To Plow or not To Plow

[NorthwoodsLife]

I don't know about full, but if you go that far, might as well go into Florida.

I'd considered Geohgah, Ala-Bam, and Flo-Ida, but coming from the Midwest and far west, I'd always be considered a Northhh-una.
Got a brother in Florida. He says it's filling up with Nu-Yuakas.

 

[jimh406]

I'd considered Geohgah, Ala-Bam, and Flo-Ida, but coming from the Midwest and far west, I'd always be considered a Northhh-una.

You wouldn't stand out too much in Florida. There are a lot of people still moving in from all over the country because they don't like the changes taking place where they live.

 

[Mountainhill]

I have a long driveway in the forest. In a couple spots, one 30 yards long and the other about 100 yards long, it's moderatly sloped.
I get the best traction on the sloped areas in unplowed snow. Snow is about 7 to 8" deep now and my SuperDuty is tall and glides over it with it no problem. 35" mud terrain tires and leveling lift. I figure that I can drive thru snow up to about 15". Just less than 1/2 diameter of the tire/wheel.

Dirt and some gravel driveway. Not paved.

My question is, will I regret it if I don't plow the snow now?

It seems that when I plow the snow I'm just driving on ice. If I plow it and salt it, I get mud. Neither are good for traction.

My first time wintering it up here in the forest in North Wisconsin.

I know eventually I will have to plow it if it gets too deep.

Living on the East Coast, close to the ocean, we get a real mix of snow, rain, sleet, freeze and thaw, often in the same week!
Tend to plow, nothing worse than frozen slush, or glare ice from no previous plowing.
As for sanding, I keep a pile 3/4” clear (crushed) stone, I can scatter with the bucket. Stones tend to melt in to ice, like a studded tire in reverse. Also, 3/4” clear material will not freeze solid, as does sand or crusher dust. Keep several buckets crusher/sand , in basement, for emergencies, and around house/shop entrance .

 

[ve9aa]

Living on the East Coast, close to the ocean, we get a real mix of snow, rain, sleet, freeze and thaw, often in the same week!
Tend to plow, nothing worse than frozen slush, or glare ice from no previous plowing.
As for sanding, I keep a pile 3/4” clear (crushed) stone, I can scatter with the bucket. Stones tend to melt in to ice, like a studded tire in reverse. Also, 3/4” clear material will not freeze solid, as does sand or crusher dust. Keep several buckets crusher/sand , in basement, for emergencies, and around house/shop entrance .

I should be so lucky ! My wife keeps trying to convince me to move to the NS shore to retire. Maybe.

As it is, I am on a hill in SW-ish NB, so pretty far from salt water (air)

We pretty much stay frozen (inland) here all winter.

 

[johnjk]

If we get over 3” I will blade the drive and remove what I can IF the ground is frozen. The rest packs down and usually the stones poking up gather enough radiant heat during the day to clear it or at least provide better traction. If not frozen yet, it usually melts off in a day back to the original surface. No need to get on it. Once frozen though, After ever 2”+ snowfall I will blade the drive. My big battle is drifting. 1300” across open fields to the road. We may get 2-3” but that can quickly generate a 2-3’ drift across the drive. One day I may wise up and plant a couple hundred pines to give me a natural wind break or just run snow fencing.

 

[DustyRusty]

You wouldn't stand out too much in Florida. There are a lot of people still moving in from all over the country because they don't like the changes taking place where they live.

I didn't like living there 60 years ago, and I certainly have no desire to go back. Mega years ago, a doctor was asked "What do people with asthma do". He said that they move to Arizona for a drier climate. Then he was asked what the people in Arizona do that have asthma do. His reply was that they move to the East Coast. No matter where you live, the far-off areas always look better, until you get there.

 

[jimh406]

I didn't like living there 60 years ago, and I certainly have no desire to go back.

Some areas of the country have gotten worse, and some have got better. Florida isn’t the same as 60 years ago. That’s a good thing. On the other hand, many places are going the opposite way.

 

[Vlach7]

As said prior get the snow off the road, I do dirt/gravel road maintenance, dry road is good, wet road I get to buy more road base/rock.

 

[JRHill]

We also live in the forest. 2.5mi of two track private trail and the last mile is VERY steep in most places with bends and imbedded boulders. There is no "get a run for it." Climbing is on the return trip so at least we can make wheel tracks on the way out.

For us it comes down to forecast and how much worse it will get before I need to get home. Will I need chains and will just rears be sufficient or do I need to do the front too? If chains I better be doing it while there's still some light out. Have to adjust arrival time accordingly.

The worst of the worst is front axle wheel hopp. 4wd F350 with the back axle locked. As I mentioned there is no speed solution so the fronts are clawing and dropping. Its really nerve racking knowing how hard this is on the drive train. 1000# of feed is good, more than that and I'm too heavy.

So the bottom line is the chains: McCleod V-Block with cam tensioners. And Tight! If its the DW's trip and she's driving her F250 (ready with F&R V-Blocks) I will follow her down and pull her chains, meeting her on the return to chain her back up. Then we could both be screwed. If the snow is much over 12" it doesn't matter how much ground clearance the body has - the front axle is going to be a snow plow.

We do have a JD410j that is chained (cross links) all year around with ballast. It never sees hard surface so I leave them on 365. If I have to use it I keep the bucket at 6" and let the weight compact the wheel ruts and also don't pull/snag big rock out of the road base.

We love the winter! Let it snow++! We desperately need the moisture. The road keeps snoopers, thieves and troublemakers away. There is no cell reception so if some a$$**** is playing its an easy $100+. The non-resident land owners mostly know better than try the road then.

When its bad, the B7100 with BH/loader/full chains is a liability. Only useful around the homesite for clean up.

Lastly, a chain saw in the toolbox for fallen trees. The 'lil 14" electric is great unless its too cold for the lithium.

CHAINS!

 

[JRHill]

OP, hope the 'ol B7100 is still working well for you. I rewired mine this fall. Everything works like new except for a few leaky cylinders. They need to be changed out :-(

 

[top gnome]

I should be so lucky ! My wife keeps trying to convince me to move to the NS shore to retire. Maybe.

As it is, I am on a hill in SW-ish NB, so pretty far from salt water (air)

We pretty much stay frozen (inland) here all winter.

What ever you do do not move to Nova Scotia

your wife is NOT correct do not move to the NS shore. in our case on the BOF We have long autumns and long springs VERY. muddy and little snow and no hot weather. We like to say we are the next exit past Paradise which we are on the 101 And the community is wonderfully TERRIBLE . Daily coffee at the OFC (old fishermans club) and Saturday Jam sessions at the community center. Not to mention the Local moonshine, the grass fed beef, HADDOCK, SCALLOPS. And so many other terrible blessings. NS maybe the only place on earth that really can be self sufficient AND WHO WOULD WANT THAT. We have lived all over North America and this the WORST place. NOBODY ELSE SHOULD MOVE HERE EVER. Because it is NOT PARADISE !!! We lived and Beaver Harbor NB and that was a much better place to live.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

OP, hope the 'ol B7100 is still working well for you. I rewired mine this fall. Everything works like new except for a few leaky cylinders. They need to be changed out :-(

Actually. I don't have the beloved B7100 anymore. But I keep it listed because it was my original foray into Kubota. My dad bought it in 1977. I was 15 y/o. It was MY tractor. And what an incredible machine it was.

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

We also live in the forest.

The worst of the worst is front axle wheel hopp. 4wd F350 with the back axle locked.

Lastly, a chain saw in the toolbox for fallen trees. The 'lil 14" electric is great unless its too cold for the lithium.

CHAINS!

I agree. Back in the 1990's I had chains on all 4 wheels of my 4x4 in a blizzard. I was the ONLY one moving thru the forest and into town except the guy with a horse.

I also carry 2 chainsaws in my truck toolbox, in case of driveway tree fall. It makes life interesting.

Axle hop is bad in front. Worse in the rear... Ford makes a good truck in the SuperDuty. Dana's Super 60 axles in the SD front is a beefy axle. The electronics will be the issue.

Thank you for your post. It makes me feel better knowing I'm not the only one. My driveway is .6 of a mile long.

 

[Hkb82]

You could blade it and leave an inch or so in places for traction when needed. Still have a bit of mess in the spring but not as bad as just packing heavy amounts all winter. Blower should be in your future arsenal of attachments. Way more fun lol

 

[Mountainhill]

I should be so lucky ! My wife keeps trying to convince me to move to the NS shore to retire. Maybe.

As it is, I am on a hill in SW-ish NB, so pretty far from salt water (air)

We pretty much stay frozen (inland) here all winter.

Certainly seem to be a lot of people making that choice. You’d need a new set of Ice chains at minimum, may need a few new tractor implements, for the new property. May be worth considering

 

[NorthwoodsLife]

You could blade it and leave an inch or so in places for traction when needed. Still have a bit of mess in the spring but not as bad as just packing heavy amounts all winter. Blower should be in your future arsenal of attachments. Way more fun lol

Plan to get a front snow blower next year for the LX2610. If we can afford the nearly 10,000 dollar price tag.
Until then, I started using a rear blade. Although it's easier and faster to use the ATV snow plow for quick work. But only when it's not too cold.