Plowing In January

Snow plowing obviously. When the earth is hard as iron and water like a stone, that is the only kind of plowing in these fields. My driveway was blown in again for the third time in a couple of weeks but I didn't feel like sitting out on the open 2140 at -20F. Rode the 2090 in comfort pushing a temporary trail cross country. I didn't want to push up big ridges of snow on the driveway as it makes a big snow trap for the next time the wind blows. In the field I can just push out a new trail. Snow was surprisingly hard and deeper than expected but the 2090 handled it. I managed to get in a trip to town for supplies but by late afternoon the wind was up and snow drifting again. More coming tonight they say.


Snow Blading

That's the way to plow snow, beats the heck out of a rear blade. Too bad the wind doesn't always blow from the same direction, you could push it all to the down wind side to help reduce the drifting.

We cut dikes to ketch snow so it doesnt drift snow as fast

(quoted from post at 18:36:41 01/20/22) That's the way to plow snow, beats the heck out of a rear blade.

Click to expand...

I can't see a rear blade being much use here in such deep and hard snow. The tractor would be stuck unless it had front wheel assist and chains. I did some ridging earlier this week out in the pasture. Trying to catch more snow in the area that runs off to the dugout. It was so low, almost empty last fall and it is a source of water for the cattle in summer. I'll have to check it out with the drone when it warms up a little.

Good thing you are getting all this snow, to replenish the ground water, and fill dugouts.

What i learned a long time ago in snow plowing is Never roll the snow to the wind side always the down wind side , then it will sorta suck the new drifting snow up and out of the cut . I use to do some farm lanes and had some long out in the country drives . A Ford F 250 that was set up as a plow truck can only do so much with a seven and a half foot snow plow . When we got hammered with BIG snows i was the only one with a 3/4 ton moving the snow . the one winter of 74-75 we got hammered bad and the city was not able to even keep five main streets open and there i was plowing lot after lot . While i was digging out the Ford Dealership i was stopped by one of the town cops and was told they wanted to talk with me down at city hall . Told the cop i would come down when i was done and he got a little upset with me and told me that they wanted me now and again i said when i am done as i will be heading that way to the next lot on my list and NOT BEFORE . When i got there the mayor and the street Dept head told me that they needed my truck to get the streets open Since i was the only one moving . Well Mayor that ain't ah going to happen unless i am getting PAID . Well we will commandeer your truck then and that ain't happen , You have SIX 2 ton trucks f 1 ton dumps that are four wheel drive two 3/4 ton four wheel drives with plows a back hoe and a NEW Case W 18 loader . Use them . Well our trucks won't go in this , that is because your workers don't know how to plow snow and use what they have and YOU have no game plan in place as to how to use what you have . Ya have five main routes a half dozen secondary routes And a gob of streets and alleys . what i see is all the trucks chasen each other on the same roads while the others are getting snowed in to the point you can't break thru . What you should have been doing is a one ton and a two ton working together on each of the main drags and run from city limits to city limits and keeping two lanes open and the others working on the secondarys , the loader and back hoe from the street dept working on just break paths thru the side streets and get the backhoe from the water dept out working . I am going back to what i have to do BYE and walked out . I was running chains on all four and like i said my truck was set up not and off the lot buy but ordered special , larger radiator , larger heater Detroit locker in the rear and a limited slip in the ft. Heavier springs and sway bars larger alt. , It came with the std. 360 V that got pulled and a 428 S /CJ dropped in the C6 Trans was pulled and built . with a vary large trans cooler and trans temp gauge added Dual batterys and a added weigh box in the bed . That truck saw lots of big time snow removal and at times i would do work for two townships of break a hole thru on a couple problem roads only once did we have to bring a dozer in to open the road that was 77 when we got the first blizzard also did a 8 mile stretch of a state highway . If the state would have just moved the snow to the down wind side they would not have had the drifts they did . The one section i could not get thru they had to bring in two big loaders from the local strip mines as we had 988 cats , 992 cats , 400 Houghs , 560 hough's a gob of A C loaders working . Most of the mines were working thru the blizzard the only thing was to get to them to tell them to come help . We got a snow that hit here Sunday night into Monday and on how much we officially got ???? I ad anywhere between 11 and 24 inches at the house . My little junk 7 horse power 24 inch snow blower was NOT happy . My one friend as of yesterday was still digging out at his farm . His road was closed the township got two of there truck stuck just down from him and had to call in a wrecker to get them out . Me i i am stayen in where it warm . FULL GROUND HOG MODE at this time . Call Me when it warms up.

(quoted from post at 19:40:56 01/20/22) What i learned a long time ago in snow plowing is Never roll the snow to the wind side always the down wind side , then it will sorta suck the new drifting snow up and out of the cut ..

Click to expand...

That is true and why Northwest by Southeast is the best chance of being inline with one of the prevailing storms. But it won't last because sure as anything there will come a Southwester or Northeaster blowing right across those ridges. Makes a real good snow trap when you don't want it.

I could watch that all day long .

Yep , what was it like 94 we got one here that came out of the south east OH yea that was a fun storm . Myself and a buddy went to a sale out in Indiana that morning , the storm started at 2:35 Am as i was coming out of Mr. Donut with large coffee and two gut bomb , i had 24-26 miles to go down to my buddy's By the time i got 9 miles out of town at the one cross road we now had about three inches on the ground . When i got to his place there was five six . We had planned on taking his NEW 94 Dodge pick up , NAH his was two wheel drive , mine was and 88 Ford F 350 4X4 flat bed , we took the Ford . As we went west on U S30 we ran out of the snow and no snow down I 71 then out I 70 No snow , got to the sale and it was not to bad till around 10:30 then the wind picked up and the snow started and GOT COLDER MUCH COLDER . Got to the point we had everything on but rain suites and the wind was cutting thru our Carrharts that is when we broke out the rain suites . By 4:30 we had had enough saling for the day and i gave him my check book and i went and got the one loader tractor and loaded all The I H ft weights we both bought two three point blades and six 150 lb wheel weights and Donny and i were OUT OF there . Stopped at the iron Skillet for din din and i callled the wife to see what it was like at home . She told me that the drive was full to the top of the hedges the trun around was was Chest deep and said you guys going to stay down at London tonight , nah we are coming home . Well getting from Richmond to london was not bad , stopped to fuel te truck and had to use four wheel drive to get out . Plan was to run up U S 42 Nope that was not happening as they had several semis wreck . So into Columbus and take 270 around to 71 . Yea as i came down the ramp onto 270 YOU COULD NOT FIND 270 and we were in snow up to the bumper and at times over the hood. I ain't stoppen . Made it to 71 and again you could not find 71 north bound , at times to get around the drifts we were using the grass in the Middle . The tip north bound we were not alone as i had a new Dodge one ton 4x4 behind me and Ford areostar van behind him . Made it to U S 30 and again where's the road Bumper to hood deep snow all the way to Canton , the Dodge and van left us in Wooster . Never saw anybody till East Canton and a State truck was turning around and going back east the road was clear till we got to Don's home town and from town out to hs place bumper to hood deep snow . Dropped him off and made it about a mile and a half when i almost got hung but was able to back out of it and go out the lower road . Three miles up that road i found two state trucks one on the north bound ditch and one in the south bound ditch . Stopped to see if they were ok and they were . I said i can run you back to the state shed and the one nah we got the grader coming , not two min. later the grader called and said he slid off the road and is now stuck , SO loaded thos two up and headed back to the shed and stopped and picked up the guy driven the grade ,the cab of my Ford was Packed full . Dropped them off and went on home . I had more trouble getting up my drive then the whole trip.

Yea it is fun watchen someone else play in the snow anymore .

That cab would sure be nice

(quoted from post at 20:34:20 01/20/22) That cab would sure be nice

Click to expand...

The cab is the difference between comfort and frostbite. At those temps running that speed against the wind I'd have frozen parts of my face in minutes for sure. I don't mind running the snowblower on the open tractor when the temp is above zero and not so much wind like last week.

Ive never been lucky enough to have a cab and at 20 below
its so cold it doesnt take long until you are froze numb

Yea , that is why i went to a pick up with a HIGH OUTPUT HEATER . Even when we had the minus 25-35 below 0 that heater in the ford would melt the rubber off your boots . Ya could run in your shirt sleeves . Sure do miss that truck . What i bought to replace it was the biggest SUN KISSED LEMON ever to roll off a Ford Line ,that one never made it home from the dealership the first night and in the first year it spent 7 months total at the dealer . NOW when it snows i go out and FREEZE with a junk 7 horse 24 inch snow blower that does not like snows over 8-10 inches. And it really does not like temps below 20 degrees above.

SV,
A cab was on my bucket list forever.
Now I have a cab, I'm still waiting for snow.
No tractor theory this winter and no snow in the near future.

Like Sv says cut some troughs in the field to catch the snow as it blows. They do that all over out west and it works. Have to do it back a bit from the drive so the snow falls in them not on the drive. Will still have to cut the drive just not like it is now. Might even want to make a couple or three to do it.

(quoted from post at 06:27:56 01/21/22) Like Sv says cut some troughs in the field to catch the snow as it blows. They do that all over out west.

Click to expand...

I've seen it done here too in the past even on this farm. I ran out of time yesterday for anything extra and this morning we are back to zero visibility in snow and blowing snow. Lucky I got out yesterday to get what I needed.

Back In the day they used a d9 cat with a big v blade . Now they have graders with 6 wheel drive they cant push what they dozer would but they get a lot more done in a day

(quoted from post at 16:20:01 01/21/22) Back In the day they used a d9 cat with a big v blade . Now they have graders with 6 wheel drive they cant push what they dozer would but they get a lot more done in a day

Click to expand...

Its ironic that back in the days when we got really deep snow all the municipality had was the little old Champion graders. Now they have huge John Deeres that are probably double the weight and pushing power yet we have less snow to deal with.

This post was edited by rusty6 on 01/21/2022 at 04:47 pm.

Thats kinda how it is here . I remember when you could
barley see the top of the cat when he was cutting dikes . Id
imagine the old cat was 3 times wore out and made more
sense to buy graders that can do a bunch of jobs