Using snow blade with rubber edge

[MossyDell]

Inexperienced snow mover here who is dealing with snow in SW VA after two snowless winters in a row. So I'm also rusty. I need advice, ideally from folks who use a snow plow blade with a rubber edge on asphalt.

On my Kubota B2601, I have a B2672 front mount on my loader arms with a 5-foot snow blade. There’s a 1”+ thick rubber edge bolted to the blade that sticks down a couple inches. I manually change the blade angle, so on my to-do list is installing a front cylinder!

Yesterday I reversed the rubber edge because the edge I'd used during 2-3 winters was worn almost to the blade's steel. I'm unsure if this is typical wear from plowing my asphalt driveway or from plowing our daughter's and neighbors' gravel driveways. I think both. But my question is really about my own driveway because I've learned to keep the rubber 1-2" above gravel. Our asphalt is in decent condition but with some cracks, bumps, and patched places.

Our driveway is about 400' long and slopes up to the house at a 20%-plus angle. It takes a sharp turn toward the house at the top, and that curve is the steepest spot and the hardest to clear. Our little AWD cars wiggle going up with the slightest amount of snow. I suppose they'd do better with a snow pack, but delivery trucks wouldn't even attempt it. Ten days ago our propane delivery got aborted when the truck got stuck going up—after I'd plowed. I'd gotten the asphalt nicely clean, but afterward some white pines along the driveway dropped snow and ice. Just very thin patches in spots. And just in time for the truck to show up.

Given my driveway, am I correct in concluding I need to continue to use the rubber edge in contact with the asphalt and accept the resulting wear?

Second issue concerns technique—basically whether to use float or not. I haven't been and am not sure why. Whether I just forgot about it or didn't like the light front-end/steering issues. Maybe that was happening while plowing uphill. I only have 25 hp so can't move much going uphill, but I like to do a little to shorten the job slightly.

I've reviewed messages I saved from this forum and another on using float for plowing, and they were very divided and sometimes contradictory in the same message. The clearest recommendation I found was on Messick's YouTube channel on plowing with a bucket:

On asphalt, lower bucket to paving, level, put in float and scrape the surface clean.

On gravel, nudge bucket up a little and curl cutting edge up to keep from digging in.​

What do you think about float based on your experience and about using the rubber in contact with the asphalt?

 

[RjCorazza]

I do not float my front loader plow except when going through changes in pavement elevation. I set the plow down and raise the loader arms so that the weight of the plow is on the ground, but generally not the weight of the loader arms. Even with frequent adjustments, it's really not as hard as people seem to think it is.

The loader arm weight is going to wear a rubber edge quicker, plus you won't have the tendency for the loader arms remove weight off of the front tires. That's my opinion anyway.

I gave up on rubber edges years ago due to their poor scraping ability and fast wear. I've been using UHMW polyethylene edges front and rear with excellent results. Just as easy on the pavement as rubber, they last MUCH longer, and scrape almost the same as a steel edge. Downside is that they cost more than rubber... By quite a bit. My current front UHMW polyethylene edge has plowed about (150) 200' average length driveways, and shows very little wear.

 

[bmaverick]

What do you think about float based on your experience and about using the rubber in contact with the asphalt?

Not certain what tractor in your listing is doing the plow work.
If it's the JD970, you can use the typical PVC pipe with a long slit in it like many of us do for gravel driveways.

We just rip a thin slit with a circular saw and press it onto any blade,

The Nordic company takes regular PVC pipe, cut it, and then onto a mandrel to form it with a simple heat gun.
The result is,

This is from a PVC straight fence member you can get at home depot.

 

[MossyDell]

Not certain what tractor in your listing is doing the plow work.
If it's the JD970, you can use the typical PVC pipe with a long slit in it like many of us do for gravel driveways.

We just rip a thin slit with a circular saw and press it onto any blade,
View attachment 2235137

View attachment 2235138

The Nordic company takes regular PVC pipe, cut it, and then onto a mandrel to form it with a simple heat gun.
The result is,
View attachment 2235150

This is from a PVC straight fence member you can get at home depot.
View attachment 2235151

View attachment 2235152

Thank you, bmaverick! In the last picture, what is that yellow cutter, a home depot plastic board too?

 

[MossyDell]

I do not float my front loader plow except when going through changes in pavement elevation. I set the plow down and raise the loader arms so that the weight of the plow is on the ground, but generally not the weight of the loader arms. Even with frequent adjustments, it's really not as hard as people seem to think it is.

The loader arm weight is going to wear a rubber edge quicker, plus you won't have the tendency for the loader arms remove weight off of the front tires. That's my opinion anyway.

I gave up on rubber edges years ago due to their poor scraping ability and fast wear. I've been using UHMW polyethylene edges front and rear with excellent results. Just as easy on the pavement as rubber, they last MUCH longer, and scrape almost the same as a steel edge. Downside is that they cost more than rubber... By quite a bit. My current front UHMW polyethylene edge has plowed about (150) 200' average length driveways, and shows very little wear.

RJ, I appreciate all the info. The polyethelene edge sounds great! When you plow with it or when you used rubber, do you tilt the blade back at all (curl) to get a better cut or less wear on the edge?

 

[alexinPA]

I stopped using rubber edge on gravel. When in float (bucket or plow) it compress snow just like rolling it. Surface becomes hard and when it starts melting you get ice. I've been using rear plow with gauge wheels leaving ~2 inch. Soft snow gives me better traction than ice))

 

[RjCorazza]

RJ, I appreciate all the info. The polyethelene edge sounds great! When you plow with it or when you used rubber, do you tilt the blade back at all (curl) to get a better cut or less wear on the edge?

I set the plow at the desired curl, then cut the UHMW polyethylene edge to match the pavement with a table saw. Keeping a consistent curl during use maintains a crisp edge, and better scraping on pavement.

 

[chim]

Years ago at work we sliced a piece of tire to make a rubber edge for a rear blade from the tread part. After cutting holes to match the existing bolts it was clamped between the blade and the factory cutting edge. It was in use several years before I retired without being flipped due to wear.

It was especially handy because we had a variety of surfaces to deal with. Some gravel, a little concrete and fair amount of blacktop. The blacktop had some lumpy patches. The gravel was uneven and there were some placed where the top of a rock or the remains of an old concrete base were higher than the surrounding area. The rubber edge rode over things that hooked a plain blade.

 

[ruffdog]

My Snowsport plow has a 1" thick rubber edge and has hardly worn after many years. The plow is a floating design that doesn't have all that weight of the loader on it though.

 

[bmaverick]

My Snowsport plow has a 1" thick rubber edge and has hardly worn after many years. The plow is a floating design that doesn't have all that weight of the loader on it though.

Nice. And you are in my area too. We've had so little sn*w this year. Everyone to the south is getting slammed. -13F this morning too. ugh.