Snow Attachments Need snow removal advice

[Elevation 8200]

Reading alot about FEL vs Snowblowers, what do you think would
work for me??????????

I live @ 8200 ft in Colorado, get up slope conditions from Denver.
Need insite on how best to handle a big snow storm. Been reading
the board for about a month (just got ID to post) and see I
have much to learn, had trouble moving around, let alone making
this entry (thread - new lingo?). I get about 200-300 inches a snow
a season, June to September. Worn out a Honda 1132 & working on an
Ariens 1332 (13 hp-s) walkbehind, does the job, but getting older.
Just purchased a B7800 w/FEL and rear blade. Needed extra hp-s, at
this altitude you loose 20%-30% of your power. Look at these snow
pictures from one of our big storms in 2003. Will the loader push
this kind of snow? And pile it up high enough? This was spring,
March and heavy wet one, do you think tractor blower is high/big
enough to do 6-8 footers?

Some storms you can keep up with, others with 50mph or 60mph winds
you just can't (with my current blower). Have F250 4x4 with 7 1/2'
snow plow, becomes useless after so many feet. County's 6-wheel drive
graders, all-wheel chained with plow on front can only make 1 path
before frontend is just pushed back into main opening. They use
hugh frontend loaders that you can walk in their buckets to widen
after. Have 2 driveways about 200ft each.

This sound like upper NY state or South Bend, Ind with lake effect
snow. Rocky Mountain's trail ridge road already closed for the winter
10/20. It's about 60 miles north of me by the divide.

 

[Tororider]

Welcome to TBN!

I can't help with the snow removal, we just got our tractor this year and I am going to try with the backblade and front end loader, but we don't get anywhere near that kind of snow here. Being near Ann Arbor, it is pretty hit or miss, but we don't get any real lake effect, so that kind of snow is amazing to me.

Best of Luck! I know you will get plenty of help here, and you may want to do a search for snow removal.

 

[Opti-Mist]

Your snowfall is similar to the UP of Michigan. To cope with it I use a Curtis Snow Plow installed on my tractor loader, a 7 Ft. Rear Blade which I swap off with a 7 Ft. Rear Mounted Snow Blower depending on the conditions. When I plow the snow with the front mounted plow I just push it into windrows along the side of my road. Periodically I will break the banks back, once the snow has firmed up, to prevent the road from getting progressively narrower.

Enjoy the winter.

 

[Opti-Mist]

Regarding the snow blower capacity, it cannot handle 6 - 8 feet of snow except by breaking the drift down, blow that away, break another section down, blow that away, etc, etc, etc. It can become tedious and time consuming.

 

[scott_vt]

Afternoon Doug,
Thats some nice lookin snow youve got there ! IMHO with that type of snowfall I would go with a snowblower mounted on your tractor. Infortunately most units hook up to the 3PT hitch so operating in reverse, but many guys on here do it no problem ! If I had the money to go that route I would, except I think I would like to have it mounted on the front of the tractor ! We have been plowing here but the snowblower is nice getting the snow out in the fields if you can ! Here is a shot of my drive last winter.

 

[ToadHill]

Your snow looks just like our "lake effect" snow in Western New York. Since I retired I like to go to my Farn for most weekends all year long. For the last 2 years I cleared the 300 ft drive with a 7' front plow and a 7' rear plow. The problem is by mid Janyary the banks are built up so high the the drive is drifted over 5 ft deep.

This year I bought a 75" snowblower that should blow the snow 40'. I sure hope it works.

 

[Truman17]

Welcome to 8,200 feet!!! Looks like you yourself live on Trail Ridge Road!

If you have horses up there, get stocked up on feed now!! See attached photo of storms last season. Best of luck to you.

 

[jmarotz]

Get the snowblower it's the only way to move alot of snow.
Attached are some pictures of my wife after one blizzard and my snowblower. Lived about 10 miles from Yellowstone Park a town called Ashton, Idaho, my son lives there now.

 

[George2615]

Yes, your pics do look like the snow we get here in the snow belt of upstate NY. I'd get the largest snowblower your tractor can handle plus use the loader. Thats what I have to do here. There is a lot of truth about the plow truck being useless after a while. That happens here about midway through the winter. The truck can't move the hardpacked snow banks but the blower and loader can. I have a 64" PUMA for my tractor that does a great job. This will be my first year in the past 20 or so where I'm not going to hook up a plow to my truck. I enjoy the seat time and the neater job the tractor does.

 

[dqdave1]

I would think a 3 pt snowblower on rear and the FEL on the front; you will be able to tackle most snows. If that setup does not work; sit by the fire and enjoy the view!

 

[radman1]

Deep snow needs a blower. But blower takes longer than plow in most cases. I would vote for blower in your situation. Even then with BX it is going to be slow but faster than your current setukp.

 

[gordon21]

200" of snow between June and September?? Good grief man, how much snow do you get in the winter months??

 

[loulblades]

Although we don't see the amount of snow you do, I spent the first couple years with my tractor using the FEL (with a strip of oak bolted to the bottom to save my blacktop) and a rear blade. When we did have a relatively bad snow (for here) it was fine the first couple of times cleaning the driveway but the freeze/thawing of the drifts were a pain to deal with.

I invested in a front mount blower (I have problems with the concept of a rear mount) and of course that was the year we hardly got any snow. Even though my blower (60") wouldn't be considered big enough for your situation, it really blows the snow away from the driveway.

If I were in a situation where the snow was coming down hard and my goal was to stay ahead of it, I would go for a front mount or pull behind blower (do they make those?) so I could get it done quickly. IMHO Backing up to blow snow seems like it would slow a person down somewhat (I know it would me anyway).

For my driveway it is down once and back up and I'm done, but of course there is the road, some of the neighbors' driveways...what can I say, I'm having fun.

 

[Elevation 8200]

Thanks for all the input, but still not sure a tractor blower will
work for me. I currently have driftbars on my 13hp Ariens that stand
4 1/2 high, but when the snow drifts & packs, it just drives right
under it. Have to use a show shovel to knock it down and go a few
more feet each time. Takes days, had a 9 footer took me a week before
I could get out to work. Plus with that weight must shovel the roof
and help elderly neighbors dig out.

Can you blow snow with blower up in the air on the 3pt and do it in
layers? Has anyone put extensions on the sides of your blower that high?
I can't imagine it safe to stand up and knock the snow down while
driving the tractor, or in the sitting position either.

My pto rated at 22hp, it will be less at my altitude and not work!

 

[SkunkWerX]

I'd offer the idea to keep the FEL for scooping and lifting piles, and a rear-mount blower for blizzard blowing, Best of luck!

A big front blower sure would be great, but you may miss the ability to scoop chunks and move the stuff around.

I would wager you will be able to "learn us" all a lesson or two in snow removal after a winter or three.

In this case, it justifies a larger tractor and/or one of those double stacked snow-blowers you find out west where you are.
This is a perfect example of making sure to buy a unit big enough to handle the job....if there is such a thing, in this case.

Here is quick link showing several blower manufacturers, HP ratings, etc.
Edney Distributing Co., Inc. :: Farm Equipment Products Catalog Online

EDIT: i just realized the double-stacked units are very large, for tractors with much much greater HP. Looks like you could get away with a 50" wide and 24" tall blower?
(15 to 30 HP)

Good Luck, tell us what you get, and send pics of your first large snow, which I would guess might be weeks from now?

 

[Elevation 8200]

200" of snow between June and September?? Good grief man, how much snow do you get in the winter months??

I said that backwards, its doesn't snow in July or august that it sticks.
So its 200-300 inches average per year sep thru jun (3 years ago had 8"
on june 30th) melted the same day

 

[SkunkWerX]

You need bigger equipment for that kind of snow.

But, we all have budgets and we can all appreciate having to do, with what we have.

Your B7800 can handle a 50" PTO blower, and maybe even a 60" PTO blower.
Guessing t's going to be in the $1500 to $2k range, unless you find a decent used one.
An FEL and 60" Rear PTO Blower should be a 300% improvement over what your 13HP Ariens could do.

Do you have a heated CAB?
I would also be looking at one of those very seriously.

200" to 300" each season? Holy Moly!!

 

[herringchoker]

We don't normally have the snowfall you do (although we did get 62" in one storm about 15 years ago), but I do have a B7800 with FEL and rear blower. I recommend that setup because of the flexibility, as SkunkWerx says. I have an old 72" blower, which the B7800 has tons of power to handle, but it is awkward to work with because it is so much wider than the tractor and the FEL bucket. As SkunkWerx says, 50" to 60" would be the way to go.

Yes, you can lift the blower and take off layers (as long as the snow isn't too packy, which leaves the packed wheel tracks almost impossible to remove). I used to have to do this on the first pass with this same blower on my previous tractor that did not have a live PTO.

And I also recommend a heated cab.

 

[6sunset6]

Snow blowing is one of the reasons I got a new tractor. I have a 64 " rear blower and a front plow. 800 ft of roadway plus parking and turn round.
I had a 20 hp Ford 1320 for 11 years. One blower cut down the middle and then plow. blow back the edges if we had a lot of snow. Problem is bigger snow but less frequently. I can see that and it is the global warming prediction. Plus I hate getting up till it's all done coming down. So I got a 34 HP NH TC34DA. Loaded tires. See what happens this year. It's not so bad going backwards. Once I got a thermal sweat shirt with a hood. Also learn to watch the wind. Cab would take care of the whole thing I guess. Have to wait till I cannot stand the cold, few more years.

 

[number two]

I've been plowing with a truck forever,but just started blowing with a tractor last year. We get 120-240" per year. 1200' drive plus parking areas. Blowing is way better for us. Something to keep in mind is the banks are much shorter,or really non-existent,with blowing. With plowing,the banks pile up and the drive gets narrower. When those high wind snows come in,they fill up between the banks. When you have no banks like blowing leaves you with,there is much less snow deposited,therefore less to blow away. Front mount blowers are nice. Loader in front and blower in back is also neat. Two 200' drives,cab nice,but maybe not necessary. Tough choice for sure. Give blowing a chance,I think you'd like it.