Snow Attachments Rear Blade Rubber

[chim]

..............How did you cut the tread portion off and keep a straight edge that sits flat on the ground? .........................I'm looking for a "squeegee-plow".....................

Circular saw with an abrasive blade. Face shield, a place outdoors and a good breeze help a lot. It'll smoke and throw hot little rubber bits. We punched the holes with a Piranha at work, but I think someone used a small holesaw as well.

The uneven blacktop and small mounds of concrete (remnants from old chain link fence posts) were always a problem until we went to the rubber edge. I think the best part is how it handles slushy material. These aren't very good pictures of the edge. They were taken to show the homebrew cab on the Montana we have at work.

EDIT TO ADD: The rubber tire tread looks almost as good as when it was first installed following a few years of use.

 

[jmc]

Thanks, chim. For some reason, I thought you would cut thru the sidewall, flush with the inside of the tread.

 

[chim]

To get a straight piece we cut the tread part from the sidewalls. The tread is what we used, and the scrap pieces were big rubber washer-shaped pieces similar to the ones they use to stabilize the big orange and white plastic traffic drums. The tread will lay flat when separated from the sidewalls.

I've seen huge tires that were cut into semicircular squeegees and used mostly on skid steers.

 

[NDBrad]

I have used a 1" thick piece of polyethylene attached to my steel blade for a couple of years now . I use it on my concrete drive and our private blacktop lane with no visible marking .
I was hesitant that it may become brittle in the cold and chip , but not the case .......
It cleans very well ......I just leave it on year round and even grade gravel areas also .

 

[coastie15078]

Their are several options. A lot of folks make their own out of horse mats, pipe or buy a commercial product. A lot of folks simply spin the blade backwards and run it that way.
Are you in an area that has a layer of snow/ice on the ground all winter or an area that has freeze thaw all winter and the roads are clear down to asphalt between storms?

I found skids or shoes that bolt on similar to a skid for a truck snow plow....my worry was catching the lip or edge of uneven concrete in my driveway

 

[RNeumann]

I found skids or shoes that bolt on similar to a skid for a truck snow plow....my worry was catching the lip or edge of uneven concrete in my driveway

The skid shoes work good if your ground is frozen all winter (mine is). But the first storm or two, before it freezes up, the shoes still dig.

 

[DJ54]

You may want to check around at local municipalities, Townships, County, or State garages that are known to use rubber plow blades. Check and see if they have any laying in the scrap pile, where they have put new blades on. They'll more than likely give one to you. Most plows they use are 10, or 11 foot plows. And, most generally on secondary roads, where there is a crown in the road, blades wear more on the left side, than on the right. I've seen them worn down to the moldboard on the left, yet 3" of good blade on the right. Cutting it at 7, or 8' should still give you 1-1/2 to 2" of good blade on the left side. That much should last for years on a tractor blade.

If they would happen to have 2 or 3 old ones in the scrap pile, and they will let you have them, snag on to them for future use.

 

[oosik]

My entire snow removal "weapon" could be called heavy. My Kubota M6040 with FEL mounted grapple, RimGuard loaded rear tires and heavy duty rear blade - it tips the grain scales, in town, at 10,100 pounds. The Rhino 950 rear blade weighs 1100 pounds.

I use this rear blade for snow removal on my mile long gravel driveway. Until the driveway freezes up, rock hard, I simply reverse the blade.

I have used this exact arrangement -- with the rear blade in its normal forward position - - on an asphalt driveway with absolutely no damage what-so-ever. I would say that if my 1100# rear blade will remove snow/ice from an asphalt driveway with no damage - your new rear blade - whatever it weighs - will do no damage either.

Now if I try using my rear blade - in a normal forward position - before the driveway is rock hard - - well, that's an all different matter. Crap and gravel will be flying everywhere.

If you are dealing with an asphalt driveway that is in good condition - your rear blade, in a normal forward position - WILL NOT damage the asphalt.

If the asphalt is potholed, crumbly or otherwise compromised - then you better reverse the rear blade. A rubber blade edge will damage a compromised asphalt driveway - just not as rapidly or adversely as your steel edge.

 

[psvines]

I used horse mat from TSC .
Longer bolts to bolt it in front of the existing cutting edge. I made mine to thick (hangs down about 4" below cutting edge and sometimes folds back under but still functions.
If I redesigned I would allow the material to only protrude 1 inch below steel cutting edge. Btw, use a box cutter to cut. Don't try the hard method as I did using an air cutoff wheel and just make a mess.
Box cutter with a sharp blade and several passes works fine.
I think there is a pic of another one somewhere on this site.

I did this 3 years ago but have only had the opportunity to use once. It seemed to work ok, far less gravel disturbed than before. It does require a block of wood underneath when parking to avoid compressing the mat.

 

[TheMan419]

To cut a sawzall works well. Just spray down the line you want to cut w soapy water.