Snow storms tractor for emergency travel

[Will_C]

Many years ago, one of father's employees and his wife left their hill to go into the village for groceries during a heavy snow. They couldn't get back home- about 18" on the ground. My dad let them take his Case track loader to drive the 5 miles home

Doug and his wife bundled up in some of dad's coveralls, put their groceries in the bucket, and headed up the road. 45 cold, wet minutes later they were home.

Will

 

[Garandman]

Cab would be nice but I think that is a $6,000 upgrade for a rare if ever emergency. Any emergency use would be true emergency not a milk run.

You cab buy a rock solid used snowmobile for $3-5,000 all day long.

 

[tcreeley]

A tractor is still going to get stuck once the snow is hitting the bottom of the axles. Put a blower on it and you can make your own road- provided you don't hit something. What you want is a skidder! But they are pricey.

Get a 4x4 pickup with a plow if you want to head out on the highway. Your neighbors will be glad to put you to work! None of the farmers with the really big tractors around here ever leave the door yard with them during the winter. Generally they have a pickup for the snow.

Almost no one uses a tractor for clearing snow in my area of Maine. I do and one guy I know does. Everyone else uses a pickup.

 

[arrow]

Depends on the depth you think you would be traveling in. Most midsize cuts won't move well in 18" of snow even with ags. For traveling in deeper snow, you'd need a tractor with at least a 9.50x24 ag front tire. This puts you in the 50 hp and up range.

 

[Garandman]

Almost no one uses a tractor for clearing snow in my area of Maine. I do and one guy I know does. Everyone else uses a pickup.

My observation is here in MA they are F250's while in N ME you see F450 4WD stake or dump bodies with a couple tons of sand in back.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

Ok, this is probably a naive question, but is it practical to use a tractor for emergency travel on roads during severe snow storms? Living near Buffalo NY, we had the "thrill" of what we call Snovember 2014 with about 7 feet of snow at my place over a 3 day periods. All roads in my area were closed for about 5 days, although it was clear some vehicles did get around (4 wheel drive SUVs, trucks) and snowmobiles. I don't have any of those toys but I am seriously considering upgrading my subcompact tractor (24 hp) to more of a real tractor (42 hp) with 4 wheel drive of course plus much greater ground clearance etc....

As everyone probably understand, I'm in the process of "justifying the upgrade cost". Being able to use a larger tractor during a snow storm to get emergency medical etc. supplies would be a BIG PLUS/Selling Point.:thumbsup:

Comments please and thanks!!

Does your tractor have a plow?

 

[Walt jr]

I live near Buffalo and during that storm I drove my cab mahindra 4510 from Hamburg, past the McKinley mall and to my rental units to clear the driveways, I had my son following me in the Hummer and we had some tight fits between abandoned cars.

 

[brown40]

You'd need a plow or snowblower to really stay freed up travelling in a massive snowfall; trucks clear their path as they go so they don't frame out. Momentum and gravity are as important as the plow in keeping the truck unstuck. A plowtruck or snowmobile are better selections for emergencies--the tractor/blower/FEL get called when the drifts get too big to get through and throw snow over. I have a f350 with a v-blade I bought in 2008 after three winters of only having the tractor for clearing. Last winter I got stuck and defeated more than in the past seven years combined. It is still the better tool for the job. After this past winter in Maine I'd have to say there are sometimes when having all the 'right' equipment to do the job still won't overcome what Mother Nature throws your way. I never saw so many large dedicated FEL's at work--tractors couldn't have done it--not the 15' drifts and banks. Everybody got thinking snowblowers, but they have limitations once the snow packs and ices up--especially with all the sign parts, fenders, limbs, etc. that ended up buried.

 

[Garandman]

In the most extreme conditions most LEA seem to resort to snowmobiles. But many modern sleds are designed for trail use. "Utility" or "Mountain" sleds have wider skis, longer and wider tracks and deeper lugs to handle deep, untracked snow.

Examples are the Cat Bearcat Utility » Arctic Cat and Polaris WideTrack 2016 550 WideTrak LX : Overview. The LX is $8,500 brand new.

We are going to trade in a Yamaha Phazer for one of these machines.

 

[Gary Fowler]

Luckily I don't have to contend with more that about 6" at most of snow, but I have spent enough winters up North that I feel your pain.

As for buying a tractor to use for emergency transport during blizzards, well lets just say there are lots of cheaper options. If the OP finds that his current tractor is a bit too small for his needs, that is justification enough to buy what you want.