Snow Snow removal strategy

[whitegs]

Hello all,

I am about to use my BX2660 with rear blade to try and plow my long narrow gravel driveway. It is pretty twisty, and is pretty hilly. I have never used a blade before, and wonder if anyone can suggest any hints such as blade angle, plowing pattern etc. The driveway is about 1 1/2 car widths wide and maybe 1/8 to 1/4 mile long.

Thanks.

Doc

 

[psvines]

Two weeks ago I cleared my driveway and the private road it is on, about 1/4 gravel and tar and chip. The snow depth was 24", and had been driven on a couple of times by a large 4x4 lifted Jeep.
With that depth, I quickly realized it would take many passes to clear enough for the cars to be able to drive on it, and that I would never clear it completely.
Using the FEL I pushed the snow for maybe 10 yards, then with the rear blade slightly angled, would reverse to push the remaining snow to the side. Each 10 yard stretch required these steps multiple times. I also used the blade as I traveled forward, usually with a greater angle. I probably got at least 5 hours seat time both Saturday and Sunday.

Next time I'll head outdoors as soon as the snow is 5-6" and not wait until it is 2 feet.

Others have said be careful pushing rearward with the blade; you don't want to hit anything hard and damage the arms. The snow was still fluffy when I pushed it. I would not do it now as the remains have frozen.

Have fun and good luck.


BX2660, FEL, 5' rear blade, R4 tires.

 

[radioman]

How wide is the back blade ? The width does make a difference. IF you have a 5 to 6 footer, then you are all set. You will want to angle it as much as you can, but with a 6 footer you might need to be less agressive in angle. If you haven't established a snowbase on the gravel drive, turn the blade backwards so its curved out and just drive forward to clear snow. You may want to collect all the chains you have around your garage and hang it on your back blade for more down pressure. The extra weight will help when you lift on the 3pt and transfer more weight on the rear tires for traction. With fluffy stuff, go in high and do it before it gets more then 6 inches for best results.

Once you establish the snowbase on driveway, you can turn the blade around so it can cut and you can keep driveway flat as possible. you will need to experiment with the toplink to prevent excessive cutting.

 

[bstrom]

Mine is working better pushing deep snow backwards this year since I got loaded tires and good chains on the rear. Sometimes carrying a load of snow in the loader bucket helps give your front wheels traction when pushing backwards too, as long as you have loaded rears.

You've got enough horsepower, it's the weight that might be an issue with getting traction.

 

[dex3361]

Two weeks ago I cleared my driveway and the private road it is on, about 1/4 gravel and tar and chip. The snow depth was 24", and had been driven on a couple of times by a large 4x4 lifted Jeep.
With that depth, I quickly realized it would take many passes to clear enough for the cars to be able to drive on it, and that I would never clear it completely.
Using the FEL I pushed the snow for maybe 10 yards, then with the rear blade slightly angled, would reverse to push the remaining snow to the side. Each 10 yard stretch required these steps multiple times. I also used the blade as I traveled forward, usually with a greater angle. I probably got at least 5 hours seat time both Saturday and Sunday.

Next time I'll head outdoors as soon as the snow is 5-6" and not wait until it is 2 feet.

Others have said be careful pushing rearward with the blade; you don't want to hit anything hard and damage the arms. The snow was still fluffy when I pushed it. I would not do it now as the remains have frozen.

Have fun and good luck.


BX2660, FEL, 5' rear blade, R4 tires.

This is exactly how I do it.

 

[NuBota]

Plenty on here will have better advice than I do since my driveway is asphalt.

But this past snow, we had ~18" so I did my 300' dirt trail down into the woods to my shed. I have skid shoes on my RB and set them so the cutting edge was about a 1/2" above the ground. This worked real well.

I also pushed with the back of the blade and it worked very well too

 

[harpoonalt]

I did my neighbors driveway which sounds like yours,only shorter. It was 400 or so feet of narrow uphill and curvy drive. I agree about using the convex side of the blade until you have a base. Then just drop the rear blade at a sharp angle and go full speed. The problem is that once the banks get high the snow has no where to go. To solve that I used the front loader and cut the banks back.Another way is to use the back blade to pull the excess roadside snow into the middle and loader it out of the way.It also helps to plow off the road in strategic spots to have a place to push all the excess snow. Be careful when putting your wheels into the banks as they have a habit off sucking you right off the road. Catch it soon enough and you can use the loader to get yourself out. More weight on the blade helps along with loaded tires and a rear light. You'll learn a lot just by doing it. have fun!

 

[bp fick]

Between plowing out three drives and the lane that connects them, I clear well over a 1/4 mile of two car width. While I push with front blade on my BX, many of the principles would apply, as they are general, common sense things.

Agree on getting to it during the snow. As soon as there is 5", have at it. I find that hitting it fast every 5 inches is much better than waiting until the snow is over. You will find you can really carry speed when it is just 5". If you have to go over it three times, so be it. Quick work. In the end, you'll use less fuel by doing 3 quick passes of light work, rather than waiting for the storm to end and have to deal with enormous, heavy snow depths.

I try to nudge the outer edge just as far as I can on the very first push. I don't want to hem myself in for later pushes. You can pull with the blade reversed until your base is well established. A edge pipe is also a good idea for loose gravel and works wonders. Where you have open areas, grass, turn-a-rounds and such, really push the snow back there, out of the way. This will give you future storage areas.

 

[RobS]

Here's my routine for 800 feet of gravel. Until it's frozen/packed, do everything with the blade reversed, it won't dig up as much gravel. After that use the blade normally.

I start with a pass right down the middle, blade straight. This lets the snow roll to both sides somewhat evenly. Then I angle to the first notch and make a pass in each direction on opposite sides of the middle run. Now I have a full width driveway again. More passes, especially early on, get the snow banks pushed further out. I put my driveway markers about three feet outside of the driveway and my banks have already crept in to around the edge. If we get a bunch more snow, I'll have to do some bank moving with the FEL. Only a couple areas on my drive get really bad with that.

Also, you hear a lot about people suffering neck problems with a rear blade. My solution: Look forward. That blade is going to follow you wherever you go anyway, no point in always watching it!

And you definitely have to stay on top of the snow with these things. My blade is only about 14" high and I get into problems if I try to move more than about six inches at a time. It's not impossible, just takes longer.

Enjoy and stay warm!

 

[psvines]

I put my driveway markers about three feet outside of the driveway and my banks have already crept in to around the edge.

Ah yes, next time I'll stick driveway markers in the ground in a few strategic places. Now that the bulk of the snow and ice is gone, I see that we've driven in some areas through the grass. It was hard to tell exactly where the gravel was under the 24"!

 

[Hawkflyer]

I used to do a lot of snow removal with the rear blade, but in the last few years I have gotten away from that approach. We have a 550' gravel driveway and I usually try to help out the neighbors who have the misfortune of either not owning a tractor or who own green ones (ha ha).

It is important to to get out after the first 6 inches or so even if it is still snowing. In this last storm (22"), I hit it at about 6-7" and again after about 7 more, and then just did clean up work with the rest. These days I use the FEL to do most of the work but it did take a lot of practice to learn how to "float" the bucket so as not to gouge the driveway. Usually I can run about 25-30 yards at a time and then push the accumulated pile off of the drive to the right or left depending on space at any particular location.

My FEL has a grapple on it and in some cases I close the grapple to create a better pushing surface but more often I open the grapple and push a pile of snow up in front of the bucket and if it is a little wet (usually the case in Virginia) I can actually grab the "snowball" and carry it to the side.

Have fun guys but be be safe. Snow hides a lot of hazards.

Regards

 

[StrangeRanger]

Hello all,

I am about to use my BX2660 with rear blade to try and plow my long narrow gravel driveway. It is pretty twisty, and is pretty hilly. I have never used a blade before, and wonder if anyone can suggest any hints such as blade angle, plowing pattern etc. The driveway is about 1 1/2 car widths wide and maybe 1/8 to 1/4 mile long.

Thanks.

Doc

Just b/c no one has mentioned it and it looks like you're new to this, be aware that a loaded up rear blade can swing the rear end of your tractor on you. If you have chains it's not usually a problem. But if you don't have chains don't be surprised if you start moving sideways. It just adds to the fun of snow removal
j

 

[derecskey]

Others have said be careful pushing rearward with the blade; you don't want to hit anything hard and damage the arms.

I just came on here and did a search for "arms" because I broke one of mine this past weekend! Pushing 5' woods blade with my BX2350 backwards, caught the lip of a sandstone in my walkway, and crack. Snapped the 3pt hitch arm right in half, quickhitch smashed into my taillight and broke the lense, and bent the 3ph adjuster.

Don't know what I'm going to do yet. Have my brother weld it, or get a replacement.

 

[bp fick]

I just came on here and did a search for "arms" because I broke one of mine this past weekend! Pushing 5' woods blade with my BX2350 backwards, caught the lip of a sandstone in my walkway, and crack. Snapped the 3pt hitch arm right in half, quickhitch smashed into my taillight and broke the lense, and bent the 3ph adjuster.

Don't know what I'm going to do yet. Have my brother weld it, or get a replacement.

I'm sorry about your accident. Things happen. You should be able to get all the replacement parts at your friendly neighborhood Kubota dealer.

Yet again, another example, that 3 pt isn't designed for too much pushing. It really is designed for pulling.

 

[taborekle]

Yes by all means, don't let it get to deep.

This is how I did it last time and it seemed to work ok. Note that I have taken advantage of my blade's offset to set it. On my LP blade, I had to unbolt it and move the cutting edge over and then bolt it back on, but it works pretty good.

 

[RobS]

Just b/c no one has mentioned it and it looks like you're new to this, be aware that a loaded up rear blade can swing the rear end of your tractor on you. If you have chains it's not usually a problem. But if you don't have chains don't be surprised if you start moving sideways. It just adds to the fun of snow removal
j

BTDT! That's why I try to stay on top of it. If I get too much sideways push it's either smaller bites width-wise, smaller bites depth-wise or FEL time. Those options each add seat time, which may or may not be a good thing as the snow doesn't always fall on your schedule!

 

[Dyer retired]

I just came on here and did a search for "arms" because I broke one of mine this past weekend! Pushing 5' woods blade with my BX2350 backwards, caught the lip of a sandstone in my walkway, and crack. Snapped the 3pt hitch arm right in half, quickhitch smashed into my taillight and broke the lense, and bent the 3ph adjuster.

Don't know what I'm going to do yet. Have my brother weld it, or get a replacement.

I bent my links on my previous tractor by catching a frozen snow bank with the outer edge of my blade a few years back. 3RRL suggested a fix, which was adding a piece of flat stock to the bottom of the straightened link. I had no further bending over 4 years using it that way, but I also added skid shoes to my blade and go much more cautiously now. I purchased new links and made the modification to the new ones.... after I straightened the old link and did the modification just for the welding practice. When I got my new tractor, the first project I did was to reinforce the links as shown in the pictures. I use my blade a lot pushing it backwards like a plow, but have the shoes set for about 1/2 an inch and don't fetch up on things like I did when the blade had no shoes. Good luck.

 

[Firefighter Kubota]

It is important to to get out after the first 6 inches or so even if it is still snowing. In this last storm (22"), I hit it at about 6-7" and again after about 7 more, and then just did clean up work with the rest. These days I use the FEL to do most of the work but it did take a lot of practice to learn how to "float" the bucket so as not to gouge the driveway. Usually I can run about 25-30 yards at a time and then push the accumulated pile off of the drive to the right or left depending on space at any particular location.


Similiar approch here, and I know many use the rear blade in reverse, I have always used my blade by dragging it behind me. Even though I'm driving over the snow, the blade still does a great job of clearing the snow. Aslong as there is less than 8" it works fine. allows me to run significant distance and a few passes I'm done..

 

[ToadHill]

When snow gets that deep only one answer works well "Blower".