Snow Removal

[mudpuppy]

I'm working on buying a house, and it has a 550' driveway.  If we end up in this house one of my early concerns is going to be how to clear snow off the drive.  I see a few options:

1.  There's a neighbor that owns a lawn care/snow plow business.  I could hire him to plow, but don't know the cost yet.  Pro:  don't have to lift a finger, Con:  dependent on someone else and their schedule.

2.  Current owner has a tractor and a blade.  Long term this would be my preferred option since the tractor can be used for other things and isn't going to have issues with the amount of snow.  But using a back blade can be time consuming, and tractors are expensive and if I buy this house I can't afford one right away.

3.  Buy an ATV with a front blade.  ATVs are a lot cheaper than tractors, and then I'd have an ATV to ride around the property.  This is the way I'm leaning right now, but I'm not sure how well ATVs can actually plow.  I'd try to find a 4WD with a locking diff.

4.  Buy a truck with a plow.  I don't really want the hassle of having another vehicle to care of, since we have 3 already.

5.  Just drive my Jeep all winter and not worry about snow removal.  Doubt the wife would buy into this, and I still might get stuck at some point if the snow gets bad enough.

Thoughts?

 

[Road Guy]

you have a Cherokee or a wrangler?  I think I have seen small blades for them for less than $1000 bucks you can install.  We have a ranch store (Jax) that sells them here..

My neighbor has a 4 wheeler with a maybe 4 foot blade? he does our cul de sac when we get heavy snow and it works pretty well, it is slow going (but faster than a tractor) when the snow is over 18 inches..  I will ask him if it has locking differential's.  I think he gets bored and does some of the street as well, he used to have an old riding lawn mower but at the end of last season he picked up the 4 wheeler and used it for the last march snow we had (around 30 IN)

personally I would just get the wife a high clearance 4WD vehicle and not really deal with plowing that much snow, if you have a crazy snow event you can always hire someone to plow it..

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

ATVs with plows work great.  I've used one for years.  Locking front diff is not required but it's nice.  I've got an 03 Kodiak 450 that has a locking front diff and have really only used it a couple times while plowing.  Don't go anything less than 400 cc's.  Plus, the ATV is just generally handy to have overall.

 

[starquest]

Does it have a lot of land?  If so, investing in a tractor may be the way to go.   I was in your situation two years back.  I have a 700 ft driveway with 4.5 acres of mostly grass.   The acreage alone forced me into at least a zero turn but I ended up going for a small tractor for its versatility with snow and other work around the property.   I looked and looked for a used one at a good price but these things hold there value.  I ended up going new despite just buying the home.   

I know these things are expensive but this is the time of the year to get them due to the incentives.   I was able to get 0% financing for 5 years plus a free attachment.  I bought a Kubota BX2370 with 60" deck and a loader.  I upgraded to the loader to a quick attach bucket which enabled me to quickly connect a blade to the loader arms (don't have to plow in reverse with a rear blade!).   It still bothers me that I don't have any car payments but instead pay on a tractor but this thing has been incredible!  I put it thru so much in the past two years including easily clearing my driveway after the 3ft blizzard we had in PA last winter plus re-doing all of our garden beds with new river rock around the house.  Not to mention the mowing. 

 

[Road Guy]

also if it has land you can probably get you 4-5 cows and a bull and take some "farming" deductions and get the tractor deducted.. at least that's what my in laws did..

 

[starquest]

My wife and I talked about that...haha

Here it is with the blade on:

 

[knight1fox3]

My wife and I talked about that...haha

Here it is with the blade on:

View attachment 8738

Tractor looks nice. And what do I spy underneath that car cover in the corner? :dunno:

 

[starquest]

Tractor looks nice. And what do I spy underneath that car cover in the corner? :dunno:

Thanks!  What is your first guess?  haha

 

[knight1fox3]

Thanks!  What is your first guess?  haha

i'm hoping some sort of vintage muscle car. Based on the very faint curvature of the front end that I can make out, I'd say something either Mopar or possibly Pontiac.

 

[starquest]

Close....my dream car.  68 mustang fastback GT390.    Took me 9 years to talk the former owner into selling it to me....now it awaits restoration

 

[Dleg]

A lot of people in AK seem to go the ATV route.  But I have a friend here who put a blade on an ATV, and the first time out he ran the bade into a high point and caused all sorts of damage to the ATV and a blade.  I don't know the particulars (locking diff, etc.) but that story makes me a little leary of the ATV option.  Definitely do your research before buying.

 

[MA_PE]

ATVs with plows work great.  I've used one for years.  Locking front diff is not required but it's nice.  I've got an 03 Kodiak 450 that has a locking front diff and have really only used it a couple times while plowing.  Don't go anything less than 400 CI.  Plus, the ATV is just generally handy to have overall.

400CI on an ATV!  That's 6.6L!  that thing must scream

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

400cc's on an ATV!  That's 0.4L!  that thing must scream

Fixt.  And yeah it does. V:

 

[mudpuppy]

@Road Guy, I have a '97 Cherokee.  I've never seen a blade on a Cherokee or Wrangler so I never thought of that.  Might have to look into it.

@starquest  That's a nice setup you've got!  I'd definitely like something similar eventually, but the price is just too much at this point.  This property is 25 acres with about 3 acres of lawn and around 4000' of trails, so I'll have plenty of use for a tractor.  I did see John Deere has 7 years of 0% financing right now, but the wife nixed that idea with all the other expenses of buying this place.

So I'm still leaning toward the ATV idea, partially because it'll be fun on the trails around the house, and then I could think about a tow-behind finish mower for it as well.  I have a 46" lawn tractor that will work for the time being, but I'm sure I'll get tired of mowing with that.

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

Heck you could probably set up the lawn tractor for plowing.  Does it have a PTO?  Even still there are likely plows available for it.

 

[Audi Driver P.E.]

You'll note that plowing snow isn't as simple a task as it may seem at first.  Especially, with that long a drive way.  With an ATV you'll need to plan out where you're going to put the snow, because once you have a bank it's going to be VERY difficult to move more snow over it.  The other thing is, the ground usually isn't very hard under the snow unless it's approaching 20 degrees F or below, and that can cause the plow to sink down into the dirt below the snow and create a real mess.  Note that this is even more of a problem with a tractor or vehicle plow because they're heavier.  The ATV actually does that part a little better. There's feet at the bottom of a plow for a reason! 

 

[Road Guy]

This will be my set up for when I moved to Montana

http://www.morris4x4center.com/snowbear-82-heavy-duty-personal-snowplow-with-mount-snow-64219-82.html?gclid=CNH4q7u6_s8CFUkdgQodcfMKzw

 

[mudpuppy]

Heck you could probably set up the lawn tractor for plowing.  Does it have a PTO?  Even still there are likely plows available for it.

I briefly thought about this, but I've gotten my lawn tractor gets stuck so easily I've gotten it stuck in wet grass.  Even with better tires or chains, I don't know if a 2WD machine with a standard differential will handle snow very well at all.  A coworker of mine has tried plowing his driveway with his lawn tractor and has a lot of trouble with it.

This will be my set up for when I moved to Montana

http://www.morris4x4center.com/snowbear-82-heavy-duty-personal-snowplow-with-mount-snow-64219-82.html?gclid=CNH4q7u6_s8CFUkdgQodcfMKzw

Thanks!  I'm seriously considering this option.  It turns out Home Depot carries this same plow that works with a 2" front receiver hitch.  My Jeep already has the front hitch (my dad used it for a winch), so it would be an easy fit.  The thing is eventually I was planning to replace the Jeep with a pickup, but I could always get a front hitch put on the truck, or maybe this would convince me to keep the Jeep!

 

[knight1fox3]

Since we're on the topic MP, would this help?  LOL

 

[mudpuppy]

Maybe I can put a plow on my Aveo!