It’s almost winter! Snow glistening on the ground, hot cocoa, Christmas, twinkling lights, fluffy blankets, cozy pajamas… Dreamy, right?
Of course, winter also means your driveway being buried under 8 inches of snow and having a sore back from trying to shove it. That’s a less romantic side of winter that nobody really likes talking about.
A shovel isn’t your best friend in winter. It will sooner send you to a chiropractor than actually make a difference. What you need is something bigger and stronger that will help you blast through the snowbanks and spread salt before the ice sets in.
If you have a tractor and you’re letting it hibernate during winter, you’re missing out because the right attachment can make you see only the romantic, Hallmark movie-esque side of this time of year.
What the Right Tractor Attachment Can Help You With
If you have land or property, winter will create a whole new set of problems for you. Snow piles up fast, then it melts into mud, then freezes into ice. The ground changes from day to day and, sometimes, even hour to hour.
But that’s not all.
The days are shorter in winter, so you don’t have as many daylight hours to get everything done, and whatever it is you’re working on needs to be fast and without mistakes.
Slippery walkways and blocked driveways can be dangerous and, if someone slips, you might even have a lawsuit on your hands. If you have a tractor, the cold, moisture, and the constant strain can take a toll on it without the right gear, so think about getting attachments.
This way, you don’t need to pay for a crew to help you out, and you also don’t need to break your back shovelling.
If you find yourself in need of more specialized tools, you can always buy/rent different tractor attachments. For example, rent a grapple rake out for the day and plan your project around that. If you aren’t sure where to get them, there are lots of businesses like Earth and Turf tractor attachments that specialize in compact tractor attachments, and you can get the one you need from these types of businesses.
Once you get the right attachment, you’ll handle tough surfaces and changing conditions like they’re nothing.
The Best Attachments
There are different types of winter jobs, so you need different types of attachments in order to handle them. If you try to force one attachment to do everything, you’ll end up with fried nerves and broken equipment.
Here are the attachments that pull the most weight when temperatures drop.
Front-Mounted Snow Pushers
A front-mounted snow pusher is the go-to when you need to move a lot of snow and you don’t have a lot of time to do it.
Its wide, solid blade pushes snow forward in a single pass, which is ideal for driveways and parking areas. And since it’s mounted in the front, you don’t need to twist around to see where it’s going, which means you get the job done faster and you’re a lot more comfortable while doing it.
Everyone can find a use for this attachment, but they’re particularly handy in commercial spaces and on big properties.
Rear or Front Snow Blowers
Snow blowers don’t just move snow; they get rid of it.
A snow blower that gets mounted on a tractor grabs the snow and throws it off to the side or several feet away, which is a big benefit for small driveways where you have no space to stack piles of snow.
They work especially well for deep or wet snow that would bog down a simple plow.
But keep in mind that snow blowers need a tractor with enough horsepower and a functioning PTO (power take-off), so it’s important to match the size of the blower to what your tractor is capable of.
Box Blades or Grading Blades
When snow melts and refreezes, or when vehicles leave ruts and uneven patches, the ground can turn into a mess.
This is where box blades and grading blades can make a world of difference. They reshape packed snow or ice and make the surfaces smooth again. They’re also really helpful for gravel roads and private lanes because those areas can get seriously chewed up by traffic and weather.
One of the biggest perks is that these blades aren’t limited to just winter; they’re useful in every single season.
Grading soil, leveling gravel, you can use them all the time.
Sand or Salt Spreaders
Sometimes, your priority isn’t clearing snow but keeping things safe from ice, and this is where you’d want a spreader attachment.
A sand or salt spreader attaches to the tractor and lays down a steady layer of sand or de-icing salt while you drive. Spreaders come in different styles, so some attach to a 3-point hitch in the back, while others work with a loader bucket.
Either way, they’re simple and effective.
Conclusion
Winter has this nasty little habit of exposing all the weak points in your routine and your equipment. But if you arm yourself with the right tools, there’s no reason for winter to be a snowy, icy chaos.
A tractor in itself is just potential, but equipped with the right attachments?
You’ll clear your driveway before your neighbor even finds their gloves.
