Driveway Markers

[Thomas]

HOLY SMOKES /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif..wouldn't want to head down your driveway after freezing rain storm,but plowing such a driveway sure could be fun..watching the snow roll down the steep left bank.

 

[snowman]

<font color=blue>When I plow, I can tell where I am by looking at the plowed area behind the plow blade, and then can see if I am on the gravel drive or off in the grass. In 34 years, has never been a problem knowing where I am plowing. Now a blower might be different, but even there, seems one can still see where the snow is blown away</font color=blue>

Beenthere - you're right about not needing markers if you have piles along the side of the road. With a blower, you generally don't end up with piles along the side that you can use as a future guide. The little "edging" that you do end up with is quickly smoothed out in any wind due to drifting.

I find it's actually harder to stay straight on the driveway when using the tractor versus driving the car up it due to the fact that you're going so slow (tractor vs car).

It's easy for me, at least, to unwittingly start veering off course. Most of my snow removal is at night, and, when you combine the dark with the blowing snow, I am constantly watching my wheels to make sure that I don't go off the edge.

My driveway doesn't have flat areas on either side of it. The front snowblower I have only raises up about five inches. If I were to slide off the driveway, I would easily get hung up and would have to pull the tractor out with a car. That happened to me about the second time I cleared the driveway; neighbor had to yank me out with his wheel loader.

If I plowed the driveway with a truck, I'd have alot less markers.

 

[snowman]

ByuBill

Your driveway picture makes me dizzy just looking at it!

At least if you slide off,it looks like you'll end up on the main road - I guess it's just 50/50 whether you'll end up on the tires or the roof.

 

[beenthere]

Wow, THAT"S a drive!

How about a pic of that drive assuming that you now have some snow on it from the recent storm?
I have a friend who has a similar drive (steep like that, and into the hillside, but no highway below and almost a mile long) and he used a rear (3pt) snowblower. He was scared to death because he couldn't steer it very well and had to be so close to the edge with the rear wheels. He traded up to a front mount snow blower (about 72") and now can see where he is going. Much happier, but expect one sorts out the timing when snow is plowed and when it isn't on a drive like this.

(Interesting that there isn't a bit more crown built into this drive to get water to run to the side ditches faster rather than picking a course down the drive)

 

[ByuBill]

<font color=blue>I guess it's just 50/50 whether you'll end up on the tires or the roof.
</font color=blue>

Yeah, it's never a problem getting out. Once you point it downhill, you're going./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif So far so good. It is hard to capture the steepness in a photo. Needless to say, I haven't gotten brave enough to remove any snow yet. Prob never will. Just park at the bottom and wait until most of it is gone. 'Subaru' what an amazing vechile.

 

[ByuBill]

<font color=blue>(Interesting that there isn't a bit more crown built into this drive to get water to run to the side ditches faster rather than picking a course down the drive)</font color=blue>

The photo is from almost a year ago and the drive was in the process of being rebuilt. It now slopes more toward the bank side with three culverts to get the water off toward the hwy side. If it were crowned in the middle a hard rain would wash out the hwy side. Try filling that in. /w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif..
Surprizingly,,, I have no snow, ice, or combination of the two. Everywhere around us, mostly to the east got hit pretty hard with ice and 4" or so of snow. /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif We got a little slush early Wed. then it turned to rain and rained all night with the temp around 35deg. We dodged the bullet this time. I see more is on the way for Tue and Wed. I guess that we will have to wait and see what happens. We haven't had a lot of snow here since the blizzard of '93'. I have managed to get in and out so far without any trouble. That is where the 'Subaru' really comes in handy. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

 

[Rch]

RobS, Boy, I agree with you. It gets worse the older they are and the more weathered they get.

 

[BigDave]

Wow !! /w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif I used to think my driveway was steep.

As far as markers, I use my wife. She zig-zags across the driveway/road marking the snow until she reaches the edge. I'm follow behind her in the tractor watching for where her tracks stopped. Only one of us can drive the tractor at a time. /w3tcompact/icons/grin.gif I'm a bad husband...I bought one 20K tractor instead of two 10K tractors. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif Our method wasn't perfect, since I always didn't lift the FEL before I pushed the pile of snow off the the driveway. See attachment.

 

[frank_f15]

GOOD LORD: WHICH SIZE CAT. DO U HAVE?/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif and i hope u don't get alot of snow. damm if that don't look like fun with the right equipt./w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

 

[frank_f15]

dave: i do the same thing, always slow to lift the fel, so always manage to take numerous divots out of the lawn, but can not get the wife to mark the drive way for me/w3tcompact/icons/frown.gif so i have to use markers(mostly for seeing where i am going when i come home from work) i asked the old girl to do that once and a lll she did was/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif /w3tcompact/icons/eyes.gif/w3tcompact/icons/shocked.gif. guess after 40 years she knows me better.