Snow Your NEXT Snow Removal Setup

[killingitcountry]

I have a BX25D. Winter I drop the back hoe and install a 48" box scraper. For the front I have either a B2160 plow (adapted to the loader) or a quick hitch mounted BX2755HD blower. I started with the plow yesterday and switched halfway through to the blower. We had over a foot and that was a bit too much for the BX +plow. Honestly if I was to upgrade, I would just want a cab. I thoroughly enjoy my tractor time but I would like to be warmer haha. I should have a video up tomorrow of my plowing and snow blowing exploits. Cheers.

 

[airbiscuit]

This has been my snow removal journey.

I have a sidewalk, 300' driveway, 1/2 mile private road, neighbors to help. Typical snowfall 4-8" Some 10-15" Occasional 15-20". Here is what I have used over the years.

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - sidewalk light fluffy snow
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - sidewalk 6"+ snow
• ATV w/5' blade - Driveway up to 8"snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - Driveway/Private Road - any amount of snow
• Rear Blade - Driveway/Private Road up to 8" snow
• Rear facing Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road - 6"+ snow
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road Up to 24" snow

Those bolded are what I still have

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - Light and easy
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - Didn't get used enough
• ATV w/5' blade - Quick way to move snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - nothing faster but Disintegrated from lack of use
• Rear Blade - Not great at rolling snow well off to the side
• Rear facing Snowblower - Removes any amount of snow, but comes with a stiff neck
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Fast and efficient - why didn't I do this sooner

I've had:

• R4s - racing slicks in wet snow
• Turf - Better than I expected
• R1s - Best traction in snow or dirt

If I regularly had drifting or 24"+ snowfalls, I might want a front mount snowblower.

I don't mind not having a cab as long as it is above 0 (I do like beig out in the open air in the Wisconsin summer)

No one tool is perfect. Your list might look different.

 

[FreedomFamilyFarms]

Re: Your NEXT Snow Removal Setu

This has been my snow removal journey.

I have a sidewalk, 300' driveway, 1/2 mile private road, neighbors to help. Typical snowfall 4-8" Some 10-15" Occasional 15-20". Here is what I have used over the years.

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - sidewalk light fluffy snow
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - sidewalk 6"+ snow
• ATV w/5' blade - Driveway up to 8"snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - Driveway/Private Road - any amount of snow
• Rear Blade - Driveway/Private Road up to 8" snow
• Rear facing Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road - 6"+ snow
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road Up to 24" snow

Those bolded are what I still have

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - Light and easy
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - Didn't get used enough
• ATV w/5' blade - Quick way to move snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - nothing faster but Disintegrated from lack of use
• Rear Blade - Not great at rolling snow well off to the side
• Rear facing Snowblower - Removes any amount of snow, but comes with a stiff neck
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Fast and efficient - why didn't I do this sooner

I've had:

• R4s - racing slicks in wet snow
• Turf - Better than I expected
• R1s - Best traction in snow or dirt

If I regularly had drifting or 24"+ snowfalls, I might want a front mount snowblower.

I don't mind not having a cab as long as it is above 0 (I do like beig out in the open air in the Wisconsin summer)

No one tool is perfect. Your list might look different.

Thanks for the thorough response. Youæ±*e moving a lot faster with that Meteor than I would have expected a blower can go. Whatç—´ the snowfall cutoff between using the blade v the blower?

 

[CAFR11901]

This has been my snow removal journey.

I have a sidewalk, 300' driveway, 1/2 mile private road, neighbors to help. Typical snowfall 4-8" Some 10-15" Occasional 15-20". Here is what I have used over the years.

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - sidewalk light fluffy snow
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - sidewalk 6"+ snow
• ATV w/5' blade - Driveway up to 8"snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - Driveway/Private Road - any amount of snow
• Rear Blade - Driveway/Private Road up to 8" snow
• Rear facing Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road - 6"+ snow
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Driveway/Private Road Up to 24" snow

Those bolded are what I still have

• 2 cycle paddle snowblower - Light and easy
• 8hp 2 stage snowblower - Didn't get used enough
• ATV w/5' blade - Quick way to move snow
• 4x4 Plow Truck - nothing faster but Disintegrated from lack of use
• Rear Blade - Not great at rolling snow well off to the side
• Rear facing Snowblower - Removes any amount of snow, but comes with a stiff neck
• Rear Pull Snowblower - Fast and efficient - why didn't I do this sooner

I've had:

• R4s - racing slicks in wet snow
• Turf - Better than I expected
• R1s - Best traction in snow or dirt

If I regularly had drifting or 24"+ snowfalls, I might want a front mount snowblower.

I don't mind not having a cab as long as it is above 0 (I do like beig out in the open air in the Wisconsin summer)

No one tool is perfect. Your list might look different.

Wow, your journey on a private road looks much like mine. The current setup I too use is R1's with chains for the hills (new this year) on a 54 HP tractor with a rear pull blower. My neighbor has the same setup but 75 HP. Unfortunately, at a mile and a half road that is still taking 3 hours to take care of. New for next year is a runway snowblower with 500 HP for the blower...

Hoping to cut the clear time down to half an hour.

 

[chim]

Probably no "next" setup. The current one (cabbed L4240) is a result of trying a number of approaches since around 1991. It's an 8' hydraulic angle plow on the front and a 55 gallon drum of concrete on the back. It's fast and efficient. I can backdrag away from the garage and it can pile the snow high.

If the only snow removal I did was here at home, a front blower on a cabbed tractor and maybe a rear blade would do it. I say maybe a rear blade because I ran a rear blower for a few years and could clean almost right to the garage doors. I do the parking lots at church and a blower is very slow and pretty useless because of the width. Re-blowing snow more than once to get it out of the way is a real pain.

 

[stevem5215]

Everyone's snow blowing situation is unique. For example you don't need a 73" Snowblower on a tractor for a location that regularly gets 2 -4 inches of snow from a storm. (that's me and I had a 73" Allied) But, if you live in a lake effect snow area you are going to need more than my Steiner with a rotating brush. It just depends on your situation. The easiest way to figure it out is to talk to your neighbors with a similar situation. Older neighbors will have experience in fine tuning their snow removal experiences so you can benefit from that. My personal experience has been on my 300ft driveway that is south facing on a slight slope. The Steiner 420 with the 54" brush clears my driveway easily and will be dry and clear by 10am even in a cloudy day. It really is pretty awesome. For larger snowfalls up to 36" (we've only had several of these), I take off the brush and mount the loader that I keep stored in the garage as well and clear the big ones with it. I've only had to mount it twice in 10 years so not often for the amount of time needed to do that. (aprox 30minutes of fiddling around)

Good luck on your choices!