• Thank you for visiting HeavyEquipmentForums.com! Our objective is to provide industry professionals a place to gather to exchange questions, answers and ideas. We welcome you to register using the "Register" icon at the top of the page. We'd appreciate any help you can offer in spreading the word of our new site. The more members that join, the bigger resource for all to enjoy. Thank you!

Clearing Snow ideas.....

jonno634

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2018
Messages
141
Location
Garfield, WA
Occupation
Farmer
Large excavator is onsite, (dozer tractor is dead)... Any tips or ideas on using my excavator to clear snow so trucks have access? Currently its Blowing and drifting... (1 foot of snow, drifts to 4-5 feet), need truck access to haul out grain out of bins. No good way to get my other dozer moved, as lowboy is snowed in at another location, and no tractor there.

Do I take a trk in, then pull it out with the excavator multiple times to get into where I need to be?
Do I dig the snow out ahead of time and pile it, like you would dirt?
Do I try and just use the swing and brush the snow to the sides?
Grab something with the thumb to be wider then my bucket, and pull the snow off to the side?
Have patience and try to wait till the weather turns better? (Current forecast, doesn’t look like its gonna change for the better for a while)

Anyone have ideas?
 

Pixie

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
373
Location
NH
Occupation
remodeling
I used the swing method last winter. It took a long time. If you had a chunk of tall I beam to chain on the bucket about 4-5-6... feet long, that would make it much faster.
 

Junkyard

Senior Member
Joined
Jun 5, 2016
Messages
3,621
Location
Claremore, OK
Occupation
Field Mechanic
Something clamped in the thumb works best. Pulling the truck in and out usually ends up with broken stuff (don’t ask how I know!) lol.

Not sure about the lay of the land but back in my farming days I got pretty good at understanding how the wind blew around our bins and other buildings and found places I could pile it that kept most out of the wind but didn’t leave a pile to melt and make a mud hole in the spring.

It’s a $hit job to push snow half a day to get a few trucks loaded just to turn around and do it again the next day. The way my farm was laid out I could push it all south to the road and never touch it again. My yard sat lower than the road and that area wasn’t needed for anything so I could build quite a pile and not bother the road or my ability to see coming out of my driveway.
 

GregsHD

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 26, 2014
Messages
557
Location
Mahood Falls, BC
Occupation
Self Employed HD Mechanic
I've got a 12ft snow blade off a tractor I grab with the thumb, works good for dry snow. Also done it with my 60" clean up bucket, digging and piling heavy wet dumps, I found using the swing you end up finding all the froze rocks, dirt clumps etc.. Not good for the boom or swing drive!
 

jonno634

Well-Known Member
Joined
Dec 19, 2018
Messages
141
Location
Garfield, WA
Occupation
Farmer
Update: having a plank, I beam or rail road iron would have been useful, but wasn’t onsite. The 6-8 inches, swinging back and forth worked ok. The deeper snow, pulling the drifts towards me, backing up and doing it again, got the snow packed enough, I could then scoop it up. Wasn’t as efficient as a dozer, but did get the job done.
 

Attachments

  • 609E6748-4269-49EC-82DA-F6E5A516B12A.jpeg
    609E6748-4269-49EC-82DA-F6E5A516B12A.jpeg
    99.8 KB · Views: 25
  • A6AC5531-F4DD-4533-A2FC-21543E6AAEA3.jpeg
    A6AC5531-F4DD-4533-A2FC-21543E6AAEA3.jpeg
    123.5 KB · Views: 25
  • 62F7C991-039A-4CCF-A384-E22E2F41E23C.jpeg
    62F7C991-039A-4CCF-A384-E22E2F41E23C.jpeg
    115.6 KB · Views: 23
Top