fortunately - in the 30+ years living here - the driveway has never had major snow drifting. I may have a small drift here or there but nothing that I can't simply drive the tractor thru and continue plowing.

 

[Cord]

Thanks for all the info. My driveway does drift extremely bad in one area. I have already had drifts 4 foot deep from a 4 inch storm. My concern though is which type of blower will handle the gravel better. I hate the idea of having to change sheer pins constantly.

Never had a problem with a blower jamming because of gravel. Usually it just passes right through. Just need to set the skid shoes high enough until a snow base is built up.