Snow Equipment Owning/Operating Snow Tricks and Tips

[83UTVol]

Thanks... I went through the posts... choices...you gotta love America! so many choices...so little time. I guess I really just have to try it and see what happens... then use some of these ideas if I don't like the results with just the bare blade. I appreciate the link to the posts.

 

[bczoom]

83UTVol,

Welcome to TBN.

For a paved (blacktop) driveway, many I know just run the blade over it. If you have a crown, you may want to consider putting skid plates on and use to raise your blade a little. Being nice and black, the sun will bake off the remainder.

When using the blade in its concave setting, it's also a common practice for any kind of driveway to try and get the blade where it contacts the driveway as vertical as possible. Then it'll just scrape instead of trying to dig. Shorten the top link to do so.

 

[83UTVol]

The driveway doesn't have much of a crown to speak of but maybe while things are clear I'll do some "test" checks up and down the driveway by putting blade down and seeing how flat it really is from the center.

Thanks for the tip in shortening the top link... I have it pretty far out now as I am using it to widen our riding ring and am trying to get it to dig... I might not have thought to reset it for snow so maybe you just saved me from digging up a piece of asphalt!

 

[BXRICK]

I move snow with a BX1500, FEL, and Back Blade.
My drive is 1/4 mile, dirt/gravel, and hardly level or hole-free (gotta get on that next year).

Mostly, I use the back blade, driving backwards. A little tough on the neck, but really not that bad.
The drive is level. I use FWD, turf tires, no chains. Haven't had a problem yet.
I use the FEL for cleaning up around the mailbox, the plow drift from the town, and backdragging around the house and garage.
The back blade has skid shoes on it, adjusted to leave the blade just off the ground when level.
You can get a good idea what will happen to your drive simply by doing a trial run with no snow. Obviously, once the ground freezes, nothing will happen to your drive.

Since a back blade (Woods, 60") for a BX1500 isn't very tall, I added a 12 gauge extension to the blade, which almost doubles its height.

Probably the most important thing is to make sure your tractor will start when you need it to - no point in having a great setup that won't run, regardless of the weather.

There's plenty of info on the various boards here about that. Basically: good winter fuel, probably an additive, block heater, and make sure you start it occasionally, even if it doesn't snow.

 

[83UTVol]

What about the various ideas for using rubber matting (or conveyer belt) to create a squegee effect?... I haven't gone out to find matting yet but do have a local quarry where I might be able to pick some up relatively cheaply...

Out of all the threads mentioning doing this does anyone have a sure fired way that will minimize the amount of time I have to spend trying different options...

Just forget about it and use the bare blade on the driveway??

 

[bczoom]

There's an active thread discussing rubber matting.
Horse Mat...

For "Just forget about it and use the bare blade on the driveway??" That one is up to you. Depends on how much time and stuff you have to spend on changing your blade.

 

[rameye]

BXRICK,

I'd like to see a photo of your height extension one day...

 

[83UTVol]

I'll second that request for a photo of the extension... I have a Woods 72" blade & I'm not sure what I'll end up doing in regards to putting a rubber guard on it... there are plenty of posts explaining what others have done for snow... what I'll have time for will determine what I end up doing...seems like my list and the list my wife has for me don't always match real well...but as long as I get to use the tractor then maybe it doesn't matter /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[WVBartMan]

I have two different tractors for plowing, depending on the job. My house is on top of the mountain (4,000 feet elevation) and my driveway to the main road is around 2 miles down, thankfully it is all paved. I use a Kubota L5030 with a 8' wide power angle Curtis snow plow mounted on my FEL for the driveway.

The second tractor is a New Holland 8970 with a 12' wide plow for plowing the mountain road in deep snow. The state hires me to plow a ridge road that is 26 miles long. Once the snow gets over 8 inches, the drifts on this road can reach over 6' deep due to the high wind on the ridges. The state trucks in the past get hung up or end up over the hill so they would rather contract it out. Lucky for me, I have no competition so I can charge enough to make a little money to support my habit ( buying attachments).

The great thing is, I have in my contract that I'm not responsible for any damage caused by the Tractor to the highway, mailboxes or cars buried in the drifts. The state signed off on it and picked up the insurance to cover me for plowing. The answer is yes, I have found several cars in drifts and do my best to limit any damage.

Looking forward to seeing some white stuff on Thursday/Turkey Day.

C:\Kubota\Snow Plow.jpg

 

[GoodGuy]

Have you got any pics of your 12ga add-on for your backblade ??? I've been thinking of an addition to mine. Any pics would be appreciated.