Snow Removal On a Chip & Tar Driveway

[Reb954]

Whichever method you end up with you might consider putting a protective edge on the blade. Thanks to the getting the idea from folks on this site I put a protective edge on both my snow blower and bucket last year and both worked great.

Basically you take a piece of schedule 80 pipe, I used 3/4" as I remember, cut a slot into it so it slips over the cutting edge of either/or the bucket or snow blower edge. Attach it however you need to and it keeps the edge from cutting in.

I will see if I can find the pictures I posted last year showing how I attached mine. If I can't find them I will try to get some new pictures this weekend.

 

[Reb954]

I just found pictures of the protective edge on my bucket. I also found I made a mistake, I used 1/2" schedule 40 due to not being able to find schedule 80 pipe in this area. When I find some I will redo it.

 

[WranglerX]

After hours of web-surfing, I have found what I think would work:

View attachment 574512
View attachment 574513
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These were posted on this forum 12 years ago by a member who has not posted since March 2017. I have PM'd him but don't expect a reply.

This setup appears to be heavy duty - enough to handle the weight of the blade and FEL on float. But it is NOT a Woods accessory (per their tech support).

The curvature of the brackets seems way too precise (i.e. engineered) to simply be someone's fabrication. So, I am guessing that this is someone's accessory...but whose?

Does anyone recognize this assembly?

I have had thought of same thing for general use but was considering trailer jacks to adjust height of cutting blade...

Maybe something similar to these...

Probably need to research more, just grabbed a image for sake of showing one...

Dale

 

[Tractorable]

There’s another thread on here that discussed the use of trailer jacks as gauge wheels for a rear blade and the general consensus was they’re not strong enough, have skinny wheels with little floatation so would dig into soft surfaces, and the bearings would get easily contaminated. More robust Bush hog tail wheels or zero turn casters would work better.

 

[Snakebit12]

More robust Bush hog tail wheels or zero turn casters would work better.

I have been looking at bush hog tail wheels as they look quite stout. They tend to come in either 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" shafts. The skid shoe brackets on either side of my blade take a 1" shaft. It would be great if I could re-use these skid shoe brackets - item 13 in the picture.

If I was to test the effectiveness of these tail wheels, I would either need to weld on 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" skid shoe bracket or have a machine shop grind these shafts down to 1". Not sure which would be more cost effective.

 

[SkeeterFood]

I haven't read all of the replies (cause I'm still up at 4am!!), but I live in extreme NW MN. Our snow is "normally" a dry snow. I'd imagine yours is normally wetter. In any case, I have two ideas you might consider:
1. using a brush attachment, such as those used for sidewalks. You can get stiffer brushes that will work well with light to moderate snow.
2. Consider going old school and make/modify a blade to have wood edge. Yes, wood. If you have a small planer, you can freshen up the edge now and then.

With a driveway that long, you may have to change out boards several times in a season. However, how much does 5' or 6' of 2x4 cost??

My wife's parents had a neighbor (central MN) who had their trusty old pickup, and he used ONLY his wooden snowplow for his driveways. Even in his field, the cold would turn gopher mounds into lethal weapons for snowplows. So he happily used a wooden plow for many years. I doubt his angled, but never saw it personally.

 

[WranglerX]

I have been looking at bush hog tail wheels as they look quite stout. They tend to come in either 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" shafts. The skid shoe brackets on either side of my blade take a 1" shaft. It would be great if I could re-use these skid shoe brackets - item 13 in the picture.

If I was to test the effectiveness of these tail wheels, I would either need to weld on 1-1/4" or 1-1/2" skid shoe bracket or have a machine shop grind these shafts down to 1". Not sure which would be more cost effective.

Actually #13 in picture is linch pin... Do you mean bracket above #18 shim stack...

Dale

 

[Snakebit12]

Actually #13 in picture is linch pin... Do you mean bracket above #18 shim stack...

Dale

Yes - sorry. The actual bracket itself was not referenced so I pointed to #13 to direct you to the right area.

I have spoken with several tailwheel manufacturers and all expressed concerns about the tailwheels being able to handle 2,500 lbs of weight.

I am beginning to focus on a "softer" blade...either wood as previously mentioned or rubber (horse mats or these...Rubber Snowplow Cutting Edge 725 PSI).

This would require holding the blade above the pavement manually (which I do now) but at least the penalty for actually hitting the pavement is not as severe as it would be with a steel blade.

 

[WranglerX]

Try GOOGLE Images search "skids for snow blades" for some ideas... A flat skid or "ski" to keep blade up off driveway surface may be what you want and just let blade float on skids...

Dale

 

[farm boy00]

Try GOOGLE Images search "skids for snow blades" for some ideas... A flat skid or "ski" to keep blade up off driveway surface may be what you want and just let blade float on skids...

Dale

Guessing you haven't read the thread? That has been ruled out because of wrecking the driveway.

 

[Snakebit12]

One other thing I thought that I'd throw out...

I did find some tailwheel assemblies at High Grade Mfg that are capacity rated at 1,000 lbs each. So, 2 of them would be 2,000 lbs.

The literature on the blade says that it weighs 1,000 lbs. T The loader (LA 1153) weights 1,500 lbs. So, that is 2,500 lbs. But, because the loader is attached to the tractor, it doesn't seem reasonable that the entire 2,500 lbs would be resting on the wheels when in float mode. It seem reasonable (I think) that some portion of the 2,500 lbs is resting on the tractor frame, even when the loader is in float. If that portion was 500 lbs or more, in theory, the 2 tailwheel assemblies could handle the weight.

Does this make any sense?

 

[Tractorable]

Makes sense to me. I’d be surprised if each gauge wheel would be supporting more than 1000lbs in your proposed application.

 

[Tractorable]

There are a ton of threads out there with people wanting to put gauge wheels on front plows and rear blades indicating that there’s a clear need for them. Yet, no manufacturers are building them for us regular guys that can’t afford the high dollar stuff. What gives?

 

[aczlan]

If you're going to put a wheel on it, I would look at something like the Carlisle smooth wheels which have no tread on them and should slide sideways without too much of a problem, they should also be wide enough to not sink in too much. See: Smooth Tire

Aaron Z

 

[WranglerX]

Zero turn mowers have all sorts of swivel caster and wheel styles.... maybe look in that direction for parts...

Dale

 

[Snakebit12]

Zero turn mowers have all sorts of swivel caster and wheel styles.... maybe look in that direction for parts...

Thank you for the advice. The issue that I am seeing with ZTM wheels is their weight-bearing capacity.

 

[WranglerX]

I keep hearing/seeing comments to weight bearing, where and how is the weight coming from.... I can see the weight of snow buildup in front of blade/scrape but I don't see where the down force on "tail wheels" that every one keeps harping about... Please explain...

Dale

 

[Tractorable]

Snow Removal On a Chip & Tar Driveway

The OP wants to put gauge wheels on a snow plow connected to the front loader. The loader will be set to float meaning that most of the loaders weight plus the weight of the plow will be resting on the gauge wheels which will be set so the plow is an inch or two above the ground so he doesn’t tear up his road. The remaining weight of the loader will be supported by the tractor. Gotta have some tough wheels to support that weight.

 

[Ford850]

If your blade floats you don't need to float the loader and it applies much less weight on the cutting edge or shoes. I don't see how that would be a problem to a tar and chip drive.

 

[WranglerX]

If your blade floats you don't need to float the loader and it applies much less weight on the cutting edge or shoes. I don't see how that would be a problem to a tar and chip drive.

First realistic comment in all this.... Not floating FEL probably reduces estimated weight on skid shoes/gauge wheels of plow by more then half....

One option I can think of would be to connect snow blade linkage direct to tractor chassis and allow it to float, using FEL to only lift it up (link with chain) for clearance for turns and other convinces of maneuvering during plow session.... This takes estimated 1500# of FEL out of equation...

Dale