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Snow Machine

4K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  kl0an 
#1 ·
For Christmas we got a blizzard. Lots of blowing snow and drifts.

The day after it took all day to get my driveway and road to the highway plowed (I live a mile from the highway on a private road).

I plowed with my 4 Wheeler as it worked, slow, but worked at eating away at the drives so a pickup w/plow could finish the job.

No biggie since I'm retired and have the time, but what if I HAD to get out in a hurry? It would take time with the 4 wheeler, and I've sold my horses so I'm thinking of getting a Snow Machine.

I don't need a fancy high speed job, I want something with power enough to pull a sled, or stone boat, to haul logs for firewood.

Anyone have an idea which machine would fit my goals.

When I was in the Alaska NG I spent a great deal of time on the Bering sea as CO of some Native NG units, we had those old SkiDo single ski jobs that were trucks. Slow but had the power to go anywhere our pull loads that would bog down a 3/4 ton pickup on dry ground.

They don't make them any more, but there has to be something close out there.

I need reliability and power, not speed.
 
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#3 ·
Years ago I was NCOIC for a US Army SF Mobility Team. We used Polaris Widetraks; 500ish cc utility machines with incredible torque. Built for hauling loads, sleds/pulks, or multiple riders. Liquid cooled, electric start, and featuring a very useful reverse gear for backing out of get-stuck trouble. Or for towing out someone already stuck in front of you on a narrow trail or track.

In remote Rocky Mountain Colorado back country, we encountered US Forestry Service rangers utilizing identical machines while conducting solo multi-week patrols of national forest. I found that identical model/brand choice by both organizations to be telling.

They are heavy machines (500ish lbs) to dig out if you get 'em buried, but they've got gobs of low end torque/power. Fast enough on the flats & hills but not sport racing fast. Off road pickup trucks... not lightweight recreational machines. I think a similar style (500 cc - 600 cc utility machine) would meet your hauling needs. Something like these (new or used):

http://www.polaris.com/en-us/snowmobiles/choose
http://www.polaris.com/en-us/snowmobiles/550-widetrak-lx

In your context (getting out of a blizzard closed entry & road), such a machine could easily do the job described and also handle a passenger. With an attached pulk/sled, it could pull a litter patient if you needed to get someone to medical treatment. Or a lot of other stuff (firewood, supplies, groceries, tools, or gear).
 
#5 ·
Mine are for fun, so I will let others answer this.

Ii just wanted to say thanks for calling it by its proper name.

(Also, AR over Ak, .45 over everything else, and I would rather push my Chevy than drive a ford (although a few more years and my opinion on that may soften some).
 
#6 ·
One of the machines you might want to consider are the Arctic Cat Bearcat or the Polaris Widetrack. The two up option is useful if there are more than one person, and they are versatile machines for work and some play.

As mentioned above, an ATV with tracks might be something to consider.
 
#7 ·
Why leave in a hurry? You live a mile off the nearest road and for bad guys to come get you, they'd have to have something that would make it up your drive as well..

Just wait until they get within shooting distance and start takin out their tires.. The the ground is level..
 
#12 ·
We have both a quad with a blade and a snow blower. I use the snow blower to move the snow away from the driveway and the quad to level things out after I am done.

In the past we just used the quad, but in big snow years we eventually end up with no place to put the snow and have snow tunnels down the driveway that get several feet tall. The snow blower gets the bulk of the snow away from the driveway and allows me to keep the driveway cleared wider.

Our main driveway is approximately 100 feet. I can clear that in about 20 minutes with the blower (in an emergency I think I could clear it much faster...20 minutes is taking my time to get it as clear as possible). It takes me about an hour and a half to clear our whole circle (our driveway wraps around the house to another road), the road in front of the house and the neighbors driveway.

If you get a free standing machine, make sure it is self propelled and make sure both wheels are unlocked....they pretty much move themselves

Droid did it!
 
#14 ·
Get yourself a Unimog. I used to drive one for a snow removal company in Anchorage and we primarily used it up on the hillsides around Anchorage. There's was also a road South of town that was a pretty steep incline and we had an 18' wide blade on that thing to move snow.

When you gotta get there and move snow along the way, Unimogs are the way to go. They have quite a few snow removal companies in Anchorage that use them.

They're also considered farm equipment so licensing is cheaper if required at all. And there's a lot of farm equipment that'll hook right up to them..

I've I had me a decent sized farm/ranch, I'd definitely have one of these.
 
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