Options for for Moving Snow When Snowed In?

Hehehe... kinda why I mentioned it was good you leased it to try it out first. Been there, with snow removal ideas. DH & DD will have fun plowing... for fun... then, the learning curve will do it's thing during heavy winter stuff... I'll have lotsa popcorn... just make sure you get pics...

I've tried the 5' plow on my Suzuki 4x4, with Tatou tracks. It works well compared to tires, but it's slow going, and it's...... cold... ... ... I've become quite the wimp. It's one of the big reasons I wanted the Jeep, for plowing. Climb in... turn on the heat... gooder... It's a good "in-between"... couple of pickups over the years with plows vs ATV. Here's one vs the other...




Those iced down frozen trees are a great reminder that it's not just soft powder snow ya gotta remove... When it gets really heavy and frozen, and the Jeep can't deal with it... back into the cold I go on the JD to whittle out a path. And... I still love this stuff... must be nuts... (I'm too stupid to hire it out... prolly cost a lot less $... wouldn't be as much "fun")

 

They make a track conversion for the jeep, just a thought.

 

Mattracks have done some amazing mods on rigs, but they're not needed on our Jeep. If I can't git r dun with the gear I'm using now... I prolly should move south...

 

I missed this thread, my advice would have been adding plow to the Blazer, a bunch of ballast, and plow with the storms, and plow it wide at the beginning of the season. I remember a couple years back having to push back piles into the front yards having run out of room. That is taxing on a truck. Being on the coast of Mass, I can only imagine how much more snow others get that this would have been child's play.

I now have a 4' blower for my tractor, but still have the 8' plow on the Ford. Ford is warmer but the 'Bota is easier to navigate in tight quarters. With the blower & FEL, I don't need to worry about drifts. With either, I am good, with both I am better. Neighbors love me that's for sure.

Waking up to 2'+ of snow happens once, maybe twice a year here. It's nice to just go out and nail it with the blower. An ATV/UTV means waking up and keeping up with the storm; shoot even a truck you should but don't tell that to Joe Plow in his 1/2 ton with no ballast. I keep my last load of wood in the Ford during the winter. Ballast is key.

 

You're so right about the ballast in the back of a pickup with a plow. The plow can weigh over 700 lbs... thats a lotta iron hanging on the front. Had 500 lbs right above the rear axle of the trucks I've used. Studded winter tires too. I don't have the area here as before and I need to be able to turn easily. So far, the lil Jeep has surprised me.

 

I had a Ford once that I couldn't get a plow mounted too. You might be able to find a 4x4 farm tractor with a cab for the right price. Check out auctions, farmer's swaps, talk to the locals, etc. Once you've got hydraulics on a tractor bucket, you can do all kinds of things. Have seen a very cool idea using an old pickup plow, without any of it's hydraulics, etc. Just the plow... guy made a simple steel frame that bolted to the plow, and that frame matched the inside of his tractor bucket... he could "scoop" it up easily anytime he needed to plow a drive/road, etc... pushing snow to the side. When he wanted, he could drop the plow fast, push/carry snow with the bucket, then scoop the plow and go some more. That kind of a set-up has an extra capability too... you can lift the plow 6'-8' up when pushing snow banks back. Big advantage over a pickup mounted plow.

And... you could say t'ell with all of it, and git out the snowshoes and cross country skis...

 

Here you go WW! What a concept this thing is. Won't get much snow plowed... but you won't care having so much fun quietly sliding on top of the snow. Cool rig.

 

Here's a good vid showing the positives of using an ATV for plowing. Your posts have mentioned getting to town in deep snow if needed, and plowing the road. I mentioned above that it was time consuming, using an ATV on tracks to plow. That's in tight spaces. Out on a road, this vid shows it can move right along, and it's fun too. One super big advantage compared to any other option for plowing with wheels... on tracks... you can whittle off the top, and come back a second/third time... because the tracks let you float on top of the snow. Jump ahead on this vid and get to the long road plowing shots. With tracks, he's able to really move some snow. Without tracks, pushing the weight of snow he is would shove most ATVs sideways making them a PITA. Here ya go...

 

You had minus 22 degrees?

 

Good grief. What the h*ll does that make your wind chill? That's Feb weather!

 

A friend of mine has a Polaris Ranger with tracks. It rides like a Cadillac. He grooms snowmobile trails with it.

 

It's got me thinkin' it's past time to get the plow on the Jeep, bucket back on the tractor, shovels ready, etc. This is nuts. National news showed places in Mich with 30" of show! Have you had a lot of snow too?

 

I would like the dump body on those too. Look like great rigs.