Adding a plow skid bar

[SLM1294]

I have a dirt driveway and use a rear blade to plow snow. I have problems with the blade digging into the dirt, especially when the ground is not frozen. I have been using the top link set to the shortest length to minimize the agressiveness of the blade but it still is a problem. I have read through several threads here about this and priced out adding skid shoes to the plow. The skid shoes were very expensive ($200) and it seems the consensus is that they don't work very well. Adding a split pipe to the edge of the plow blade seemed like a good idea but hard to implement. What I came up with is sort of a combination. I got a 1.5" diameter solid steel bar and mounted it behind the blade about where the skid shoes would be except that the bar is the full length of the blade. By using the hydraulic top link I can tilt the blade to either sit back on the skid bar or on the blade and be more or less agressive. I have tried this out on the driveway and it seems to work well but am anxious to try it out on the snow next season.

I would be interested in other's opinions or experience on how well this should work.

View attachment 106015

 

[ragkar]

Last winter I went to plowsite.com (dedicated to snow plowing) and they convinced me that the very best cutting edge was polyeurethane. It wears slowly, cleans well and will not damage lawn if you happen to drive over it.
The glitch is that it's extremely expensive, like $300 for eight feet.

 

[SLM1294]

Looks like the photo did not work so here it is.

 

[Ford850]

That looks like a great solution. I have a similar problem with my gravel drive when using my FEL snow blade. I cannot use the blade in float position unless the drive has a layer of hard packed frozen snow on top of the gravel. I have skids on the blade but they sink into the soft drive if it's wet, and dive into the loose gravel if the drive is dry. My blade has a channel along the back so I would have to come up with a different way to mount the bar, but you have me thinking! Thanks.

 

[bigdad]

Check out the threads on gauge wheels. There are all kinds of photos etc.
I use 'em and they work great.

 

[herringchoker]

That's a great idea. I've been using a split pipe on my snow blower, but the pipe has worn pretty thin and should be replaced before snow flies. I may try to adapt your idea to the blower. At least I have a couple of weeks to figure it out.