Snow Blade Should I run shoes on my front snow plow on a gravel driveway?

[Lumberdink]

Heading out this morning to finally get my brandy new Curtis Snow Pro plow wet! I have a long gravel driveway (I wish it had MORE gravel). Should I run it with the shoes or fugetaboutit?

 

[devildog1]

If the ground is not frozen and this is the first time plowing you'll be plowing stones and dirt along with the snow. Try and leave about one inch of packed snow down and when you drive over it and if it freezes then you will not need shoes if you stay on driveway. Good luck.
DevilDog

 

[Lumberdink]

Thanks---I did a quick search but nothing jumped out at me.
Love your signature---I have a Devil Dog of my own---an English Bull Terrier! :thumbsup:

 

[devildog1]

Thanks---I did a quick search but nothing jumped out at me.
Love your signature---I have a Devil Dog of my own---an English Bull Terrier! :thumbsup:

Matter of fact it's snowing here now the weathermen says we are going to receive about 4" to 6".:thumbsup:Terriers are some of the, if not the most loyal of all dogs.Just love the looks, beautiful dog, mine is a Blue, Deacon and weighs in at 98 lbs.
DevilDog

 

[Lumberdink]

Mr. Mann is a brindle, around 70lbs. Not bad for a guy who's only a foot tall. :laughing: He's due to go to the vet this month. I'll probably get a lecture about him being too fat but he's not a frickin' greyhound.
Sorry to steal my own thread. :laughing: Back to the topic at hand!
I went shoeless and it felt good. The ground is certainly frozen and I planned on getting a load of gravel this spring anyway, so no harm done. Another factor is that my road is steep and on the north side of the mountain and shaded, so I wanted to get it down to the bone. I had an ATV but this is just too much driveway for an ATV (1/3 mile long). I went shoeless with the ATV but only because they kept falling off and the plow was much lighter than the Curtis. It was so sweet to be able to change the angle without getting off. The ATV was a struggle going back and forth from Forward to Reverse and last year I broke the **** gearshift from all that back and forth shifting. I give the Curtis 5 stars.

 

[foggy1111]

Some thoughts about a gravel driveway and snow plowing.......

I've got a Meyer blade attached to my loader. Instead of shoes.....I fashioned a 2" diameter tube along the cutting blade. Mine is a slit steel tube over the blade edge.....and held in place by set screws. But some guys make tabs on the tube and can bolt it onto their blade. Other guys use a slit ABS plastic tube (use a saw to slit) and it gets friction-fit over the blade edge.

Using one of the tube method(s) may keep the gravel on your drive.....and maybe better than shoes.

 

[Grut]

Do what foggy111 has stated I am gonna try it myself someday. For now I just use shoes on my ATV plow, I hear you on light that is why I am mounting an old winch to the back of the plow for weight and so I don't over use my good one. I like the ATV because it is quick, but has its limits (a little more with sandbags on front and back).
Have fun with that new plow.

 

[JCByrd24]

Pipe on the cutting edge is the cat's meow for gravel drives and any pushing over lawns. Saves damage and cleaning gravel out of the lawn in the spring. Also makes plow much less nerve racking.

 

[JB4310]

I do the pipe thing too (steel), but only when needed, Yesterday was the first time plowing this year and the ground was frozen enough that i did not need the pipe and I scrapped very little gravel.

JB

 

[Lumberdink]

Thanks. I never heard of the "pipe trick" before. What kind of tool do you use to cut the steel pipe? I have a machine shop locally that could probably run a notch down it. I guess I could weld a couple tabs onto the pipe and drill the blade for fasteners or bolts.