ATV with a plow or a snow thrower?

Originally Posted By: irv
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: irv




A 200' driveway with a single stage non-propelled blower? Not even once.

An ATV or lawn tractor with a plow will be way faster than a walk-behind blower. How much snow and how often do you get it? If you need a lawn tractor to mow with anyway that might answer your question.


Reread my post again. I alluded to it not likely being big enough, but more info is required first. I agree, with the length of his drive, any snowblower/person will likely be taxed by the time they are done, but comparing this little sucker (not as little as you think, however) to my neighbors big walk behind, I am done my same size driveway in less than half the time it takes him.
I have noticed, after talking to a few of my neighbors about my snowblower, many more in my neighborhood are now using them.
Those big honking, old school, walk behinds are no longer needed this day and age when something a 1/3 of their size/cost is available that does just as a good of a job.

Thinking further now, and needing more info/pics of what the OP is up against, maybe even a small/mid size P/U with a plow on the front might be an even better option, provided he has room to get rid of the snow, a place to store it, etc, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bOshJ_frWI


Irv,

I don't know where are you in Oshawa, but when the plows come down my street they dump all the wet and heavy snow and ice at the bottom of the driveway. That single stage does nothing on that stuff. I had one of those and had to get rid of it and get myself a dual stage.
 
Originally Posted By: JC1
Originally Posted By: irv
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: irv




A 200' driveway with a single stage non-propelled blower? Not even once.

An ATV or lawn tractor with a plow will be way faster than a walk-behind blower. How much snow and how often do you get it? If you need a lawn tractor to mow with anyway that might answer your question.


Reread my post again. I alluded to it not likely being big enough, but more info is required first. I agree, with the length of his drive, any snowblower/person will likely be taxed by the time they are done, but comparing this little sucker (not as little as you think, however) to my neighbors big walk behind, I am done my same size driveway in less than half the time it takes him.
I have noticed, after talking to a few of my neighbors about my snowblower, many more in my neighborhood are now using them.
Those big honking, old school, walk behinds are no longer needed this day and age when something a 1/3 of their size/cost is available that does just as a good of a job.

Thinking further now, and needing more info/pics of what the OP is up against, maybe even a small/mid size P/U with a plow on the front might be an even better option, provided he has room to get rid of the snow, a place to store it, etc, etc.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bOshJ_frWI


Irv,

I don't know where are you in Oshawa, but when the plows come down my street they dump all the wet and heavy snow and ice at the bottom of the driveway. That single stage does nothing on that stuff. I had one of those and had to get rid of it and get myself a dual stage.


The only time I usually have problems is when the plow has come by and I didn't know it. If it gets a chance to freeze, (that wet, heavy sh*t, regular snow is never a problem) then for sure, it is definitely a workout for it and sometimes it's a no go, but that is usually a rarity for me.

I am not saying they are a great choice for everyone, but with the snow we get around here, anyways, it is more than enough, by far for me.
cheers3.gif


My 78 yr Father also has one and he lives on a busy street here in Oshawa as well but I've never heard of him complaining about it.
I know he likey runs into the same situation as you occasionally, but like I said, if he does, he never mentions it.

Was your's a Toro, JC1 or something different? Truthfully, I have seen those MTD's or CDN Tire models in action and, imo, they aren't worth 5 cents.
 
The average annual snowfall where I'm at is 38". I didn't know Simplicity made snow throwers, thanks for the info.
 
Originally Posted By: dave123
I have no clue but will a blade on a atv move 10+ inches of wet heavy snow personally I don't think it would.
You are correct Dave. I use an ATV in Vermont and I can say for absolute certain they can not. Powder snow they will move tons of it just make sure you move it far away. When wet forget it.
 
Originally Posted By: littleant
You are correct Dave. I use an ATV in Vermont and I can say for absolute certain they can not. Powder snow they will move tons of it just make sure you move it far away. When wet forget it.


First of all, hello fellow Vermonter!!

I only saw it mentioned once in this thread, unless I missed something, but what about mounting a plow on a vehicle you own, or purchasing a vehicle with an existing plow that may just be a yard/errand truck?

I have a driveway that sounds similar and can break down some observations I've made. Let's say that these figures are for when there is about three to four inches of snow on the ground:

Hand shoveling: takes the most time (figure at least four hours with a couple of short breaks), cheapest, can be done at any time during the storm, most likely to cause a bodily injury, least likely to cause property damage

Snowblower(24 inch, two-stage): less time than shoveling (about 2 hours to get my driveway done right), cheaper and easier to move if it breaks compared to an ATV or truck, ideally done with at least a few inches of snow (as someone mentioned above), slightly less likely to get hurt than shoveling by hand, possible property damage from hitting unseen objects, tearing up lawn, etc.

ATV with plow (Suzuki 4x4 w/5 foot blade): less time than snowblowing (about 45 minutes), cheaper than a truck and easier to move if it breaks down, can be done with up to about ten inches of accumulated snow (handling starts to become an issue), less chance of injury, slighlty less maneuverable/nimble than a snowblower, similar property damage concerns as snowblower, fun and practical any time of the year

Truck with 7.5 foot plow: fastest (about 20 minutes if I plow with the storm every 3-4 inches or so), most comfortable, least capable of precise/close-quarter maneuvers, most expensive (unless you plow people for money), most capable of causing lots of property damage very quickly (can't always feel when you are running something over), most difficult to move if you break down

Having just typed that and thought it over in my mind...my vote goes for ATV with plow or snowblower attachment. Truly the best blend of practicality, effective snow moving, comfort, safety, and maintenance.
 
I own a 2012 Polaris Ranger 800 HP (side by side ATV) 4x4 with a 72 inch snowblade.. about the only thing better is a pickup truck with a snowblade.. I also have a 1/4 mile long driveway.. so.. your intended purpose will apply.
 
I am posting in response to the OP's post...

optimally drain the old fuel out, refill with fresh fuel spiked with K100 MG+, run machine for a few minutes to get new fuel through the system, and take it from there; K100 is the best additive I have used for storage & spiking stale fuel to get good ingnition after storage! if you are stuck with old fuel and can't disconnect fuel line connections to drain the entire tank then siphon out what you can, put in K100 MG+, fill with new fuel, let sit a few hours/overnight, and attempt a start up! if the machine runs then take it out for a good steady 45 minutes to 1 hour to get the spiked fuel run through the system and allow the K100 to clean out some of the deposits in the carburetor/injectors, combustion chamber, and on the valves
 
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I think a snowblower would be much more helpful for the house. After all, buying a snowplow, you are, above all, getting an assistant who will facilitate the care of snow-covered areas, so its reliability and durability are essential. In addition, this technique https://www.growgardener.com/top-5-best-tractor-snow-blower-combination-reviews/, like any suitable equipment, the pleasure is not cheap is necessary to invest money wisely, choosing the model of snowblower which best meets your needs. The need for snow removal equipment arises whenever there is precipitation in the form of snow.
 
It’s that time of year again!

I still stand by the observations I made above from three years ago.

And wow, I don’t know how that ended up parsed like that with no indentations or paragraphs! I’m guessing I was using an older device to get online back then .
 
On the older Polaris (not sure about new ones) in 4wd you have to spin all 4 wheels to slip out, there's no diffs. It has an incredible amount of drawbar pull in snow. Also mine seems to run better the colder it gets (maybe that's because they're in Minnesota and have plenty of opportunities to develop in cold weather).
 
lots of options for sure as the many variables, search read + learn!! tracked snow blowers are great for hills but $$$, + as always buy the best you can afford + need as it will be less costly in the long run!! my Husqvarna ST24P a self propelled with "steering" works well for me on whatever but chains are needed at times + like bigger blowers are heavy + even with being driven need to be muscled at times depending on your blowing terrain, happy shopping!!
 
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