Snow Plowing Suggestions

[logan97]

only had last years experience with snow plowing. It started snowing today around noon and is accumulating fairly quickly, supposed to end around midnight. There is about 2" on the ground at the moment. ? should I forward back blade it now or wait till in the morning, later this afternoon ? Our Driveway is fairly steep toward the top. last 1500' or so 4224' total the forecast is for 4 to 5"

last year we had 18 to 30" so I did not have to be concerned about doing damage to our road. Our blade does not have shoes, I do not want to damage the work and expense that was done earlier in the year. I have considered doing a little at the top and just using the tracks from our FWD car for the rest. As always,Thanks in advance for any and all Replies.

 

[RoyJackson]

Your B7800 should be able to handle 4-5 inches of dry powdery snow with no problems. Wet stuff might be a problem, especially in steeper sections.

It's strictly a judgement call based upon your experience...and the only way you'll get that experience is by doing.

So, to be safe, I suggest you go out now and see how that plowing goes...

BTW, with almost 3/4 of a mile to plow (thats a lot!!!!), you really out to consider a plow for your truck. And, if you really want to do it with your Kubota, consider chains.

Good luck and be safe!

 

[leonz]

Logan you need to worry more about visibility
and your reaction time more than anything else
right now.

About your rear blade, as you have no shoes for
it, nor was it not designed to wear shoes or
galoshes you can do one thing which works
wonders for snow blowers and is an easy fix;


If you do your own maintenance and repairs-


Adding some angle iron and a pair or 2 pair of Pneumatic
casters to the back side of the blade will solve that
issue for you forever, and if you use the blade to
move dirt you can simply flip them upside down out
of the way if the mount is bolted in place.


Another option that will work well is a pair of plow skid
shoes and the attaching weldments for them.
They skid shoes use washers to regulate the depth of the
plow blade on the pavement.

 

[Thomas]

4" w/blade angle you shouldn't have problem.
If you have the time and don't mind just go slow and try keep blade 1/2" or so above surface,than travel over surface to pack which might help in saving your work.

 

[beenthere]

only had last years experience with snow plowing. It started snowing today around noon and is accumulating fairly quickly, supposed to end around midnight. There is about 2" on the ground at the moment. ? should I forward back blade it now or wait till in the morning, later this afternoon ? Our Driveway is fairly steep toward the top. last 1500' or so 4224' total the forecast is for 4 to 5"

last year we had 18 to 30" so I did not have to be concerned about doing damage to our road. Our blade does not have shoes, I do not want to damage the work and expense that was done earlier in the year. I have considered doing a little at the top and just using the tracks from our FWD car for the rest. As always,Thanks in advance for any and all Replies.

Lots of variables that we don't know about, for a very good answer.
Drive surface is one, and ground temps is another.
But experience is the best teacher, and just work at it (slow as mentioned) and correct what doesn't work well for you. But above all, enjoy the seat time. :cool2:

 

[logan97]

Lots of variables that we don't know about, for a very good answer.
Drive surface is one, and ground temps is another.
But experience is the best teacher, and just work at it (slow as mentioned) and correct what doesn't work well for you. But above all, enjoy the seat time. :cool2:

ground temp at the moment is fairly warm ( not frozen) the rest of the week low 30's daytime, low teens at night. It will be frozen by morning and the rest of the week. Drive surface is gravel (crusher run) & some #57 1" granite. Just spoke with a long time local his advice was to do nothing. I'm thinking I will wait until morning if the car doesn't make it out or up I will deal with it then.

 

[beenthere]

I agree, if crusher run, then do nothing but drive on it. Let the snow melt in and hopefully freeze (if you are lucky and real lucky if it stays frozen). Then drop the blade and go. Nice thing when I had gravel was the blade would roll out some "dust" from the gravel and give a good surface with some traction.
But until it was frozen, I did very little snow removal (held high if at all).

 

[number two]

You can use the blade on your unfrozen drive if you turn the blade around and pull it backwards so it won't dig in.Good Luck!

 

[harpoonalt]

I have a crushed slate driveway and hate the first snowfalls when the ground is soft. I go backwards with the convex side of the plow doing the plowing so it won't dig in. I've tried keeping the blade up but I'm not that patient. I plow the stuff so the pile is still on the driveway. Later after the ground is frozen I pile just snow up and over the banks. That way in the spring, all the driveway material just drops back in the driveway. Takes a bit more time, but come spring I'm glad I did it.
Sometimes, just packing down small snowstorms is your best option. Experiment and find what works best for you. Always like pictures

 

[AceDeuce]

ground temp at the moment is fairly warm ( not frozen) the rest of the week low 30's daytime, low teens at night. It will be frozen by morning and the rest of the week. Drive surface is gravel (crusher run) & some #57 1" granite. Just spoke with a long time local his advice was to do nothing. I'm thinking I will wait until morning if the car doesn't make it out or up I will deal with it then.

Even though your vehicle may be capable of negotiating your drive in some snow I would consider plowing; here's why--- Here in VA we typically get 24hr freeze/thaw cycles. Freeze at night, thaw during the day. In these conditions any snow that falls will partially melt during the day and refreeze at night, but then it becomes a sheet of solid ice instead of snow that you can actually get some traction on. Now it cannot be removed unless you have a jackhammer. It also takes longer to melt than it would otherwise. Later on in the winter with lower temperatures you could be setting yourself up for a real problem. A few winters ago I couldn't use my driveway for 3 weeks because it was completely locked up with ice. The back blade didn't even make a mark in the surface.

In my experience your best bet with a gravel surface is to reverse back blade going downhill. Position the blade so the CONVEX side is facing away from the rear of the tractor (just like you would if you were pulling a pile of dirt with it). Angle it off to one side and drive in reverse, going downhill if possible, pushing the snow with the back side of the blade. It worked great for me for years until I paved my driveway. The reversed curve allows the blade to ride up and over the gravel while the weight of the blade is usually enough to cut down through the snow and move it off to the side. The pile of snow that builds up behind the blade also helps keep the blade down, so don't unload it unless you lose traction. The thin film of snow left behind will completely melt the next time the temps are above freezing.

 

[Baby Grand]

Some folks on here have slit a PVC pipe lengthwise and slid it over their cutting edge to keep the cutting edge from digging in too much. Others have used a section of 6" drive belt clamped between the moldboard and cutting edge to act as a squegee. I didn't have any such belt, so I cut up and used an old tire tread to the same effect. Works great. Depending on material thickness, you may need longer plow bolts to get the cutting edge back on.
-Jim

 

[radioman]

IMHO, you should be out there already with the backblade swung backbards so its curved backwards. You want a thin layer of snow on the drive, but need to remove most of the snow to remove the "blanket" so the driveway will freeze better. snow is a great insulator, if you keep driving, the drivway will be bumpy from packed down snow where tirs go. Once the driveway is frozen, you can turn BB around so it facing right way and scrape snow right down to the ice on driveway to make it smooth.