I know I still have a lot of time before I do this. But I need to come up with some way to move snow. I have a long driveway and I just do not have the back for all that shoveling. What are my options?
#2
173abn
dria,well starting with the cheapest I guess a walk behind snowblower,tractor with a fel or blade or snowblower or if you got neighbors with boys hire them to do it. russ
I know I still have a lot of time before I do this. But I need to come up with some way to move snow. I have a long driveway and I just do not have the back for all that shoveling. What are my options?
Lot of variables...how long is the driveway, gravel, grass, or paved? Do you need to have it cleared by the time you leave for work or school in the morning? What do you have in the way of lawn care equipment now? If your driveway is paved, in your region a 5 or 6 hp compact blower will probably suffice up to 100-150 feet. Longer than that, a two stage 8-10 hp will be more practical. Blowers do not work well on grass or gravel drives unless the ground is very hard frozen. If you have a decent size (20 plus hp) lawn or garden tractor, you can fit it with weights and chains on the back and install a blower or blade on the front, that will suffice for up to 10-12 inches of dry snow.
We use several things for our driveway. A snowblower if it's not too bad, our 4-wheeler with a plow when it's pretty thick out there and we are in a hurry, and of course our FarmAll H with a plow on it when it's really bad out there.
173abn, JDgreen and Zeroturn
have covered about all the best methods...
I just like thinking about moving snow when it's near 100 degrees today here in Kansas...
Thank you for the memories of winters past... Snow blowing in a heated cab ZTR... :smile:KennyV
I also use a 4 wheeler to plow and it does a good job. I lay salt as well and that helps too. I have son though and I also get them on board with a couple shovels. Between the three of us we get the job done pretty fast.
I also use a 4 wheeler to plow and it does a good job. I lay salt as well and that helps too. I have son though and I also get them on board with a couple shovels. Between the three of us we get the job done pretty fast.
Not trying to brag, but I use a Craftsman compact 5 hp blower, an '89 vintage 5 hp Craftsman dual stage blower, a 5 hp Rally front tine tiller fitted with tractor tires and a 32 inch front blade (very unusual), a Honda Foreman 450 fitted with Warn winch and 60 inch Moose County plow, and my JD with a FEL and 5 foot back blade. I got more snow removal toys than all my neighbors put together, which is why I do their driveways after a heavy snow. :biggrin:
I have a Craftsman 9.0/26 that I bought used two years ago for heavy snow dumps. (My neighbor paid three times as much for a new Ariens, which went on the fritz on him. Borrowed mine and put his up for sale.) My two "professional" snow shovels easily handle light loads.
Well, you could buy a riding snow blower. I used to have one that worked fine. But now I just ended up buying a plow for my 4x4 pickup truck which works even better.
We live in Canada, and although we don't get as much snow here, as in some parts of the country, we can get big dumps of over a foot in one day. We have a gravel driveway, so we had to get a a Two-stage snowblower. We got a Craftsman 5.5 hp Gas Snow Thrower which does the job for use on the ground quite nicely. For the roof, we use rakes. And sometimes, we have to get up the roof on a ladder to get a big pile dislodged.
Dria, Saying that your back is not so good, you would want to stay on the lighter side in the snowblowers. The big 2 stage units can be a bear to handel and the 4-5 hp units 2 stage are a bit light to get down to the surface. Both tend to ride up over packed snow. Wet heavy sticky snow is a challenge for any two wheel and a lot of the garden tractor units. The Toro Commander 6 hp is a favorite with my snow crews. It is a single stage and as such is under a hundred pounds weight wise. the auger is what pulls it along most of the time with excellent throwing ability in most situations and digs right down to the surface if it is not hard packed. It is made in 4 stroke and 2 stroke(got to pre- mix gas and oil) and they are available with electric start. I run a professional snow removal service here in WI, so my units see more time in the field and abuse than any home owners would. I can't speak for the electric start at all as we do not use that, we do use the 2 stroke models as they are lighter and easier to get in and out of the trucks. We do wear out augers, drive belt and the bottom blade about once a season on each unit. Likely that would equate to several seasons for a home owner. Hope this helps.
