plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks!

   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #1  

Kubota Dave

New member
Joined
Aug 6, 2016
Messages
22
Location
Va
Tractor
B2650 HSD
finally got some snow and i got to use my manual adjusting land pride 72" QA snow blade! I always plow a few inches off the gravel road but the issue is i can not get past is hills. I can have it set perfectly but as soon as you start to go down hill it causes the plow to be down facing plowing into the driveway going up is the opposite. I have tried doing the float method and it still digs in. I have even used plow shoes. I always end up leaving way to much snow on the hills in my driveway and of course that is where your car is most likely to get stuck. I can't find any videos of people using a front plow on a gravel driveway with hills they all seem to have perfect level gravel drive ways.

On a flat level ground i don't have any issues. We don't get enough snow to practice much.

Been thinking about trying the cut PCV pipe on the plow.

I also have a rear mounted snow blower that works great for weight. I find that my front end gets light if i have a pile of snow in front.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #2  
I'm not sure how your plow is set up, but you miht try searching for threads mentioning "underslung plow". Trying to float the whole loader assembly generally does not work that well: there is just too much weight for it to follow varying terrain effectively. The underslung mount results in much lower weight floating, so it's easier for the plow to avoid digging in.

And yes, the PVC pipe works well, though tends to wear out quickly. I've seem people do the same with a steel pipe. They just weld a few tabs on the pipe to allow bolting it to the plow's cutting edge.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #3  
The factory ssqa loader mounted plows stick so far forward of the tractors front axle that even less than an inch will move the blade up and down 4-5 inches. The only work around is massive shoes or gauge wheels Also unless the center pivot bolts and system are real loose the ends will dig in on any left to right variance. The welded steel pipe on the cutting edge or a flexible rubber edge seem to be the best work arounds if your gravel isn't froze down good.I have one of that type blade and seldom use it unless we have has several storms and I need to push snow banks back or ever the edge of my driveway. My back blade and/or my bucket gets much more use then the ssqa blade or my blowers.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #4  
I use 1” schedule 80 PVC on the plow on my Farmall Cub. I just finished plowing a 4” snowfall with it today in fact. I plow our big gravel driveway around the barn, our small blacktop driveway by the house, and my aunts big blacktop driveway next door, by her house and barn.

I’ve done (4) 6” snowfalls earlier this winter, and the PVC wore thru after I finished our stone driveway today. I find that I really only need it when the ground is not well frozen. It was froze up real good now and there are no warm temperatures in the long range forecast so I should be good without it for a while.

I had hundreds of feet of 1” PVC in a pile out back but I gave most of it to a buddy to use as conduit for wiring his barn. I think I got enough left over to last a few more years.

To make the plow edge cover, I just cut thru one side of the pipe with my table saw, and drive it onto the blade edge with a hammer. It takes less than 5 minutes to replace.

IMG_3855.jpeg


The pipe really does a good job of keeping the driveway stones off of the lawn. Prior to using that, it would take me days to take all of the stones off of the yard every spring. Now I don’t even need to do that.
IMG_3855.jpeg

I also use that Cub plow for pushing up leaf piles in the late fall. The pipe needs to be removed for that job.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks!
  • Thread Starter
#5  
The factory ssqa loader mounted plows stick so far forward of the tractors front axle that even less than an inch will move the blade up and down 4-5 inches. The only work around is massive shoes or gauge wheels Also unless the center pivot bolts and system are real loose the ends will dig in on any left to right variance. The welded steel pipe on the cutting edge or a flexible rubber edge seem to be the best work arounds if your gravel isn't froze down good.I have one of that type blade and seldom use it unless we have has several storms and I need to push snow banks back or ever the edge of my driveway. My back blade and/or my bucket gets much more use then the ssqa blade or my blowers.

You are right about the ends digging in, I also have a 3 point rear blade that I have never tried to use. Seems like it would have the same issues as the front qa blade.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #6  
You are right about the ends digging in, I also have a 3 point rear blade that I have never tried to use. Seems like it would have the same issues as the front qa blade.
With a rear blade, just reverse it so the cutting edge is facing the rear. Then float the blade and drive forward. The weight of the blade will move snow, but it will skim over the gravel without moving it.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks!
  • Thread Starter
#7  
With a rear blade, just reverse it so the cutting edge is facing the rear. Then float the blade and drive forward. The weight of the blade will move snow, but it will skim over the gravel without moving it.

Do you guys think a rear blade works better than a front mounted one on a gravel driveway?

To me using the rear blade seems strange since you would run over the snow before plowing it and would also seem to have the same issues with digging in.

The front plow i have is a land pride B2673 72" i think they made a rubber edge for it.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #8  
Being it's on the loader you're going to have to be on the loader control all the time, whether go to float for a second then catch it to hold, or just pressure down or up to match the terrain. It'd be much like operating a dozer, you have to "feel" what your machine and blade are doing, it's not just ride & guide.

My foreman told me years ago, a good dozer operator's brains has to be in his a$$, because you have to feel what that machine is doing.

I put a pipe on my old Farmall A probably 20 years ago, does wonders to keep it from gouging in. The lift cylinder is a rigid mount, so on uneven areas of my drive I'm on the hydraulic control all the time. But after 20 years of operating a dozer it's just second nature to me.
 

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   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #9  
I like using the rear blade than front blade once driveway frozen,heavy snow front blade sometimes pushes tractor sideways rear blade doesn't.
 
   / plowing a uneven gravel driveway up hill and down really sucks! #10  
My foreman told me years ago, a good dozer operator's brains has to be in his a$$, because you have to feel what that machine is doing.
(y) Also heard that saying.
 

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