Plowing on gravel

[vtsnowedin]

If your plow with a pipe cuts into your unfrozen gravel then your gravel is too sandy. Add crushed stone 1 -1/2"to 1/4" and mix it in ,then it will lock up when compacted and take the load of the plow.
Crushed gravel should be 50% stone by weight and half the stones bigger then 3/4" should have a fractured face (not smooth round river stones) . If you already have the sand half there, just add the clean stone half and mix. I've used 0.17 tons per square yard of 1.5" concrete washed stone to add strength to a road. It also works well when reclaiming old asphalt pavement to add that much stone to what is usually a black sand after the reclaimer has beat it up.

 

[Professor Marvel]

I have read here that some people use rubber edges and have good results. That sounds like a good idea to me, especially when encountering something unexpected or forgotten about in the parking lot. 3 things I have read 1. get a stall mat from TSC and cut a peice about 6in wider than the steel blade edge and sandwich it between the cutting edge and the blade itself. 2. one person uses the tread from tires and does the same sandwich thing. 3. today I saw this plowrubber.com.
All seem like good ideas to me. Not sure which I will use. I have a lot of gravel I might need to push.
Best of luck to all.

 

[Ford850]

My plow came with the standard 6" mushroom skids. I had replacements made from plate steel that was pressed into a large pipe stub creating a crude dome in the plate. A 10" circle was cut from that dome and a 1" shaft welded on it. So I now have 10" skids that work great. I can still sink the blade if I don't pay attention but with these new skids I have a lot more time to react and slightly raise the blade when needed. I keep the edge an inch or two above the gravel. The nice thing about these skids is that I still have the edge that I can tip forward and scrape the paved areas.

 

[94BULLITT]

My plow came with the standard 6" mushroom skids. I had replacements made from plate steel that was pressed into a large pipe stub creating a crude dome in the plate. A 10" circle was cut from that dome and a 1" shaft welded on it. So I now have 10" skids that work great. I can still sink the blade if I don't pay attention but with these new skids I have a lot more time to react and slightly raise the blade when needed. I keep the edge an inch or two above the gravel. The nice thing about these skids is that I still have the edge that I can tip forward and scrape the paved areas.

thanks for the reply. I have been thinking about different ways to remedy this problem and one was to get a set of disk blades. I looked at tractor supply yesterday and they only had 18'' blades. I was thinking of something about 12." I will definately give this idea some more thought since you have had good luck with 10'' skids. If do a paved driveway or once the ground gets frozen good I would probably use the regular skids. I don't know when I will get a chance to play I mean plow in the snow again, it might hit 60* by the end of the week:shocked:

 

[Ford850]

thanks for the reply. I have been thinking about different ways to remedy this problem and one was to get a set of disk blades. I looked at tractor supply yesterday and they only had 18'' blades. I was thinking of something about 12." I will definately give this idea some more thought since you have had good luck with 10'' skids. If do a paved driveway or once the ground gets frozen good I would probably use the regular skids. I don't know when I will get a chance to play I mean plow in the snow again, it might hit 60* by the end of the week:shocked:

That's exactly what I intended to use too, but couldn't find small disks. I was at a small metal shop and was inquiring about a pipe and welding posts to that. While explaining how I intended to use the pipe, and how I also looked for disks, the owner offered to make me some. The heavy disks he made are crude and not exactly round as he hand cut them, but they work great so far. I try to leave a little more snow on the gravel then what I did years ago, and it works much better too. And back to the disk, I can't remember for sure on the size, but at least 10". I made them as large as possible and they barely clear the back of the blade.

 

[Ford850]

(Sorry, double post)

Also to note, going from a 6" shoe to a 12" shoe quadruples the surface area of each shoe. That is a huge difference.

 

[motocephalic]

Resurrecting this thread: This morning I got a chance to try my skills of plowing in the gravel, and lets leave it as I need practice. I have the meyers shoes on the skid steer and it's my first time with a plow on a tractor. The ground is not quite frozen and all I can say is it's got to get better. I tried to float but seemed as if it dug in a bit tooo much, so I opted for the gentle touch and slower speed. It went ok, I am not sure how much time I saved with the plow vs the FEL.

 

[corey9212]

Resurrecting this thread: This morning I got a chance to try my skills of plowing in the gravel, and lets leave it as I need practice. I have the meyers shoes on the skid steer and it's my first time with a plow on a tractor. The ground is not quite frozen and all I can say is it's got to get better. I tried to float but seemed as if it dug in a bit tooo much, so I opted for the gentle touch and slower speed. It went ok, I am not sure how much time I saved with the plow vs the FEL.

It does get a lot easier, this is my first year using a plow and at first it gave me a lot of concerns with digging in but now it's been a massive time saver over the bucket. The key really is to either let the ground freeze or get a good solid base if snow and don't let the blade all the way down until it's established (I started with the blade 1.5" above the skid shoes.) good luck and most importantly of all have fun and be safe.

 

[Katahdin]

I'm jealous motocephalic, we didn't get any snow in my part of the state, just rain.

Can you position the loader arms closer to the ground? The lower the the pivot point is the less aggressive the plow cutting angle will be. You could also try backdragging the plow instead of pushing forward. Again, this is just until the ground freezes solid and then you can get more aggressive with it.

FYI to all, I've also added a 2 inch pipe to the edge of my loader plow to make it easier on gravel, but it was late into last season, I'm looking forward to trying that solution out for a full winter. I also added a 7 foot rear blade to play around with, I'm leaving that cutting edge alone for now.

 

[94BULLITT]

I'm jealous motocephalic, we didn't get any snow in my part of the state, just rain.

Can you position the loader arms closer to the ground? The lower the the pivot point is the less aggressive the plow cutting angle will be. You could also try backdragging the plow instead of pushing forward. Again, this is just until the ground freezes solid and then you can get more aggressive with it.

FYI to all, I've also added a 2 inch pipe to the edge of my loader plow to make it easier on gravel, but it was late into last season, I'm looking forward to trying that solution out for a full winter. I also added a 7 foot rear blade to play around with, I'm leaving that cutting edge alone for now.

Does your blade float at the QA or do you use float on the loader.

 

[motocephalic]

I am floating the loader, but the plow is a bit on the heavy side, luckily the shoes are on the bigger side as well. I think it will just take some getting used to, hopefully it will make plowing this gravel road a bit easier. I am used to plowing with the FEL, and I can move around that sufficiently enough.

Does your blade float at the QA or do you use float on the loader.

 

[PILOON]

With gravel base you will always have some trouble until you have built up a frozen packed base.
Usually we dragged the plow backwards so as to compact a base, that and drive back and forth a lot followed by a back scraping to even things out.
One good overnight cold snap and presto--one good base ('till next thaw)

 

[corey9212]

I gotta figure out how to move huge quantities of snow, with the drifts I have 3' deep of snow to push and the plow just seems to push it aside instead of straight ahead (can't have any rows on some parts of the drive.) I'm thinking of using the bucket but would have to pull the grapple off to back drag close to buildings and vehicles.

 

[Katahdin]

I am floating the loader, but the plow is a bit on the heavy side, luckily the shoes are on the bigger side as well. I think it will just take some getting used to, hopefully it will make plowing this gravel road a bit easier. I am used to plowing with the FEL, and I can move around that sufficiently enough.

On mine I set the loader at about 6-8 inches off the ground and float the plow. I'm basically using a Boss truck plow by mounting the push beam to a QA plate.

 

[94BULLITT]

I am floating the loader, but the plow is a bit on the heavy side, luckily the shoes are on the bigger side as well. I think it will just take some getting used to, hopefully it will make plowing this gravel road a bit easier. I am used to plowing with the FEL, and I can move around that sufficiently enough.

I have the same problem but you can't explain it to some people. I have a 750lb plow. It has some big skid shoes, maybe 6''. When you put the tractor in float the weight of the loader is also ridding on those shoes, so I may have 1200lbs + on them. I have also noticed with the loader on float if unloads the front axle so 4WD does not work as good and the steering is not as responsive. I have noticed if I hold the plow off the ground a inch or two the tractor handles it way better. I am going to modify my plow so it floats itself and the weight of the loader will be on the tractor.

With gravel base you will always have some trouble until you have built up a frozen packed base.
Usually we dragged the plow backwards so as to compact a base, that and drive back and forth a lot followed by a back scraping to even things out.
One good overnight cold snap and presto--one good base ('till next thaw)

Where I live the ground may not be frozen or frozen real hard when we get a snow. The snow may be gone in a few days or a week so it is hard to get a packed frozen base.

I gotta figure out how to move huge quantities of snow, with the drifts I have 3' deep of snow to push and the plow just seems to push it aside instead of straight ahead (can't have any rows on some parts of the drive.) I'm thinking of using the bucket but would have to pull the grapple off to back drag close to buildings and vehicles.

It sounds like a snow pusher may work good for you.

On mine I set the loader at about 6-8 inches off the ground and float the plow. I'm basically using a Boss truck plow by mounting the push beam to a QA plate.

How heavy is your plow?

 

[vtsnowedin]

On mine I set the loader at about 6-8 inches off the ground and float the plow. I'm basically using a Boss truck plow by mounting the push beam to a QA plate.

This is my method and it works good on a frozen road. While it is still soft I drop the loader arms another three inches or so to get the plow setting back on its backer plate instead of on the cutting edge. I still can tear up lawns etc. that aren't hard packed. just something to fix with the bucket in the spring. My plow is an eight foot Fisher with wings. It doesn't have any shoes at present.

 

[motocephalic]

If the plow was configured to self float it would be ideal, however with that design comes the added length which is another compromise for turning in tight spots. I opted for the shorter design, but the chain float option is always doable.

I have the same problem but you can't explain it to some people. I have a 750lb plow. It has some big skid shoes, maybe 6''. When you put the tractor in float the weight of the loader is also ridding on those shoes, so I may have 1200lbs + on them. I have also noticed with the loader on float if unloads the front axle so 4WD does not work as good and the steering is not as responsive. I have noticed if I hold the plow off the ground a inch or two the tractor handles it way better. I am going to modify my plow so it floats itself and the weight of the loader will be on the tractor.



Where I live the ground may not be frozen or frozen real hard when we get a snow. The snow may be gone in a few days or a week so it is hard to get a packed frozen base.



It sounds like a snow pusher may work good for you.



How heavy is your plow?

 

[nybirdman]

I have a very similar set-up.L4240 HSTC with a FEL mounted 8ft.Curtis plow.I built mine with the "float" on the plow.(Chain).I think the FEL float set-up was designed for paved roads and very frozen drives.I plow about two miles total and have very little problems.Early in the year before freeze up it's a little messy.I have a seven ft.rear blade also.

 

[wolfpack2]

Has anyone tried reversing the hydraulic lines so that the float works on the bucket cylinders instead of the loader arms? I am going to try it this winter to see if it lets the blade float and hold the loader frame rigid using the other hydraulic circuits.

 

[94BULLITT]

Has anyone tried reversing the hydraulic lines so that the float works on the bucket cylinders instead of the loader arms? I am going to try it this winter to see if it lets the blade float and hold the loader frame rigid using the other hydraulic circuits.

I have. The first time I did it I had to use regen to lower the loader. Then I switched them in a X pattern and it worked. I asked if it was okay to use it like this in the hydraulic forum and I did not get a real good answer. I decided against it for now. I was afraid somebody may get in the tractor and not know the hoses had been switched around. I think I can do a simple modification to the blade to make it float. Here is the thread I started in the hydraulics forum. http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/hydraulics/288785-float-curl-function.html