Go BottomMoving snow with 790
 | JerryL
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 5 Omaha, NE 
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2002-10-02 43245
I will need to clear our 1/4 mile gravel driveway this winter. What is the least expensive method of doing this with a 790? Rear blade? Rear mounted snow blower. I'm not broke but money is an issue? Thanks a lot.
Jerry
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| Don M
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 120 myLocation
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2002-10-02 43247
I would have to ask "how deep?" and "how often?"
If you are not in the extreme snowbelt, a back blade will do it well and cheaply. That's what I use on my drive, and it is almost as long as yours. I angle it quite far, which reduces its width quite a bit. I wish I had bought one a foot or two bigger. Something to think about. ....
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| LenO
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-10-02 43248
I have plowed about 1000'of gravel drive for several years using a reversed rear blade. Other than getting an occasional sore neck this has worked well for me.The only down side is rear blades don't work as well with unfrozen ground. Used blades are pretty inexpensive and with a few hours of work they can be made to look almost new. Several things to keep in mind; rear blades are not as high as a standard snow plow blades so favor the highest you can find, you will quickly understand that at tractor speeds you cannot push 12" of snow over a 24" bank, start early in the season with an extra wide plowed drive to allow for the above, select a blade at least 1' wider than your tires to allow for the angle loss, and lastly don't let the accumulation get over 6" between sessions. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley 
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2002-10-03 43281
Skid shoes might help keep a blade from sinking into the gravel before it's frozen a bit. However, the skids on my blower don't really keep it from sinking in, although the blower is heavier than most rear blades.
I clear with my loader until the gravel is frozen. The bucket is curled back so the bucket rides on its bottom so the edge doesn't dig in and the lift is floated. Snow doesn't clear off the front of a loader like off an angled blade, so the loader doesn't work very well for very deep snows. It just pushes snow ahead of the bucket until traction breaks. Still, it works better than making gravel showers with the blower before freez-up. I just can’t let accumulations pile up. The same approach probably would be pretty good with a rear blade. The loader might not be great, but it's better than pushing all the gravel out to the road and leaving skid shoe grooves.
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| JerryL
Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 5 Omaha, NE
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2002-10-04 43353
Thanks for the help. I was wondering about the skid shoe marks from a blade. Is that an issue to worry about or unavoidable.
Also - The 790 is 4WD. A neighbor asked me if he can use a rear blade on his 8N to clear snow. Anyone know?
Thanks ....
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| Don M
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 120 myLocation
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2002-10-04 43362
I had no problems with the skid shoes leaving grooves.
My skid shoes are convex disks, not smaller steel straps.
An 8N will do fine pushing snow with a back blade. ....
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| TomG
Join Date: Feb 2002 Posts: 5406 Upper Ottawa Valley
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2002-10-05 43395
The skids on my blower are straps and they are pretty useless on gravel till freeze-up. Strap skids on a lighter blade probably would work better. I don't really find that there's a problem though. Frozen gravel is pretty indestructible, and my loader works OK till freeze-up. A blade that didn't sink in would be better than a loader though.
I guess I should mention that there is a style of snow removal around here that may be different in other places. The object here is not to try to keep bare surfaces but to allow a layer of snow pack to build up. Traction actually is pretty good on snow pack and it's easier to remove new snow from than bare surfaces. Besides, if there's a thaw and quick freeze of a freezing rain, it's easier to get glare ice off snow pack than off gravel or pavement. This idea may not work in places that are subject to frequent thaws because there likely would be a permanent layer of frozen slush.
As long as I'm on a roll, I'll also mention that one essential snow removal skill around here is watching the weather forecast.' It's a very bad thing to plow right before a freezing rain. You get a skating rink instead of a frozen rough surface. Even slush that freezes is better than a skating rink that can't even be walked on unless salt, ashes, bird seed or the other stuff that makes a mess is used.
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| daves homemade attac
Join Date: Posts: 1
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2002-12-12 46067
you can make a rear mounted snowplow with and old truck mounted quick switch setup if you have remote hydrolics by welding the pins right to the plow frame from a truck and using the center pin on the original truck ram arm. it's kinda hard to explain but if you set one on the ground behind your tractor you can see what you have to do... it works great for me and i've plowed a foot or more up here in maine.. and it's cheap ....
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