Plowing gravel driveway

[jajiu]

I'v had this problem for 26 years, my long gravel driveway with a steep curving hill when the ground thaws and it snows like it just did on April 1st. When I had my plow truck, that plow would dig in and now I use my Kubota with a plow and the same thing. The only way I can do my driveway is to use the grader blade in reverse and put it on an angle to push the snow away. It works well, but I'd like to use the plow. Some have said I should use a pipe on the bottom of the plow. Too bad there isn't an attachment to the plow to resemble the back of a grader blade. Any thoughts or ideas??

 

[jmf78]

I cut a 4'x6' stall mat and mounted it to the plow blade and it worked pretty well. The rubber mat curls under and I don't get hung up. I'd take a picture and post it but everything is put away.

 

[olthumpa]

How I cleaned my driveway this last wet storm. I started by getting as much of the wet snow as I could in the bucket. I did not dump it out but instead angled the bucket upwards some so the front lip was about 3" off the ground. I then raised the front tires about 2" off the ground with the FEL. with the tractor set up like this I used first gear high range at about 1300 rpms and pushed the snow forwards. I could see snow being pushed 15 - 25 feet in front of the bucket. I had about 800lbs of counter weight on the 3pt. This did minimal digging and generally left 1/4 to 1/2 inch on the ground. If it left too much I made another pass. Steering was done with the breaks. When too much built up in front I used the bucket to dump it to one side.

 

[jajiu]

Thanks JMF78, that sounds pretty good. I may try something like that next season. I'm pretty sure we're done this year. I may even try to fabricate something or talk to my salesman at Quick Attach.

 

[Grizzy3901]

Does your plow have gravel shoes? If not and there is a place for them try putting a set on leave them a inch or 2 lower than the cutting edge and make sure you are rolling the head gear back enough to let the a frame level.

 

[Tooljunkie]

My truck plow has adjustable skids for this very reason. First couple snowfalls i raise blade by lowering skids and plow as usual. After it freezes i lower blade.

 

[D2Cat]

I would think you could adjust your top link so your blade is scraping and not digging, after some experimenting.

 

[outpost22]

I feel your pain. My driveway is 2/3 mile long and all gravel. My plow attachment (quick connect to FEL) has "mushroom" skids on it and they could be bigger. I'm thinking about welding steel skids to them for more surface area. The "mushrooms" work well until the terrain undulates rapidly and they can dig into the gravel if I'm asleep at the wheel. In operating the loader, I keep it in "float" position to help limit this terrain issue.