Winter

[daytime dave]

I have a stone driveway and set the skids down as far as they will go. It keeps the stones in the driveway, but does leave an inch or two in places. I prefer to blow the snow where I want it and leave the stones in the driveway. I don't want the mower launching them. The previous owner had a plow service and the lawn near and not so near the driveway was strewn with stones. Some were pretty big.
My step son uses my Mahindra tractor with a back blade to plow his driveway in the winter. He's pretty good about not putting the driveway stones into his lawn, but it happens. The Mahindra doesn't have down pressure on the three point either.

[Sir Henry]

Have you tried rotating your back blade 180 and plowing the snow driving backwards with your tractor?

I keep the blade like it is a plow backwards. If I turn the blade around and use it court digs in too much.

Yes, I've noticed that with mine too. Takes finesse-practice to get the blade just the right height, and we don't get enough snow often enough to get the height dialed in. I tried what you do with the blade in that orientation, and once there is enough snow built up behind the blade, the blade wants to lift and slide up on top of the pile I'm trying to push. My 3pt hitch does not prevent the blade from lifting.

I can lift and lower mine and change the camber. It’s taken me three seasons but I finally mastered it. Almost everyone I see that uses a tractor to plow snow does it like this. The same is true grading gravel. Always in reverse.

[BrokenolMarine]

We don't really get enough snow to plow, so we just use the 4wd trucks to get around when we do get snow, and I bought the Northstar Ranger with the enclosed cab, Heat and AC, and windshield wiper system for Rain, Snow, Cold and extreme heat in Oklahoma. Miss T was not too sure we needed it until the first winter when we had that muddy, freezing cold winter and she had to be at the barn every morning and evening. "Whining" about how cold and messy it was, I told her to take the Ranger, it's heated. "I don't need that thing," she said, but took it. She came back grinning...

She had used it in the summer to run feed and grain down rather than drive the trucks down into the pasture and across the creek, but once she used the 4x4 Ranger to run thru the mud and ice, and HEATED cab... it became the thing. Then that first winter we got the huge snow (for here) Two feet. We could still run the fence, check the livestock, check the gates, pull the cards for the security cams, safe and warm the entire time.

Yup. Even used the winch to pull a couple neighbors out of the ditches.

The old Northstar, we had it for the first two years:

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Replaced the old Ranger with the new one when it came time. We still use it a LOT...

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We have the Kubota to deal with clearing snow and ice if need be:

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[5shot]

5shot here in the INLAND Pacific Northwest we have experienced the same strange winter you have. Only in the last couple of weeks have we had any snow that stuck around long enough to plow/shovel. Last night we had 3” and it’s supposed to snow on and off all day so I’ll be out in it moving it from point A to point B.

Love your setup with that tractor mounted blower.

That little 3 cylinder diesel and I have battled a lot of snow over the years with either this blower or the blade. I got rid of the nasty corrosive liquid in the tires and had them filled with beet juice. Biggest problem is being out in the weather and having a stiff senior citizen neck from the rear mounted implements.

[Sir Henry]

It’s was -19F this morning. I can’t wait for the annual global warming.

[brm4450]

It’s was -19F this morning. I can’t wait for the annual global warming.

-25 here this morning! I’m with you on the annual warming!

[Mags]

For the next week daytime temps are predicted as high as 58 and nights in the 40's and 50's. Maybe we are trending to an early Spring.

[brm4450]

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[fortyshooter]

6-12 inches of snow forecast for Central and Southeast Va. tomorrow. Will see how it all dumps out come Thursday evening!

[Hatchdog]

6-12 inches of snow forecast for Central and Southeast Va. tomorrow. Will see how it all dumps out come Thursday evening!

[rickhem]

Went out to re-clear the driveway after a few days of mixed precipitation. There's about 6 inches of snow and ice on the ground, but the issue is that there's a layer of about 3 inches of very hard, crusty, frozen stuff. I can walk on it in most areas, but break through in others. The snow just drifts over that layer. And again, the base is just packed snow/ice all along the driveway. I tried pivoting the plow to push the snow to the right, and when I started driving up the driveway, it got under the crust but kept getting pushed to the left because of the buildup in front of the plow. I'd go 10 feet forward, then four feet left. After being frustrated by this for a bit, I just lifted the plow and drove up and down the driveway with the tractor a couple times, and let the weight of the tractor bust up that crust. It pushed easier after that, but I still had to steer into that side of the road to keep the tractor moving straight.
My other problem now is that there are walls of ice and snow piled on either side of the driveway that are about two feet high, and limit my ability to keep a wide swath cleared between them. This is where the snowblower would shine.
We've been getting winds over the past few days that sound like a train driving past. Gusts to 50mph, and there are branches down all over. The more open areas of the driveway just drift right over, and look like I never touched them.
I'm ready for springtime.

[Ozarkwoodswalker]

Its wicked cold outside... got truck warming.. soon headed to other farm to put out hay... at least we got less snow than they predicted

[ditchparrot]

We've had a lousy winter here –– almost no precipitation at all. Yeah, I'm in Arizona, but the elevation where I am is just shy of 5,000 feet. We usually get a couple of decent snow events per year and considerably more rain than we've had. Into the high 70s next week. This isn't good. Have to hope for a "March Miracle".

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