Plowing on gravel

[motocephalic]

You guys think of all this stuff, very interesting, never even though about it this way.

I have. The first time I did it I had to use regen to lower the loader. Then I switched them in a X pattern and it worked. I asked if it was okay to use it like this in the hydraulic forum and I did not get a real good answer. I decided against it for now. I was afraid somebody may get in the tractor and not know the hoses had been switched around. I think I can do a simple modification to the blade to make it float. Here is the thread I started in the hydraulics forum. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/hydraulics/288785-float-curl-function.html

 

[94BULLITT]

You guys think of all this stuff, very interesting, never even though about it this way.

I have been thinking about it since this time last year:laughing:

 

[Tony H]

As everyone has suggested, plowing on gravel is tough especially where your base never freezes solid.
A pipe at the bottom of the blade will help too but I found it still dug in some at the ends of the plow blade/pipe.

I wound up making BIG plow skids that I use until either the base freezes or I get a good solid pack.
When I say BIG, I mean I took a pair of regular skids and welded skis to them making them about 6" wide and about 12" long with the front angled up just like a ski.
Once the ground freezes or you get a good pack they are then too big and tend to ride on top of what you are trying to plow so at that point, I pull the pins and put the smaller ones back on.

Sorry for bringing up this old Thread. I was thinking of adding large Skiis as you have done. I might add one in the middle so if the road has a steep Crown in it the plow wont dig in in the center.
Any thoughts?

ADDING A PIPE: For those of you who have added a pipe, does it clear most of the snow? I'm worried that if the pipe floats up on some of the snow every time you plow, I will end up with 12" of hard pack by Spring time.

 

[wolfpack2]

I have a 3" pipe and it still moves some stone. You won't have a problem with it building up. If you do somehow, just take it off and let the skid shoes run on the pack ice. I also tried the larger shoe idea. It worked, but the pipe gets the drive cleaner. To make the larger shoes, I just took a new 14" disc share and welded it to the bottom of the domed skids that came with my plow. They floated on the soft gravel and over the grass with no issue, but I preferred the pipe.

 

[zmansmac]

I have a loader mounted plow and a gravel driveway. But the solution I implemented years ago was to mount a couple of 10 inch tires that swivel (for when the plow is angled) instead of mushroom feet. I can tilt the blade forward slightly to scrape the cement garage apron then tilt it back on the tires to get a little moldboard clearance for the gravel. I originally used the cheap tubeless tires but if I dropped the blade to hard I'd get a flat. So the following year, 7 years ago now, I invested in solid rubber tires. Works great.

 

[skyhook]

I have a loader mounted plow and a gravel driveway. But the solution I implemented years ago was to mount a couple of 10 inch tires that swivel (for when the plow is angled) instead of mushroom feet. I can tilt the blade forward slightly to scrape the cement garage apron then tilt it back on the tires to get a little moldboard clearance for the gravel. I originally used the cheap tubeless tires but if I dropped the blade to hard I'd get a flat. So the following year, 7 years ago now, I invested in solid rubber tires. Works great.

That sounds different, you don't have any pics of your setup, do you.

 

[JMER817]

I have a heavy duty (heavy) rear blade and I had good luck plowing snow last year on my loose gravel driveway by turning the blade around and using the backside as I pulled.

 

[Ford850]

I've posted these pictures before, but I added them again in case someone wants to see the difference. The large custom mushroom skids make a huge difference compared to the original standard size.

 

[PILOON]

On my blower I increased the skid soles to about 10" long and 2" wide and adjust to leave about 1" of snow in order to create that desirable base.
Once my base is established I remove my skids.

For my front mounted plow I drag it backwards to compact the snow and create my base.

The worst possible situation is an early 10" wet snow dump on an unfrozen gravel drive. About the only thing to do is stay indoors and enjoy a favorite beverage and pray it melts before a deep freeze.

 

[Danny C]

Being on the Atlantic coast, we get a lot of rain in the winter, usually accompanied by snow at some point. As such, leaving a bit of snow behind of plowed surfaces is not an option as it turns to ice as soon as it it hit by rain. And as our temperatures usually aren't that cold, the ground is frozen and not too cold and the rain tends to not freeze on the ground much or for long. So when the ground is frozen, we plow right down getting as much snow off as possible. Early and late season, we're foreced to use plow shoes or pull a back blade turned backwards dragging it over the snow as this doesn't dig up the ground.