# what to do with 5000$



## alexis (Nov 21, 2010)

Hi I have a private driveway that is about 2000ft long and pretty steep. I live north of Montreal so with have a lot of snow. I am ready to invest 5000$ for snow removal equipement. I've narrowed my choice to:

-atv snowblower 52" 21hp (already own the atv)
-beater pick up with plow
-old sidewalk plow from auction (bombardier sw48)
-old tractor with snowblower

any advice, what would be the best choice? I know you say plow with the storm but I work 9hr a day so it's not always possible for me... I've got place to put the snow since the driveway is next to a ledge for half of it... I have the avantage of having my house at the top so the gravity would be working for me, not against...

thanks

Alexis

p.s. I can't hire, nobody wants to do it in my region


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*Snow in Montreal*

Bon Jour Alexis,

Your situation with snow removal is paramount in importance;

I know have 5,000 dollars but here is my recomendation for you,

I would strongly suggest you use the $5,000.00 in loonies this way,

Put the money towards a Kubota 2660 with a front end loader,

a 54 inch rear mounted Pronovost Puma snow blower, loader R4

tires and snow chains for the rears.:waving:

If you purchase the Kubota 1860 with the items I mentioned it will

be less money but it will have slightly less power and if you do not have to worry

about the time required to clear your driveway...........

With the zero percent interest being offered for the tractors and the attachent

purchases it is around 245 and change for the 1860 and the loader.

The Pronovost 54 inch snow blower is something that will out last your tractor and

can be used for snow removal on a larger tractor when or if the time comes.

You could also add the front snow blower and be able to remove the snow even faster with no turning around.

You woulld have to remove the blower and under frame to use the loader.

If you use the 5,000 loonies for a down payment it will reduce the payment by 25 percent or

more.


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## alexis (Nov 21, 2010)

one other possible option:

-used skidsteer from auction...

thanks for your suggestion leon, but I can't break the budget... no matter the financing options

Alexis


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## JohnRoscoe (Sep 27, 2010)

You have a long drive so I'm assuming a large property as well- what do you use to mow?


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*Snow and Montreal*

If you buy a used skid steer at auction you can pretty much guarantee you will break a drive chain and have a long

walk.

A BCS two wheel tractor and 2 stage snow blower which uses gear drive for the snow blower and final drive is an

option but it does not have a snow cab to walk behind and you can add a mowing sulky to ride behind it but you will

need to dress with insulated coveralls and a Stihl hard had witha debris screen (be sure to purchase hard hat liners

to keep your head warm if you do that; Gemplers and other suppliers have these hard hat liners.

The only other realistic option for you then is to purchase a pair of high horsepower John

Deere or Cub Cadet garden tractors with snow blowers, tire chains, wheel wieghts and soft

cabs as that is your only realistic option with which will do the job.

A lot folks have small long driveways and use garden tractors with snow blowers.

The soft cabs plastic will deteriorate after several years and will have to be replaced as the plastic degrades from

exposure.

Renting a New Holland skid steer loader and snow blower for the season will cost more and

you will not have ownership of it.

The economics will force you to purchase a pair of high horse power garden tractors, tire chains, wheel wieghts,

and soft cabs for the garden tractors. But as I said a lot of folks use garden tractors and snow blowers.

You should plan on visiting a john deere dealer quickly as the big box stores usually do not restock the tractors until

the following year.


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## blowerman (Dec 24, 2007)

I'd go with a decent used plow truck. Should work just fine, have the highest resale, gives you something else to drive around or use for chores.


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## marylandplow82 (Feb 13, 2010)

I would get a Honda Hs1132 snow blower and pocket the difference and get some exercise...


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## MrCarlson (Jan 6, 2008)

I have a little different situation, but not a lot. I live on a farm in MN, so we get plenty of snow. My driveway is shorter, but I also have to clear out a lot of my yard around the sheds, so it is probably similar overal area. Over the years I have cleared my driveway and yard off with:

small tractor with rear mount blower
bigger tractor with loader
JD mower with front mount blower
skid steer with a 8ft bucket
F250 with Boss Vplow.

Without question, I prefer the plow. It is the warmest, fastest and most comfortable. The only issue you might have is if you get a huge amount of snow and can't push it off mid storm, but with a V plow I haven't had a situation where I couldn't get through my driveway yet (and we have had some pretty serious storms over the last few years). Unless you have other uses for something like the tractor, I would look for a used plow truck. I bought a 97 F350 Diesel with the 9'2" boss v-plow a couple years back for 7k, for 5k you should be able to find something close... of course, maybe used truck prices are a bit different north of the border.

Good luck and keep us up to date with what you choose!


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## rob_cook2001 (Nov 15, 2008)

For the money go for a older truck. Ran across a 79 f-350 today, 5k miles on a new motor and trans, good tires and a 2 year old 7.6 boss V plow. The guy was asking 5500, I am sure you could knock him down 500 bucks. Would not be a good truck for commercial use with the manual trans, but would kick but for your driveway.
Robert


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## adan (Nov 24, 2010)

Down payment on some type of equipment and find some little jobs on the side to cover the payments


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## FLMan (Jan 4, 2006)

Get a utility tractor with some attachments for year round property maintenance. A pick up truck just for plowing is a bad idea, for one it is already a beater, and is going to need work, when you want to plow with it, it is usually going to need more work. I owned a few beater pick-up plows, and I was always taking the beating.  Now I have a John Deere 2305 compact utility tractor, with a 54" plow, 54" mower deck, ballast box, and a power flow bagger for leaf clean up, at least it wont be sitting, and it is small enough to store inside of a shed out of the elements that a pick-up truck would be in.


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## pmorrissette (Sep 15, 2008)

Bonjour Alexis;

Un vieux pickup avec une pelle a neige ou un gros vieux tracteur avec un souffleur seraient de bons choix, toutefois avec des vieilles affaires il faut souvent faire beaucoup d'entretien soi-meme, et ca prends une place bien au chaud pour faire ca.

Un VTT avec un souffleur te permetterai d'avoir un equipement assez recent, tres performant (attention aux branches cassees), facile a operer & entretenir, et economique en couts d'operation. De plus, le VTT pourrait servir a la chasse ou la peche. De plus, ca prends pas trop de place dans un garage.

Un autre avantage du souffleur est qu'il ne fait pas de gros bancs de neige, avec toute la neige que vous recevez a Ste-Adele, si ton chemin est quelque peu etroit, avec un pickup ca sera pas long qu'il te manquera de place pour tasser la neige, alors que le souffleur lui va envoyer tout ca 30 pieds dans le bois.

Parfois, il y a de la belle machinerie mise en vente par le gouvernement, regarde le site suivant:

https://www.gcsurplus.ca//mn-eng.cfm?snc=wfsav&vndsld=0#topOfCADC

Bonne chance dans tes recherches !


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## pmorrissette (Sep 15, 2008)

http://www.lespac.com/d-vehicules-camions-coaticook-camion-avec-pelle-a-neige-LPCaZZ23012817

http://www.lespac.com/d-vehicules-c...4x4-diesel-avec-gratte-a-neige-LPCaZZ22803767

http://www.lespac.com/d-vehicules-camions-val-des-lacs-chevrolet-blazer-k5-1988-LPCaZZ22482571

Perso, le Blazer serait celui que j'irai voir en premier.


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## alexis (Nov 21, 2010)

thanks for your answer ( sutout celles en francais!)

I realized something yesterday when my atv broke. I have to drive 30 min. to find an atv mechanic. I had to put it in my trailer using only brute strenght because it wouldn't start. And now, I don't know when it will be ready because the mechanic as a lot of other atv to fix...

It makes me realize that I woud prefer a pickup, since the mechanic can be done by any mechanic and there's plenty of that. The parts are also less expensive than atv.


I'm wondering: if I come back from a week of vacation and find out that there's 30 inch of snow on the ground. Is there a way that I can plow it? pushing a lot of time at 45 angle or is there a better way to get out of that situation.

Thanks

Alexis


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## jomama45 (Dec 25, 2008)

leon;1125493 said:


> If you buy a used skid steer at auction you can pretty much guarantee you will break a drive chain and have a long
> 
> walk.


You have no idea what you're talking about, but at least you're consistent........... 



alexis;1144000 said:


> thanks for your answer ( sutout celles en francais!)
> 
> I realized something yesterday when my atv broke. I have to drive 30 min. to find an atv mechanic. I had to put it in my trailer using only brute strenght because it wouldn't start. And now, I don't know when it will be ready because the mechanic as a lot of other atv to fix...
> 
> ...


I'd agree that, based on your budget numbers, the best fit would be a truck with plow. It's certainly not ideal for 30" of snow, but it's the best option of anything you listed. And for normal snows, it will complete the job the fastest, and more importantly, the simplest.


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## 06dmax (Dec 6, 2010)

I agree for the money your best off to buy a plow truck and you can get a decent plow truck for 5 grand then have it to do other things with as well.


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## leon (Nov 18, 2008)

*$5000 Canadian loonies for a budget*

Funny you should say that, as I spent a lot of time replacing broken drive chains and repairing damage created when the wheel hubs broke through the walls of the chain cases of bobcats and case skid steer loaders.



jomama45;1144005 said:


> You have no idea what you're talking about, but at least you're consistent...........
> 
> I'd agree that, based on your budget numbers, the best fit would be a truck with plow. It's certainly not ideal for 30" of snow, but it's the best option of anything you listed. And for normal snows, it will complete the job the fastest, and more importantly, the simplest.


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## jomama45 (Dec 25, 2008)

Well then I'm gonna say either:

A) You're in the minority here

or

B) That was many moons ago.


Snow work is about the easiest thing one can employ a skid loader to accomplish.


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