Northwoods Cabin Owners: Outdoor Power Equipment Recommendation for Newbies

[parker]

The Parkers are looking to become Up Nort Landowners.

What are your recommendations for the most "bang for the buck" outdoor equipment to use for Snow Removal (1000ft Gravel Driveway) / Mowing, moving firewood, logs, and wood around etc duties ?

Can I get these jobs done with only purchasing one piece of equipment ?


Type , Brand, Etc. ATV, Compact Tractor, Large Lawn Tractor, some pros /cons , suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

 

[whitedust]

Buy a good 2 stage snow blower for places plow won't fit. Then hire someone to plow plenty of guys up here that plow cheap!

 

[fish633]

first a couple of questions need to be answered.
1.where up north would your cabin be located.
2.how often will you visit summer and winter.
3.how many acres will your property be.
4.land type description(hilly,swampy,etc.)
5.what type of mowing are considering(finish cut or bush hogging)
6.what are your plans for moving wood(firewood or property clearing)

 

[HardwaterHoosier]

Buy a good 2 stage snow blower for places plow won't fit. Then hire someone to plow plenty of guys up here that plow cheap!

agree.

 

[parker]

Whitedust - What's Cheap $$ for 1000ft gravel drive ?

I thought of this scenario but will still need some type of equipment for the other than snow removal duties.

 

[parker]

first a couple of questions need to be answered.
1.where up north would your cabin be located. Iron County, Wisc
2.how often will you visit summer and winter. Monthly yr rd.
3.how many acres will your property be. 30 acres
4.land type description(hilly,swampy,etc.) Flat w/gentle hills no huge slopes, pine and hardwoods
5.what type of mowing are considering(finish cut or bush hogging) Both maintaining the existing cleared areas and trails
6.what are your plans for moving wood(firewood or property clearing)Firewood in the beginning

Fish see my reply in blue

 

[groomerdriver]

Parker - take a look at what John Dee bought and get his thoughts. While I'm personally not a Mahindra fan, the dealer he got his from certainly has a great reputation.

My .02 = some type of SCUT (sub compact utility tractor). http://www.qualityequipmentinc.com in Woodruff certainly has the brand you'd want to consider (Kubota). Can't say anything about their reputation though. Kinda like buying a snowmobile....you might be buying based on the dealer support vs. the brand.

Whitedust makes a good suggestion BUT...will whoever you hire ALWAYS be there when you want/need them? I've had experiences where they're sick, equipment broke, etc. and you're left to fend for yourself. Your SCUT can break down too. That's when you have a backup plan (somebody to come plow when their other jobs are done) like I do.

 

[scott_b]

Whatever you decide on buy it from someone local who can provide good service. Nothing ruins a trip to the UP more than having to chase parts just so you can do your normal chores.

I am certainly not a pay someone else to do it type but up north we try to have as much done for us as possible. The $3-400 a year I spend having the grass cut allows more time for relaxing and I don't have to deal with maintaining a mower. Having the driveway plowed means being able to pull up to the house late at night and just go in. Depending on where you are and how often you go up you may need some really beefy gear to handle snow clearing. If you can have it done for $500 a year you are probably money ahead...

 

[garyl62]

We had a place in ER WI for a few years. Paid a guy to plow and had a blower to do the stuff close to the house and garage. Worked out great, he usually did ours last or even a day or two after a snow, but I'd always let him know when we were coming up and how long we'd be there. On the days we were there he'd catch ours early in the day. He lived close by and was an excavator so that helped with the flexible service times and if things got too deep because he waited too long it was no problem for him to move everything out of the way.

Funny part of it was he never wanted to get paid until the end of the season. He'd send out one bill in April. First year I was a little nervous wondering what it was going to be, when I got it I think it was about $500. Best money I every spent when I could drive up the driveway at 11:00 on a Friday night and pull straight up to the house and never once worry about getting in or spending 3 hours the next morning digging out.

 

[whitedust]

Whitedust - What's Cheap $$ for 1000ft gravel drive ?

I thought of this scenario but will still need some type of equipment for the other than snow removal duties.

I would think you have a pick up truck & chain saw for tree removal.... Always go with snow plower that has multiple trucks & partners.. PM venturenorth he has a plower that plows at least 1000 feet for him for peanuts. My neighbor has John Deere tractor with grader & bucket but his wife uses it mostly to move around sawed firewood which is nice some snow remonal too.....no mowing does all that by hand. Me I have Ariens tractor Mower but I have lots of grass use my pick up for everything else. Some plowers go flat rates ...many want to be paid by the minute becareful of those they charge for stuck time....some won't get out of truck for additional snow removal or downed trees or a little shoveling others will... you need to ask for services wanted.

 

[fish633]

Some good advice above.Snow plowing is better done by a local that way you stay ahead of it.Once the snow settles and or the mouth of the driveway gets plowed in by the county it becomes very difficult to remove.Walking 1000 ft through sometimes waist deep snow to get to the equiptment after a 7-8 hr drive is no fun.With respect to summer maintenance a compact tractor is a good choice,if the grass gets a little tall it wont keep you from getting to the front door as snow does.Should a small tractor be a little more than you want to spend an atv with a tow behind mower can very useful.Our family has had a home in Oma about 5 miles south of Hurley for over 30 years and although I don't visit much in winter anymore we would be up every other weekend back in the day.Iron county had a program that for a few extra tax dollars would plow out the drive,that ended some time ago.Now if I come up and need the driveway plowed a neighbor up the road with an end loader does it for me as the county no longer plows the road any further after his house.The drive is 1300 ft long,and steep up hill,there has been times it took him in excess of 4 hours to clean it out after a heavy snow.

 

[parker]

1000ft walk through deep snow late at night after a long drive would definitely be a bummer. Also, I didn't consider the rock hard County Plow mess at the Drive entrance.

Thanks to the voices of wisdom. This is good stuff .. keep it coming.

 

[G]

Find somebody else to do everything. Somebody good and dependable. Check around. I'm sure it wont take long to sort out your options. The less equipment you have to buy, maintain, insure and fix the better. Spend your time snowmobiling or fishing or hunting or biking or hiking or bird watching - whatever the reason (s) you moved were. Cutting wood is work. Plowing snow is work. Cutting grass is work. All this equipment you are so eager to run out and buy costs a lot of ching if you get good stuff. And then YOU still have to use it. As I get older I am hiring out more and more. And I bet you are are also getting older. Just some advice from a guy with a screwed up back, flat feet, bum shoulder etc - just because I insisted on doing a bunch of stuff on my own that could have been done just as well by somebody else. And probably cheaper by somebody else in the long run.

 

[scott_l]

if you have not done so already go meet the neighbor, see if he has a plow or ask who/how he does his. If he has a plow ask if he would be interested in making a little extra cash by doing yours. If some one else already does his that person might be willing to give you a little better price on yours since they are already in the area.

 

[parker]

The meet the neighbor, and possibly hire him or his guy thing is a good idea too.

What HP Tractor would we be looking at for these chores ? Diesel or Gas ?

 

[groomerdriver]

The meet the neighbor, and possibly hire him or his guy thing is a good idea too.

What HP Tractor would we be looking at for these chores ? Diesel or Gas ?

The more HP the quicker everything gets done. 35 HP min? Diesel gets my vote.

Again, reach out to John Dee about the specifics on his Mahindra tractor. I search the forum about "Big Red".

 

[parker]

Can I assume a Block Heater is a must or perhaps another method after a Diesel's been sitting in a cold building for a couple weeks at a time ?

 

[fusion]

Parents had a lake property in Iron Cty for 10 years and now I have a place in Vilas.
Iron Cty. is completely different level of services available vs. Vilas. Vilas is far more commercial and has many typical tourists. Iron is the backwoods and more isolated.
We always struggled with snow removal. The local guy always had something broke so getting things plowed was hit and miss, and the guy in Mercer wanted an arm and a leg for plowing.
But you have to consider that the northern 1/2 of Iron gets a massive amount of snow in most years, so these guys put their equipment through some heavy stress.
There is major potential for fraud with services in Iron Cty and we experienced some of it. (JMO)
You have to be very selective with who you chose for your contractors, and options are limited so it makes it difficult. Plus, most of them aren't very responsive.
All I can say is - good luck!
If I had a place in Iron Cty, in the snow belt, I think I'd seriously look into a 4WD truck with plow attachment, rather than deal with the contractors up there.
You will need the 4WD anyways to get to your place, because there will be times when you can't get around with a low ground clearance vehicle for a few days.
I remember a few times when I was sweating bullets to get to, or from, our place on Fisher Lake, even with a 4WD truck.

 

[elf]

Check with the neighbors is your best bet. At our cabin we share a driveway entrance with our neighbor and he has to plow his so I asked if he'd be willing to plow us for a price. Our dirveway probably takes him about 10 minutes and cost me a couple hundred $$/yr. Its so nice to come up Friday night and be plowed out. He has also came up when we had a tree fall and dug out the stump so it's easier plowing and he's done some rock removal along the ditches. Great neighbors are hard to find so if you get one willing to help out, be sure to show appreciation for it!

 

[groomerdriver]

Can I assume a Block Heater is a must or perhaps another method after a Diesel's been sitting in a cold building for a couple weeks at a time ?

Block heater for sure. Heck, I use block heaters up here on our gasoline powered vans/cars/trucks! IMO - "cold" is an engine's worst enemy.