Snow Removal with the Mahindra 4540 4 WD

[swampy6]

Hey Swampy6,
welcome I remember that snowfall well .I'm in upstate NY also and that was a large snow fall dump. I had a HLA2000 blade on fel and a LA 2674 3 point blower on back of the L3540,,had fun that day.I'm located in a small place called Galway NY.
DevilDog
View attachment 525796

It looks lie your're loaded for bear, nice setup.

 

[swampy6]

:welcome: to TBN.
I'd say you had the upper hand on old man winter w/that nice setup.:thumbsup:

Thanks for the welcome Thomas, we'll see what Mother Nature throws at us this winter. We've received 4 or 5 inches of snow before and 6 or 7 miles south of us received two feet so there are times we don't get hit with the lake effect from Lake Ontario.

I have to go, time to clean the saws so we can drop a few pine that are a pain to plow around.

 

[oosik]

Wow! Swampy - you live in an area that can be DUMPED upon by lake effect snows?? I have a close friend that lives in the Upper Peninsula(UP) - Ontonagon, MI, and they get crazy dumped on. He takes great pleasure carving a snow tunnel from his house to the street. I like winter and snow - but there is a limit.

Yes, I have a big & heavy tractor with a massive heavy rear blade. It allows me to clear my mile long gravel driveway without having to clear frozen berms with a 3-point blower. After having to clear the berms with a blower on my original & smaller tractor, I got tired of backing up for 3 to 4 hours. My neck and shoulders would get so stiff & sore - no amount of Jack Daniels would ease the pain.

Now I off-set, angle and go like the wind(kind of) and away go all the 'ol nasty frozen berms.

 

[swampy6]

Wow! Swampy - you live in an area that can be DUMPED upon by lake effect snows?? I have a close friend that lives in the Upper Peninsula(UP) - Ontonagon, MI, and they get crazy dumped on. He takes great pleasure carving a snow tunnel from his house to the street. I like winter and snow - but there is a limit.

Yes, I have a big & heavy tractor with a massive heavy rear blade. It allows me to clear my mile long gravel driveway without having to clear frozen berms with a 3-point blower. After having to clear the berms with a blower on my original & smaller tractor, I got tired of backing up for 3 to 4 hours. My neck and shoulders would get so stiff & sore - no amount of Jack Daniels would ease the pain.

Now I off-set, angle and go like the wind(kind of) and away go all the 'ol nasty frozen berms.

The Watertown NY area and south get pounded with the lake effect but when the winds shift north some we can get it, we're about 1:30 hours north of Watertown.

We thought about a snowblower for the 4540 but since it would go on the back we went with the plow.

I did get the saws cleaned but never dropped the pines, I went down to our neighbor's house and pushed some wood back towards the house so when I plow this winter there will be more room.

 

[oosik]

Well, over here, we get just enough wind to drive the cold clear into your bones( 4 to 8 mph). VERY seldom enough to cause our snows to drift and 14" to 20 " is a really monumental amount of snow for any single event. 4" to 8" is closer to normal here.

There are some definite + & - points to a blower. They are expensive and if you have a big tractor, well, then the blower costs can be astronomic. Believe me driving in reverse with 3-point blower can end up being a "numbing" experience, no matter what size tractor you operate. A good blower can handle the deepest snows - whereas a rear blade may struggle with most anything over 12" to 16". The rear blade will get the job done - it may take multiple passes to clear down to bare ground if you are dealing with really deep snows. With a blower you can "put" the snow exactly where you want it - this may be more difficult with a rear blade. I can clear my mile long driveway and mailbox area in an hour with the rear blade. With the blower it always took 3 + hours to clear the same. No matter which way the discharge chute was pointed - the snow always seemed to drift back on me and I've alway had open station tractors.

 

[swampy6]

Well, over here, we get just enough wind to drive the cold clear into your bones( 4 to 8 mph). VERY seldom enough to cause our snows to drift and 14" to 20 " is a really monumental amount of snow for any single event. 4" to 8" is closer to normal here.

There are some definite + & - points to a blower. They are expensive and if you have a big tractor, well, then the blower costs can be astronomic. Believe me driving in reverse with 3-point blower can end up being a "numbing" experience, no matter what size tractor you operate. A good blower can handle the deepest snows - whereas a rear blade may struggle with most anything over 12" to 16". The rear blade will get the job done - it may take multiple passes to clear down to bare ground if you are dealing with really deep snows. With a blower you can "put" the snow exactly where you want it - this may be more difficult with a rear blade. I can clear my mile long driveway and mailbox area in an hour with the rear blade. With the blower it always took 3 + hours to clear the same. No matter which way the discharge chute was pointed - the snow always seemed to drift back on me and I've alway had open station tractors.

That's a very long driveway, I can see why the neck and shoulders could/will get sore. We can get some really bad winds here but since we don't need to go anywhere it's not a problem for us.

We're surrounded by some big White Pines so it blocks enough of the wind that it isn't real bad but when I head down to our neighbor's to plow he's out by the road so that north wind in the winter time cuts through you.

The pines are loaded with pine cones this year, does that mean a tough winter snow wise?:confused3:

 

[oosik]

My house and all the outbuildings are surrounded by a huge semi-circle of really big Ponderosa pines. Our "big" winds come out of the SW and these trees do a really great job blocking the wind. Its important enough that I keep a very close check on the health of these 35 to 40 trees on an on-going basis.

I don't know about the pine cone situation and your upcoming winter. One things fairly certain - your squirrels and chipmunks will be eating well this winter.

 

[swampy6]

My house and all the outbuildings are surrounded by a huge semi-circle of really big Ponderosa pines. Our "big" winds come out of the SW and these trees do a really great job blocking the wind. Its important enough that I keep a very close check on the health of these 35 to 40 trees on an on-going basis.

I don't know about the pine cone situation and your upcoming winter. One things fairly certain - your squirrels and chipmunks will be eating well this winter.

The lot we bought that the house sits on should've been thinned out years ago but since it wasn't the dead,damaged and the tall thin pines are coming down.