Snow moving. Not as easy as I thought

Stomper · Nov 17, 2017

Mikeman1: those are exactly what I was talking about. Thanks

Motownbrown: never thought of a back blade. It could be us d forward or backwards.

The ground stays frozen all winter around here. I live in the Canadian north country. Problem is I have a loose gravel driveway and if it isnt saturated from rain before it freezes it stays loose. I think I will explore a front and/ or back blade

mikeman1 · Nov 17, 2017

by me my gravel driveway pretty much stays frozen from mid dec to end of march. this will be my first year with the tractor. i have a 7 ft rear blade as well with hydraulic angle and the tractor is 6ft wide so when i angle it will still cover most of the tires.

RNeumann · Nov 17, 2017

Stomper said:
Mikeman1: those are exactly what I was talking about. Thanks

Motownbrown: never thought of a back blade. It could be us d forward or backwards.

The ground stays frozen all winter around here. I live in the Canadian north country. Problem is I have a loose gravel driveway and if it isnt saturated from rain before it freezes it stays loose. I think I will explore a front and/ or back blade

I’m not that far north- I’m in North Idaho- but I do have the gravel driveway. I am able to float my front blade with shoes once the ground freezes. Until then I have to use my box blade to pack things down. Between the box and the front blade I feel blessed. I can handle the snow in the winter and can keep the driveway in great shape when is summer. Plus the box rippers are great if I need to scrape the ice.
I’m up the side of a hill so I have plenty of places to get rid of the snow so I don’t need the blower.

Looking4new · Nov 17, 2017

I used my bucket to clear snow last winter and didn't have any problems with the teeth digging in. BUT I made sure the gravel was frozen before I even thought of using the bucket. I used the back blade to pack it down, first. My driveway is fairly flat so I don't have to worry about hills and suck.

Z-Michigan · Nov 18, 2017

Wow, you are way up north! Denare Beach - Wikipedia

I used a setup with just a loader bucket and rear blade to clear snow from a 900' driveway for 8 years. The rear blade was quite effective for 3-6" snows like you're describing, but most years they melted every 1-2 weeks so ridges didn't build up. In the 2013-14 winter there was no melting and tons of drifting, and by end of January my driveway was closing in. I ended up having to push snow with the loader bucket, which wasn't ideal as you've found out. Only good news was that my gravel drive was hard frozen by that point, so usually I had no issues of the bucket digging in. (Bad news was that I had to push snow up to 400' at times, to reach a turn or stop, because the height of driveway above surrounding land prevented me from pushing it off the sides at all!)

I think a rear blade would be OK depending on your snow drifting. A front blade would be more convenient and cost only a little more, might be worth a look. You could also consider a snow pusher instead of a front blade, depending on the size and shape of your driveway.

Garandman · Nov 18, 2017

It was frustrating when the bucket would penetrate through the frozen layer and dig up the gravel underneath, even while in the float position. I tried adjusting the angle of the cutting edge but it either dug in or left to much snow

Edge Tamers make all the difference.

Edge Tamer - Move Snow With Your Tractor Loader Bucket – R2 Manufacturing

RjCorazza · Nov 18, 2017

Get the loader bucket remotely level and the edge tamers mentioned avove will work very well. I bought a set last year for other loader tasks.
When my driveway was gravel I used a rear blade backwards, which works ok. My ultimate solution was 600 feet of pavement.

blackd · Nov 18, 2017

I've tried them all and you already know the best solution, a front snow blade. Build one. Buy one, but get a front blade for the tractor. It will move more snow than the ATV, and won't mess with your back (at least near as much), as hanging anything on the back. Keep the FEL handy to move any piles later as/if they build up enough to be problem.

RoyJackson · Nov 18, 2017

I've got to agree with Stomper (the OP) on this.
For the nuisance snows (6" or less), my Gator with an Eagle plow did better than the tractor and snow blower...took less time too.
I've had tractors long enough to know a bucket isn't the best method...but if it's the only thing you've got...that's what you use.

Wet snow...heavy enough to stop an ATV or UTV...or accumulations >6" or so...that's when a snow blower shines.

Unfortunately, I sold that Eagle plow a couple years ago and, if I go for another plow, it'll be loader mounted to replace the QA bucket. I keep an eye on CL for one...