question for experienced snow removers

[kubotahoo]

This past spring we bought a house on a hill with about 300 feet of paved driveway. I am thinking about buying a 4wd four wheeler with a scraper blade to clear snow from the driveway. I am in southwest Va.so we don't normally get big snows. I would like to hear the pros and cons and dos and don'ts of using a four wheeler for snow removal. Thank-you for your help.

 

[whistlepig]

Are you asking about an ATV for snow removal?

 

[kubotahoo]

yes a 4wd four wheeler

 

[Buppies]

An ATV can be used very effectively for clearing snow but on a hill chains would be very helpful and always push down hill. The ATV will work fine unless a repeat of 2009 occurs at which point 20in plus might be difficult . Good luck

 

[Marveltone]

i know many people way up here in Northern Minnesota who use ATVs to move snow. A very popular option, as both Polaris and Arctic Cat are made up here. :thumbsup:

Joe

 

[whistlepig]

I have a blade on my ATV. For most snows it works great. 8"-12" of powder snow is no problem. These blades are light an have no down force. When the snow is wet and heavy or if the depth of the snow is higher than the blade height the blade will "ride up" over the snow. It's windy here and the snow drifts badly. I have moved a lot of snow with my ATV and blade. It's a serious snow removal tool.

 

[whistlepig]

My ATV snow set up;

 

[dakotagun]

i have moved a lot of snow with my ATV and blade. It's a serious snow removal tool.

They're great tools for snow moving on pavement. Shoes are necessary for blade height. I use a synthetic winch rope instead of cable. Makes a nice threesome- atv/plow, boss plow/ford f250, JD 2305/blower and rblade.

 

[nybirdman]

As said a very efficent snow tool.I have had an atv snow plow since 1998;one of the first in our area.It doesn't get used much since I purchase a tractor but it will do the job.Goes a lot of places the tractor won't.

 

[catdozer]

You also might want to check out a UTV, like a Deere Gator HPX or an XUV with a plow. They worked great in snow. Also got the bed to haul stuff

 

[smfcpacfp]

I have never had a plow, but I did have an ATV with a snowblower and it worked most of the time which is now why I have a bigger tractor which works all of the time. We get 15 to 30 feet of snow each year and normally I have to snowblow 30+ times a year. Here is the key thing irrespective of what you use, and somebody mentioned the problem - what if you get 2 feet of wet heavy snow like VA got a few years ago. You don't wait until the event is over to start clearing the snow. Even with your small rig, if you were cleaning things off after a few inches falls, you can handle a big snow event. If you wait until the last of 2 feet of wet heavy snow falls, you will be calling a contractor and waiting your turn to get cleaned out.

 

[Rockgod]

My next door neighbor uses an ATV w/plow on his horse shoe driveway. It works good on snow falls up to and around a 1'. Only trouble I see is when the season rolls on and the snow stacks up. The ATV doesn't have the weight to push the banks back and then the limited lift height of the blade comes into play. I think it depends on where you live and how much snow you get. Around here they work, but that set-up wouldn't be my first choice.

 

[johnk]

It doesn't hurt to throw a couple sand tubes on the back rack for extra weight. It helps the back end from kicking out if the blade is angled.

 

[Jeff F.]

I plowed my 800' drive way with an ATV a few years and we get more snow then you do. Make sure you plow wider than you think you will ever need to (plan for the whole winter) and frozen snow banks are hard as rock. If you hit that it can throw you over the handle bars.

 

[JoelD]

This really gets to plowing versus blowing I think. Plowing is by far the fastest way to clear snow. If you get multiple storms back to back you quickly run out of room for the snow and the driveway gets narrow in a hurry. Sounds like repeated snows is not an issue for you, therefore nothing is faster than a plow.

I sold my plow truck as I'd run out of room to put the snow, now I use blower for every snow.

Good luck,
Joel

 

[Lindsey]

I have been using my yamaha Kodiac for about 7 years to plow snow thats mainly all I use it for have only a 4 foot blade works fine for me . I plow a bush road about 1 half km long can do it very quickly when banks close in I plow to centre then blow it into the bush with my kubota and and 54 inch rear blower

 

[brokenknee]

I used my four wheeler to plow snow for a few years. I was able to push 12 inches of the fluffy snow. Once you get the first cut you wouldn't have to take a full blade if it was to hard on the machine.

I use to have a lake place, went up there in the winter a couple times of year. The four wheeler would really struggle to clear that drive way do to the crusty layers of snow from not clearing after each snow fall.

If this is you house you shouldn't have any problem, just make sure to push the snow far enough back as once it refreezes you will not move it again with your four wheeler.

I now use my tractor with a three point blower.

 

[FatTire]

If you like the idea of a UTV instead of an ATV, you can get a wider plow. I have Deere XUV 620i with a 72 inch v-plow. It is my first choice for clearing our driveway (about 1000 ft) and parking areas for anything less than about 8 inches. I have used it in heavy snow up to 15-18 inches, but it takes a while. And an ATV would take even longer. And in the summer we like the XUV's dump bed for hauling wood, etc. If you just want to "ride around" then an ATV is more fun.

 

[RVThere]

I have used a Yamaha Grizzly 600cc since 2000 to plow my driveway in NJ and my sons use it to plow a few neighbors. It has worked perfectly providing you are ready to plow a few times during a big storm and not wait until you have too much snow. The ATV is able to move big snow piles if you pick up the blade and ram the top side of the pile. It will ride up on the snow and push the top over.

 

[joemd11]

I've been using an ATV to plow snow for 12 years now and it has never left me (or the wife) snowed in. Started with a Yamaha Kodiak (400cc) and now this will be the first year with a Grizzly (550cc). My driveway is about 100 ft. long and slopes up to the road. I can plow uphill or downhill unless the snow is really deep or wet. I plow extra wide to allow room for subsequent snow falls. If I am away, it is easy for my wife to use as it has an automatic transmission. It doesn't require a lot of storage space and is useful all year round. One drawback is how cold I get when plowing for long periods.