Hand Tools and Machinery for Country Living

[72gmc]

Re: Renner - I saw the story on the BBC web site and looked up the machine - I'm amazed that he survived - it's a monster.(or whatever those things use)

I've wanted a Pisten Bully since I was a kid, so once I read that he has one, I was also surprised he survived. The story I read said it started "rolling" and he tried to deal with that. If so, it was a moment that needed another moment of thought, because those tracks are not going to forgive a single mistake and fences can be repaired.

[j44ke]

Well, Renner still wants his Pisten Bully and even used ones are nearly 6 figures, so I'm looking at an ATV snowplow. Tired of the local plow guy destroying a different part of the yard every winter. If he's just going to wreck shit, I figure I can wreck shit just a good as he can, maybe even better. I like green.

[Clyde]

An older p/u 4wd with plow is a better choice if you get accumulation. The atv’s plow equipped have limits on how much snow they can actually move.

[j44ke]

I have plenty of local examples where an ATV works fine. Usually the accommodation for the lower push limits is two plows per storm rather than just one. And to plow downhill rather than trying to push everything uphill into the next county. But the control is superior to the truck and much kinder to the gravel road surface. Traction is not a problem with a 4x4, though chains help in ice. I've been advised to get a mid-mount plow with a blade width equal to outer edges of the wheels and no larger than what the horsepower of the ATV can push.

[Clyde]

Sounds good. In OH we had a 1/4 mile drive that I used a tractor on when snow became too deep to drive through. Had a Honda Foreman 400 EX I think that was not very effective. I would have liked a front mounted plow on the truck but never got around to it.

[j44ke]

Sounds good. In OH we had a 1/4 mile drive that I used a tractor on when snow became too deep to drive through. Had a Honda Foreman 400 EX I think that was not very effective. I would have liked a front mounted plow on the truck but never got around to it.

I used a Honda photo above, but the ATV recommended to me by a couple people locally is a Suzuki KingQuad 750. Our landscaper has one, and he plows a drive about the same length as ours and a lot more up and down. Ours is about 700+ feet and mostly uphill. The Suzuki is kind of spendy ($13k) but no one gives these away for free. And I have a feeling I would end up using it quite a bit year 'round.



Other friends have a John Deere 6x4 diesel Gator. They plow their drive with that monster, but it needs chains to work well and it is not very maneuverable.

[bking]

Jorn, your photo reminded me I'd intended to gift a nice work horse Can Am to a guy whose worked with me for years. He has several acres well south of town, family plus a few chickens, goats and a nice garden are his passion now. This is is a guy who pulled himself from the gangs of LA after watching several of his family die in those streets decades ago. He's worked with me for over 20 years, and is a great family man, an outstanding human being.
I'm sure you'll find lots of uses, the Can Am has a light weight trailer hitch and a nice four wheeled wagon/trailer that makes it a pretty cool little hauler.

By the way, gifting done. Thanks for the reminder!

[lumpy]

Jorn, don't you have a gravel driveway? Any plow is going to chew that up and leave piles of gravel on your lawn every spring. What you want is an ATV mounted snowblower.

https://rammy.fi/en/rammy-snowblower-140-utv/

[j44ke]

Jorn, don't you have a gravel driveway? Any plow is going to chew that up and leave piles of gravel on your lawn every spring. What you want is an ATV mounted snowblower.

https://rammy.fi/en/rammy-snowblower-140-utv/

Why am I not surprised that comes from Finland?

Looks like fun, but my impression is snowblowers just pile the gravel 30 feet from either side of the drive. That's how medians were invented.

[Clyde]

4 wheelers are great fun. I miss mine, but the mean streets of Greenville are not welcoming to those. I dragged many a deer out of the woods with mine, along with firewood in a little cart. Getting the mail in one of those was a 1/2 mile of frightening exhilaration!

[Tom]

Pack down the snow on the drive and spread wood ashes.

[TonyP]

Pack down the snow on the drive and spread wood ashes.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjbBl..._web_copy_link

[TonyP]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjbBl..._web_copy_link

Another, bigger, less fun one.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjfMlKig..._web_copy_link

[Tom]

Those things look like something out of a Bugs Bunny cartoon. I can see them running amok through the woods accompanied by some mad orchestral arrangement.

I was thinking more along the lines of a roller pulled by the ATV.

[htwoopup]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjbBl..._web_copy_link

You could do like how Phil grooms the fat bike trails up in the North Country...



But use multiple tires.

Another way to make this more of a project...up here, to save money while making it safer for cyclists the town uses street sweepers to suck up the gravel from the winter along the shoulders of the road every spring. Perhaps, if the gravel gets moved to the side of the driveway by plowing the snow, you could just plow the gravel back onto the driveway when it unfreezes. I would think it wouldn't be scattered more than just in a pile along the drive as it isn't like you will be speed plowing with an ATV.

[Octave]

I used a Honda photo above, but the ATV recommended to me by a couple people locally is a Suzuki KingQuad 750. Our landscaper has one, and he plows a drive about the same length as ours and a lot more up and down. Ours is about 700+ feet and mostly uphill. The Suzuki is kind of spendy ($13k) but no one gives these away for free. And I have a feeling I would end up using it quite a bit year 'round.

We've got a KingQuad 750 that we've been running pretty heavily for the last couple of years. It's a beast and as long as you start it frequently enough you shouldn't have any issues. Make sure you get yourself a pup to go with it, though.

[72gmc]

A pup and a 70's Ford truck. That's country living!

[j44ke]

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CjbBl..._web_copy_link

Another, bigger, less fun one.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BjfMlKig..._web_copy_link

Nice way to get rid of the voles.

[j44ke]

We've got a KingQuad 750 that we've been running pretty heavily for the last couple of years. It's a beast and as long as you start it frequently enough you shouldn't have any issues. Make sure you get yourself a pup to go with it, though....

I think the local dealer includes a dog if you get the front and rear racks.

[j44ke]

If you want the apex of dogs, machinery and country living, look up Andrew Camarata on YouTube. No, here I'll save you the effort. 46minutes on replacing tires on a roller. Dogs are named Cody and Blue. No complaining about mounting tubeless tires after this, mkay?



The great American novel written in broken machinery field repairs.