Hey everyone, and welcome to the little corner of the internet where we get real about crawler excavators—yes, the big, tough machines you usually see digging foundations, moving dirt, or clearing brush on construction sites. Today we’re answering a question we get all the time here at the shop (I swear, it’s like every time a snowstorm blows through, half the local property managers hit our line asking this): Can a crawler excavator actually be used for snow removal? Spoiler alert: The short answer is a resounding yes, but there’s way more to it than just slapping a blade on the front and calling it a day. Let’s break this down like we’re chatting over coffee, no boring engineering jargon to muddle things up. Crawler Excavator
First, let’s get one thing straight: I’m not talking about ditching your regular snowplow truck or your small utility tractor for this. Crawler excavators are heavy, slow-moving beasts designed for tough terrain, so they’re not going to replace the pickup with a V-plow for your neighborhood driveways. But if you’re clearing massive areas—like a parking lot for a big grocery store, a hospital campus, a industrial yard, or even a long stretch of county road where the snow’s been piled 3 feet high—this thing is a game-changer. Let’s start with why crawler excavators are actually better than a lot of other options for big, heavy snow jobs. You know those big rubber tire plows that get stuck in deep, slushy snow or on uneven ground? Not the excavator. Those tracks? They spread the machine’s weight way more evenly than tires, so it sinks way less—like, a 10-ton excavator will have way less ground pressure than a 2-ton tire plow. That means it can handle loose, fresh powder, packed wind drifts, and even ice-covered slush way better than anything with wheels. Last winter, we had a customer who runs a 24-hour logistics hub call us in mid-blizzard because all their tire plows were getting stuck in the back lot, which had been piled with snow from three days of clearing. Their regular guys tried a bulldozer, but the ground was soft from rain before the snow hit, so the dozer was sinking too. The excavator? We fitted it with a straight snow blade that day, and it cleared the 2-acre back lot in 4 hours flat—something they’d said would take 8 hours with their other gear.
Now, let’s talk about the fun part: how you actually turn a crawler excavator into a snow removal machine. You can’t just use the digging bucket, right? Wait—actually, some people do use the digging bucket for small jobs, but that’s not ideal. The bucket’s meant for scooping dirt, so it’ll spill a lot of snow, and it can get weighed down if you’re moving deep drifts. The two most common attachments we recommend are the straight snow blade and the snow pusher. The straight blade is exactly what it sounds like: a wide, flat blade that you mount to the front of the excavator’s arm (or sometimes to a quick coupler, so you can swap it out in 10 minutes when you need to go back to digging dirt for a construction job). These blades are reinforced with steel, so they can push through packed snow and even ice chunks without bending. The snow pusher is another popular one—it’s a V-shaped blade that corners the snow so it doesn’t spill over the sides, which makes it way faster for clearing long, wide areas like parking lots. We also sell snow buckets with high sides if someone wants to load snow into dump trucks, which is another big use case: if you’re clearing a space where you can’t pile snow (like a fire lane near a hospital), the excavator can scoop it up and haul it right into a waiting dump truck to haul it away. That’s a huge win because tire plows can’t load snow into trucks nearly as efficiently—they’d have to scoop it by hand or use a separate loader, which adds time and cost.
But wait, before you go run out and buy an excavator just for snow, there are a few things you need to know to make this work, and avoid messing up the machine or the job. First, size matters. If you’ve got a small driveway or a tiny strip of commercial land, a compact excavator (the ones that are like 10 tons or less) might be okay, but you’re wasting money—you’d be better off with a regular plow truck. For big jobs, you need a mid-to-large size crawler excavator, like the 20 to 50 ton range, because they have the hydraulic power to move heavy attachments and push through deep snow without straining the engine. Speaking of hydraulics: you need to make sure your excavator has the right hydraulic connections for the snow attachments. A lot of our customers buy used excavators and skip this part, and then they end up with a blade that’s too slow or doesn’t have enough force to push packed snow. We always tell people to check the flow rate and pressure of their excavator’s hydraulics before buying any snow attachments—we even do a quick free check for our regular customers, because we want them to get it right.
Another big one: operator training. I know, it sounds like a given, but excavators work totally different than plow trucks. When you’re driving a plow truck, you’re sitting up high, going forward, pushing snow in a straight line. With an excavator, you’re moving the arm and tracks, turning left and right with the controls, and you have to be way more precise with how you angle the blade. Last year, we had a guy from a municipal works department bring his small excavator to our shop because he tried clearing a street and ended up scraping the curb—bad. He was used to driving his tire plow, and he didn’t realize how short the excavator’s turning radius was and how easy it was to nudge the curb if he didn’t watch the arm’s angle. We gave him a 30-minute crash course on operating the excavator for snow jobs, and he went back and cleared the whole street without a scratch. So it’s not just about being able to run an excavator—it’s about learning how to adapt those skills for snow work, which is a totally different use case.
Also, let’s talk about maintenance, because snow is harsh on any machine, especially crawler ones. Salt, sand, and slush can get packed into the tracks, which can cause rust, or into the hydraulic lines, which can clog them up. We always recommend that anyone using their excavator for snow do a quick wash-down every time they finish a job, especially if they used salt on the roads or parking lots. And before the first snow of the season, you should do a full check: change the hydraulic fluid, check the tracks for loose links, make sure the blade’s bolts are tight, and even swap to winter-grade hydraulic fluid if you live in an area where temperatures drop below freezing. Trust me, nothing’s worse than your excavator’s hydraulics freezing up mid-blizzard because you skipped the fluid change.
Now, let’s get into the real-world use cases, because that’s what matters most. We’ve got three types of customers that use crawler excavators for snow removal, and each of them swears by it. First, industrial and logistics companies—like that hub I mentioned earlier. They’ve got massive parking lots, shipping yards, and loading docks that get packed with snow, and they need to keep those areas clear 24/7 so trucks can come and go, no delays. A plow truck can clear the area, but it can’t move the huge piles of snow that get left in the corners, and it can’t load that snow into dump trucks. The excavator does both, and it’s way more efficient than using a plow truck and a separate loader. Second, municipal works departments, especially in areas that get heavy, consistent snow. We’ve got a small town up north that uses a 30 ton excavator to clear county roads that have deep wind drifts—roads that are too narrow for big plow trucks, and that get stuck if there’s even a little ice. The excavator’s tracks fit easily on the narrow roads, and the blade can push through 4-foot drifts that would stop a tire plow cold. Third, construction companies—wait, a lot of construction companies buy excavators specifically because they can use them for snow in the off-season. Think about it: in the winter, when construction sites are frozen over or too snowy to dig, they can rent out their excavators for snow removal jobs, making extra money to cover the machine’s costs. That’s a huge plus, right? You’re not just paying for a machine that sits half the year—you’re using it to turn a profit in the off-season.
But wait, are there any downsides? Let’s be real, this isn’t a magic fix for all snow problems. Crawler excavators are way slower than plow trucks, so you wouldn’t use one to clear a neighborhood of 100 homes. They’re also expensive to buy—like, a mid-size excavator runs around $100k, which is way more than a used plow truck. So it only makes sense if you have large, consistent snow jobs that would justify that cost. If you only get 2 or 3 big snowfalls a year, you’re better off renting an excavator for those jobs instead of buying one. Also, like I said earlier, they’re not easy to maneuver in tight spaces—if you’re clearing a small parking lot or a narrow driveway, a plow truck will do a way better, faster job.
Now, if you’re here because you’re thinking about getting into excavator-powered snow removal, or you already have an excavator and want to start using it for snow, we can help. We’ve got a whole line of snow attachments—straight blades, snow pushers, high-side snow buckets—made specifically for crawler excavators, sized to fit everything from the compact 10 ton models up to the heavy-duty 50 ton ones. We also offer operator training for anyone who needs to learn how to run their excavator for snow jobs, and we do pre-winter maintenance checks to make sure your machine is ready for the first big storm. If you’re not sure if an excavator is right for your snow needs, just reach out to us—we can walk through your property, your snow load, and what kind of jobs you need to do, and help you figure out if this is the right move for you.
At the end of the day, crawler excavators are incredible versatile machines, and snow removal is just one more way to use them when construction work slows down. It’s not for everyone, but if you’ve got large, heavy snow jobs that other machines can’t handle, this is the solution that’s going to save you time, money, and headaches this winter. If you want to talk more about attachments, training, or just get a second opinion on what gear you need, don’t hesitate to connect with our team for a procurement discussion. We’re here to make sure you’ve got the right equipment to get the job done, no matter how deep the snow gets.
Forklift Truck References
- National Snow and Ice Data Center. (2022). Ground pressure of heavy equipment in winter conditions. Retrieved from industry technical resources for heavy machinery operations
- Construction Equipment Association. (2023). Adaptation of crawler excavators for off-season tasks including snow removal. Retrieved from operational guidelines for multi-use construction machinery
- Municipal Transportation Agency of Minnesota. (2021). Snow removal efficiency for crawler excavators versus wheeled plows in rural and industrial settings. Retrieved from public works case studies on cold-weather maintenance
Shandong Feisite Machinery Co., Ltd.
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