Snow Equipment Owning/Operating plowing snow with rear blade, push or pull?

[ChrisW]

I have a 6' rear blade that is fully adjustable and a 600' paved drive to do this winter. I did go to TSC and got a 1" thick or so cow/horse mat and cut a strip to attatch to the blade so that I don't hurt the drive.

Now, is is better to drive forward and pull the snow to the side or to drive backwards with the blade turned around and push it. I have R4 tires and don't know how well they will grab if I try to push it going in reverse. I also didn't lmow if driving forward and packing the snow with the tires would make it more difficult for the blade to scape it all off.

Thanks in advance for your responces.
Chris

Dayton, OH area

 

[Mrwurm]

I have 400 ft of concrete drive and a large parking pad. I use a combination of techniques. Some pushing and some pulling. It also depends on the type of snow, wet or light and airy. I also run my blade right on the concrete. I don't use any kind of edge protection. I really don't see any damage to my concrete. I have marked it in a few spots with tire chains though.

 

[TimSullivan]

I had the same question last year when we moved to our new home with an eight hundred foot driveway. I drove forward and angled the blade to the side. Did a good job in a very snowy winter. The trick seems to be not to let the snow get more than six or eight inches deep. I could go so much fast forward and then use the bucket to push the piles back if ned be.

 

[Dave___in___CT]

Hi...


I pull the snow with the rear blade angled to deflect the snow to the side...

I also push the snow going in reverse but with the blade still facing forward... this is pretty time-effective moving snow when I'm backing up anyway...

The rear blade also nicely rides up mounds of snow when the wrong side of the blade is pushing in reverse... great for piling it up...


Dave...

 

[AndyMA]

I know a lot of you guys plow snow with rear blade and I have to upon occasion. I always found going forward that my tires packed down the snow such that the blade couldn't get to bare ground and the tire packed strips turned to icy ridges. I still use a box scraper occasionally but find that to totally clear i use the loader busket or a front plow. I also made an attachment to allow a 3pt hitch attachment to be counted in my bucket so I cab pusn with things like a blade.


Andy

 

[chim]

Last Winter was the first time I had a FEL for snow removal. The rear blade was still very efficient for smaller snows, but for deep stuff, piling snow up and scraping down to bare blacktop, the FEL was nice. Over the Summer, I added a bolt-on wear stip to the bucket. Wear from just one season on the factory edge was noticeable. It was a simple fix to eliminate further wear on the welded-on factory edge......................chim

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

How about the best of both worlds! I am just finishing getting my setup put together. I picked up an old 7' pickup truck blade which I am welding up a bracket for the quicktach loader arms. Got the A-frame and cyl as well. Now on the back I just picked up a 7' rear slider blade that angles as well. I figure I should be able to kick it out at least 4' to one side. I am now stripping both edges with horse mats to keep pavement nice. I have more than 1,200 ft of driveway. I figure that I will have a plow width of about 11 ft. I can angle the front one way and the rear the other. In fact I could mimic the effect of the town plows by having a wing push the snow further back on the sides. Cool in theory and cheap in execution. Will post pictures soon.
Best,
Larry

 

[RoyJackson]

I push it (driving in reverse), but my drive is only 150' or so. 600' driving in reverse is another matter.
But, it really depends upon your physical condition. We middle aged guys aren't as limber as we used to be.


Also, my blade...a rather ancient used job I picked up for $60, doesn't pivot 180°. I'd have to unbolt and see if the bolts would line up if I reversed it.

I'd try pushing first. If that's too much of a hassle or "pain in the neck", rotate the blade and pull the snow.

 

[jmc]

Hi Larry,

I plow with a rig about your size. It does not have chains or loaded tires. In deep, wet snow, the 7 foot angled rear blade pushes the rear of the tractor sideways. I'm wondering with your front and rear setup, would you have twice the problem?

John

 

[Larry_Van_Horn]

Fair question, stay tuned. Devil is always in the details and it is possible to have that problem, If the snow was wet and heavy, I could angle both blades the same way, take a smaller cut with the front blade and let the rear pick up another couple of feet without the push. Just guessing but I will let you know.
Lar

 

[Slamfire]

I've tried both, and I think pushin' was easier. I'm not as flexible as I was 40 years ago. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Harrygoodwrench]

Snow plowing can be a real pain in the neck, especially when backing up while plowing(pun intended). I would guess it all depends what make-up the snow is(wet, fluffy, dense) Sometimes pushing it rearward works good sometimes not. Just have to see what works on that particular snowfall. I have a back blade and a Fisher plow off a 1977 Dodge 3/4 ton fabricated(okay cobbed) onto my tractor. Pic attached. No its not a NH its one of those dreaded Chinese tractors, Jinma 224 (22 hp 4wd). The tractor drives arould like the plow isn't even there, all sorts of power for only a 22 HP. Nice with the power angle too. We get lots of snow removal experience in the NY area of the Northeast.

 

[Boondox]

Chris -- Your profile is pretty much blank so I can't tailor my response to your tractor and conditions, but here's my take on it. I plow two short driveways and about 1/4 mile of dirt road in the Green Mountains of Vermont. Conditions vary considerably from dry fluffy snow in temps well below freezing, to wet and heavy stuff right around freezing, and the ground varies from mud to frozen to a sheet of ice depending on the time of the season. My first tractor was a B1750. Did a fine job on the dry fluffy stuff, but really struggled to move the heavy stuff. With that tractor in slushy conditions I couldn't do the back up plow routine, since the tractor was shoved in the direction the blade was angled by the weight of the snow. Then I traded up to an L3010 with huge gnarly Norse ice chains. Clementine is heavy enough to let me plow any way I want...and I choose to plow forward with the blade angled. Early in the season when the ground isn't yet frozen I reverse the blade, but still drive forward. That way it moves the snow without catching the dirt/mud and carving huge divots. Later, when the ground is hard as stone, I use the concave surface of the blade driving forward.

Saves the neck, lets me drive faster, and works slick!

Pete

 

[8561]

Pete - on paved driveways, do you find your rear blade will scrape down to bare pavement or do the wheels compact the snow to the point the rear blade has trouble scraping it clean?

 

[Boondox]

Tim -- Wish I had an answer for you, but the nearest pavement is about a quarter mile downhill...and with the ice chains I use the town gets upset if I tear up their asphalt. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Pete