Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Plowing your long driveway.

   / Plowing your long driveway. #1  

Thomas

Epic Contributor
Joined
Apr 6, 2000
Messages
29,700
Location
Lebanon,NH.
Tractor
Kubota B2650HSD w/Frontloader & CC LTX1046 & Craftman T2200 lawn mower.
10" plus I like to set plow at 45 degrees than on my first couple of runs plow each edge of driveway,by doing so I find easier cleaning plus quicker than one lump sum on final run.

Whats your plan of attack?
 
   / Plowing your long driveway. #2  
Center then edges, then cleanup. If drifting, all windward to leeward. Lots of pushing back early in the season for fewer hassles later. Luckily it's gotten soaked and frozen hard again so we're set when it comes.
Jim
 
   / Plowing your long driveway. #3  
Run down each side of the road just inside the edge and pile all the snow along the edge, or against the snow bank when there is one. Let it set up a little, like over night, then come back and run along the edge about 15 mph and watch the piled snow fly 20 feet into the woods. Hard to do with a tractor though :D
 
   / Plowing your long driveway. #4  
Center with blade square then edges with blade angled. Dress the edges back a couple of times throughout the winter as needed. Blade backwards until gravel frozen (like now). Good seat time for sure, Carhartts and Bomber Hat all the way!

Thomas, you keeping up with the coffee???
 
   / Plowing your long driveway. #5  
Same here,plow center straight,then angle side's. My driveway is quite long so I have learned that about every 100ft to plow a straight plow width back into fields to hold drifts and more snow as banks get hard.
 
   / Plowing your long driveway. #6  
10" plus I like to set plow at 45 degrees than on my first couple of runs plow each edge of driveway,by doing so I find easier cleaning plus quicker than one lump sum on final run.

Whats your plan of attack?

I can't get my plow close to a 45 degree angle. About 30 deg max I think, but don't know that I've measured it. What brand plow??

I move everything over to the "downwind" side to minimize drifting (not piling any snow on the windward side). So first pass is far left with about a 10 deg angle, come back up moving that over with full angle, and then a pass back down to finish. Then put on the wing and knock the berm over leaving a shelf of about 4-5'.
 

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   / Plowing your long driveway. #7  
I can't get my plow close to a 45 degree angle. About 30 deg max. What brand plow will go 45 deg??

I move everything "downwind" side to minimize drifting (not piling any snow on the windward side). So first pass is far left with about a 10 deg angle, come back up moving that over with full angle, and then a pass back down to finish. Then put on the wing and knock the berm over leaving a shelf of about 4-5'.


My guess is they are talking rear grader blades because I am with you, running a truck plow on my FEL, and it will only go 30 deg or so.

I run down the center of my 25' wide by 280' long drive with the plow angled off the the right. I make a pass up and down then come back and clean up the edges. For my parking area, about 80'x40' I just drop the back blade down strait and pull it away from the barn then push it off into the grass with the snow plow pretty much strait.

Chris
 
   / Plowing your long driveway. #8  
I have a 1400' long 12' wide gravel drive, with a long section cut into the hillside. In the past, I've used by Cub with a 54" plow and made a run down the inside of the drive and then returned to the top and plowed downhill again to the outside.

I now have an FEL mounted 7.5' snowplow and am considering trying the first pass downhill to the outside, so I pile less snow in the inside ditch. I've never used a bigger plow and I know speed is important. But I don't have the guts to go very fast on the outside edge.

It is snowing now and I'll do some experimenting this afternoon.
 

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   / Plowing your long driveway. #9  
I am plowing 4,000' of drive and have tried pretty much every combination of tactics I can think of.

Over the years I have added snow weapons, currently culminating in a TPH blower and power angle 9' Fisher mounted to the FEL of the big tractor.

Initially all I had was a small 6' plow and the FELs on two tractors. They got the job done but it took a lot of time, especially once the snowbanks overwhelmed the little plow.

So, my opinion is based on having the right equipment for the job, which took me near ten years to accumulate.

Up (from the barn to the house) and down. Rinse and repeat. Put tractor away. If it is over 10" deep, I switch to the blower. Up once, do both sides of the loop and down. Clear off the shop pad and back to the barn, unless I am enjoying the seat time too much......... then I get all "picky" about the job.
 
   / Plowing your long driveway. #10  
I go down the middle with either the FEL or back blade, depending on how much snow. Lots of snow: use the FEL. When full, turn and dump; continue on down the middle. Then use the back blade with it at an angle to push snow to the side. If much snow, drive backwards. If not much snow, drive forward.

Last winter, it would have helped a lot to have a rear blower, because I started running out of space to stack the snow to the sides or ends.

Ralph
 
 
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