What have you done with/to your GC Series 2300, 2400, 1700 Tractor TODAY

[Dmacleo]

Yep, same here. While the long range forecast does not show anything, it's always possible in march to get a storm that brings as much as 4 feet of snow in march. March here is generally the month that brings the most snow, not always, but it's usually a good bet.

here's what I am starting with today. some ruts 8" deep. the scars are approx 50ft long by 14ft wide total.



now, after 8 min looks like this. for perspective I am (measured) 58 feet from grader blade on tractor.



using this. you can see I have the blade set at a VERY non-aggressive posture. my top link drawn all the way in and my 2 side links set normal, but since both my side links adjustable I have a crap load of options. I could push both side links longer and make that blade run almost flat across the ground. I don't as that would be a good photo but a crappy use of fuel



thats the benefit of adjustable side links on both sides, I could make the first 3 ft of that 7ft blade ride a LOT lower than other side if needed.
anyways, sun hitting stuff and wind drying it and around 1500 today all scars removed and 550lb roller involved.
all this damage happened on ONE day. due to being in 4WD had to jockey truck twice (thats why 3 sets of tracks) to give clearance to back out to road and not hit wifes car.

edit:0953 fixed spelling errors/typos

 

[MF RED in MT]

Like irvingj said, this is the least I've used my tractor since I purchased it new in 2009.

We were forecasted to get 6"-10" of snow last weekend but ended up with less than an 1".

Still cold, 12F this morning at 7am and snowing off and on with little dust flakes.

Here's a photo of the driveway this morning.

KC

 

[hube2]

Like irvingj said, this is the least I've used my tractor since I purchased it new in 2009.

This is only my 4th winter with a tractor, while it is the least I've used it I cannot say that this is the lightest winter I've ever seen in the 27 years I've been in the same location. There have been light years before, I just don't have no way of measuring the difference. With the new tractor I keep a log book for oil changes and other things and I note the hours when I do oil changes, when I've got it prepped for winter, etc. So now I have a record.

 

[irvingj]

So we got what amounted to one of the strongest storms this year... which ain't sayin' much, but we did get over 8" of wet, heavy stuff. The Little Red Beast did fine with it; now we're dealing with off & on snow showers, the nuisance type...

Our dirt road is pretty much a disaster at this point, but at least the ground's white again! (Once again very happy I got my driveway paved!)

 

[hube2]

They were predicting that for my area as well, ended up with less than an inch. I'm not heartbroken.

 

[Dmacleo]

36 deg. snowing. 21mph winds. everyone's trash blowing past me.
whatever.
I just let everyone on road next winter I will not remove snow for 20$ a driveway under agreement as I have been for last 3 years.
too old too broken to be responsible for anyone.wife and I will always get out (she an AWD me a 4WD and me...with a tractor) but others....whatever.
told them in emergency I will but for my non transport fee (I charge 35 an hour for tilling/bucket work/etc if w/i 10 mile radius of me) of 35$ an hr 1 hr minimum. suddenly people afraid to talk to me. whatever.

 

[hube2]

It sucks if your neighbors don't understand you can't keep doing it, sounds like they were just using you.

 

[Dmacleo]

It sucks if your neighbors don't understand you can't keep doing it, sounds like they were just using you.

meh some were, others not.
guy doing actual road now (which I did for decades) said I will continue to do road but I will not do driveways. and he wont charge me.
good enough, don't blame him.
lot of difference between heading into a driveway with (him) a 1/2 truck and an 8" straight blade and me (for many many years) heading into a driveway with a 3/4 ton with 1k of blocks in back and a V plow ranging from 9.2" to 11ft 8inches (BOSS 9.2 with wings).
huge difference.
if I hit anything in a driveway it was gone until springtime. at 9mph I sent a 80lb decoration flying 150 feet. lost that customer, don't care idiot kept tossing weighted **** in driveway.
if he hits it his truck is hurt.
I gave up the plow truck in 2021 and just did driveways here on this private road since then with the GC2400 and blower.
no more. done.

oh yeah to fit the topic today I used the gc2400 with dl100 FEL to go remove all my plow stakes on road, 34 of them at 1.25$ each.
there. proof positive you can turn any situation into a tractor topic if you try hard enough.

 

[Dmacleo]

so...went to fill up 2 fuel cans.
9.5 gallons used since middle of December 2023.
I went green LOL

 

[irvingj]

Think I'm about the same -- two fill-ups of my 5-gallon can.

Today the Little Red Beast gets to help pull an 80-gallon electric water heater out of my basement...been in there for almost 21 years, beginning to leak. (Original one lasted only 17 years....)

 

[kenmbz]

Started mine up, dropped the plow and put the bucket on and moved some brush by the roadside.
Too mushy to go into the woods or across the lawns to move anything else.

 

[irvingj]

Getting ready to fire up the blower... we got "snow squalled" yesterday evening-- about 3" very quickly, visibility down to about 35 yards. Came up quite suddenly, quite a few accidents on roads in the area.

And then.... the storm headed here late Friday night and all day Saturday... looks to be THE storm of this winter. Amounts keep going up in the forecasts; they can certainly be wrong, but right now weather folks are saying the storm total will be around 15" in this area. Haven't had one like that in quite a while!

 

[hube2]

Just got in myself, not a lot of snow but I had to use the bucket to clear our the end of the driveway.

I'm going to be right on the edge of that storm friday night, not really sure at this point if I'll get rain, ice or snow.

All the same, really not happy about moving snow after the first day of spring.

 

[Dmacleo]

tractor not fired up today. let everyone know ground too soft so I plan on being lazy today. one person said fine I'm in florida right now but I did give my housesitter your number.
got a laugh.
we ended around 4 inches but the wind has been an issue causing many power blinks.

 

[Dmacleo]

4 inches and climbing so far today on top of thursdays 4 inches. no choice had to run blower. mounted it yesterday...it had sunk into ground 3 inches or so (swore I put 2x6 under it...nope) then froze in ground. normal 5 min process to mount took me 20+ minutes almost could not fit my lift arms (I use pats hitches) under the pins, thought was gonna have to pull pins and set up higher on frame.

 

[irvingj]

So I guess it's all over now.... It never --or only occasionally-- snowed heavily here, but it did snow continuously -- from around midnight Friday until around 10PM Saturday. Looks like we got around 19-20" here. Lots of wind, some places the snow was 24-25", some places "only" 15"....

It stayed relatively warm -- around 24F-- but apparently the snow at the surface of my pavement got wet due to residual heat. I encountered something I've never seen before: snow/icy buildup on the augers! More pronounced on the right side, but needless to say that made the blower more like a plow than a blower. There was still snow exiting the chute, but also a huge roll of snow being pushed along ahead of the blower.

I stopped once to chip it off, but will need to do that again before I start in again this morning. Learn something new every day. I'll coat everything with silicone spray after it's cleared off - that should help, for a while at least.

And I thought I was going to get through this winter without having to put the chains on... but no. Had to stop after I started on the uphill section, after almost sliding off the driveway area into a drainage ditch; I had a real hard time gauging where the edges were! What a nasty, cold, wet job, putting chains on. Makes me shiver just thinking about it.

So back after it soon; it's now around 13F....

 

[Dmacleo]

I ended up 8-9" with last 2 being sleet/freezing rain. so that on top of 4" thursday was difficult. had to do initial open (1 lane) with bucket then blower would bite in. tractor itself would ride on top of it often. oh well its done.

 

[hube2]

That storm left a little better than a foot of snow here, was out yesterday and today cleaning it up. Let's hope that's the last one.

 

[Pixguy]

I'm not in New England at the time but my plow guy we received 22" in the lakes region of NH. Yikes

 

[GeneV]

Holy ****, you guys got rocked! Well for me, this winter passed very strangely. We had a few measurable snows, but I can't really remember that many 50's/60's/and even 70's in the winter. Like really never. Huh.