Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Grading snow

[Dirtnut]

I had a thought today after seeing a what the @#$$%%^^&* are you doing look on a passerbys face today. Does anyone else do this? Every year i grade the first few snow falls (depending on how many inches fall at one time)to prepare a 6" hard smooth base on my gravel/dirt lane for plowing & blowing snow through the winter.My lane is 900 feet long with a gentle slope so i can get away with this even if it gets icy.However i do clean it bare at the intersection to the private dirt road so stopping is not a problem.I also keep it bare at the house to.Most people that see me do this probably think i am an idiot but it really works great. I can fly when plowing, rolling the snow way back,try that on gravel & you will break something real quick. It also eliminates gravel/rocks in the snow blower. It is just like grooming trails for snowmobiles.

 

[Johndeere3720]

I would do that but my moms car wouldnt like the idea to much.

 

[Thomas]

Dirtnut.
I've heard leveling driveway as such but never seen driveway done as such,my only concern would plowing,for if the cutting blade should dig in while plowing at 3-5mph might cause damage etc.

 

[Couple of Achers]

I do the same thing. It was tough this year since the ground was not frozen, and our first snow fall was 12". I raised the blower as high as I could on the skid shoes which left a good inch of snow. Then I turned my rear blade around and pulled it backwards to smooth out the remaining snow. Once this freezes it will make a very good base for the rest of the winter and my gravel will remain in place.

 

[Tig]

We had snow and then rain yesterday. This morning I had 4 to 6" of slop and slush clumps. I back dragged my 600m lane to flatten out the ruts and slush.
No sense is trying to clean it. I just keep it passable until I get a good freeze to lock down the gravel and build a snow base.

 

[brandoro]

I don't grade it but do try to pack down the first snowfall to keep the blower out of the stones. This year the first snow was about perfect, 3-4" and fairly heavy so it packed in nice, I back dragged it with the FEL set at a shallow angle. don't know if anyone witnessed that operation or not. Then most of it melted, we barely have a ground cover now. As long as I have enough packed in for the blower to ride on without digging in the smoothness improves with each snow.

 

[Dirtnut]

Johndeere3720 all of our vehicles & everything else we have is four wheel drive so no problem there.
Thomas the snow/ice gets like concrete never had any issues in 15 years on the hardpack but the plow does jump around alot & trips on the rough frozen gravel which i have to plow slowly this is why i started grading the snow.
Couple of Achers yeh i know what you mean, luckily my ground has a couple inches of frost. We had 6'' of snow with some rain afterwards it made it so wet when the wife drove through it she left 6" ruts.I had to wait til today after it refroze to grade it & smooth it up.

 

[RobS]

I do this too, though maybe not as intentionally as the OP. My biggest problem is during the melt. How do you handle the inevitable mess?

 

[Dirtnut]

I do this too, though maybe not as intentionally as the OP. My biggest problem is during the melt. How do you handle the inevitable mess?

Well it actually isnt that bad depending on how fast it melts.once it starts to melt i scrape off one slush layer at a time, usually an 1" or 2" or what ever slushes up during the day, then it refreezes at knight i repeat this til it gets close to the gravel then let it go til mud season is over.Then i need to grade the mud ruts out it is a never ending process the spoils of living in the boonies.

 

[NuBota]

...Then i need to grade the mud ruts out it is a never ending process the spoils of living in the boonies.

C'mon - good seat time!

Would love to have enough snow to have this problem....

 

[Dirtnut]

C'mon - good seat time!

Would love to have enough snow to have this problem....

I get plenty of seat time i am a heavy equipment operator by trade. Im not complaining it is nice this year to go out and work in a nice warm cab i built for my tractor & yes we do get a good bit of snow up here.

 

[Reg]

I don't GRADE, but I do print R4 pattern, shift over about 15 inches and repeat.
After 3 or 4 passes the strips are all joined together and I have a pattern that provides traction even if it does thaw and re-freeze.
I use the bucket and rear blade to remove most of what falls after that.

 

[JDGreenGrass]

I do this too, though maybe not as intentionally as the OP. My biggest problem is during the melt. How do you handle the inevitable mess?

I too think that building a base makes for a nice winter driveway. But, 6 inches is too much. As RobS describes above... when the melt comes it's heck to pay if your base is too thick. It creates divots and potholes and allows a lot of water to sit with no place to go.

I strive for an inch or 2 but sometimes mother nature doesn't agree in early winter. However, by January at the latest my base is right where I want it.

Right now I have the perfect base. About an inch with a few spots showing gravel but, the ground is well frozen and I am not chunking any gravel off the surface of the driveway.

 

[beenthere]

Making a snow pack would be perfect (IMO) if the daily high temps would stay below 25 degree F. I like a winter like that, and when I had a gravel drive I liked it even better.

But in a normal winter, that doesn't happen in Southern WI. So the freezing and thawing makes a mess of the nice snow pack, and as mentioned, it gets ruts and potholes and upon re-freezing can throw the car around (not so bad if it is me and expecting it, but for guests unfamiliar with the ruts and ice -- not so good).

 

[tugboat-2]

Been snowing, raining then snowing like mad with high winds the past couple days and nights. So haven't bothered to plow. Waiting for the wind to die.

However, had to go out tonight for the annual "Tractor-Parade-Of-Lights" and it was difficult getting out the lane even with my 4X4 truck. So I'll have to fire up the tractor and plow us out tomorrow.

I like plowing at 3 in the morning when the wind dies and there's minimal traffic out at the road,..but so far the wind just won't quit.

The ("Night-time") Tractor Parade was fantastic,..as usual! Police shut down roads in and out of town,(Rockwood) (main highway) for couple hours and a well organized, carefully chosen selection of farmers and equipment make up a very popular and well attended parade. (4000 people last year)

Tractors, combines, new and antique, crop sprayers, grain carts, manure spreaders and hay wagons etc. All beautifully decorated with lights and music and each unit carries (at least) one portable generator to power the lights, the music and to turn things that are normally powered by the PTO. Some PTO's are used but safety is a prime concern so all that normally moving stuff is disconnected so accidents can't happen. Clowns and other folk big and small ride in manure spreaders and grain carts and things that have been made safe for the event. (Oh yes, snow blowers spin and grain swathers turn and all these things are wound with lights but I believe they spin 'em with electric motors and slippable belts,...just in case).

Hay wagons carry live country bands with square dancers and a caller and cloggers doing their stuff to music. They all carry neat signs telling what the equipment is and who the farm family or farmer is that did all the work of decorating and making the machine safe. (But absolutely NO commercial advertising allowed!) The only threat to bystanders would be the skid steer, highly decorated, mainly with lights, sound and hundreds of balloons to make it seem like just a big baloon "ball" and the operator has been carefully checked out along with his machine for safety. As he makes his way along the route he is spinning and doing figure eights etc but has a walking-escort of firemen on both sides of the road to keep the kids and people safely back when the spinning is going on.

The final entry is a huge combine (biggest I've seen) (JD of course) with a small balcony built out the front over the colourfully lit corn head, and standing out on the balcony with a loudspeaker is Santa and Mrs Claus waving and shouting good wishes while throwing candies. That big unit has so many lights you can scarcely see what it is,...just beautiful and with its sound system etc it carries two portable generators. The operator sits in the dark cab doing his job carefully with a walking look-out on each side of the cornhead, while Mr & Mrs Claus do the "carefree" entertaining from the balcony,...very nice!

Police, Firemen and Police horses add to the show but the folk are pretty well behaved and mostly country folk,...although they have begun bussing folks out from the surrounding cities as it gains popularity. I noticed flood lights and filming up the way, so perhaps DVD's or You-Tubes will be available soon? Not sure.

The local churches open their kitchens and sell coffee, hot chocolate and such as hot bacon on a bun and bowls of hot chillie etc. Tonight was wild with the extremely cold winds and driving snow, but the crowds did not seem diminished from last year,...so if the weather can't stop the farmers, it can't keep the people away either!!! It HAS to be dark to appreciate the work of all the lights!

So anyway it may be a tad early but it's coming fast so I'll take this opportunity to wish "ALL" you TBNers, guys and gals where ever you may live,...not just in Canada and the USA, but.."ALL"-over-the-world,.....I wish you "ALL" a very MERRY CHRISTMAS with Peace and Joy in 2010 !!!..........GOD BLESS !!!

CHEERS !
. . tug

 

[smfcpacfp]

I don't have a grader on my tractor when I snow blow. If I had a 6" hard base, it would be OK until the spring thaw and then I would have 6" of slush which would make it difficult for anything but a 4WD to get up my driveway, and it would slow the melting process.

I grade my gravel drive with my blower to about a 1" base. M skid plates are as low as they can go. I raise the blower off the ground a bit the first snow to clear the gravel. It seldom gets above the freezing point from mid November to mid March, so I don't need much base.

 

[jimmyj]

I also make a snow pack to hold the gravel down. I either drive over it a bunch of times or back blade it with the tractor and or ATV. Yes, it makes it icy if we get some thaw-freezes but I sand it if I have to. But, to me that is well worth it vs getting all of the gravel plowed or blown up onto the lawn.

There is nothing cooler when it's really cold than a perfectly smooth, pure white hard packed snow lane with neat crisp banks on either side. (OK, so I'm obsessive but it's cool. I also use the box blade to "smooth" a snow road all the way to the forest)

 

[Dirtnut]

The reason for a 6" base is because my drive is lower than the sides so this levels everything up.One thing that you might be forgetting and may be differant in my area is frost.When the ground freezes the snow pack on top stays hard due to the insulating of the snow,so only the top few inches ever thaw at one time with daylight.

 

[Dirtnut]

I also make a snow pack to hold the gravel down. I either drive over it a bunch of times or back blade it with the tractor and or ATV. Yes, it makes it icy if we get some thaw-freezes but I sand it if I have to. But, to me that is well worth it vs getting all of the gravel plowed or blown up onto the lawn.

There is nothing cooler when it's really cold than a perfectly smooth, pure white hard packed snow lane with neat crisp banks on either side. (OK, so I'm obsessive but it's cool. I also use the box blade to "smooth" a snow road all the way to the forest)

My thoughts exactly (great minds think alike) and i thought i was obsessive.

 

[Tig]

I find that my ice base fades as the winter goes on. The February sun sublimates the ice. Salt and dirt break it down. Our big thaw is usually in mid March, by then the base is all but gone.