Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations How much snow did you get?

lassig, early on I tried out a front-end loader on a tractor for plowing snow, and it was almost a disaster. It is very hard to get it right without digging into the gravel. A little weight in the scoop, and down it goes! One bump, or if you have any sort of crest, it is obliterated. I dug the ever living begeebers out of my driveway when I tried it out, and it is why I decided a tractor was too much money for too little practical use. Also it took far too long to finish. Multiple hours with more than 8" as you have to scoop and dump a lot.

In contrast my el'cheapo 4-wheeler and a Moose County plow can clear my entire 1/4 long gravel driveway and turn-around in less than 20 minutes as long as I am dealing with under 10" of snow at a time. It does scatter some gravel, but it is much easier to raise the plow a little bit to minimize this.

If you can afford it, there is an excellent attachment for smaller tractors that is a front-plow that replaces the standard scoop. It allows you to adjust tilt and angle via hydraulics in your seat. I've seen a few around, and they look to work well. You just cannot get the speed to throw the snow away from the sides like you can with a 4-wheeler.

Oh, yes, you pretty much have to use tire chains with the tractor.

As a side-note I tried a 3-pt hitch snow thrower last winter and it *stunk!* Clogged constantly and tossed gravel 20ft from the driveway. Luckily it broke right off the bat and I was able to give up that experiment. It looked so promising!

The trick with the scoop is to leave the tip of it angled up a bit, which means always packing a bit of snow onto the driveway for a nice icy sheen. Hopefully you can get it thin enough the sun will take care of the rest.