Soft snow plow edges for asphalt

[WinterDeere]

I'm back to my annual fight and frustration with plowing my asphalt driveway without destruction.

Equipment: Loader mounted plow (Frontier 72") on Deere 3033R

OEM edge: hardened steel 1/2" x 4" x 72" affixed with 6 carriage bolts



(Note Woods SB64S has since been sold, didn't really need it for this tractor.)

Ran this plow with factory edge the first year with the factory "inverted mushroom" shoes set to leave the plow 1/4" above the surface. Worked great for removing snow and the ice and slush we so often get in eastern PA, but it absolutely tore the hell out of my previously-smooth driveway. Issue is that we're a little hilly and slopey around here, so while driveway is smooth, it ain't flat. Plow edge would dig into asphalt any place that crowning put the edge on the drive before the shoes. Also had issues with corners of the plow edge digging into asphalt in some of the sloped tight turns.

Switched last year to a 1" x 4" x 72" polyurethane edge, affixed in place using a 1/4" x 2" x 72" stainless bar and the original carriage bolt holes:




Kept shoes set near that same 1/4" height, and this worked fine for snow, but just skidded over anything frozen. Was a real problem in one or two of our storms where precip alternated between snow and freezing rain (not uncommon, here).

Tried raising shoes to put the rubber hard on the ground, but the rubber just flexed up in-between each bolt location, to where it was wearing quickly at the bolts and leaving ice/sluch between:



It just never worked well, although maybe I gave up on it too soon. Adding more bolts might have improved it, but I feared the 1" thick too-soft edge would always just slip over anything frozen, and so it wasn't worth punching more holes in my plow to test that theory.

This year I ordered a 3/4" x 4" x 72" strip of UHMW, which I hope will be a happy compromise. I've heard varying opinions on what to do with the shoes and cutting edge height. I do believe that running completely shoe-less might be a good way to break the UHMW edge off if I hit anything less than flat (like the hard seam between my driveway and street), so that's probably not worth trying.

Am I on the right track? How do you folks run your skid shoes with UHMW edges?

Driveway is glassy smooth asphalt topcoated every 3rd year for decades. It's lumpy, it has some cracks, but it slippy smooth. Street (which I also plow across at end of my driveway) is oiled chipped every 3rd year so about as rough and abrasive a surface as you'll ever encounter. Think the asphalt version of coarse sandpaper.

 

[John0829]

No experience with the UHMW but I can tell you the rubber edges are a waste of money. Years ago it was decided to installed one on a Cat grader I used for clearing roads, parking lots, etc. and I can tell you all it did was slick em' up and made it much worse than if the snow had been left in place. The rubber went into the trash pile and the regular cutting edges put back quicker than you can say ice.

 

[ruffdog]

You are finding out the big drawback of a loader mounted plow. Your plow has no float mechanism built into it so you either position the FEL or float the FEL. The geometry of the FEL does not do a good job of floating and adds a bunch of down pressure to the plow (weight of loader arms), hence the edge problem and damage to driveway. You can't just position the FEL because with the undulating surface it will dig in at times.

This is why some people modify the set-up so the plow is more rearward and it has its own float mechanism built in.

 

[ThunderChop]

I have a long asphalt driveway and use my loader & bucket to facilitate snow removal. Have been using a piece of composite decking scraps (Azek is thicker) carriage bolted to the underside of the bucket....works great for snow removal but ice not so much. Does not scratch or gouge the asphalt and is cost effective/durable.

 

[WinterDeere]

No experience with the UHMW but I can tell you the rubber edges are a waste of money. Years ago it was decided to installed one on a Cat grader I used for clearing roads, parking lots, etc. and I can tell you all it did was slick em' up and made it much worse than if the snow had been left in place. The rubber went into the trash pile and the regular cutting edges put back quicker than you can say ice.

Yeah, this is exactly what I'm finding! Shame, this big slab of polyurethane was not real cheap, if I recall. I think it could work fine for our friends out west, but in the frozen messes we routinely see here in the mid-Atlantic, they're definitely not the best solution.

You are finding out the big drawback of a loader mounted plow. Your plow has no float mechanism built into it so you either position the FEL or float the FEL. The geometry of the FEL does not do a good job of floating and adds a bunch of down pressure to the plow (weight of loader arms), hence the edge problem and damage to driveway. You can't just position the FEL because with the undulating surface it will dig in at times.

Definitely. I get away with floating this loader, it's heavy enough that my tractor doesn't try to "walk up" on it until the snow gets real deep and heavy, at which point I have to set it. Setting it works better than you imply though, because there's still an inch or three of play in the whole thing to ride over small bumps when it's set right. Not perfect, but workable.

This is why some people modify the set-up so the plow is more rearward and it has its own float mechanism built in.

Never thought of this, but I like it! You're talking about still using the JDQA or SSQA, but rolling them forward and welding new mounts that put the plow behind the bucket pivots of the loader? I guess another option would be to just get a tractor-mounted plow, but I really though my days of fighting with mounting/unmounting those were over.

I have a long asphalt driveway and use my loader & bucket to facilitate snow removal. Have been using a piece of composite decking scraps (Azek is thicker) carriage bolted to the underside of the bucket....works great for snow removal but ice not so much. Does not scratch or gouge the asphalt and is cost effective/durable.

Used to do this, but it required more than a dozen trips up/down the driveway to get it all, the way snow spills off both edges of the bucket, once full. The bucket did a great job, but the tilted plow is just so much more efficient, and has less of a "walk-up" problem with a floating loader than any bucket filled with heavy snow.

 

[RjCorazza]

Nothing will peel up ice like a steel edge. The best compromise I have found is a thick UHMW polyethylene edge. It scrapes better than rubber or polyurethane, but still not as well as steel. I continue to use UHMW commercially for the zero marks or damage.

It is important to get the bevel correct on the edge, and keep the plow adjusted to maintain a crisp edge. My edges are 1.25" thick and mounted with regular bolts and large flat washers... No issues.

 

[WinterDeere]

Nothing will peel up ice like a steel edge. The best compromise I have found is a thick UHMW polyethylene edge. It scrapes better than rubber or polyurethane, but still not as well as steel. I continue to use UHMW commercially for the zero marks or damage.

It is important to get the bevel correct on the edge, and keep the plow adjusted to maintain a crisp edge. My edges are 1.25" thick and mounted with regular bolts and large flat washers... No issues.

Excellent. Thanks! I was planning to use the same stainless steel bar (1/4" x 2" x 72") I had made for clamping on the polyurethane, shown in the last three photos of my post #1 above. But the UHMW edge I ordered is only 3/4" thick, as that had been recommended for this size machine a few places. Do you think I should have gone thicker, or should I be good enough with 3/4" on a 33 hp machine weighing around 5500 lb?

Also, how do you set your skid shoes? Flush to edge, and then let the bevel develop naturally, or is there a procedure to get the edge beveled?

(Here's where I imagine Corazza driving up and down his driveway in reverse with UHMW plow edge dragging on asphalt)

 

[ruffdog]

I would use nyloc nuts and not over tighten the bolts too.

 

[RjCorazza]

Excellent. Thanks! I was planning to use the same stainless steel bar (1/4" x 2" x 72") I had made for clamping on the polyurethane, shown in the last three photos of my post #1 above. But the UHMW edge I ordered is only 3/4" thick, as that had been recommended for this size machine a few places. Do you think I should have gone thicker, or should I be good enough with 3/4" on a 33 hp machine weighing around 5500 lb?

Also, how do you set your skid shoes? Flush to edge, and then let the bevel develop naturally, or is there a procedure to get the edge beveled?

(Here's where I imagine Corazza driving up and down his driveway in reverse with UHMW plow edge dragging on asphalt)

I think a 3/4" thick edge is going to wear faster than I would like. My machine is comparable in weight to yours, but my plow may be heavier. I keep the weight of the plow (535 lbs) on the pavement, and do not float the FEL. There is a little vertical slop in my plow that makes it possible, and it also had 5 degrees of side to side free movement.
I don't use the skid shoes at all. As far as the edge angle, yes... I did run it in on my previous polyurethane edge by driving it on the road. I tried the same with the UHMW polyethylene edge, and it just was not happening. I ended up cutting the bevel on a table saw based on the small corner angle that running it on the street made... worked perfect.
I am very careful to keep the same loader curl to keep the correct angle on the edge. I put a large magnetic level on the plow frame this fall, but the tractor itself must be on a level surface to be useful. Easier to just eyeball the plow frame.

 

[thclimer]

I'm back to my annual fight and frustration with plowing my asphalt driveway without destruction.

Equipment: Loader mounted plow (Frontier 72") on Deere 3033R

OEM edge: hardened steel 1/2" x 4" x 72" affixed with 6 carriage bolts

View attachment 770796 View attachment 770797

(Note Woods SB64S has since been sold, didn't really need it for this tractor.)

Ran this plow with factory edge the first year with the factory "inverted mushroom" shoes set to leave the plow 1/4" above the surface. Worked great for removing snow and the ice and slush we so often get in eastern PA, but it absolutely tore the hell out of my previously-smooth driveway. Issue is that we're a little hilly and slopey around here, so while driveway is smooth, it ain't flat. Plow edge would dig into asphalt any place that crowning put the edge on the drive before the shoes. Also had issues with corners of the plow edge digging into asphalt in some of the sloped tight turns.

Switched last year to a 1" x 4" x 72" polyurethane edge, affixed in place using a 1/4" x 2" x 72" stainless bar and the original carriage bolt holes:


View attachment 770802 View attachment 770799

Kept shoes set near that same 1/4" height, and this worked fine for snow, but just skidded over anything frozen. Was a real problem in one or two of our storms where precip alternated between snow and freezing rain (not uncommon, here).

Tried raising shoes to put the rubber hard on the ground, but the rubber just flexed up in-between each bolt location, to where it was wearing quickly at the bolts and leaving ice/sluch between:

View attachment 770803

It just never worked well, although maybe I gave up on it too soon. Adding more bolts might have improved it, but I feared the 1" thick too-soft edge would always just slip over anything frozen, and so it wasn't worth punching more holes in my plow to test that theory.

This year I ordered a 3/4" x 4" x 72" strip of UHMW, which I hope will be a happy compromise. I've heard varying opinions on what to do with the shoes and cutting edge height. I do believe that running completely shoe-less might be a good way to break the UHMW edge off if I hit anything less than flat (like the hard seam between my driveway and street), so that's probably not worth trying.

Am I on the right track? How do you folks run your skid shoes with UHMW edges?

Driveway is glassy smooth asphalt topcoated every 3rd year for decades. It's lumpy, it has some cracks, but it slippy smooth. Street (which I also plow across at end of my driveway) is oiled chipped every 3rd year so about as rough and abrasive a surface as you'll ever encounter. Think the asphalt version of coarse sandpaper.

Without a very flat surface its going to be challenging to get all the slush/ice off your driveway. However, a big benefit of a driveway is the ability to apply a ice melting compound like salt or its variants. On a driveway a little salt can go a long way as it melts the ice and spreads across the surface to melt other areas.

Are you applying any salt after you clear the driveway?