Quick Snow Plow Question Please

[Gadgetnut]

My angle broom (rotating brush) is out of commission... and I need to clear a long asphalt driveway of snow. Very naive question here folks, but I've never used the combo bucket to push snow on an asphalt driveway. The driveway has a very high quality finish and I don't want to scratch or gouge it. Is it just the leading edge of the bucket that will scratch the asphalt or does the bottom of the bucket also scratch if you keep the bucket on the road? Just wondering if I should keep the front edge up?

It's not much snow by your guys' definition-- about six inches today but it's a long driveway.

I was also thinking of gripping a 2 by 12 board in the combo bucket grip and using just the wood to sort of push the snow and clear the road without damaging it.

Any tips appreciated. Thanks.

 

[atgreene]

Just the cutting edge of the bucket should be touching the sidewalk. Just watch for the relief cuts in the sidewalks. You may need to level the bucket out slightly to avoid snubbing up on the cracks. Float works great for this, if you can let it ride on the concrete w/o catching the cuts.

 

[blueriver]

I don't get a lot of snow plowing here ... But I will tell you on my concrete hog floors, I always keep just the leading edge of the bucket on the concrete, a slight angle just to keep the brackets that attatch the bucket to the loader arms off the concrete ...THEY will scratch the heck out of my concrete, the leading edge cleans real nice...keep in mind I am comparing hog crap to snow crap!!!

 

[ndnewbie]

Wear your seatbelt. I caught an edge and found out that 7-10 mph is suprisingly fast if you come to an immediate stop. Tried to stick my head thru the roof.

 

[Gadgetnut]

Thank you all for your help. I will use all of your suggestions. So far, I'm using the combo bucket to scrape, and I practiced on the gravel roads first. I have pushed some snow off the asphalt but I don't feel like cutting down to the black, for fear of gouging it.

I live in a place with generally mild temperatures and this is the first time I've spent many hours in the ToolCat in the snow and cold. I'm very impressed with how comfortable the heated cab is and how good the visibility is-- the defroster works great and I can see the exact cutting edge of the combo bucket as it meets the ground. Very happy with the ToolCat today.

 

[Gadgetnut]

One more thing, Happy Holidays, Everyone!

 

[3Bladz]

Drive up and down the drive a couple times leaving tracks in different spots and it will pack the the snow to the asphalt and the blade prolly wont scrape through it unless you use down pressure.

 

[LBrown59]

Bet that cab is nice and warm when you are out doing this.
Or does the rig have a heater in it?

One more thing, Happy Holidays, Everyone!

 

[Gadgetnut]

The cab interior is heated and air conditioned. I like how the air vents above the dash direct warm air onto the windshield, which helped today with fogging. At the end of three hours my feet were a bit cold, but my feet were wet. For me, it's a very comfortable work environment. I use the A/C a bit in the summers while I'm mowing but I hadn't used the heat as much as I did today.

 

[LBrown59]

The cab interior is heated and air conditioned. I like how the air vents above the dash direct warm air onto the windshield, which helped today with fogging. At the end of three hours my feet were a bit cold, but my feet were wet. For me, it's a very comfortable work environment. I use the A/C a bit in the summers while I'm mowing but I hadn't used the heat as much as I did today.

That's very nice.