# Starting out - 1/4 mile Montana driveway



## CMartel2 (Jan 13, 2015)

Now that we have about 3-4 feet of snow on the ground, I'm starting to realize I'm not liking to pay the plow guy to come plow our driveway, especially after having to pull him out of the ditch the other day, and well, I think I'd like to invest my own time to doing it myself. I'm also tired of doing quite a bit of my own shoveling and spending hours of my time. Hence I found this place.

We've in northwest Montana, where snow has been plentiful this year--especially coming from the southeast USA (think snow twice a year). Usually 10 inches at a time of late. We have about a 1/4 mile gravel driveway with a pretty decent slope and a winding path. Not mountainous, but not flat, either. I don't mind putting some heft into it, but it would be nice if my wife could run it some, as well. We may also need to clear out some of the road, as we live on a private road and have needed chains from time-to-time.

I've looked at some Ariens two stage machines with electric starts, but are there some things I should be looking for? My initial inclination is to look at the 28-inch wide machines given the area I'm looking at. I've generally used Husky's for my lawnwork in the past.

Thoughts?


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## detdrbuzzard (Jan 20, 2012)

hello cmartel2, welcome to *SBF!!* if I had a driveway 1/4 mile long I would be getting a toro 520H with a plow or snowblower attachment or some other tractor outfitted like that


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

CMartel2 said:


> I've looked at some Ariens two stage machines with electric starts, but are there some things I should be looking for? My initial inclination is to look at the 28-inch wide machines given the area I'm looking at.
> Thoughts?


 You might want to check the Ariens Deluxe 28" series as it would do the job good especially if you say most years you much less snow, though if you want hand heaters and more HP for the wet and heavy ones you could check the Ariens SHO 30". And better buy from a dealer to have your rig set up good and good service afterwards.


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## HCBPH (Mar 8, 2011)

With a 1/4 mile drive, I'm assuming it's gravel too. Even with a wider walk behind blower you're going to walk over a mile before you're done. A lawn tractor with a blower is going to cut down the time required but still will take some time.

I'm going to offer a more expensive option - something like a 40 hp (or there abouts) tractor with a rear mounted blower. I'm talking a lot more $$ even used but it will cut your blowing time down considerably.
I would not recommend a plow unless you're willing to buy something big with enough hp to really push it and then you still have to deal with it and where to push the snow.

I grew up on a farm with a drive that was at least that long and Dad had a Allis Chalmers tractor with a snow bucket on it and though it would ultimately open the drive it took some time and loading and backing up to dump the snow out of the way. It can do the job but not near as well as a sufficient blower can.


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## Coby7 (Nov 6, 2014)

How wide is the the drive? Get a blower just over half the width and do and up and down. So just add a snowblower accessory to your lawn tractor, then your wife can have fun too.


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

HCBPH said:


> With a 1/4 mile drive, I'm assuming it's gravel too. Even with a wider walk behind blower you're going to walk over a mile before you're done. A lawn tractor with a blower is going to cut down the time required but still will take some time.
> 
> I'm going to offer a more expensive option - something like a 40 hp (or there abouts) tractor with a rear mounted blower. I'm talking a lot more $$ even used but it will cut your blowing time down considerably.
> I would not recommend a plow unless you're willing to buy something big with enough hp to really push it and then you still have to deal with it and where to push the snow.
> ...


I agree with this fellow.....1/4 mile driveway, gravel is not the ideal for a walk behind snowblower. Your going to tear it up with stones no matter how you try to prevent it. I would look for a used, deal on a personal tractor with a blower, plow or bucket. Then sit and enjoy clearing your driveway. They are not cheap, but your not getting any younger either.

The fellow that I purchased my machine from had this Honda.....he moved up to a John Deere tractor with a bucket and a drag blade. Much easier for him


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## Normex (Feb 21, 2014)

If you all read the OP message he seems to say that he has an odd year with 3 or 4' accumulation but normally he sees an accumulation twice a year so I can see why he just want what he stated, also there are many types of gravel drives and the most preferable is a compacted one that the skids would barely be able to sink into, with that setup he can set his skids 1 to 1 1/4" and be good. We need some more definite inputs from him.


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## micah68kj (Oct 8, 2011)

You want to buy a 4 wheeler with a winch and a plow.


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## CMartel2 (Jan 13, 2015)

Sorry, to clarify, I have lived my entire life in the douth. I have since moved to Montana, where it isnt that unuaual to measure snow in terms of feet instead of inches.


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## CMartel2 (Jan 13, 2015)

The SOUTH. autocorrect got me. And yes, the driveway is rocky--not fine gravel but rocky.


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## knu2xs (Jan 6, 2015)

CM, while not in your league, I'm not far behind. Our main drive is gravel and is 200 yd's, most of that length 
runs through an open, cultivated field. If you count our secondary drive that splits off of the main and runs 
over to the pole barn I'm looking at close to 300 yds with two large open areas at the top of both.

Last year was the first time I attempted to deal with keeping it open myself, since, like yourself, I got tired 
of paying the snow plows guy(s). We had two different crews working it, the farmer and a local 
commercial service. Due to drifting we would sometimes get plowed out 2-3 times in a 24 hr. period.

Last year I used a 24" Craftsman that was no where near powerful enough for the job at hand, but I managed to 
eliminate more than a few "snow plowings" by taking it slow. Last November I picked up a new Ariens Platinum 
24 SHO and while I have only worked the driveway twice, I now have the power required to deal with all but the worst of it. 

I went with the 24" for a few reasons, which I won't go into here, but, in your case, I would opt for the Ariens 30" SHO. 
I love the throw distance, which hopefully will keep the snow back from the edges enough to keep my drifts down. 

One thing I love about my Platinum, when compared to my Craftsman, is that I can change up chute direction & throw 
distance on the fly thanks to the joy sticks & lever inter-lock that keeps the auger working as long as I keep the drive lever 
down. This is a time saver since I'm constantly changing up due to the normal reasons, the wind being one of them. 

When it comes to snow throwing distance, the SHO is impressive, and in my book it's better to have 
that capability and not need it, instead of needing it and not having it. In my case I need it.

For the record, the first time I used my blower I had stock skids and had no issues with my "Auto Turn." Earlier today I used 
it, for the first time, with my new "Armor Skids" and loved how it handled the rough conditions. It was much smoother going 
than when I used it with the stock skids. I do a lot of "off roading" clearing out fairly large areas of the yard where I have 
learned, over the years, that if snow is left there it causes serious drifting issues up in the top area of our driveway.


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## TOTHEMAX (Dec 7, 2014)

Welcome fellow Montanan. 

I recently bought a Ford ST726 off craigslist in Butte. It had very little use and only took a little work to get running. It eats right through the snow and my only issue is I wish I would have bought it last year!

Good luck on your search.


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## vmaxed (Feb 23, 2014)

CMartel2 said:


> Now that we have about 3-4 feet of snow on the ground, I'm starting to realize I'm not liking to pay the plow guy to come plow our driveway, especially after having to pull him out of the ditch the other day, and well, I think I'd like to invest my own time to doing it myself. I'm also tired of doing quite a bit of my own shoveling and spending hours of my time. Hence I found this place.
> 
> We've in northwest Montana, where snow has been plentiful this year--especially coming from the southeast USA (think snow twice a year). Usually 10 inches at a time of late. We have about a 1/4 mile gravel driveway with a pretty decent slope and a winding path. Not mountainous, but not flat, either. I don't mind putting some heft into it, but it would be nice if my wife could run it some, as well. We may also need to clear out some of the road, as we live on a private road and have needed chains from time-to-time.
> 
> ...


This is what you need...John Deere X728/4+4 and a 47"Quick Hitch Snowblower


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## Zavie (Sep 23, 2014)

Lets see, 1/4 mile rocky winding driveway how bout this.


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## RoyP (Oct 16, 2014)

Zavie said:


> Lets see, 1/4 mile rocky winding driveway how bout this.


Now that's what I'm talking about. !!


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## CarlB (Jan 2, 2011)

I would opt for either a nice tractor mounted snow blower or a 4 wheeler with a snowblower .


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## db9938 (Nov 17, 2013)

I guess the real question is how much time you plan on being outside. With a walk behind machine, at that distance and depth, you are talking hours. With a ride-on, you may slim that plural down a bit. 

With where you are at, and what you are dealing with, I truly feel that you are in the plow category. In the big picture, you may be able to pick up a late model pick-up, preferably 3/4 ton or above, because of the front axle weight rating, relatively less than what you may spend with a ride on machine. And if you don't have an old pick up in Montana it's probably obvious that "you ain't from around here." 

That said, you may very well need a walk behind to tidy up around the house. The question is what would be best for that?

Again, if you are talking feet, then a two-stage machine only makes sense, and the ones that you are looking at are good choices.


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## AriensSnowman (Dec 9, 2014)

_"You want to buy a 4 wheeler with a winch and a plow."

_Not necessarily. I have a 1000' gravel driveway and have used a large ATV with a 60" plow for several years. It is the best option for a reasonable amount of snowfall. I can plow up to a foot no problem. The problem comes from the crazy storms with 20" snowfall totals on top of the already heavy snowfall that has been accumulating. Add any moisture to the snow and your ATV won't move more than a few inches. I was fine for years without a snowblower, but with the insane storms we've been having (except for this year), I needed more. I get snow drifts of over 2 feet easily and my ATV was no longer cutting it. A good option is to have an ATV which you'll use the majority of the time, and a big blower for crazy storms and cleanup. My ATV has a cab as well and with the blower (Ariens Platinum 30 SHO), I have all the arsenal I need.


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## HillnGullyRider (Feb 9, 2014)

Has anyone had any experience using a tractor mounted 60" sweepster brush on their gravel drives? It takes a lot less HP to run those and seems like the ideal option for 6" or less.


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## knu2xs (Jan 6, 2015)

AriensSnowman said:


> _"You want to buy a 4 wheeler with a winch and a plow."
> 
> _The problem comes from the crazy storms with 20" snowfall totals on top of the already heavy snowfall that has been accumulating. Add any moisture to the snow and your ATV won't move more than a few inches. I was fine for years without a snowblower, but with the insane storms we've been having (except for this year), I needed more. I get snow drifts of over 2 feet easily and my ATV was no longer cutting it. A good option is to have an ATV which you'll use the majority of the time, and a big blower for crazy storms and cleanup.


I wholeheartedly agree with the above. Last year we had to have the farmer come in with the "big blower" to move the side
snow berms back, twice. The farmer & commercial service that do our plowing started out by keeping the driveway wide, 
at least twice as wide as the drive itself, but things narrowed up rather quickly, not due to snowfall proper, but to wind blown snow.

One time, last year, I remember going down the driveway and realizing that it was so narrow that I probably wouldn't 
have even been able to open my door and get out. Later that day the "big blower" was used to open it back up. 

Both the farmer & the commercial guy have heavy duty, one ton trucks, that, after a certain point become ineffective.

Over the last 25+ years we have had all sorts of plow vehicles stuck in our drive, which run the gamut from tractors, 
to trucks & jeeps. Every time I told the operator to not even try it, but they always felt that whatever they had was 
tough enough to do the job. At one point, when one would ignore my advice, I would head for the shovels 
as soon as they made their move. Prior to that, I used to watch the fun, then go get the shovels.


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