Snow Plow Advice Needed

Hi Guys – need some advice on snow removal. Recently bought a house and the driveway is massive (mostly tar and aprons are concrete). Budget is ideally no more than $3k. At this point I’m thinking I got two options:

1. Buy a used atv with a plow to get the job done.
2. I drive a 2011 Chevy Tahoe and it appears I could get a plow attached by purchasing the necessary equipment. Anybody plowed with an SUV and have any perspective on whether that’s a good/bad idea?

From a cost standpoint it seems like the atv route would be more expensive and potentially less reliable knowing I would be buying an older model to fit the budget.

Anybody have any opinions or other suggestions based on experience?

Thanks!
Max

Contract with a plow guy for snowfalls of 3” or more. Less then that use your ATV.

How long is the driveway? For half your budget you can get a new pretty massive snowblower.

Sometimes plowing in heavy snowfall years can get to be a problem as snow banks build up and you have no where to push the snow to…unless you push it across the street…sorry Dutch

ATVs suck for any kind of significant snow fall. Especially the heavy wet stuff. I’ve watched my former neighbor on his for hours trying to push snow around, and that’s on a standard suburban two car type driveway when it only took me 45 minutes to shovel my three car driveway that was twice as big.

Any chance of buying a riding lawn mower? Adding a snowblower attachment should be within your budget.

Sticker – it’s a bit of an odd shape but it’s about 13,000 square feet total. I have a place to push it all that isn’t gonna PO any neighbors (even though that sounds kind of fun). I might borrow a buddy’s snowblower after the first snowfall and see how long it takes because I really have no idea.

Munchy – I do need to get a riding lawn mower. Would that perform better than an ATV?

Thanks for the responses guys!

Need more details on the driveway. Are you in town, do you have enough space to pile snow? In most cases a good snowthrower will be less money and work better. If you get an atv with a plow just make sure the blade isn’t too wide for the machine and get a county style blade, they roll the snow much better.

Lawn mower with snow blower

I plow with my wheeler and it becomes a pain in my a$$ when it’s real cold. So I bought a older plow truck for a couple grand and that’s what I use now. If you do go the plow route make sure you push your snow plenty far back so you can continue all winter

I went from a plow company to an atv to a plow truck and then to a small diesel tractor with a blower. I have a long driveway in the country and the moment the wind would blow (which is always) the driveway would be filled in due to the snow banks acting like a snow fence. I was always pushing snow. Then I would run out of room. Blower is the only way to go in that situation. Plus it doesn’t mess up your grass as bad.

PartyMax wrote:

I do need to get a riding lawn mower. Would that perform better than an ATV?

A lawn mower with a snow blower attachment would work better than an ATV with a plow. But you can also get some larger snow blowers that you can walk behind for less and are easier to turn around.

Max,

A few thoughts… Exactly how large is your driveway? I have a 6500 sq ft driveway that I have done my own snow removal for the past 5 years.

I have a 36″ walk behind snow blower that takes me ~1 hr 15 mins to clear the entire driveway when we have 6″ or more of snow. I use my Honda Foreman with a 60″ plow for anything less than 6″ and it takes me ~30 minutes. My Foreman is a 450 and I would say you wouldn’t want anything smaller than that if you decide to go the ATV.

The first year I lived there I didn’t have the ATV plow and it didn’t bother me much to spend 1-2 hours per week dealing with snow. I probably wouldn’t have purchased a plow for my ATV if I didn’t already have an ATV that I sued for hunting and fishing. It also gets plenty of use around home for other tasks and assuming you have some acreage to go with the large driveway having the ATV will be very useful above and beyond the snow removal.

Plus, an ATV is great for ice fishing!
Will

PartyMax wrote:

Sticker I have a place to push it all that isn’t gonna PO any neighbors (even though that sounds kind of fun).

Not to beat a dead horse, but that is what I thought the first year in my new house in the country. I broke the frame on my ATV around Christmas time trying to push the banks back further. I was already out of room. If you have the room to push it push it way back to start with.

I just found a third option… since my place is in Hanover I’ll just get Will to bring his equipment over and he can sit in the garage and drink beer while I take care of the driveway!

On a serious note, super helpful fellas. Looks like I need to do some research on blowers. I appreciate it.

Max

My experience is snow management is huge, make sure you plan starting with the first snowfall by making as much space for future snowfall. I tried using a lawnmower with attachment and that was a total failure for me even with chains and wheel weights. Then I went to a large walk behind snowblower. That took a long time but worked well for snow management. Got an atv with plow saved a bit of time but snow management is a bit tougher especially with a heavy snow with drifts. It’s hard to get that first cut and you are constantly re-plowing because the snow piles up on the plow and overflows.
I have a large driveway with curves and dead ends so it is difficult to rid the driveway of snow no matter what.
I like the atv the best, less labor that a blower and kind of fun to ride. Thumb and hand warmers are a nice option.

here is my experience with snow removal. at home i just have a mid range snow blower. for the driveway i have works plenty good.

i agree with the guys that say snowblower for long driveways vs any type of plow due to the room issue.

the cabin in northern minnesota, we first started snow removal with a tractor and scoop. that thing stunk, even with chains on the back tires you’d get hung up. after enough whining dad got a sears craftsman riding lawnmower with a blower attachment. keep in mind this was a good 1/2 mile we were removing snow from and it took 2 trips both ways to finish, belt driven, that setup wasnt designed for that much abuse. when the engine went out twice we got rid of it,

now we call before we go up a guy comes in with skid loader, cleans it out, and we give him $80.00

I have been blowing my drive going on 27 years with my riding mower equipped with a blower attachment. The first winter was the 91 Halloween blizzard which I had no problem with and even helped out two neighbors.

My driveway isn’t real long 175 feet, but with most snow falls I can be done easily within an hour. Once I make the first initial pass I try keeping the rest no more then 3/4 the width of my 26″chute. I have no problem throwing the snow well out of the way for any future snow falls.

I also have a Grizzly 700 with a plow that’s only seen use twice. The blower works so well the plow just sits in the shed.

Good luck with your decision.

WS

I have a blower for my John Deere Rider and a plow on my foreman. The first winter in my house I used the blower and last winter I only used the atv. Both have their advantages and their disadvantages. Blower usually gets it cleared up better but is much slower and the snow seems to always blow in your face. Without a windshield or handwarmers it is much colder too. ATV is much quicker and warmer. You do need to plan accordingly since you can’t stack the now like you can with bigger equipment. If you are in a area that is prone to drifts I would go with some sort of snowblower. If you have room to push the snow out of the way and not much drifting I would go with a plow.

PartyMax wrote:

I just found a third option… since my place is in Hanover I’ll just get Will to bring his equipment over and he can sit in the garage and drink beer while I take care of the driveway!

Once the snow flies, you’re absolutely welcome to borrow my walk behind and ATV with a plow to give them a test run and see how well each might work for you.

We are in the Hanover Hills neighborhood not far from the circle park.

Make sure you know how the snow accumulates before you buy. We live in the forest. Snow accumulates so I quickly ran out of space to push it.

Also, stated above, our ever variable, inconsistent winters require more than one tool for the job.

I’ve found a blower on my 345 JD to be the most universal and I can use it year around. I’ve come to strongly dislike maintaining engines that sit. Today’s gas begins to break down 10 days after refinement. Carting around 91 octane gas in jugs is another PITA.

Good luck!

Either large walk behind blower or small lawn tractor with blower would be most practical. I went route of an older tractor with a loader not as efficient but it makes a nice sledding hill and could push a house. Atv would be last choice for me.

You can get a nice compact diesel John Deere under 20 grand with 0% for 6 years(this should get some typing quick)

If you can find a used one, look for a “Berco” for a ATV.

This would be my first choice. Then I would go for a John Deere garden tractor with a blower.

Get a large snowblower. 36+ inch and about 10-12 HP. Way more versatile, and doesn’t create the “snow storage” problem or driveway/lawn damage that plows do. Also, doesn’t matter whether you get a little snow or a lot, it works in all situations. It works better in tight spaces and lets you put the snow wherever you want it.

Also, on the financial end, it’s the cheapest way to move snow on a cost per hour of use basis. How many hours per year are you actually going to use any machine? I think my long-term average is using the snowblower maybe 7-10 times for most winters. It’s just not a deal where I want to invest $$$$$ in really complicated solutions for something I’m going to use that little.

Grouse

djshannon wrote:

If you can find a used one, look for a “Berco” for a ATV.

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This would be my first choice. Then I would go for a John Deere garden tractor with a blower.

Ditto on the ATV snowblower !

I had sxs with plow, worked ok, but lots of breakdowns with cable and plow frame. Now pay $30.00 to have it plowed when over 4″. I will never come close to the cost of a atv or lawnmower with blower.

Plus I don’t buy gas or get cold!

The Dominator!

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Wayne Daul wrote:

I had sxs with plow, worked ok, but lots of breakdowns with cable and plow frame. Now pay $30.00 to have it plowed when over 4″. I will never come close to the cost of a atv or lawnmower with blower.

Plus I don’t buy gas or get cold!

This^.

If you count the number of true 4″+ snowfalls in a season nowadays, you’d be shocked at how few there are. It’s going to take x100 snowfalls to get to $3000. No maintenance, gas, headache, or worries if you are out of town. We have an old plow truck and some tractors at the buildings, but we clear a couple miles of road and use them for other purposes obviously.

I wouldn’t ever buy a vehicle to plow with (or invest in a nice plow to throw on a vehicle that’s my daily driver). The finances of it rarely add up, unless you do it for the enjoyment. In that case, push it around and come do mine too.

Way back when I was a township patrolman, had 60 miles of road, 70 driveways,if you think being on a driveway list that’s long is great, you should of taken my phone calls. If you want to get out of your driveway or have it plowed when you want, get the machine of your choice . It’s not always about the $$ DK.

You said you need a lawn mower too, I would get a mower/blower combo. My neighbor has a JDeere 500 series that blows snow incredibly well. Dual purpose

Plus I don’t like relying on someone else to do something I can do myself. Especially if they can’t plow you out right away.