Mule SX and plowing snow

[Brent Phillips]

Moving to upstate NY (just south of Albany).

We will have a 1/4 mile gravel drive.  I have a 1/2 ton truck that I could use but rather not .  Could the Mule SX do this job with the plow accessory?  The dealer is on the fence, as am I.  Is the Mule SX 4x4 got enough power to deal with a 6-8" inch wet snow? 

Any experience with the SX and plowing snow?

[Travis]

It would probably be pretty tasking for it, however if you put it in 4 wheel drive it ought to handle it,  when we had our puny 4" snow here in Texas back in Feb. my old mule, with 2 wheel drive did great in the snow pulling 200 pound Adults (kids, lol) behind it on a piece of ply board.

[Jeremy ....]

With my old Mule 610 I usually spun tires before having an issue with power using a 5 1/2 foot plow

[Brent Phillips]

3 hours ago, Jeremy .... said:

With my old Mule 610 I usually spun tires before having an issue with power using a 5 1/2 foot plow

Wondering if chains would help?  Did you give up and do something else?

[Jeremy ....]

I did use chains for one year but most times I just had a bed full of firewood to help with traction.  I would take care a big drifts a little at a time with the plow angled away and if the snow was really deep I would keep the plow about 3-4" above ground for the first pass.  My 2019 Pro MX has less issues as it weighs 500 pounds more on its own with an extra 4 inches of ground clearance but it also needs a 6 foot plow just to clear the wheel tracks when the plow is fully angled

[MedicineMan4040]

Brent what did you decide to do?
Like you I have a long driveway (1 mile gravel) to get to where the country maintains the road (they do a good job and are quick to start post snow storm).

I'm waiting on a Mule to arrive at the dealer (promised this month or next). First thing I will buy for the Mule since it is intended as a taxi from our house to the gate

are four of these:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B017AHMCWO/?coliid=I7N58TVUG5Z2D&colid=2UAFGTQ7WPXRT&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it&th=1

We do get big snows (2 foot plus) but those are rare. What is common is ice, ice so bad, so thick, so long lasting (only 3 days in the last 3 weeks above freezing here) that 

there have been two times in the last 3 weeks where I didn't even risk the 4Runner and it has studded snow tires.

So the dealer is pushing me towards a snow plow. He says the Mule SX is powerful enough but slow. He also said to start early in the snow storm, to knock off 2-4 inches at a time

and not wait until 12 inches have piled up.

From what I've read about those chains the Mule SX shouldn't have a problem at all on ice. I'm still mulling over the snow plowing with the Mule thinking like you've been mulling over

that the SX is a bit small, that the blade size needed to get both tire tracks when angled is too big for the SX.

I know with gravel we can't get the road perfectly clean, but when it does melt (and thank God that snow and ice can evaporate even from a solid form/sublimation point) it does slowly dissapear

even when we have (frequent) long periods below freezing.

Right now, having just taken the plunge into Mule SX world, I'm more worried about the plug fouling I've read about here in cold temps.

Can we not put an oil pan heater on the SX?

On my 4Runner I have heater in the block and an oil pan heater.....for when it doesn't get above 10F for days on end.

[Brent Phillips]

3 hours ago, MedicineMan4040 said:

Brent what did you decide to do?

 

Hi... well I could not wait for the Mule order and took delivery of a Uforce 800.  I installed  a belly mount, push tube, and 72" Mouse blade.  The Uforce 800 has plenty of power but when there is a lot of snow to plow (12") it does start to struggle (takes 3/4 throttle to keep speed up on my ~8% grade hill).  With that fact I think the Mule SW would not have worked due power avail.  I think for the Mule my guess is you need to take smaller bites and not let the snow pile up, maybe in my case would have maxed it out at 6-8".  So bang for the buck I'm happy how this worked out with my CF Moto, has the power (more available) and cost was same.  Time will tell on durability, but so far I'm impressed.

[MedicineMan4040]

Thanks for commenting and the suggestion of smaller bites will be taken to heart. I can

see setting the alarm to get up mid-morning to get another swipe against the snow before it builds up again or too much.