Yanmar for snowplowing....How big?

RockyMtn · Jan 18, 2008

I want a 4wd Yanmar to clear snow from my 150 foot gravel driveway. Snows are frequently one to two feet deep at my elevation. Any thoughts about how big a tractor I need? Other uses (barn cleaning, mowing), would be best done on a small tractor. Thanks for your help.

CAT793 · Jan 19, 2008

Mate,
I use a YM2210D with 5 ft hydraulic blade mounted on the front of the tractor. I have about 450 ft of gravel driveway to look after.

RockyMtn · Jan 19, 2008

Thanks for your input. Would a smaller tractor work for what you do? How about a rear blade?

VT_Hokie · Jan 19, 2008

We had 5-6 in of heavy wet snow fall here in VA on Thursday that I used my 1500D to clear using a 5' rear scraper. I used the blade facing forwards, I have seen some using it facing back and driving the tractor in reverse. Either way you are looking back all the time. Took me about 2 hours to do 300 or so yards of drive way. If you get frequent snow then something on the front would be the way to go. Also models with shuttleshift would probably be useful. If you are going to let 2 feet pile up before plowing then you are going to have to get something with a big enough blade and the 1500D would most likely not handle it.

VT

swedish-fish · Jan 19, 2008

Although I don't have any experience with a blade, I don't think you'd have a problem with even a very small Yanmar tractor especially if it's 4wd. My Yanmar is smaller than those mentioned so far and it does fine on my 65' two lane driveway. I use the FEL to cleanup anything 4" and less and the rear blower for heavier snowfalls. It's a YM155D and my driveway is fairly flat and paved. In my area we average about 75-90 inches of snow a year.

RockyMtn · Jan 20, 2008

Thanks for very helpful responses! Does the snowblower scrape the ground or is it possible to hold it above the surface to avoid picking up gravel?

swedish-fish · Jan 20, 2008

RockyMtn said:
Thanks for very helpful responses! Does the snowblower scrape the ground or is it possible to hold it above the surface to avoid picking up gravel?

In my case, there are some times I wish it would scrape more for when I clear the driveway after having driven on it with the car. The FEL helps with getting down to pavement if I really want to. If you have a gravel drive, and want to leave a layer of snow, I think you'd have good luck adjusting the toplink which has the effect (at least on my model blower) of rocking the scraping edge up and riding more on the skid shoes.

VT_Hokie · Jan 20, 2008

Wow, that blower looks neat! Now how am I going to justify buying one to my wife???

dieselgeek · Jan 20, 2008

RockyMtn said:
I want a 4wd Yanmar to clear snow from my 150 foot gravel driveway. Snows are frequently one to two feet deep at my elevation. Any thoughts about how big a tractor I need? Other uses (barn cleaning, mowing), would be best done on a small tractor. Thanks for your help.

Well, I've only plowed with it one time (I've owned this tractor 1 week). But I'd say for the quantity of snow you're moving, you'd want a blower if you needed a lighter/smaller tractor, or a heavier/larger tractor if you preferred a plow. I have a similar length driveway to yours, but around here we only get snow in 2-8" increments. Swedish' Fish's setup looks appropriate to your needs!

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