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threevalks
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« Reply #1041 on: February 14, 2026, 07:08:02 AM » |
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Alright, I’ll throw my two cents in. When it comes to real trail riding, my 1998 Honda 450 4x4 is the champ. It’s short, skinny, light, and—if things go sideways—it’s a whole lot easier to bail off of. But for the wider, calmer trails and the road to the farm, and work I hop in my 2009 Polaris Ranger side‑by‑side. That thing hauls firewood, tools, feed, and pretty much anything else I can pile into it.
Snow doesn’t usually stop either machine unless it’s the deep, fluffy stuff or big drifts. Ice, though? After the month we just had, I’ll take the side‑by‑side every time. It handles better and, most importantly, it has a windshield and something that resembles a cab. We don’t get the kind of snow eastern WV and Virginia do, so I never bothered with a snow blade. For that, I use a tractor—except on ice. A tractor, even a 4X4, on ice is just a bad idea waiting to happen. Leave it parked and let Mother Nature do the melting.
When this storm kicked off in mid‑January, the weatherman promised us 12 to 18 inches of snow. I was ready to make snow cream and take my four‑year‑old twin grandsons—the little heathens—riding through the back roads. Instead, we got 6 inches of snow, then 2 inches of ice, then 2 more inches of snow, followed by three weeks of sub‑zero to single‑digit temperatures with off and on light snow. No fun in that, and a whole lot more work keeping the critters fed and happy.
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