Snow Too much snow! Help!

[varmint]

I love to push snow as much as the next guy, but I woke up this morning to 23" of heavy, wet snow, with more coming down, and my B8200, with turf tires, doesn't have what it takes to push it aside. I have been relocating it, bucket by bucket, for hours, and I have barely made a dent in the half mile lane I have to deal with. With only 19 hp, I don't think chains would solve my problem (in the future, of course). Usually, I can push it aside in several passes, with my rear 5' blade, but not now- I'm dealing with about 30" and it's heavy!! If anyone has any ideas/experience with rear PTO snow blowers, I'd like to hear about it. I think I can handle the weight of a blower, but power could be the issue? I'm too old for this, and getting older, so I have to better prepare.

 

[beenthere]

As long as it is seat time, enjoy it.
Chains will only help if you are sliding around and not getting traction.

Bucket by bucket will get you done...eventually.

Enjoy.
We didn't get any at all.


And... we like pics.

 

[Doug_D]

This wont help, but maybe make you feel better. I have 70 HP tractor with ag tires and still have to shuttle snow sometimes because of drifts. Sometimes mother nature wins Just take it little by little.

You guys be safe and stay warm out there. It does not sound like a fun place to be right now.

 

[countrybumpkin]

About the only thing that would help, would be a snow blower.

 

[leonz]

Please see my recent posting(thursday-friday) about the Pronovost group one snow blowers PUMA 540 model here in the Kubota section.

the pronovost folks ask that you contact them directly to find the local retailer in your area.


Another option is Tudor and Jones in Weedsport NY 1-800-879-5727 as they are the new york distributor-I realise it does not help now etc.


using a back up camera from wally mart would save neck strain as i mentioned in the message I posted.

leon

 

[radioman]

This is where a front mounted angled plow would help. I have one mounted on a smaller tractor, BX on the FEL arms. I came home to a 20" wind packed snow in driveway. Using the BX, I was able to push snow out of the way and when I couldnt push, I just backed up 6 inches or so and raised the FEL arms and I was able to push through with 6 inches still on the driveway. Once the bulk of snow is out of the way, I was able to go back and clear the rest.

Perhaps you just need to raise the bucket so there is 6 inches or less to push through. Pushing through is all you need to be able to clear snow faster.

 

[donn12]

I think you might need rear chains. I have been moving our 25 inches or so and I am able to back up with the rear blade angled and push it out of the way. All I have to do is raise the blade when it starts to move around and I can move the big piles back enough. I am taking 20 foot passes or so and it does take time but it is much faster than doing anything other than plowing with the FEL. I am using a BX24 which is a pretty small tractor.

 

[BotaBigot]

Over the years, I've found that whatever piece of snow removal equipment I have has limitations. If accumulation is going to exceed those limitations, I clear multiple times. Yesterday and today are a good example. I have a walk-behind snowblower that is happiest with 10" or less. Snow is currently at 24" (hope it quits soon!), and I cleared at 10" and 20"...

 

[Tig]

You have plenty of HP for a blower, if you have a hydrostatic tranny. 23" of wet snow is quite a chore but a blower will much through it at a steady pace.
I have just under a half mile of laneway and a 16 hp tractor. 23" of snow on your lane with your tractor sounds like an hour or so of fun with a blower.

 

[beenthere]

I have the front blade, and now have a wing plow. Would take too long using a snowblower on my nearly 1/2 mile to clear.

Search wing_plow on YouTube for the maiden run showing how well the wing works.

 

[varmint]

Well, I went back out for another couple of hours, and got another couple of hundred feet. I have a gear tranny- crash box. That's one reason clearing with the bucket is such a hassle, since you can't shift if the tractor is moving, and sometimes getting it into a gear takes a wiggle or two. Believe me, I've tried taking shallow passes, running into it, and all that. This snow is HEAVY, and dense, so it just builds up into even heavier piles, 4-5' high, and then I can't budge it with the blade- I just get the tractor stuck on packed, dense wet snow. So, turn around and start nibbling at it with the bucket. This is a record storm, but who knows how common it might become, with climate change... that's why I am thinking about more hardware to attack the problem down the road, so to speak. I will be looking into blowers.

At my present rate, I've got another 8 or 10 hours of work. Will my diesel supply last long enough for me to get a car out???

 

[Sniggle]

27-28 inches here in the eastern panhandle of WV.

My little G1900 with a front blade and chains was able to clear the driveway twice yesterday evening, but I made the deicision that I was not going to get up every 2 hours to plow, so the driveway this morning looks untouched, and it is way beyond my little g1900's capabilities.

I tried getting my B7800 out of the far barn, but without chains it was futile.

I am resigned to paying someone to clear my driveway....

 

[jambx]

27-28 inches here in the eastern panhandle of WV.

I am resigned to paying someone to clear my driveway....

I will do it!!!!!

With only 10 inches of the white stuff so far this year I am thinking of putting in snow making machines or.........maybe move to a mid atlantic state!!!

 

[smfcpacfp]

I love to push snow as much as the next guy, but I woke up this morning to 23" of heavy, wet snow, with more coming down, and my B8200, with turf tires, doesn't have what it takes to push it aside. I have been relocating it, bucket by bucket, for hours, and I have barely made a dent in the half mile lane I have to deal with. With only 19 hp, I don't think chains would solve my problem (in the future, of course). Usually, I can push it aside in several passes, with my rear 5' blade, but not now- I'm dealing with about 30" and it's heavy!! If anyone has any ideas/experience with rear PTO snow blowers, I'd like to hear about it. I think I can handle the weight of a blower, but power could be the issue? I'm too old for this, and getting older, so I have to better prepare.

Given how rare of an event it is, just hire someone with the right equipment to at least get you out of your drive, or just wait until it melts.

 

[Deano]

I am SICK of snow!!! You all that have the cabs...more power to you!!

Deano

 

[timswi]

I am SICK of snow!!! You all that have the cabs...more power to you!!

Deano

Oh Lord...8 hrs on the RTV today...had to keep the plow up 8" for one pass then hit it again ...Over and over and over.. l plowed until 2am last night..When I got up this morning it looked like I never touched it. Supposed to get another storm..I hope not..Running out of places to put the snow. I have piles 6ft high.

The neighbors quad couldn't touch this mess..he did clean up behind me. Big help though..

 

[Chris86314]

I am SICK of snow!!! You all that have the cabs...more power to you!! Deano

Don't feel bad guys, I moved from the mountains of Colorado after 20 years to escape the snow and so far this winter I've had to use my B3200 twice to clear the snow off my 200' sloping driveway.

The big storm that hit us a week or so ago dumped 4 days of wet heavy snow. The first morning was about 8-10 inches and it kept coming. It would rain all day and snow all night with 75 mph winds in between. We got a total at my house of almost 7 inches of rain in 4 days. It was one of the worst storms in history for our area and one of the craziest I've ever been through, and I've experienced some doozies living in Ohio, Colorado, Oregon and now Arizona. All the insurance companies sent their disaster teams into the area after the storm passed.

Flagstaff and the other ski area in the White Mountains got 8 feet in two days. It took them about 4 days to get the White Mountain ski area open because they couldn't get within miles of it because they couldn't move all the snow off the main highways (and they're used to getting a good amount of snow). They had skiers drooling to get on the slopes and couldn't open them because they were snowed in.

We usually get a couple inches about 2-3 times per year. I never thought I would ever have to use my tractor to clear my driveway.

So even in the sunny Arizona high country this winter has been something to experience.

 

[RayCo]

I got about 18" in my area and spent five hours (minus a 45 minute tractor trip to a Wawa convenience store) or so on my BX24 clearing about 600 feet of driveway. I had to do a lot of snow shuttling before being able to make passes, because the first 200 feet of my driveway is a steep hill going up. It was an extremely fun day!

 

[cdcole]

My opinion.

For this time - call in a plow service and pay the $75 or whatever.

 

[pdowling1]

Close to 30" here in Berkeley County WV, I cleared many drives in my neighborhood today, in many places the snow was deeper than my BX2200 rear fenders! I was able to push 10-20 feet with the loader before I had to dump to the side. I made some big snow piles today. The big (Green) ballast box on the back of my BX makes a tremendous difference. I don't know what it weighs, but it sure is heavy. I did a lot of shuttling back & forth, as the snow was spilling over the bucket, but still sooooo much faster than a shovel! At times like this I wish I had a blower, but if I owned one it would never snow more than 4" at a time for the rest of my life! With this much snow, nothing but a blower works well.
My biggest problem was the ice glaze that formed on the asphalt within minutes after I cleared it.