I agree on that. You'll have a backup machine ready to take over the Rapidtrak if for some reason it's out of service. Plus, if you sell it the wheeled one, you won't get it back at the price you pay because of inflation. Better off using it until it's no longer fixable.
The Navy taught me to always have a backup...Backup systems in an emergency...even have a backup for your backup. In this case a good shovel. Keep the little snow blower, and the new videos. Love the content. And thank you for not asking to click...You're secure enough to know those who like will follow.
In our case, the skid steer with plow is the primary tool, snow blower is for backup. We still have both blowers but I'm not convinced the spare blower is worth keeping. We are just hobby/part-time RUclipsrs at this point, we don't need RUclips to survive so we don't beg for money or tell people to subscribe, we are not needy. If the content is good organic likes, views, and subscribers will come. Thanks for watching 🙂
@@northtoalaska2022i watch because theres no click bait..no demands to “ like subscribe and comment”. You content is great..its interesting and without falsity. Just keep that going and people will become faithful followers and your channel will grow anyway. I. Just new.. catching up as fast as i can lol
😊 not to be a bore, you really want to keep the snow off your shelter Logic on the sides it will cost it to collapse. I love your videos. You two are really putting out the work to keep your place going. Wishing you both a prosperous New Year
Its pretty and al but man at -23C everything becomes a struggle, thanks for the beautiful pictures and taking us along your journey, have a wonderful 2024
@gb3450 according to the internet it should not snow that much here, but last winter we had over seven feet of dump on our property, and some of it did not melt till June in our valleys. We are at a semi-high elevation compared to most of Kenai which may be a factor. There are a lot of strange microclimates out here, we have driven 30 minutes from home and seen temperatures spike by 20 degrees higher.
My goodness, I will stop complaining about outside work here in Texas. Ya'll are tough Alaskans for sure. Can't wait for spring to see that cabin and everything else going! It takes every hour every day. Not to mention the financial resources because hoses, food, fuel etc etc. has to be premium prices there as well. Best of luck and thanks for sharing Katie!
It can be tough out here in the winter but as time goes on it will become easier. We will need a heated shed or building eventually to work in, where you guys need air conditioning to get out of the summer Texas heat 🙂. The cost of living here is noticeably higher for sure. It is more affordable to live here than our old home when it boils down to overall cost. Taxes were out of hand back east. Thanks for the good luck wishes 🙂
Happy new year to ye both ... been in ireland I'm amazed at the amount of show u have. We get a bit of snow about every 10 years and it nearly shuts the country down ...love your content .. Good luck with your cabin build
Happy New Year! Some of the southern states in America shut down for an inch or so of snow too 😄 in Alaska it is just another day for sure, everyone just goes on about the day. Thanks for the good luck wishes!
I genuinely admire how you care for your animals and thew obvious love for your dogs. I likewise admire how you just roll with the punches and do what you have to do Chris. That skid steer is a tough machine, but also tough to work on, especially in subzero temps. I have much respect for both of you and I always thoroughly enjoy your videos. Hang in there. Spring and the accompanying mud is not that far away. Happy new year and may 2024 bring you great rewards and satisfaction.
Sno-Joe sells a soft snow removal tool for cars and can be used on solar panels with a long pole for painting extendable with screw end. I use one for my soft top sheds too.
So thankful for this video. I'm sitting here in northern Mn with this years exact rapidtrak and no snow :( However, there are very few vids of this model out, and then seeing it side by side against a wheeled blower is very nice to see. I'm getting up there in age, and we have a dirt drive and road that sometimes a pickup can't get through the drifts, so this alternative fits this, and seeing the missus handling the rapidtrak was music to my eyes. So again, thank you for your vid
ya that is the thing I tell everyone to build a shop first and why because the machine we use to build a place breaks down and in winter it is nice to have a place to fix them out of the weather
We could have moved it inside the shelter logic to heat it but it was not necessary. If we had a big enough budget to build a shop and home at the same time we may have gone in that direction and had to have hired a contractor but we would rather build a cozy home to live in first and do it ourselves to save money. With the short building season here and our limited budget, our home is a priority. It may take several years to save enough cash to build a shop ourselves in the future because we are not interested in making loan payments and nothing is cheap to build in Alaska.
Happy New Year Katie and Chris , your work ethic is off the charts , I have moved snow for over 40 years I think the only thing I would do different in a perfect world with money being no issue would be a high flow skid steer with a blower I have a tractor with a plow on the front like yours and a rear 5 foot snowblower best of both worlds but don’t get nearly the snow in New Hampshire that you get , stay safe and warm
Happy New Year! And thank you 🙂 The high-flow skid steer blowers are amazing! I'm not sure that will ever be in the budget but we would like to find a used low-flow blower in the future to try out. They are a bit slow compared to the high flow, but some large snowfalls might make it worth having.
Love your channel and the scenic views, they are always well thought and beautiful. The snow clinging to the trees is such a awesome sight and brings back memories of growing up in Northern Maine. Happy New Year Chris and Katie and I hope that it is the best ever.
I have the same 24" Ariens Deluxe wheel machine in Buffalo & it's been great for 5 years. That said, I have a normal driveway, no long stretches. The tractor style will go up stairs & clear a deck if you need to!
Happy new year, Chris and Katie. I hope you guys have a wonderful and blessed year. Thank you for taking the time to post a new video. This is one of my favorite RUclips channels yet. I can’t wait until we make our move to Alaska soon. Over the holidays I’ve been building on my 35’ Sawmill that I’m powering with a Kubota diesel. My little 20’ sawmill is finally done now. This summer we are heading up to buy some property. I can’t hardly wait. You guys are a big inspiration for our dream. I have been accumulating equipment and tools in preparation. When you get to looking for beam saws let me know. I found something that would be very interesting to you guys. Anyhow awesome video as always thank you both for sharing your experiences.
Happy New Year! That's awesome you are building a sawmill from scratch! I hope you are recording the process for RUclips! Have you seen Don Diy? The guy has some very cool projects like this I am sure you have come across his channel. Which Kubota engine are you using for your mill? I have an unfinished log splitter project that I need to bring up from Pennsylvania one day when I have the place to finish it. Wish I had documented it but I fabricated a steel bell housing and flywheel to a Lovejoy adapter to hook up a 28gpm splitter pump to a Kubota 3-cylinder diesel out of a zero-turn. Still want to finish it up in the future for sure. I bet we share a ton of common interests. It is great that you guys are coming prepared with all the right equipment, I think that is so important for up here. Prices in Alaska on anything that you can't buy at a big box store are kind of ridiculous, as far as big equipment on the used market it is double or more compared to the East Coast. You will save a bunch of money and time bringing a tractor or some kind of machine to build up your property. If you want to share the info you found, the best way to reach us is our email which is in the video description. Thanks!
@@northtoalaska2022I have been trying to get ahold of you guys for a while. I sent you a email and a few pictures of the sawmills. My contact info is in there. Give me a shout.
Hey, I just checked, and nothing in my email from you even in the spam bin... northtoalaska.kenai@gmail.com is the email, I will check to see if we misspelled it in the description. I am sorry about that I just saw these two msgs today from you in the comments, It takes a few hours to get through all of our msgs, we do try to keep up with them all, I have a a lot of messages in New reply that I have not seen yet I am sure that's how I missed yours. I usually forget to put on the filter for new reply messages in the RUclips app and check the conversations.
I am way down south of you where most Americans think we live in igloos , 50 deg. lat. in the Okanagan British Columbia. Today it is Dec.31/2023 and we have no snow and temp . is 41 deg. F which is highly unusual a I have seen -35 F here. Repair job well done , when the going gets tough the tough get going !
Haha 😄 some Americans think Alaskans live in igloos too! It has been an unseasonably warm year for most of this winter. I am sure cooler weather is on the way!
Goodness... luckily I was a mechanic for 15 years so the repairs are not an issue, but we have had to wait for parts to make it to our PO box for over two weeks. We still have both machines and will keep them at least until we can find a good deal on a used blower for our skid steer.
Well at least you guys have snow. All we have is frozen grass. The weather got really warm for the last few weeks. Nice to see the dogs playing in the snow, even if the little guy is dwarfed by the amount. Take care and stay safe. PS: Happy New Year from Petawawa, Ontario.
We also have a wheeled and a tracked Ariens. Ordered the tracked 32" July '21, when we got up Alaska. Still not here in Jan. '22, but they had a wheeled 28" so we grabbed it. Tracked showed up April '22 and we took delivery on that. Just used the tracked one winter of '22-'23 (couldn't get the wheeled started). This winter we got them both started and I like the wheeled one better than the tracked, which my hubby likes. I'm 5'4" & 140# and can "wrestle" the wheeled easier than the tracked. It's still a workout but a more "enjoyable" one. We're keeping both Ariens, along with the blower on our side by side & our Deere with its bucket😂.
I can understand that! The Track model takes a lot more effort to maneuver when not going straightforward compared to the wheel version. If I had to back up a lot I think the tire one is also easier. We found that the track model had a big advantage while blowing up steep hills when we had to clear our path to the water spring. They are both great and have advantages 🙂 I bet a snow blower on your Sxs is fun to use!
Nothing worst than working on hydraulics in those temps. Are you guys some where around where the Home Free Alaska youtubers are. They just showed -23 degrees also. I do agree the track snow blower is the one to keep. love the video's
Agreed! I am unsure where home-free Alaska lives. They are farther north for sure with minus 23° Fahrenheit, the lowest we have seen at home this winter is minus 10° Fahrenheit. The minus 23° reading in our recent video was Celsius. It stays slightly warmer in our area because of the proximity to the ocean. Glad to hear you love our videos 🙂
That would be very beneficial, I believe our budget and time will mostly be for finishing a proper home to live in for the next year or so. Then we can re-evaluate our plans for out buildings.
Wow ! Thats a lot of snow, We could use a foot of that white stuff, Trying to make trails for wood hauling & barely enough to cover the grass, Great review on the snow blowers awesome way to compare, those tracks sure make a the push so much easier, bob cat great machine but if you own one you know when you push it you will fix, Awesome video !
The last Ariens I bought was made in china with "assembled in the usa" stickers all over it (I didn't know they sold out) and came with the luxury option of a stripped out spark plug and a cracked exhaust manifold, good job Ariens, way to keep your name recognition. I sold that pos and bought an old Canadian Ariens 15hp 30", much better than the new garbage and a fraction of the price. Anyway, good luck out there, I spent 50 years in the bush of Alaska till I became ill in my 70's and now I live with my children in the shity city. Live life to the fullest.
That is a shame about the brand, if ours does not hold up we will look into switching to Honda, we always had great luck with Honda power equipment in the past.
Great to see you guys posting a video. I have the deluxe wheeled Ariens snowblower. Bought it 8 years ago. Great product. Always starts after one pull no matter how long it sat. Agree with the fight to get it through deep snow, but it will get it done. How’s the spring doing with the cold weather.
Great to hear! We hope ours lasts for many years too! The spring is still working very well, the coldest temperature we have experienced here so far was minus 10°, at this point the water froze in a large stalagmite up to the water pipe but it never stopped flowing inside the ice. A hatchet made quick work of the ice debris in the way and we were collecting water again 🙂
just found your channel.....been watching older videos....hoping to learn a little about your situation, how you came there, why you left PA...etc. It always interesting to learn your story
Keep an eye out for that video soon, now that winter is here a lot of our building projects have become difficult to work on so we will set aside time to make this video for everyone 🙂
Just found you guys and I love the adventure! I've used a tracked blower for years and I would never go back! Sub'd and looking forward to the next vid!
chains really help on the tires for these units......you can vary the amount of downforce to get traction or not if not needed. The only two downsides of the chain could be marking up asphalt and maybe a slight rougher ride on harder surfaces ......or conversely you could "dig" on gravel if it's not frozen and maybe get rocks in your auger/impeller housing later. But having had chains on one of these push behinds....I wouldn't used it without them.
Keep them both! Remember the old saying… 2 is 1 and 1 is none! ……Only kidding…..I know you have to sell one😀…. Love the channel…. We need to get you guys up to 100k subs asap!
We still haven't listed one, it is very tempting to keep both! Wow, 100k seems so far away that would be wild! I think they give you a chrome plaque trophy if you make it that high, I have seen them on other folk's channels before!
Ahh yeah, I have used those too! This track model automatically lets one side slip when you start to turn for a zero turning radius. Ariens has a nicer contractor-grade track blower with individual hydrostatic transmissions like a real zero-turn mower, have not used one but I believe they are something crazy like five thousand dollars 🤑 I'm sure they are nice.
Welcome back, I have been waiting for a new video, happy new year from New Hampshire where we have no snow. And it looks so much better in Alaska then at my house and me needing to use my Ariens wheeled snowblower. Yes, being in the frozen north requires lots of patience and resilience when working on any machinery. How's the RV holding up for the 4 of you? The pups look content with the snow, any wildlife walking around the homestead? Thanks
Hello 🙂 we saw a noreaster storm heading your way, you may have snow by now! The RV is working out well for us, it is not a lot of room at 300 square feet but we have what we need to be comfortable. Our biggest concern about living in it temporarily was not staying warm enough or having moisture issues, but so far all is well. The Toyo oil heater keeps it 68° without issue and it's a dry heat since it is vented. We run vent fans when we cook with propane or take showers and it has kept moisture levels low inside. I can say insulating all of the glass windows made a big difference in how much the furnace runs to keep it warm. We found the average in winter is about 120$ a month to heat so it is a good heating solution for the small space. Our winter is milder in Kenai compared to somewhere like Fairbanks AK the rv option might not work out that far north. We have had a lot of moose and rabbits outside! We also found lynx tracks just out our door but we have not seen it yet!
@@northtoalaska2022 Yes, it is snowing right now, expecting 9" to 12", of heavy snow,, all ready for it. The wheeled Airens is ready to blow. Being warm in your elements is very important and you all have it under control. Are you a hunter or trapper? Your in the right area for both. Thanks for the great videos, your both naturals in all explanations. I'm sure your both excited about building your home as we are all anticipating great building videos to come. Thanks again Richard.
Ahh the snowblower will be out by the morning! We do enjoy hunting! I have not done traping for many years but we may both dabble in it here for some of the larger species like lynx and wolverine. We were able to finally get resident hunting and trapping licenses on January first. Alaska will only allow non-resident hunting licenses until you have lived here for a full year, and non-residents need special expensive tags and require a hired guide to hunt most game here. It is cheap for full residents and no guide is required. This fall we will be working hard to hunt moose for meat. Will be an exciting new challenge, the only big game we have hunted on occasion prior is elk. We were fortunate to always have a full freezer of white-tail venison back in Pennsylvania, we hope to continue that tradition with moose meat here. We are very excited to finish our cabin! The weather has been rough but we are making slow progress and should have an update for everyone on it soon. Thanks for reaching out Richard!
Great question, we are still working on our cabin 🙂 we talk about the old abandoned cabin in episode one and show building the chicken coop inside it in an older video too. It is a very old dilapidated log cabin on our property that we will need to dismantle in the future. It has a failing foundation and can not be saved.
Happy New Year ! Down where I live in central Alberta we are lucky to have an inch of snow . It would be great to have enough so I could get my snow blower out and use it lol. Wish you the best and a Happy and prosperous New Year.
Happy New Year! You guys will probably get snow soon. Winter seems to be running behind for most of North America, unseasonably warm weather. Thank you for the well wishes 🙂
I'd definitely change the angle of your solar panels. As far north as you are they should be at around 80 degree angle for more sun and will help keep the snow off better too.
We run ours a on little negative angle this time of year at our off-road cabin. The sun is only up 6 degrees at noon now so even reflecting off the snow helps. By keeping them a little negative we don’t get frost on them either.
We plan to move them to higher ground eventually. They are on a very temporary structure that we are not able to move without major disassembly. In the future, we will build a new stand that can tilt for the season, and we also need many more panels this time of year. This setup is adequate in summer, but with how tall the trees are, we are lucky to get 1 hour of unobstructed light for about 3 months this time of year. Please keep in mind that a lot of what we have here is temporary, we are working on a cash budget to build up the property and it will take us some time to get everything where it needs to be for a good quality of life. The panels will need to be moved closer to our cabin once it is completed.
@@northtoalaska2022 I used unistrut to tilt our panels, it wasn’t cheap. Our remote cabin we don’t get sun from the end of October to the beginning of February at all due to terrain. We have to run our generator a few hours every other day. Where we live we get the sun all day with our eastern horizon 20 miles away and the western about 100 miles. We have power to the house.
Well figuring the northpole would be 90 degree angle Alaska would be somewhere around 75-80 degree and the snow would slide off easier and you'd get more sun.
Stick with the tracks. Can you adapt a set of tracks to the wheels to enhance mobility? Wishing you both another blessed year, a safe holiday weekend and continuing health. Peaceful greetings from the southern shore of the Great Swamp Erie in NE Ohio.
I'm surprised that you didn't mount a snowblower attachment for the skid steer ? My neighbor has one and he moves tons of snow quickly and efficiently.
If we were to get a blizzard the blower would be ideal. The plow is hard to beat for a lot of small snows like we seem to get in this area, it's just fast. The prices up here on skid steer blowers are too high but we may purchase a used one next time we visit the lower 48 to have it on hand in case of deep snowfalls.
I really enjoy your videos and the struggle with the weather in Alaska! Just wondering where in PA you moved from? Your accent reminds me of growing up in Western PA in Murrysville. Keep up the good work and be safe.
Clearly running over natural ground will cause difficulties for the wheel version. Most people snowblow on solid level surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, porches and patios. The wheel version would kick ass for normal application. Unless you need the money I would keep both. Eventually you'll have flatter more condensed ground surfaces and you will appreciate a option. Plus, living where you do having several methods of machine aided snow removal will be a blessing over the coming years.
A lot of people sell everything before moving to Alaska, and a lot of people also don't make it here and end up leaving. We could not afford to replace what we had prior and what we needed here, so we brought it with us. Fuel costs to transport it up is cheap in comparison to replacement. Everything costs more in this state and can take longer to acquire. Coming up unprepared and attempting what we are is not a good idea and would lead to many hard times. Since it took us 15 years of working long hours to have what we do today, it would be difficult to start over with nothing and try to replace it at 3x inflation costs and exorbitant Alaskan prices.
Just me but i would trade the Can Am off for a piece of equipment that is useful for the homestead. Just what i see unless you have other ideas. Polaris Ranger or any Side X Side with a box would be more practical. Great channel great video cant wait to see cabin build. What did the two of you do for a living back in Pennsylvania?
I can see how a utility UTV would come in handy for small-scale work for folks who do not have any tractor-based equipment or a truck/ trailer and want a luxury item to drive around a wide-open area like a farm. I have to ask what would we use one for? Most seem to use them for plowing snow and gathering firewood, but the small scale they do it at is not adequate for our situation, it would be a novelty. It seems a lot of UTVs are used as glorified golf carts. Tractors or heavy equipment seem to be a better option to invest in and will be useful in more ways, they can plow snow more efficiently and carry firewood in the bucket or on a trailer through the forest as well if needed just like a UTV but on a bigger scale. We have our SXS for a hobby to drive out to remote areas where regular vehicles can not go (the glorified golf cart role). The money saved from not buying a UTV would be better invested in a truck, tractor, attachments like a plow for truck or tractor, and trailer but we already own these for those roles. Snowmobiles are the only equipment we are missing that we could use at this time but they would be an inappropriate investment because we do not have proper shelter to store them or a finished home for us to live in. Hopefully, this explanation of our situation helps. It is great to hear you are enjoying our channel! My previous career was running a heavy equipment repair shop, Katie worked in corrections.
You showed two modes, but the RapidTrak has 3 modes. Wheel mode - track mode - dig mode. You bypassed the middle mode. True that dig mode makes reverse very difficult.
Not a lot of machinery likes to operate at -32 below zero or colder. Growing up in interior Alaska even the snow machines didn’t like starting at -40 to -60 below zero. I often walked to school/work in bush Alaska during the 1980’s.
No antifreeze in the oil, but we did switch to lower temperature-rated antifreeze and thinner oils in some of our equipment to help them work better in the cold!
![[DRAGON BALL LEGENDS REVEALS ＆ STUFF] LEGENDS FESTIVAL 2024 Special Edition Part 2](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/af0phKxitX8/mqdefault.jpg)
I will keep both snow machines. Due to the fact if one breaks down you have the other
True!
agreed, our local ariens dealer is 5 weeks out for repairs, and that doesn't include ordering any parts after they get to your unit and diagnose it.
Goodness that's terrible
I agree on that. You'll have a backup machine ready to take over the Rapidtrak if for some reason it's out of service. Plus, if you sell it the wheeled one, you won't get it back at the price you pay because of inflation. Better off using it until it's no longer fixable.
2 is 1 and 1 is NONE@@nova9403
One thing I notice is you dont have chains on the tire snowblower, that makes a huge difference for traction
We should give them a try, they make a world of difference on the skid steer.
I do have to say… You guys have an absolutely beautiful place there!!
Thank you! We love living in this area ❤️
I hope before long you have a big workshop to keep your equipment in and a place to do repairs. Glad to see a new video.
That would be great! We do hope to have a small heated building to work out of the weather in the future 🙂 Thank you!
The Navy taught me to always have a backup...Backup systems in an emergency...even have a backup for your backup. In this case a good shovel. Keep the little snow blower, and the new videos. Love the content. And thank you for not asking to click...You're secure enough to know those who like will follow.
In our case, the skid steer with plow is the primary tool, snow blower is for backup. We still have both blowers but I'm not convinced the spare blower is worth keeping. We are just hobby/part-time RUclipsrs at this point, we don't need RUclips to survive so we don't beg for money or tell people to subscribe, we are not needy. If the content is good organic likes, views, and subscribers will come. Thanks for watching 🙂
@@northtoalaska2022i watch because theres no click bait..no demands to “ like subscribe and comment”. You content is great..its interesting and without falsity. Just keep that going and people will become faithful followers and your channel will grow anyway. I. Just new.. catching up as fast as i can lol
😊 not to be a bore, you really want to keep the snow off your shelter Logic on the sides it will cost it to collapse. I love your videos. You two are really putting out the work to keep your place going. Wishing you both a prosperous New Year
Thank you 😊 we ended up taking the snow blower down the sides of it a few times! It was piling up quickly! Happy New Year!
Seriously, love your channel! Wish you'd post more often.
Thank you! 🥰 we may begin posting more often in the future 🙂
Beautiful people that I have been waiting to see for weeks. I hope you are well.
Thank you 🙂 All is well! We hope you had a good holiday and are well too!
Its pretty and al but man at -23C everything becomes a struggle, thanks for the beautiful pictures and taking us along your journey, have a wonderful 2024
It does! Glad you enjoyed the scenery 😊 Happy New Year!
Beautiful dogs
❤️
Great video Chris and Katie
Thank you 😊
Hellllll yeah!!! A new video!
You two are on the Kenai Peninsula?
Yes we are!
@@northtoalaska2022 is that amount of snow normal? I am in WA State and we have little to no snow.
@gb3450 according to the internet it should not snow that much here, but last winter we had over seven feet of dump on our property, and some of it did not melt till June in our valleys. We are at a semi-high elevation compared to most of Kenai which may be a factor. There are a lot of strange microclimates out here, we have driven 30 minutes from home and seen temperatures spike by 20 degrees higher.
My goodness, I will stop complaining about outside work here in Texas. Ya'll are tough Alaskans for sure. Can't wait for spring to see that cabin and everything else going! It takes every hour every day. Not to mention the financial resources because hoses, food, fuel etc etc. has to be premium prices there as well. Best of luck and thanks for sharing Katie!
Yehaw!
It can be tough out here in the winter but as time goes on it will become easier. We will need a heated shed or building eventually to work in, where you guys need air conditioning to get out of the summer Texas heat 🙂. The cost of living here is noticeably higher for sure. It is more affordable to live here than our old home when it boils down to overall cost. Taxes were out of hand back east. Thanks for the good luck wishes 🙂
Well done it takes a lot of patience to deal with all of the aspects do to the cold weather great job guys
Thank you! ❤️
Looked everyday for a new video. Missed seeing you. Keep the videos coming. Love them
❤️ winter has slowed us down a bit for sure with our building projects, we will share as often as possible 🙂
Happy new year to ye both ... been in ireland I'm amazed at the amount of show u have. We get a bit of snow about every 10 years and it nearly shuts the country down ...love your content .. Good luck with your cabin build
Happy New Year! Some of the southern states in America shut down for an inch or so of snow too 😄 in Alaska it is just another day for sure, everyone just goes on about the day. Thanks for the good luck wishes!
Oh wow. To a Mississippi girl, this looks a winter wonderland.
It's a winter wonderland for us Pennsylvanians too! And we were not strangers to snow 🙂
I genuinely admire how you care for your animals and thew obvious love for your dogs. I likewise admire how you just roll with the punches and do what you have to do Chris. That skid steer is a tough machine, but also tough to work on, especially in subzero temps. I have much respect for both of you and I always thoroughly enjoy your videos. Hang in there. Spring and the accompanying mud is not that far away. Happy new year and may 2024 bring you great rewards and satisfaction.
Thank you Chuck 🙂 we do care a great deal for them! Happy New Year!
Happy new year!!! I'm always looking for the next video to come out!!! You both work together so well!!!❤❤❤
Happy New Year! Thank you 😊 ❤️❤️❤️
We love your channel.just found it last week watch all day with my wife
Glad you guys are enjoying our videos 🙂
I hope you guys had a great Christmas and wishing you both and Happy New Year and best wishes!🎆🥂Love and be safe!😘🤗🎄🇻🇪
Hope you did as well! Happy New Year!! 🙂❤️
I just found your channel and really love your content. I just went to your first video and watched to present. 😊
Glad you have found us and enjoyed our videos! Thank you 🙂
Extreme conditions calls for extreme measures. You guys always persevere. Good job.
😊👍
Happy New Year 🥳 all the best in 2024 🎉🎉
Happy New Year! 🎇 🎆🎉
Sno-Joe sells a soft snow removal tool for cars and can be used on solar panels with a long pole for painting extendable with screw end. I use one for my soft top sheds too.
Interesting, will look it up thanks!
Good morning Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year's you guys
Happy New Year! 😊
Absolutely Wonderful the Knowledge you Have💪👍😊
So thankful for this video. I'm sitting here in northern Mn with this years exact rapidtrak and no snow :( However, there are very few vids of this model out, and then seeing it side by side against a wheeled blower is very nice to see.
I'm getting up there in age, and we have a dirt drive and road that sometimes a pickup can't get through the drifts, so this alternative fits this, and seeing the missus handling the rapidtrak was music to my eyes.
So again, thank you for your vid
You are welcome! We are Glad you found value in our video! Happy snow blowing with your rapidtrak when the snow flies 🙂
Alas, thanks for the new video 😊 Happy new year 🎉
You are most welcome! Happy New Year!
ya that is the thing I tell everyone to build a shop first and why because the machine we use to build a place breaks down and in winter it is nice to have a place to fix them out of the weather
We could have moved it inside the shelter logic to heat it but it was not necessary. If we had a big enough budget to build a shop and home at the same time we may have gone in that direction and had to have hired a contractor but we would rather build a cozy home to live in first and do it ourselves to save money. With the short building season here and our limited budget, our home is a priority. It may take several years to save enough cash to build a shop ourselves in the future because we are not interested in making loan payments and nothing is cheap to build in Alaska.
Happy New Year Katie and Chris , your work ethic is off the charts , I have moved snow for over 40 years I think the only thing I would do different in a perfect world with money being no issue would be a high flow skid steer with a blower I have a tractor with a plow on the front like yours and a rear 5 foot snowblower best of both worlds but don’t get nearly the snow in New Hampshire that you get , stay safe and warm
Happy New Year! And thank you 🙂 The high-flow skid steer blowers are amazing! I'm not sure that will ever be in the budget but we would like to find a used low-flow blower in the future to try out. They are a bit slow compared to the high flow, but some large snowfalls might make it worth having.
Congratulations on 25000 your channel is growing fast
Thank you 🙂❤️
Love your channel and the scenic views, they are always well thought and beautiful. The snow clinging to the trees is such a awesome sight and brings back memories of growing up in Northern Maine. Happy New Year Chris and Katie and I hope that it is the best ever.
Thank you! Glad you are enjoying the scenery 😊 Happy New Year 🎉🎆🎇
С новым годом! | Happy New Year! 🎄
Happy New Year! 😊
I have the same 24" Ariens Deluxe wheel machine in Buffalo & it's been great for 5 years. That said, I have a normal driveway, no long stretches. The tractor style will go up stairs & clear a deck if you need to!
Great machine!
Hope you had a great Christmas and all the best for the new year. From a tropical 26C today (soz) New Zealand
We did! 🙂 Happy New Year! I can imagine the warmth of New Zealand from here 🏝🌞
Happy new year, Chris and Katie. I hope you guys have a wonderful and blessed year. Thank you for taking the time to post a new video. This is one of my favorite RUclips channels yet. I can’t wait until we make our move to Alaska soon. Over the holidays I’ve been building on my 35’ Sawmill that I’m powering with a Kubota diesel. My little 20’ sawmill is finally done now. This summer we are heading up to buy some property. I can’t hardly wait. You guys are a big inspiration for our dream. I have been accumulating equipment and tools in preparation. When you get to looking for beam saws let me know. I found something that would be very interesting to you guys. Anyhow awesome video as always thank you both for sharing your experiences.
Happy New Year! That's awesome you are building a sawmill from scratch! I hope you are recording the process for RUclips! Have you seen Don Diy? The guy has some very cool projects like this I am sure you have come across his channel. Which Kubota engine are you using for your mill? I have an unfinished log splitter project that I need to bring up from Pennsylvania one day when I have the place to finish it. Wish I had documented it but I fabricated a steel bell housing and flywheel to a Lovejoy adapter to hook up a 28gpm splitter pump to a Kubota 3-cylinder diesel out of a zero-turn. Still want to finish it up in the future for sure. I bet we share a ton of common interests. It is great that you guys are coming prepared with all the right equipment, I think that is so important for up here. Prices in Alaska on anything that you can't buy at a big box store are kind of ridiculous, as far as big equipment on the used market it is double or more compared to the East Coast. You will save a bunch of money and time bringing a tractor or some kind of machine to build up your property. If you want to share the info you found, the best way to reach us is our email which is in the video description. Thanks!
@@northtoalaska2022I have been trying to get ahold of you guys for a while. I sent you a email and a few pictures of the sawmills. My contact info is in there. Give me a shout.
Hey, I just checked, and nothing in my email from you even in the spam bin... northtoalaska.kenai@gmail.com is the email, I will check to see if we misspelled it in the description. I am sorry about that I just saw these two msgs today from you in the comments, It takes a few hours to get through all of our msgs, we do try to keep up with them all, I have a a lot of messages in New reply that I have not seen yet I am sure that's how I missed yours. I usually forget to put on the filter for new reply messages in the RUclips app and check the conversations.
@@northtoalaska2022 I’ll try again
I am way down south of you where most Americans think we live in igloos , 50 deg. lat. in the Okanagan British Columbia. Today it is Dec.31/2023 and we have no snow and temp . is 41 deg. F which is highly unusual a I have seen -35 F here. Repair job well done , when the going gets tough the tough get going !
Haha 😄 some Americans think Alaskans live in igloos too! It has been an unseasonably warm year for most of this winter. I am sure cooler weather is on the way!
Keep both, my ATV dealer is 6
Weeks out for work. 2 other shop are 5-6 weeks out, so I waited and now it is in the shop
Goodness... luckily I was a mechanic for 15 years so the repairs are not an issue, but we have had to wait for parts to make it to our PO box for over two weeks. We still have both machines and will keep them at least until we can find a good deal on a used blower for our skid steer.
Very entertaining and informative . Thanks for sharing . Craig. Pa.
Thank you Craig! 🙂 glad you enjoyed the video
You guys are great on camera. Winter is here. Not so much in Suffolk Virginia
Thank you! ❤️ it is an unusually warm year, but I would imagine cooler weather is on the way!
Well at least you guys have snow. All we have is frozen grass. The weather got really warm for the last few weeks. Nice to see the dogs playing in the snow, even if the little guy is dwarfed by the amount. Take care and stay safe. PS: Happy New Year from Petawawa, Ontario.
You guys will have snow before long! Thank you! and Happy New Year! 🎇🎆🎉
Love y'all's Doggies ❤
Thank you!
@@northtoalaska2022 UR WELCOME 🤗
Happy New Year Chris and Katie.
Happy New Year!
Keep a eye out for a snow blower to put on the front of the skid steer usually you find them on market place or craiglists or in canada kijiji
Would love to find a used deal on one someday, great tool to have here! Thank you
We also have a wheeled and a tracked Ariens. Ordered the tracked 32" July '21, when we got up Alaska. Still not here in Jan. '22, but they had a wheeled 28" so we grabbed it. Tracked showed up April '22 and we took delivery on that. Just used the tracked one winter of '22-'23 (couldn't get the wheeled started). This winter we got them both started and I like the wheeled one better than the tracked, which my hubby likes. I'm 5'4" & 140# and can "wrestle" the wheeled easier than the tracked. It's still a workout but a more "enjoyable" one. We're keeping both Ariens, along with the blower on our side by side & our Deere with its bucket😂.
I can understand that! The Track model takes a lot more effort to maneuver when not going straightforward compared to the wheel version. If I had to back up a lot I think the tire one is also easier. We found that the track model had a big advantage while blowing up steep hills when we had to clear our path to the water spring. They are both great and have advantages 🙂 I bet a snow blower on your Sxs is fun to use!
Just found your channel watched a few videos the water videos are interesting from southern Ontario Canada 🇨🇦
Thank you, glad you enjoyed the spring videos!
You guys are some tough and rugged guys
🙂
Good video and have a good day
Thank you!
Nothing worst than working on hydraulics in those temps. Are you guys some where around where the Home Free Alaska youtubers are. They just showed -23 degrees also. I do agree the track snow blower is the one to keep. love the video's
Agreed! I am unsure where home-free Alaska lives. They are farther north for sure with minus 23° Fahrenheit, the lowest we have seen at home this winter is minus 10° Fahrenheit. The minus 23° reading in our recent video was Celsius. It stays slightly warmer in our area because of the proximity to the ocean. Glad to hear you love our videos 🙂
Merry Christmas and happy new year to you both 2024. Please take care we still waiting for snow in Ketchikan Alaska
❤️ wow! Snow should arrive soon now that we are in January, crazy weather!
I'd have to keep both.
Ein ganz tolles Video. Ich freue mich jedesmal auf euch. Ihr macht das prima.
Thank you! We are glad to hear you enjoy the videos 🙂
I would suggest it is almost vital to have indoor heated shop to be able to work on anything during the winter months for survival
That would be very beneficial, I believe our budget and time will mostly be for finishing a proper home to live in for the next year or so. Then we can re-evaluate our plans for out buildings.
I wish you both a Happy New Year. It seems like we just finish removing the snow for one storm and another comes along.
Thank you Chris! And Happy New Year 🎉 🤗
Wow ! Thats a lot of snow, We could use a foot of that white stuff, Trying to make trails for wood hauling & barely enough to cover the grass, Great review on the snow blowers awesome way to compare, those tracks sure make a the push so much easier, bob cat great machine but if you own one you know when you push it you will fix, Awesome video !
It is surprising that Alberta has no snow right now, has it been unseasonably warm in your area? Glad you liked the video 🙂
Happy new year 😊
Happy New Year! 🎉 ✨️ 🙂
The last Ariens I bought was made in china with "assembled in the usa" stickers all over it (I didn't know they sold out) and came with the luxury option of a stripped out spark plug and a cracked exhaust manifold, good job Ariens, way to keep your name recognition. I sold that pos and bought an old Canadian Ariens 15hp 30", much better than the new garbage and a fraction of the price.
Anyway, good luck out there, I spent 50 years in the bush of Alaska till I became ill in my 70's and now I live with my children in the shity city. Live life to the fullest.
That is a shame about the brand, if ours does not hold up we will look into switching to Honda, we always had great luck with Honda power equipment in the past.
Great to see you guys posting a video. I have the deluxe wheeled Ariens snowblower. Bought it 8 years ago. Great product. Always starts after one pull no matter how long it sat. Agree with the fight to get it through deep snow, but it will get it done. How’s the spring doing with the cold weather.
Great to hear! We hope ours lasts for many years too! The spring is still working very well, the coldest temperature we have experienced here so far was minus 10°, at this point the water froze in a large stalagmite up to the water pipe but it never stopped flowing inside the ice. A hatchet made quick work of the ice debris in the way and we were collecting water again 🙂
just found your channel.....been watching older videos....hoping to learn a little about your situation, how you came there, why you left PA...etc. It always interesting to learn your story
Keep an eye out for that video soon, now that winter is here a lot of our building projects have become difficult to work on so we will set aside time to make this video for everyone 🙂
Happy New Year!! 🇳🇴👍👍👌
Happy New Year friend! 🎉
I would keep both
Happy New Year guys! Take care!
Happy New Year! 😊 🎆🎇🎉
Just found you guys and I love the adventure! I've used a tracked blower for years and I would never go back! Sub'd and looking forward to the next vid!
Glad you found us! The straight-line performance in deep snow on tracks is hard to beat!
Chains and Wheel Weights on the smaller one.... backup machine😊
Very true!
Tire chains are great.
They are!
Great job 👍👍👍👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻💕🧡💚♥️👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼
Thank you! 😀
Loved the video
Happy new year
Thank you ❤️ happy New Year!
chains really help on the tires for these units......you can vary the amount of downforce to get traction or not if not needed. The only two downsides of the chain could be marking up asphalt and maybe a slight rougher ride on harder surfaces ......or conversely you could "dig" on gravel if it's not frozen and maybe get rocks in your auger/impeller housing later. But having had chains on one of these push behinds....I wouldn't used it without them.
We are going to give chains a try on it! They do work so well on our big machine.
Wow. You got all the snow. We got zip. HNY!!
We have had many small storms too, it is starting to pile up in the mountains! Your snow is not far behind I'm sure 🙂 it is unusually warm this year.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2024‼️
Happy New Year!
Happy new year
Happy New Year!
🤠 Happy New Year
Happy New Year! 🙂
Good to see you guys. Hope you had a good Christmas. Happy New Year! Should be a fruitful 2024 for you.
Thank you! We had a great Christmas 🙂 Happy New Year! 🎉🎇🎆
Need the best of both. Win the lottery and buy a snow blower for the skid steer🤙
For sure! Haha, they sell them cheap on the East Coast. Maybe we can bring one back next time we drive down to visit family!
Keep them both! Remember the old saying… 2 is 1 and 1 is none! ……Only kidding…..I know you have to sell one😀…. Love the channel…. We need to get you guys up to 100k subs asap!
We still haven't listed one, it is very tempting to keep both! Wow, 100k seems so far away that would be wild! I think they give you a chrome plaque trophy if you make it that high, I have seen them on other folk's channels before!
You should try some tire chains on the snowblower wheels.
We should!
they make on of those track snowthrowers with finger controls to steer them like skid steer ... My Cub has them also seen them on wheeled throwers too
Ahh yeah, I have used those too! This track model automatically lets one side slip when you start to turn for a zero turning radius. Ariens has a nicer contractor-grade track blower with individual hydrostatic transmissions like a real zero-turn mower, have not used one but I believe they are something crazy like five thousand dollars 🤑 I'm sure they are nice.
very nice video on the different ways of removing snow. the boots look nice, i like the adjustable back. HISEA i will check them out
Thank you 😊
Happy New Year to you both 🎊🕛🎊
Happy New Year! 😊
Welcome back, I have been waiting for a new video, happy new year from New Hampshire where we have no snow. And it looks so much better in Alaska then at my house and me needing to use my Ariens wheeled snowblower. Yes, being in the frozen north requires lots of patience and resilience when working on any machinery. How's the RV holding up for the 4 of you? The pups look content with the snow, any wildlife walking around the homestead? Thanks
Hello 🙂 we saw a noreaster storm heading your way, you may have snow by now! The RV is working out well for us, it is not a lot of room at 300 square feet but we have what we need to be comfortable. Our biggest concern about living in it temporarily was not staying warm enough or having moisture issues, but so far all is well. The Toyo oil heater keeps it 68° without issue and it's a dry heat since it is vented. We run vent fans when we cook with propane or take showers and it has kept moisture levels low inside. I can say insulating all of the glass windows made a big difference in how much the furnace runs to keep it warm. We found the average in winter is about 120$ a month to heat so it is a good heating solution for the small space. Our winter is milder in Kenai compared to somewhere like Fairbanks AK the rv option might not work out that far north. We have had a lot of moose and rabbits outside! We also found lynx tracks just out our door but we have not seen it yet!
@@northtoalaska2022 Yes, it is snowing right now, expecting 9" to 12", of heavy snow,, all ready for it. The wheeled Airens is ready to blow. Being warm in your elements is very important and you all have it under control. Are you a hunter or trapper? Your in the right area for both. Thanks for the great videos, your both naturals in all explanations. I'm sure your both excited about building your home as we are all anticipating great building videos to come.
Thanks again Richard.
Ahh the snowblower will be out by the morning! We do enjoy hunting! I have not done traping for many years but we may both dabble in it here for some of the larger species like lynx and wolverine. We were able to finally get resident hunting and trapping licenses on January first. Alaska will only allow non-resident hunting licenses until you have lived here for a full year, and non-residents need special expensive tags and require a hired guide to hunt most game here. It is cheap for full residents and no guide is required. This fall we will be working hard to hunt moose for meat. Will be an exciting new challenge, the only big game we have hunted on occasion prior is elk. We were fortunate to always have a full freezer of white-tail venison back in Pennsylvania, we hope to continue that tradition with moose meat here. We are very excited to finish our cabin! The weather has been rough but we are making slow progress and should have an update for everyone on it soon. Thanks for reaching out Richard!
Happy new year to you both 🎉
Happy New Year! 🎉 🎆🎇
I love every episode! But I'm confused. Have you built your cabin yet? If not, what is the log cabin?
Great question, we are still working on our cabin 🙂 we talk about the old abandoned cabin in episode one and show building the chicken coop inside it in an older video too. It is a very old dilapidated log cabin on our property that we will need to dismantle in the future. It has a failing foundation and can not be saved.
Happy New Year ! Down where I live in central Alberta we are lucky to have an inch of snow . It would be great to have enough so I could get my snow blower out and use it lol. Wish you the best and a Happy and prosperous New Year.
Happy New Year! You guys will probably get snow soon. Winter seems to be running behind for most of North America, unseasonably warm weather. Thank you for the well wishes 🙂
I'd definitely change the angle of your solar panels. As far north as you are they should be at around 80 degree angle for more sun and will help keep the snow off better too.
We run ours a on little negative angle this time of year at our off-road cabin. The sun is only up 6 degrees at noon now so even reflecting off the snow helps. By keeping them a little negative we don’t get frost on them either.
We plan to move them to higher ground eventually. They are on a very temporary structure that we are not able to move without major disassembly. In the future, we will build a new stand that can tilt for the season, and we also need many more panels this time of year. This setup is adequate in summer, but with how tall the trees are, we are lucky to get 1 hour of unobstructed light for about 3 months this time of year. Please keep in mind that a lot of what we have here is temporary, we are working on a cash budget to build up the property and it will take us some time to get everything where it needs to be for a good quality of life. The panels will need to be moved closer to our cabin once it is completed.
@@northtoalaska2022 I used unistrut to tilt our panels, it wasn’t cheap. Our remote cabin we don’t get sun from the end of October to the beginning of February at all due to terrain. We have to run our generator a few hours every other day. Where we live we get the sun all day with our eastern horizon 20 miles away and the western about 100 miles. We have power to the house.
Well figuring the northpole would be 90 degree angle Alaska would be somewhere around 75-80 degree and the snow would slide off easier and you'd get more sun.
To keep your snowblower running great, spray silicone in the shoot and spray in the turning blade, even heavy wet snow won't stick
Thank you for the tip!
Stick with the tracks. Can you adapt a set of tracks to the wheels to enhance mobility? Wishing you both another blessed year, a safe holiday weekend and continuing health. Peaceful greetings from the southern shore of the Great Swamp Erie in NE Ohio.
Thank you and happy new year!
"1 is none, 2 is 1"
Get chains (it's a game changer) for the wheel blower & keep em both!
We may give that a try!
Love your videos! What made you decide to move to Alaska?
Thanks! That is a long list, we will have a video explaining some of this soon 🙂
I'm surprised that you didn't mount a snowblower attachment for the skid steer ?
My neighbor has one and he moves tons of snow quickly and efficiently.
If we were to get a blizzard the blower would be ideal. The plow is hard to beat for a lot of small snows like we seem to get in this area, it's just fast. The prices up here on skid steer blowers are too high but we may purchase a used one next time we visit the lower 48 to have it on hand in case of deep snowfalls.
Maybe look into a thrower for the bobcat?
Might be a future investment 🙂
I really enjoy your videos and the struggle with the weather in Alaska! Just wondering where in PA you moved from? Your accent reminds me of growing up in Western PA in Murrysville. Keep up the good work and be safe.
Glad you are enjoying our content 😊 we both grew up in York County Pennsylvania!
Clearly running over natural ground will cause difficulties for the wheel version. Most people snowblow on solid level surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, porches and patios. The wheel version would kick ass for normal application. Unless you need the money I would keep both. Eventually you'll have flatter more condensed ground surfaces and you will appreciate a option. Plus, living where you do having several methods of machine aided snow removal will be a blessing over the coming years.
All true!
You seems to have more then most going up to Alaska Great for U ,a. ,!!@
A lot of people sell everything before moving to Alaska, and a lot of people also don't make it here and end up leaving. We could not afford to replace what we had prior and what we needed here, so we brought it with us. Fuel costs to transport it up is cheap in comparison to replacement. Everything costs more in this state and can take longer to acquire. Coming up unprepared and attempting what we are is not a good idea and would lead to many hard times. Since it took us 15 years of working long hours to have what we do today, it would be difficult to start over with nothing and try to replace it at 3x inflation costs and exorbitant Alaskan prices.
Maybe tire chains would make a difference in the wheel snow blower.
I agree it would help for sure!
Just me but i would trade the Can Am off for a piece of equipment that is useful for the homestead. Just what i see unless you have other ideas. Polaris Ranger or any Side X Side with a box would be more practical. Great channel great video cant wait to see cabin build. What did the two of you do for a living back in Pennsylvania?
I can see how a utility UTV would come in handy for small-scale work for folks who do not have any tractor-based equipment or a truck/ trailer and want a luxury item to drive around a wide-open area like a farm. I have to ask what would we use one for? Most seem to use them for plowing snow and gathering firewood, but the small scale they do it at is not adequate for our situation, it would be a novelty. It seems a lot of UTVs are used as glorified golf carts. Tractors or heavy equipment seem to be a better option to invest in and will be useful in more ways, they can plow snow more efficiently and carry firewood in the bucket or on a trailer through the forest as well if needed just like a UTV but on a bigger scale. We have our SXS for a hobby to drive out to remote areas where regular vehicles can not go (the glorified golf cart role). The money saved from not buying a UTV would be better invested in a truck, tractor, attachments like a plow for truck or tractor, and trailer but we already own these for those roles. Snowmobiles are the only equipment we are missing that we could use at this time but they would be an inappropriate investment because we do not have proper shelter to store them or a finished home for us to live in. Hopefully, this explanation of our situation helps. It is great to hear you are enjoying our channel! My previous career was running a heavy equipment repair shop, Katie worked in corrections.
Maybe next winter you may have a heated building to keep. Things in 👍👋🇨🇦
That would be great! 🙂
You showed two modes, but the RapidTrak has 3 modes.
Wheel mode - track mode - dig mode. You bypassed the middle mode.
True that dig mode makes reverse very difficult.
Correct
Not a lot of machinery likes to operate at -32 below zero or colder. Growing up in interior Alaska even the snow machines didn’t like starting at -40 to -60 below zero. I often walked to school/work in bush Alaska during the 1980’s.
when it's that cold do you have to put antifreeze in the hydraulic fluid? Which sounds dumb as a I type it out, but.... lol? :)
No antifreeze in the oil, but we did switch to lower temperature-rated antifreeze and thinner oils in some of our equipment to help them work better in the cold!
hi ..please share full clip of removing snow at the start of video with snow rake..thank you
Maybe next big snowfall we can rake the snow off of our trailer and motorhome roof to share with you 😉 do you get snow where you live?
yes some times...thank you@@northtoalaska2022