Plow or snowblower?

[limeyangler]

Hi all,

 

Have surgery coming up which will make it impossible for me to push my existing snowblower until January. Looking at getting a plow for the truck or a snowblower attachment for my lawn tractor.

 

What do you all think are some of the pros and cons of each?

 

We get LOTS of snow here BTW......and it stays till April some years.

 

Have begun to weigh up the pros/cons myself but since i have never owned either just wanted to harvest as much knowledge/experience before pulling the trigger on either.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

I dont own a 4wheeler so am not considering that as an option at present.

Edited October 24, 2013 by limeyangler

[kickingfrog]

Blade on the truck would be faster in most cases, but you'd likely have it on your truck most of the time (since you can't push a blower I assume you can't hook-up a blade multible times ). Blade is less likely to break down (although that's debatable due to the chance of the truck breaking down).

 

Just some thoughts, not the definitive answer.

[DRIFTER_016]

You plowing on gravel?

I had a plow on my Bronco and even sitting it high off the grade I still pushed a lot of our driveways gravel into the ditch.

Went to a snow blower after that.

The new plows there is virtually no fiddling around to install and remove them.

Some you just drive up to them and they click in place, to remove just pull a pin and back up.

 

Snowblowers just shoot the gravel all over the yard.

 

How big is your tractor?

I think you would want a pretty decent sized one to run a blower on.

I know the 12 or 13 hp one we had wouldn't do it.

[aplumma]

Snowblower would leave less hand work than a plow. A plow is heated.

 

Sorry for the Southern input it isn't worth much.

 

 

Art

[limeyangler]

Blade on the truck would be faster in most cases, but you'd likely have it on your truck most of the time (since you can't push a blower I assume you can't hook-up a blade multible times ). Blade is less likely to break down (although that's debatable due to the chance of the truck breaking down).

 

Just some thoughts, not the definitive answer.

See....i had not even thought about that.

 

Thanks Rob.

[limeyangler]

You plowing on gravel?

I had a plow on my Bronco and even sitting it high off the grade I still pushed a lot of our driveways gravel into the ditch.

Went to a snow blower after that.

The new plows there is virtually no fiddling around to install and remove them.

Some you just drive up to them and they click in place, to remove just pull a pin and back up.

 

Snowblowers just shoot the gravel all over the yard.

 

How big is your tractor?

I think you would want a pretty decent sized one to run a blower on.

I know the 12 or 13 hp one we had wouldn't do it.

 

 

You plowing on gravel?

I had a plow on my Bronco and even sitting it high off the grade I still pushed a lot of our driveways gravel into the ditch.

Went to a snow blower after that.

The new plows there is virtually no fiddling around to install and remove them.

Some you just drive up to them and they click in place, to remove just pull a pin and back up.

 

Snowblowers just shoot the gravel all over the yard.

 

How big is your tractor?

I think you would want a pretty decent sized one to run a blower on.

I know the 12 or 13 hp one we had wouldn't do it.

 

Its a Husqvarna YTH20F42 , it has a 20HP Kohler motor in it.

[lew]

If you plow and your limited to where you can push the snow, you'll just keep making your driveway narrower everytime you have a snowfall. With a blower, at least you can blow the snow away from the driveway and keep it open easier.

[DRIFTER_016]

 

 

 

Its a Husqvarna YTH20F42 , it has a 20HP Kohler motor in it.

 

 

Go with the blower and you might want one of those enclosures so you don't get covered in snow.

[Blue Lk]

I would choose blower before plow.Another option would be paying somebody to plow you out during that period.

Lots of guys in the area with plows on their 4x4s

[Moosebunk]

Have a blower on my CubCadet that does a great job overall. One or two shear pins get broken a season but that's a two minute fix. You can set it so that it tracks about an inch or two off the gravel if your driveway isn't paved. This will help with not chucking rocks onto the lawn. There's no comparison with how clean and precise you can keep your driveway all season, compared to a plow... but yeah, it'd be nice to have both. Up there, you likely get more dumps of snow that aren't as wet as we get here, even still, riding blowers if you take your time can get through pretty thick stuff.

 

Bottom line... if having one, go with the blower. Some neighbors around me plow and they just get big snowbanks on the lawn and some a narrower driveway as the season goes on.

[ChasinTails]

well, if you use a plow you would have to keep it on all the time plus a plow cant get in the places the snowblower can but in the plow you get to be in the nice comfy cabin of the truck and the plow im assuming is open cabin ? also the plow will push around tons of gravel if you have gravel. how big is your property? if you have a large farm or lot i would saw plow for sure if you have a small to medium a snowbolwer will suffice imo

[irishfield]

Depends on how long your laneway is SImon.. I always blew ours.. 1300 feet long x 16 wide and 50 feet wide from house to hangar. Anything more than 4" of light snow, equals low gear and it was 4 hours sitting twisted around backwards on the Zetor with a 7' blower. I put a 7' blade on my old '98 GMC about 7 years ago. I now plow the same laneway in 45 minutes to an hour with heat on, radio playin tunes and no unclogging the chute!

[Rod Caster]

Really don't want to hijack your thread, Simon, but can I add a question...?....would a plow on a 2x4 truck be completely useless, let's say for a small driveway? 2x4 trucks can be had pretty cheap.

[Bernie]

Like Lew mentioned, if you have a place to plow it to, get a plow.
We have a rather large yard to clear so we have both. We plow it into banks and if we need to, use the blower to keep the banks back.

On cold and windy nights, it isn't fun sitting on the blower.

[Bernie]

Seen guys use 2wd trucks with limited slip differentials, but they had chains on the rear wheels.

The issue also is that when you bank up and the snow falls behind the blade even a 4wd can have a hard time reversing out.

Edited October 25, 2013 by Bernie

[irishfield]

 

The issue also is that when you bank up and the snow falls behind the blade even a 4wd can have a hard time reversing out.

Why I still have the tractor and a chain handy at all times. Very easy when the snow is wet that the blade skips over and drops behind the pile.. and amazingly you can't lift the blade that high to try and back out!

[Fisherman]

What Lew said, once the banks are frozen, you're pretty much euchered, at least with a blower you can blow it far enough away.

[Old Man]

Use to plow my drive for a number of years Simon. Always ended up with stones and gravel on the edge of the lawn that had to be rake up in spring. It sucked cleaning it up. Also, plowing gives you snowbanks that take forever to melt in spring and will keep you lane wet and mucky longer. The snowbanks will also make drifting snow more of a problem. Plowing is slightly quicker and definitely warmer, but I've kept my lane, yard and road down and out to my ice shack (approx 26,000 sq/ft in area) cleared with my 30" Ariens Deluxe blower these past 2 years. A heavy snow can take up to 2 hours to clear and a light one in a little over an hour. Definitely prefer using a snowblower over a plow.

[ctdd2006]

I say blower on the husky tractor. They really work well. PM me.

[Sinker]

I'd rather have the blower. Definitely get the enclosure for your lawn tractor, and chains.

 

S.

[limeyangler]

Thanks everyone for your input, i think we will go with the snowblower attachment for the tractor.

[Snowball]

Good call Simon! Almost looks like fun. Make sure you get the little house, keeps the snow from blowing back onto you. Chains may also be a good idea.

 

Regards,

Snowball