Any tips for snow plowing?

This little fella does my 500'+ driveway!

 

I got one of them yup 50 HP will effectively clear a 13 foot driveway see avatar pic

edit eatonpcat did aforementioned driveway for 3 years with a 2 foot push Honda to pay for 78” meteor blower and chains paid my self 40 a time

 

You might think of plowing with the blade straight as being like using a bulldozer: you load the blade and then carry the load. In this case, you want to minimize the carry distance. If this is not an option (long carry) and you have adequate traction, try using a slot technique to increase the amount you can carry on the blade (the snowbanks of the slot help keep snow from spilling off the blade as you carry).

 

Thats great advice. Thank you. I didn't really think in terms of a bulldozer, but that makes a lot of sense.

I started doing this on accident a few days ago when we got 18 inches. Maybe next time around I can be more intentional about it.

 

With a smallish machine like that, and a good distance to cover, I’d likely start on one side with the blade angles to push snow to side of drive and follow that all the way out of it’ll do it, and then continue doing the same on smaller snow events. But if substantial snow happens, same idea the first time and then kinda use that one mower swath as a way in to push sideways and angled a bit with the blad mostly straight but probably a little angled to where you’re going, if that makes sense. As was mentioned above, shorter distance to “carry” the snow will help tons.
I clear the snow for our school and have found I must do the same, even with a held pickup and plow and skid steer. With a heavy snow, you just can’t push it as far usually.

 

Plow with the storm if you are getting more than 6 inches, it’s so much easier to move 6” than say 12”. You may want to plow even more if the snow is wet. Wet snow will be hard to push and very hard with the plow angled.( your front end will want to move to the opposite side you are plowing) In heavy snow make room so you can speed up before you start to plow. Weight is you friend!

Good luck!

 

Just move south and wait til it melts. Then move back home. Snow Birds.

 

Picked it up in February that year. No snow until 2 days after finding/stealing it. I try to take care of as many neighbors as I can, and last snow was 15 driveways. Keeps me young.
The kind of snow we received just after purchasing it.

 

This would be neat.

 

that is neat. Fun to play with but very time consuming if there was a lot of snow.

 

plowed commercially for many years. Every lot is different and the amount of the snow fall can and will change your approach to any particular lot. With deep heavy snow most of the time you will have to start by making an area to move the snow over to, seems counter intuitive , but if you start at the far side to keep moving it over you will reach a point that you just can't move it any more. Then you are going to spend a lot of time trying to pile it higher to make room for the next storm. Most of my accounts all had one or more truck docks the easy ones were just flat the hard ones were where the dock is at main area level and the approach to the dock was a big hole. Lot of back dragging on those. Worst case we would get out the 10-15 hp walk behind blowers to clear it out. As there is always wheel chocks buried in there went through a lot of shear pins. Worst one was only apx 10 ft wide and apx 1 pickup truck long at apx 45deg angle. That sob would get a newbe stuck every time, no traction due to the angle. When piling snow or at the end of a long run you have to be aware of not going to far into the bank and overeaching you plow lift- otherwise you will be hand digging the plow out to get unstuck. just some tid bits from 25 years of plowing.

 

Some great advice there! You think you can remember what a driveway looks like until there’s 12” of snow on it. Markers for curbs and other obstacles can prevent serious damage. I’ve found lots of things in snow with a walk behind blower. People walk their dogs through large parking lots while you are trying to plow it. Plowing looks fun, but It isn’t

 

My tip is stay in the house where it's warm and pay someone else to plow it.

 

Is one blower for the front and one for the rear?

 

Never thought of that. Previous owner said it came as a package with a spare, but you could be on to something.

 

I have also used a rear mounted plow, mostly for the truck dock pits, Worked great much better than back dragging, but you really have to watch out for approach angles when entering or leaving parking lots, rebuilt/ modified the mount before I got rid of it. Steep approach wood bottom out the rear plow bending/ breaking oem mount.

 

I still say get a Boss