Snowblowing steep gravel driveway

[jerryme 2]

Hi out there, I have a steep gravel driveway and a 87 312-8 and am considering using it to blow my driveway provided I can locate a blower for it. Is it worth the effort or should I pick up a Trac snowblower. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thanks Ed

[peter lena 9,087]

jerryme,  first question, is gravel hard packed down? or is it loose and movable / soft ? the blower lift height setting is the most vital thing for you . track blower or tractor is not the problem , loose stone pick up is . i would  favor a plow blade for initial clearing just to see how that works.. the tighter those stones are the more you can set your clearing height for snow removal. i do a combination of pavement and dirt track land entry , each area requires a different approach and delft touch. give us more detail , and i am sure a member can relate with his idea, pete 

[AHenry014 127]

I too would vote for a plow, but if you drop the slids down low enough, you might be ok with a snowblower.  I would expect to only be able to move snow going down the driveway and you will certainly need chains. 

[jerryme 2]

Through the years I've had access to a pick up with a western plow. Once I retire I won't have access to it anymore. This year I'll be redoing the driveway with item or bank run which generally packs fairly tight. So I'm exploring my options. Thanks for the input.

[The Tuul Crib 7,338]

to

@jerryme!! 

 

[JoeM 7,923]

My experience snow blowers and gravel never mix well. Part of my drive is hard packed gravel and the blower always seemed to pick up and chuck stone. 

 A plow blade is much better and less maintenance. I prefer the smaller plows, 42 inch. I think the machine will push deeper snow much better, especially on a grade with gravel. I have used a 48 and 56 and 42 worked the best. 

[BOB ELLISON 2,981]

Welcome to Redsquare. 

I have a gravel driveway and I only use a plow that I raised about 1 inch with adjustable skids I welded on. Until the snow packs down I still push gravel into my yard which I have to pick up in the summer. I also have a snow blower that I tried once to use but it will throw stones everywhere so I don't do that any more.

Use a plow.

 

[Ed Kennell 40,465]

                                                                                  I agree with Bob.  

  I'll just add, when the thaw starts, I push the stoney snow back onto the drive to melt and drop the stones back where they belong.

   The plow may roll up some stones, but they are along the driveway and not scattered 30 feet into the yard and bouncing off the neighbors house and cars from the blower.

I had a plow on a 312 and a blower on a 520 for years.  After not using the blower for 4 years, I replaced it with a plow.

I respectively disagree with @JoeM.   I prefer the 48" blade as the 42" blade is not quite as wide as the tire width when the blade is angled.

[cschannuth 3,817]

My driveway used to be gravel and I used a snow blade.  It worked great with my 520.  All i had on the back was turfs, fluid in the rears, and my fat butt.  I made the driveway about 13' wide when I built the house so it would be plenty wide coming down the hill.  Because it was wide I would only clear about 9' of it pushing it to the south side of the drive so that when the snow pile melted the gravel was still on the south side of my driveway.  After the melt i would take the snow blade and spread the gravel back across the driveway.  (I always push the snow to the south side of the drive so that the prevailing winds in the winter don't blow the plowed snow back across the driveway.) . Sorry to ramble...

 

Edited December 18, 2019 by cschannuth
spelling

[JoeM 7,923]

1 hour ago, Ed Kennell said:

I prefer the 48" blade as the 42" blade is not quite as wide as the tire width when the blade is angled.

For sure, but on a gravel drive you got to leave a little snow and it makes hardly any difference. On a paved drive and/or a machine with wider tires, like the 520, I would say the 48 is best and a must.

After the first push, I rarely take a full swipe anyway. 

Now that I am thinking about it, I pushed one time last year, I know...... no more than two times. And that was just messing around. It has been a while since we got anything more than a couple inches. 

See @jerryme You got us thinking!

Got to take a break now!

[jerryme 2]

Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like most prefer a blade on the tractor. Thanks all.

[bc.gold 3,403]

I also have a steep and very long gravel driveway, I have the skid plates adjusted to keep the cutting edge of the snow blower from scarfing into the gravel and keep the discharge chute directed away from house and any vehicles in the vicinity.

 

The only time the blower is picking up gravel is from the edge of the highway, I keep the edge clear so that the municipal snow plow has nothing to carry forward to berm the head of my driveway in.

 

I previously used a front end loader but find using the blower is much faster and it really gets a good work out keeping the drive clear then blowing out walking trails on our acreage for my other half.

 

When I was using the front end loader the huge piles of snow remained long after the rest of the snow had melted in the Spring thaw, with the blower the snow is more evenly distributed and does not linger.

 

[ebinmaine 70,708]

8 hours ago, jerryme said:

Thanks for all the suggestions, looks like most prefer a blade on the tractor. Thanks all.

I'm actually going to change this up a little bit.

 

 

If we have more than about five or six inches of snow I blow the driveway with a walk behind snowblower with the feet set high... to leave 1.5 inches of snow on the driveway so as to not catch as many stones. Then we go back and scrape with the plows.

 

 

 

[953 nut 57,878]

The key to success on a steep slope is traction. Fluid filled rear tires, wheel weights and tire chains are a must if you are pushing snow.

[MikMacMike 488]

4 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

I'm actually going to change this up a little bit.

 

 

If we have more than about five or six inches of snow I blow the driveway with a walk behind snowblower with the feet set high... to leave 1.5 inches of snow on the driveway so as to not catch as many stones. Then we go back and scrape with the plows.

 

 

 

Ive often thpought that in the past too when I have the blower on. I dont think Big Red could plow with amount of snow we get here either, but with a blower you can only get so close to buildings and it always leaves little chunks by the way side.....so I got thinking, snow blower on the front and a scrapper blade tucked in close behind the rear wheels. Problem was I wanted to have control of the blower and blade separately. Ebinmaine you just made me think of that old idea....for you you could blow with the blower on front, yes set high avoiding the gravel and while your blowing the blade is scraping behind you...killing two birds with one stone. The pile left with the blade you you then hit it with the blower. Might work great on long driveways???

[ebinmaine 70,708]

I can see the concept of that working quite well. The only problem I have with it is it would reduce my seat time.

 

 

[MikMacMike 488]

3 minutes ago, ebinmaine said:

I can see the concept of that working quite well. The only problem I have with it is it would reduce my seat time.

 

 

Gawd your just like my brother and I......we will set out to do a job or chore that takes an hour.......a whole day later is when we come strollen back in hahahaha.

[bc.gold 3,403]

On 12/19/2019 at 9:16 AM, MikMacMike said:

Ive often thpought that in the past too when I have the blower on. I dont think Big Red could plow with amount of snow we get here either, but with a blower you can only get so close to buildings and it always leaves little chunks by the way side.....so I got thinking, snow blower on the front and a scrapper blade tucked in close behind the rear wheels. Problem was I wanted to have control of the blower and blade separately. Ebinmaine you just made me think of that old idea....for you you could blow with the blower on front, yes set high avoiding the gravel and while your blowing the blade is scraping behind you...killing two birds with one stone. The pile left with the blade you you then hit it with the blower. Might work great on long driveways???

 

Leave the snow next to your heated buildings. mother natures insulation.