Shoes for dozer blade

[417Horse 40]

I've got a 48" dozer blade hooked up to my 417-8 and my driveway is 450 ft of asphalt. i'd like opinions on what type of skid shoes would work best on the pavement? I've had the blade for years now and have flipped over the flat bar edge to use the good side. The blade has the has the mounting holes for the shoes, but I'm just wanting opinions on what would work best in my situation. The factory shoes are a little on the expensive side, but if I get good opi nions about using those, I might go that route.

[ebinmaine 68,401]

IMHO. Asphalt only?..... No shoes. Let the blade do the scraping. 

There are multiple types listed on the internet as well as several folks here on the site having made their own. 

 

[ebinmaine 68,401]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[417Horse 40]

Just trying to save my driveway! I just want to be able to drop the blade down without having to "fine tune" the scraping with the electric lift.

[417Horse 40]

I had seen the pvc method this morning. Being a retired electrician, I've got plenty of that! Might give that a shot for the next snow.

[BeninCT 451]

5 minutes ago, 417Horse said:

I had seen the pvc method this morning. Being a retired electrician, I've got plenty of that! Might give that a shot for the next snow.

 

Been wondering about some for my plow as well but not sure what they would accomplish on asphalt aside from very slightly lowering the amount of pressure the scraping edge puts on the asphalt. If you adjust it any higher the blade will not scrape the pavement which isnt what you want for plowing (is it?).   Don’t think I want to leave 1/16” of snow everywhere but maybe it wouldn’t hurt (driveway is in the Sun) and would prevent the blade from scraping the new paving

[417Horse 40]

A thin layer of snow will melt on a paved driveway with good sun exposure, even if it's a bit below freezing.

[ebinmaine 68,401]

19 minutes ago, 417Horse said:

save my driveway

 

7 minutes ago, BeninCT said:

prevent the blade from scraping the new paving

 

I'd have some concern of down pressure of the shoes too. 

Small pattern for shoe vs large spread out pattern of entire plow blade width. 

PVC could be a good option for a sacrificial piece. 

 

Or get a high density piece of plastic for the plow blade edge. 

 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 25,963]

I plow 2 asphalt and 1 concrete drive. No shoes. I set the blade to lean as far forward as the adjustment holes will allow. This lets the blade still scrape but doesn’t “cut” or dig... works great on concrete joints as well. Skips right over them...

 

[417Horse 40]

I'll have to check there the blade is set. Thanks

[ebinmaine 68,401]

Just now, 417Horse said:

I'll have to check there the blade is set. Thanks

We plow gravel/dirt here. I keep the blade on the second hole from the bottom for the same reason. 

Nice forward tilt. 

[Ed Kennell 38,681]

5 minutes ago, SylvanLakeWH said:

I plow 2 asphalt and 1 concrete drive. No shoes. I set the blade to lean as far forward as the adjustment holes will allow. This lets the blade still scrape but doesn’t “cut” or dig... works great on concrete joints as well. Skips right over them...

 

 

Same here....I do 3 asphalt and 2 concrete driveways and a stone road and grassy trails with no damage.    I even plow my loosely laid  brick walks  that are very uneven due to tree roots.  The blade regularly catches these, but flips right over.

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

1 hour ago, 417Horse said:

 The factory shoes are a little on the expensive side, but if I get good opi nions about using those, I might go that route.

If you have the resources you can make your own. Like I did and yes IMO are probably the best shoes/skids for asphalt, I would set them flush to the wear bar or no more than 1/8" lower. I too have a lot of asphalt but rarely do I use the skids unless I'm trying to keep from ripping the sod up.

Edited February 13, 2021 by WVHillbilly520H

[417Horse 40]

Thanks for the drawing. I'd seen it on here before, but I couldn't find it this time. I had the resources to do this where I used to work, but I'm retired now and don't have access. I'm right down the road from you in Rockville, Va.

[JoeM 7,874]

I have shoes 3x5"on the xi blade but only use them on gravel when it is not frozen. They are set just slightly so the front edge is just off the ground with the top pin in the second hole. 

For the concrete sidewalks, I tip it forward and pin in the next lower hole, this makes the shoes lift and it is all on the front edge. I do have 3/8x2 strip of conveyor belting sandwiched between edge and blade. Works okay.

 

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

1 hour ago, 417Horse said:

Thanks for the drawing. I'd seen it on here before, but I couldn't find it this time. I had the resources to do this where I used to work, but I'm retired now and don't have access. I'm right down the road from you in Rockville, Va.

Yeah, I miss the 13yrs in the machine shop at the muffler plant in Harrisonburg VA (22 years total), work as a QC Inspector in Charlottesville VA for a surgical instruments company now, so what did you do before you retired?  I go to Powhatan for my Mihindra now as its it the closest dealer since mine sold out.

[Horse Newbie 7,116]

2 hours ago, ebinmaine said:

get a high density piece of plastic for the plow blade edge. 

I like this idea...high density is pretty tough and would protect the drive , still providing a rigid edge for a good scrape.

[WVHillbilly520H 10,374]

9 minutes ago, Horse Newbie said:

I like this idea...high density is pretty tough and would protect the drive , still providing a rigid edge for a good scrape.

UHMW.  I know I have seen the UHMW wear bars on eBay and Amazon.

[Horse Newbie 7,116]

9 minutes ago, WVHillbilly520H said:

UHMW.  I know I have seen the UHMW wear bars on eBay and Amazon.

What does UHMW stand for ?

[417Horse 40]

WVH, I was an electrician out of Local 666 in Richmond, but I know exactly where you worked at the Walker plant in Harrisonburg as I was staying at a hotel on Rt 11 while working at the Coors plant in Elkton when I was working away from home. 

Edited February 13, 2021 by 417Horse

[417Horse 40]

Ultra High Molecular Weight polyethylene - just googled it

[417Horse 40]

Now, after hearing all these great ideas, I'm leaning towards the conveyor belt or the UHMW material. Thanks all for your help!

[Horse Newbie 7,116]

7 minutes ago, 417Horse said:

Ultra High Molecular Weight polyethylene - just googled it

I thought about " I could have Googled it" right after I asked @WVHillbilly520H what it was...

The Red Square, to me is like a double edged sword at times...

On one hand it sorta makes me a little lazy by getting a quick answer by asking...

And on the other hand it makes me get up off my backside and work on projects that I need to do after seeing the people on here doing things...

I know one thing.. Being on the Red Square has made me start, and finish a lot of things that I may not have attempted before.

It's like having a maintenance department of trade experts at your fingertips...

[cschannuth 3,816]

6 minutes ago, 417Horse said:

Ultra High Molecular Weight polyethylene - just googled it

That’s what I use and it works great. On my 42” I don’t have shoes. Mine lasted for three winters on one side and then I flipped it. That’s on concrete. On smooth asphalt it should last longer. On my 54” I have shoes but I don’t let them touch the driveway. I have them set so that when the   wear bar wears down it prevents the bottom of my steel plow from contacting my concrete driveway.  Also, I don’t use down pressure. I let the weight of the plow do the work. When I used a 520 to plow I used chain for the lift link.  

[ebinmaine 68,401]

14 minutes ago, 417Horse said:

UHMW material

The jungle site has has em for 35 bucks and up.