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Your driveway and what you use to clear snow

37K views 195 replies 85 participants last post by  Willscary 
#1 ·
I will start first. 600 feet driveway, and x540 with 47 in blower.

This usually works fine until the driveway meets the public road. Last year was trouble some, the city plow left a small mountain of snow there with every storm. 6 foot tall snow bank that is more 20 feet wide, 5 feet deep. I will need to call in crews with heavy equipment to clear them.

This year,we have a warm winter in MA, my x540 works wonderfully. But I plan to eventually upgrade to either 1 series or x700 series with front loader options. Also considered buying UTV's like john deere gator or even a jeep wangler with plow mounted. Not sure which is the better option.
 
#2 ·
My driveway is about 1/4 mile of long worn in gravel, so it's more like a curvy path through the woods that I drive on.

So far I've only been able to use the JD 110 with blade once and it did great moving about 5 inches of snow with drifts up towards the road. This is the first year I've had chains and loaded tires. Prior to this when I got snowed in, I was snowed in for the duration.
 
#3 ·
This usually works fine until the driveway meets the public road. Last year was trouble some, the city plow left a small mountain of snow there with every storm.
No way to clear an ampty spot along the road where the snowplow can dump the bulk of its load before it gets to your driveway?

Haha, "ampty" - that's southern for empty.
 
#16 ·
The "ampty" spot is my driveway entrance, there is no other space before my house for about quarter a mile, because of the dense wooded area.

If the plow driver is very careful, it is possible not to dump all the snow into my driveway, and push it further down the street. So this year, I plan to take photos and show them to the town office, and ask them to be more considerate.
 
#4 ·
I will start first. 600 feet driveway, and x540 with 47 in blower.

This usually works fine until the driveway meets the public road. Last year was trouble some, the city plow left a small mountain of snow there with every storm. 6 foot tall snow bank that is more 20 feet wide, 5 feet deep. I will need to call in crews with heavy equipment to clear them.

This year,we have a warm winter in MA, my x540 works wonderfully. But I plan to eventually upgrade to either 1 series or x700 series with front loader options. Also considered buying UTV's like john deere gator or even a jeep wangler with plow mounted. Not sure which is the better option.
Sounds like your driveway exits onto a major (wide) roadway.

Even a jeep would have some trouble chewing away at that pile and your backend would be out in traffic while you are doing it.

That is the best excuse anyone can have to convince the Wife you need to add a loader.:thThumbsU

:bananapow "Nobody ever regretted owning a loader." :bananapow
 
#6 ·
I'm in MA, too. 185' asphalt driveway that I do with a 30" walk-behind Ariens today. Depending on how deep the snow is, it takes 40 minutes to 2.5 hours to clean. Deeper falls I have to clean along the roadside for the mailbox and to cut down how much the town plows push into the driveway entry. Next year I will have an x585 with a 47 thrower at my disposal.

My neighbor has a 500' driveway and he usually uses a Gator and blade. I'd a bigger storm with heavier snow gets ahead of him, however, he pulls out a walk-behind thrower.
 
#7 ·
My driveway is pretty big--about 110' long,and it splits into two separate drives about 50 feet from the street,kind of like a "Y"..one part goes alongside the house down to the quonset garage,that part has a slight uphill grade heading to the street..

I have always had a snowblower,tractors with plows or snowblowers,and after getting very discouraged with their inability to work for such a large area without constant break downs or just plain being too small to handle the deep snows we get here that is often wet and sticky,I bought a '71 GMC K1500 with a Fisher Plow back in 1987 for 500 bucks,it had a smokey 305 with a burnt valve....(pictured below).I've owned 4 other "plow trucks" since...(my current one is the maroon '82 GMC K2500 )..

I would not want to even think about having to rely "only" on those tractors or walk behind blowers--after 6" or so,they are pretty much useless,and beat you to death using them for hours to clear that much area..I use them only to clear the walks and paths to sheds,etc,where the truck cant fit in..

But,after last year,and several other years when we had up to 36" fall in less than 24 hours,I found out the trucks are NOT always able to push that much snow,even if you stay out all thru the storm trying to stay ahead of it--and yes,the town DPW plows piling up a wall of salted snow higher than the truck's hood often made it impossible to get to the street,even if I could push all the snow in the driveway aside...

If you could not whittle that wall of icy snow away a little at a time,you had no choice but to shovel it by hand,or pray someone drove by with a ten wheeler plow truck or loader,to get it out of the way..there have been several instances where a 3/4 ton plow truck is just not up to the task in recent years..also,manuverability in a full sized truck with a plow is quite limited on a driveway thats only 20 feet wide at the widest part..

There has been an increasing number of "severe" winter storms hitting here ,and I have been tempted to sell my trucks and tractors,and get a skid steer or a farm tractor sized bucket loader tractor...then I could be pretty much able to move the snow from all the areas ,not just the driveway..and being able to lift the snow away and dump it elsewhere is the best feature...plus no registration,insurance,inspections,etc,and beating a truck to death using it to plow.....

By the way--the storm pictures were taken on April 1st,1997,the "April Fools Blizzard"...so "spring" doesn't always mean rain here!..we got 36" overnight,of wet cement snow that was near impossible to plow,I had to pile every heavy item in my garage in the trucks bed,and bet the thing bad,just to get a path open to the street...
 

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#8 · (Edited)
I live in the country, so I always get my driveway opened up before the county plows do my road. Then I plow/blow the road clear all the way across my property. That way when the county finally makes it out, there's no snow to get pushed across my drive.

Not sure what I'd do in the OPs situation. It's unreasonable to expect most homeowners to have the equipment it would take to dig through a snow berm of that size.

My primary driveway is 150 feet of concrete. The driveway to the barn is 200 feet of gravel. Yesterday was the first time all winter I've bothered to do any snow removal. Got out the 445 and blowed off the concrete...



If things get serious, especially in the gravel driveway that tends to drift bad, I'll get out the 2020...

 
#9 ·
I used to have a Jeep Wrangler with a plow on it and used it to plow "commercially". I was amazed at the amount of snow the old girl would push and just keep right on going. I mostly did alleys and driveways with it ant there were times that the city would leave a 7' tall mountain at the end of the drive for me to relocate.

I gave up plowing for other people because I had such trouble getting people to pay their bill, but they had no problem calling me and complaining that they hadn't been plowed out yet.

I gave up the jeep because it was in excess of 250,000 miles and the frame was rusting away under the jeep.

It was a fun vehicle in the summer as well...top and doors of and it was great for tooling around town.

Having said all that, I vote for an X7XX with a loader. Much more versatile and you won't go broke maintaining it.
 
#14 ·
My "driveway" is a little complicated. At the house I live at, it's a pretty small strip of pavement- maybe 50 feet by 20, and a bunch of dirt road. I have the JD-316 here with the 54" 4-way plow, and the BX2230 loader to keep piles at bay.

My "other driveway" is my folks' place in town and a few select neighbors of theirs who always help them out when I can't. I leave the JD-210 with 42" plow there in the winter.

"Up the farm" is our other place, and the JD-6115R takes care of that.
 
#15 ·
I use a single stage 46" front mount snow thrower. It has always worked great for me. It might take a little time but has never let me down. I always wait until after the storm. We don't get huge snow depths but do often get a ton of wind so that means deep snow drifts. But I always try to clear off the roadway in front of my place to the property line on the side that the snow plow will come from. It is amazing on how much that cuts down on the amount of snow that gets deposited at the end of the driveway. Around here it is illegal to push your snow into the road but people always do it. It never did make much sense to me because when the plow comes to do the road it gets pushed right back into a nice pile at the end of your driveway. I have a blade and a loader and neither would ever be on the tractor when I know snow is on the way. Snow thrower wins every time.
 
#77 ·
Yep, old post but winters coming soon.. Assuming one has a GOOD snowblower I agree, snowblowers are tough to beat. If, however, you have one that's not up to snuff the outcome isn't as certain. I'll never forget my Dad putting on a snowblower on a new at that time Dynamark tractor. Unfortunately the first snow we had was a heavy wet snow that just dribbled out of the chute. In the garage it went, off came the blower and within 2 days he had made a blade of his own just a tad wider than the tractor. Yep, took a long time to push those Pocono Mts snowfalls but he always got it done even if he had to go out in the teeth of the weather at all hours of the morning noon or night. Trick was to not let it pile up too deep before you started.
Fast forward 55 years and I'm doing the same thing at my home with a better for sure than what he had CC 3184 with hydraulic angle blade. Yep, depending on how much snow it may take a couple of pushes but its fast.. I plow from the street inward into my woods to avoid having the plow trks throwing it back at me. I even go up and down the street 50 or 60 feet and push it as far in the woods as I can so the plow trucks wouldn't plow me back in. Everything has its limitations. I'm sure I plow partly because its what I grew up with.. chains, weights, etc. And I always push it as far back as I can. I remember well the record snows of 95 and 96 ( thats 1995, not 1895 :) ) that I borrowed my neighbors Ford backhoe/loader to pile it around our circular driveway. Around 10 foot high as I recall.. Didn't ***** or complain. You did it because you had to..
 
#17 ·
Currently I use a 47 farmall cub with a plow and a pulan pro 8.5 hp. My driveway is a short road with a large open parking lot at the end. I'm thinking of picking up a plow truck for next winter.
 
#18 ·
Well, it has been "officially used" today, so I guess it's safe to post some pics. ;)

1976 Ford LGT 165 with Johnson 10TC Loader and 54" homemade snow pusher.

. Snow Vehicle Automotive tire Motor vehicle Tractor
Vehicle Snow Snowplow Snow removal Snow blower
Snow Winter Sky Freezing Tree


No way I'm taking it back off now, .....it'll get painted in the spring.:drunkie:
 
#20 ·
Well, it has been "officially used" today, so I guess it's safe to post some pics. ;)



1976 Ford LGT 165 with Johnson 10TC Loader and 54" homemade snow pusher.



. View attachment 1577313 View attachment 1577321 View attachment 1577337



No way I'm taking it back off now, .....it'll get painted in the spring.:drunkie:

Wow, your home made snow pusher looking great!

Your ford is 40 years old now, are you able to find parts for it? I am so impressed that people can keep these things going for so long after the original maker long exited the business.
 
#26 ·
I live on a small acreage in an acreage community. Two fairly short driveways and I clean the street in front of my property as well, because the county is so bad at it.

3" or less:



4" or more:

 
#29 ·
400 foot gravel driveway with an uphill going toward the street.

Equipment:

455 with Field Trax filled with Rim Guard and Chains. Also 6 Suitcases on the rear (May be removing them)

https://youtu.be/AVKobNbmADs

Oops and Ring.com caught me "shoveling" the porch and walkway.

https://youtu.be/kBpbUFzUcWU
 
#30 ·
120 ft paved, uphill to the garages. Have a couple 1980's Craftsmans with 12 hp engines, 1 has a 40 inch blade, other a 40 inch single stage blower. Have backup to both, both Wheel Horses, 1 has a small blade, other a single stage blower. The a back to them, a Craftsman 'greenie' with a blade. All have about 75 pounds of weight on the back plus 2-link home made chains.
If it gets too deep or contains too much water (blue snow), I have a Honda HS-55 2-stage, a Simplicity 24 inch 2-stage, an 'old' Craftsman 8-24 2-stage, and a smaller Craftsman 5hp 23 inch 2-stage.
If nothing works, I bring out the 'big' gun, the antique long handled snow shovel.
My Town doesn't like to clear the full width of my street anymore. This past storm (pure wet agony) they missed the road edge by 3 - 4 feet. Plus, there was 3 inches of ice on top of the roadway.
I've hand shoveled the driveway many times. Last year I had only one blower that could blow the snow over the banks of the sides of the driveway. Surpisingly, it was all gone by July 4th.
 
#31 ·
Nothing short of a very large piece of equipment would be able to plow through a 5' deep by 20' wide pile of heavy snow like that. A Jeep or even a full size pickup isn't going to touch that type of snow. Your only cHance would be a loader to scoop it out but you are talking a lot of work with a 1 or 700 series. A decent sized skid steer typically has faster cycle times but isn't as versatile for other tasks.

For more normal snow accumulation on a really long driveway (don't have to turn or back up often) it's hard to beat an ATV or UTV because of the speed. My dad used an Atv for over 10 years and now a UTV and for his needs it works much better than my 425 Deere, though on my drive it's the other way. Being able to go 15-20 mph with a 72" blade moves a lot of snow.
 
#32 ·
Ariens GT-18 w/48" Blower most of the time, Asphalt Drive that splits one leg goes up what is probably a 10-12% grade there is probably 400' of driveway overall with a large area in front of the attached garage and I blow a good portion out back so as to have a turn around area for my truck pulling the snowmobile trailer. I also have a 54" blade I sometimes use to scrape or for the occasional really went slushy crap that doesn't want to blow. I use a 22" MTD for the decks and close to the house.

I also put a lock i n the rear end this year that makes a world of difference getting up the hill to the garage.





 
#33 ·
400' gravel up hill for a bit from the garage then pretty level after that. 1954 Massey Harris Pacer and a 1965 Ford 5000 with a back blade some times too.
I plow my side of the road to the point where the county plow can not make a end of driveway (EOD) mound or around my mail box. Half the time they are not down our road for at least 3 days after a snow and some times a week.





My dad worked on this for a full day. Once he got out he went and bought a big 72' Bur Vac snow blower for his 1964 Ford 2000, But is worked better on my Ford 5000.




5 feet deep snow drifts 50 feet long were not a problem after he did that. You don't need a loader with a good sized snow blower and tractor to work it.
 
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