Snow managment; Tractor vs. ATV?

[Greg]

Okay,

I bought a tractor recently, and although it's winter and the snow is falling, I am taking the time to do needed repairs in a proper fashion so I have a nice tractor, rather than just rush so I can scoop up some snow. Even though I know 100% that I will be clearing my driveway with the tractor's FEL, is it more efficient than an ATV with a plow?

I was plowing the other night on my Suzuki King quad. 300 CC 4x4 automatic clutch and a winch to lift and lower the plow. Winch has a thumb control on the left handle bar. As I was buzzing around and plowing and backing and plowing very quickly, i wondered how my B7100 HST-D will compare.

 

[eserv]

No, A loader is a pain in the @@@ for moving snow compared to a angling blade.

 

[Captjack]

I would use a rear blade and angle it - then clean up with the bucket

 

[Eric McCarthy]

Use Pam cooking spray and coat the FEL bucket or blade and nothing sticks to it. Its a cheap lubricant. I use both the loader and blade. Loader is nice to have to pile snow up out of the way with. A tractor has alot more weight then any atv will and if you ballist the tires makes all the difference in the world to.

 

[gmtinker]

We (my wife and I) tag team on the snow removal. I use the angled blade on the rear of the Kubota to make 2 windrows down our fairly long driveway with a few passes, then use the FEL to clear where the approach is (and the inevitable grader ridge). She then follows afterward with our JD X300 with the snowblower on the front to blow the 2 windrows off the road. It works really well for us, and the combo of FEL/blade on one with the blower on the other gives us the best of both worlds. (That and the both of us love having an excuse to crack out the equipment!)

As for a quad, I've never tried one, but my neighbor swears by his (although his driveway is about 1/8 the length of mine).

 

[dusty-t]

Hey Guy's. Thought I would put my 2 cents in. I do about 15 places in town here. I started off this year using the 4 ft bucket and 54 in blower in mid range hydro. I got ticked off because the bucket is narrower than the tractor(51 in) so I made a 60 in blade 2 ft high cutting edge off of a road grader. This blade hooks right to the Quick attach, no angle, but it does tilt. You can actually tip the blade forward and back drag with the top of the blade. I have discovered that the tractor will push snow in high range. It will also blow snow in high range. I went from 5 hrs to 3 hrs to do my lanes. But in high range you have to be extra carefull around curbs and manhole covers.

 

[handyman]

Dusty blade looks good. Sounds like you are really enjoying it. wife liked the snow when we lived in Oklahoma dont get that much in Tennessee.handyman

 

[Greg]

Thanks for the comments. Guess I will find out soon enough. That is if I ever get my tractor back together.

Dusty, I like the custom blade, especially it's ability to pull with the top edge.

I have no doubt that it will take more time with the tractor than it does with my quad. The quad is just supper fast. it even pushes up piles 4' high. The only problem with the quad is you kinda need to get out there every 6". At 12", it takes 3x as long. But then again, going out to play in the snow every 6" is fun.

 

[ptwyz]

I would use a rear blade and angle it - then clean up with the bucket

I agree with Captjack. I have a rear blade along with my FEL. Two options for any situation I get into. When a pile of snow gets too high when pushing it, it is nice to be able to use the FEL and move to wherever.

 

[ptwyz]

I move more snow with my rear blade than I do with the loader, always have.

I use my rear blade 95% of the time. Of course, I have used my new BX only twice in the snow. BUT, I have used the FEL to move the piles of snow I made with my RB.