Pushing Back the Banks

   / Pushing Back the Banks #1  

RobS

Super Member
Joined
Jun 26, 2000
Messages
7,725
Location
Goshen, IN
Tractor
None!
The good news is I'm getting pretty good at plowing snow! Got a nice pattern developed and I get through it pretty quick. Keeping most of the stone IN the driveway now, not along side. The bad news though, is our driveway is getting narrower /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif I knew this could happen but we haven't had snow that sticks around this long in a couple of years. With another 3-6 inches coming tonight I think I need to push back my snowbanks a bit. I'm thinking I'll just straddle the bank and keep my rear blade up a bit to avoid digging the "lawn". Anyone try this? My other issue is my driveway markers. I've got the fiberglass rod ones and I may be able to just run them over and have them pop back up. My mother-in-law certainly has done her share of that /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif In any event, it should make for some fun tractor time and maybe I'll post a photo or two for the snow-challenged out there /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks #2  
With your Front End Loader, pushing back the snow banks to increase the width of your driveway should be a walk in the park. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks #3  
That is really why I like the loader over a blade. A loader can take the larger banks and move them back. It seems like a blade can't do that as easy. I know my neighbor who has a longer driveway than I will use his blade for the first couple of snows and then move to his bucket or his blower on the back.

Murph
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks #4  
Rob,

Funny to read this note this morning. Last night I spent an hour doing this very thing. I turned my rear blade around and backed into the banks moving down the driveway blade width by blade width. It was a little slow, but the result was great! I got pretty good at feathering the 3ph control so that I didn't push gravel or dig any grass.

I did try the "drive over it" approach but that didn't work for me. I got sucked down to low pretty quick but our snow may be deeper than yours?

Kevin
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks #5  
If your blade has an offset I would use that. Put the blade on offset and drive backwards with the blade up about 1/2 the height of the bank.

When the snow got too deep for me (before I had a blade with offset) I would come into the bank at a shallow angle and dig in with the corner of the FEL bucket. I would then turn the wheels hard into the bank while raising the bucket and dump on the other side of the bank. This is pretty slow going at first but once you get into a rythm it goes pretty fast and, IMO, is the fastest way to move the snow banks.

JT
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks #6  
Rob,

I'm jealous, Sounds like your bank problem is solvable. Due to the geography of my driveway - hills, house trees, & boat all in the "wrong" places I've been stacking the snow with the loader. After 60" plus of snow this season I've maxed out the snow banks in all the accessable spots at 6 feet tall.

Others have good suggestions, plow backwards & angle it to the side. You can also set the plow straight and move the tractor at an angle to the banks, Ie your angle of attack would be 30-45 degrees. Lots of little pushes vs. one long one. This allows you to miss the markers.

If you don't have a lot of snow to move & can push it with the plow, it is far faster than using the FEL which you need to lift & dump at the end of each "push".

Next year the boat will be in a different place!
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks #7  
Rob, I had banks last year too. They are a pain when it freezes down and you have to knock them back. This year I have been plowing my drive pushing the snow straight, not to the sides. I'm just making a couple of huge piles instead of long ridges. This way, in the spring, I'll only have one or two areas full of rocks and debris to clean up. Of course, your drive is just a little bit longer than mine /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif, so you would probably have several huge piles. Plus, with the big piles, you get FEL time /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. It's kind of fun to see how high I can pile the stuff, and great fun for the kids when I'm done. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks
  • Thread Starter
#8  
Thanks for all the suggestions guys. Actually, I'm rather looking forward to this little "problem" because no matter how I deal with it, it will provide lots of tractor time /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
   / Pushing Back the Banks
  • Thread Starter
#9  
Here's a photo from our upstairs window taken the other day. They are predicting a blizzard tonight so tomorrow could be interesting.

Not sure if the rest of the country saw the big accident in our area the other day. 60 car pileup on I-94 about 30 miles from us. Lake effect snow squall cut visibility down to nearly nothing in a very short distance.

Be careful out there in the fowl weather /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 

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   / Pushing Back the Banks #10  
Pushing back "side" snow banks

This is the way I do it. Push it back with the loader at a 45 degree angle. The methods suggested by the other work well. The other methods don't cut it for me. We get a lot more snow, have harder snow bank (packed in by plow trucks and freeze and thaw cycles) and ditches. I like the 45 angle approach because you find the ditch by dropping just one wheel in (less likely to get stuck).

The picture above is on a driveway that is 3/4 mile long, I did both sides. If you like tractor time and pushing snow /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif I have plenty of driveways and even more snow /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif. Play all you want /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif
 
 
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