# What equip to buy for 1200 ft mountain driveway?



## stupidme (Dec 19, 2013)

New here, and need advice re what equipment to buy to plow a long driveway on a property I am buying.

It is a rough, narrow 1200 ft dirt & gravel driveway with an average grade of 6-7%, on the open north face of a hill in Maine. Elevation is only 400', but it gets a lot of wind, and I am told the snow can drift up to 7' at times. Mostly, I will start the run by plowing down from the top.

Open to any ideas--pickup, tractor (which I will need to buy anyway), ATV, mini-truck, whatever. Within reason, price matters more than how long it takes me to do it. Looking to buy used.

Many thanks for any advice.


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## Antlerart06 (Feb 28, 2011)

Snow Blower on front of something with good traction Drifts 7' no straight plow going get that done. You will need a V plow


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## SnowGuy73 (Apr 7, 2003)

Antlerart06;1689434 said:


> Snow Blower on front of something with good traction Drifts 7' no straight plow going get that done. You will need a V plow


Agreed......


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## Triton2286 (Dec 29, 2011)

Well if you will need to buy a tractor anyway, then find one with a blower.


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## stupidme (Dec 19, 2013)

Interesting. Thank you.

Is there a minimum size of snow blower I should be looking for?


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## Antlerart06 (Feb 28, 2011)

stupidme;1689609 said:


> Interesting. Thank you.
> 
> Is there a minimum size of snow blower I should be looking for?


all depends what you will power it You want it wider then the tire so you cut the tire tracks out. Rear snow blower will work to if you don't mind driving backwards

3 point rear blower might easier to find used I see a lot of them around

looking at 1500 to 5000 used


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## stupidme (Dec 19, 2013)

Good point about width of the blower vs. width of tire tracks.

What about the height of the "scoop"? Clearly, I'm not going to get one that's 7' tall. But does height matter?


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## Whiffyspark (Dec 23, 2009)

How wide is the driveway?

I wouldn't worry about the height you can blow it and it'll scatter.


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## snocrete (Feb 28, 2009)

The tractor would be a great choice, considering you already have intended uses for it. 30-40 hp would be good....unless you want/need something bigger. I would recommend getting a blade for the front (probably a lot faster & cheaper to use on most snows)...& a 3pt rear blower for when you get big snows/drifting/etc . 

The big question is whats your budget?


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## stupidme (Dec 19, 2013)

Haven't measured it, but it's not more than a single lane. Ten feet, maybe?

Ah, yes, budget. That is the big question...

Are there good snow blowers that can be mounted on an old pickup? That would allow me to buy a decent blower now, mount it on an old yard truck, then upgrade the truck later... Doesn't solve the tractor problem, of course, but I suspect it would be much cheaper at the moment.


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## Antlerart06 (Feb 28, 2011)

stupidme;1691746 said:


> Haven't measured it, but it's not more than a single lane. Ten feet, maybe?
> 
> Ah, yes, budget. That is the big question...
> 
> Are there good snow blowers that can be mounted on an old pickup? That would allow me to buy a decent blower now, mount it on an old yard truck, then upgrade the truck later... Doesn't solve the tractor problem, of course, but I suspect it would be much cheaper at the moment.


Hey I don't want be a a$$ but I would pass on this job Since you dont have equipment to do it 
A snow blower for a pickup will cost you some $$$$$


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## MattR (Jan 4, 2009)

stupidme;1689336 said:


> New here, and need advice re what equipment to buy to plow a long driveway on a property I am buying.





Antlerart06;1691913 said:


> Hey I don't want be a a$$ but I would pass on this job Since you dont have equipment to do it
> A snow blower for a pickup will cost you some $$$$$


Guess reading the first post might help a little.


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## snocrete (Feb 28, 2009)

stupidme;1691746 said:


> Haven't measured it, but it's not more than a single lane. Ten feet, maybe?
> 
> Ah, yes, budget. That is the big question...
> 
> ...


........................


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## jrs.landscaping (Nov 18, 2012)

Snow fence and a 4x4 tractor with bucket. You don't NEED a snowblower, I would think using the bucket would work well enough.


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## matt_roh (Dec 12, 2013)

We have an old Schweiss snow blower. It is 9' wide and has three cross augers, so it is about 5' to 5.5' tall. It is 3-pt mounted, so ours is on the rear of our tractor. We've mounted it on a JD 4455, 145PTO HP, and now a JD 7930, 190PTO HP. It would pull hard on the 4455 if you ran it full of heavy snow, but overall, it works great. The only reason it is on a bigger tractor is for the convenience of an IVT transmission, making it easier to backup slow enough without slipping the clutch on the tractor all the time, because you have to go SLOW.

Here is the link to their website, they are still made yet today. We've had great service from them when we finally needed to replace a couple bearings last year.
http://bhmfg.com/products/schweiss-snow-blowers/

Matt


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## jasonv (Nov 2, 2012)

stupidme;1689336 said:


> New here, and need advice re what equipment to buy to plow a long driveway on a property I am buying.
> 
> It is a rough, narrow 1200 ft dirt & gravel driveway with an average grade of 6-7%, on the open north face of a hill in Maine. Elevation is only 400', but it gets a lot of wind, and I am told the snow can drift up to 7' at times. Mostly, I will start the run by plowing down from the top.
> 
> ...


I will read that as 7 feet WIDE, rather than 7 feet DEEP. There isn't much that can take care of anything 7 feet DEEP.

As far as whether a truck will handle it or not, it depends on the depth and whether you will or won't be able to keep up with the snow fall and drifting. If you're going to LIVE there, probably won't be a big deal, just watch the snow accumulate on your porch, and when it gets to a certain depth, go out.

However, it definitely can be useful to have a tractor as a backup. I have a 28 hp with a 5 foot blower. It will take care of any emergency that comes up, just maybe not really fast.

A plow is much more energy efficient than a blower, a blower is basically a last resort type of device to save your ass when bad things happen.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

Where in Maine are you located? 7' drifts are definitely possible but, they are not that common at least in Central Maine. I think if you get a 3/4 ton pickup with an 8.5' or 9.5' Fisher Xtreme V or Xtreme V2 you will probably be all set.


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