I know for you Mid West and Northern guys three inches is not much but here in GA it is an avalanche!. I sold my 54 inch blade last year to a guy from up North, because I had owned it for two years and never needed it, and had to use my Sears Johnny bucket to push the snow off of my driveway. It worked pretty well but not nearly as good as a blade. I have hydraulic raise/lower and manual bucket unlock and tilt. I even had a set of chains that without them I could not have gotten up my drive. I cannot imagine having to do this over and over again! I have a lot of respect for those of you who do. One other thing that I discovered is that the tire chains that I fitted to the wheels last summer no longer fit. Can the cold weather have made that much of a difference in the length? I had to use a bendable link to hook them all together.
