Land plane or box blade with scarifiers for an icy gravel driveway?

[mcmxi]

We went from -30F last week to 41F today and the 200 yard long gravel driveway is like an ice rink. I tried this morning to scrape the ice and maybe move some of the softer stuff using the front hydraulic snow blade on the MX but it didn't work. Now I'm thinking about hooking up the land plane or box blade to the back of the M6060, lowering the scarifiers an inch or so below the blade and heading down the driveway in Creep range. What are my chances of success? Success for me would be substituting an Olympic level luge track for a usable residential driveway.

 

[RCW]

That’s a tough one……

Honestly, I would prefer some grit on top versus tearing it up in that weather.

I’d prefer to keep the frozen base intact to every extent possible.

Any way to sand it?

 

[je1279]

I frequently have a similar problem with my gravel driveway that does not get any sunlight. I agree with @RCW that using sand or ice melt is your best bet to resore traction but getting it back down to gravel usually doesn't happen until early spring around here.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

Don't use ice melt. It will hold moisture, which is the last thing you want.

I agree, otherwise. Don't tear it up. Add some grit or gravel but don't tear it up.

 

[bird dogger]

In some hilly areas one will see horizontal 55 gallon drums of sand on stands at the bottm of icy hills or turns, etc. That may not be practical on a very long icy drive, but if there's only a few problem areas it might be a partial solution for those troublesome spots.

I don't have any pics of them but a google search of "winter sand barrels" should turn up a couple. Mounted on a stand, one end is cut out halfway and the barrel then filled with sand. Usually a small shovel or scoop is left inside or alongside for convenience. When needed....the sand is scooped from the barrel and strewn on the icy spots for traction.

 

[NCL4701]

Might be time for a small agricultural flamer. Don’t know what they cost and not an immediate solution, but if it’s an ongoing issue…

Started to post as a joke, but actually when I was a kid one of my winter chores occasionally was removing ice from around the foot traffic areas by the house (people safety) and hoof traffic areas by the barn (livestock safety). I used a flamethrower to melt the ice and it pretty much vaporized the resulting water too. It was kind of enjoyable at the time because it was infrequent and what normal boy doesn’t enjoy using a flamethrower.

 

[Mark_BX25D]

In some hilly areas one will see horizontal 55 gallon drums of sand on stands at the bottm of icy hills or turns, etc. That may not be practical on a very long icy drive, but if there's only a few problem areas it might be a partial solution for those troublesome spots.

I don't have any pics of them but a google search of "winter sand barrels" should turn up a couple. Mounted on a stand, one end is cut out halfway and the barrel then filled with sand. Usually a small shovel or scoop is left inside or alongside for convenience. When needed....the sand is scooped from the barrel and strewn on the icy spots for traction.

We have those in my neighborhood. I"m down on the flats at the foot of the mountains, and the roads farther up have them here and there.

 

[mikester]

If you NEED the extra traction in places add sand.

Trying to scratch the surface ice with your tractor is about as good as using a feather duster.

Use studs or tire chains for tractor traction.

Looks like a great Zamboni replacement if you want more polished glare ice.

 

[mcmxi]

That’s a tough one……

Honestly, I would prefer some grit on top versus tearing it up in that weather.

I’d prefer to keep the frozen base intact to every extent possible.

Any way to sand it?

Thanks. I have a Herd 750 seeder/sander but it's manual (chute opening/adjustment) and not the best implement. I bought it used from an ex-coworker who managed to mess up anything he touched. I use an hydraulic angle snow blade on the gravel driveway so it doesn't matter to me if the base is frozen or not since I can adjust the height of the blade above the gravel very easily and I don't end up pushing gravel off the driveway.

Sand or a sand/salt mix is such a pain. The pile gets frozen and it's annoying to have to try to break it up. I'd really like to figure out a mechanical way to make the lower driveway a lot safer for those days (typically) towards the end of winter when we have freeze/thaw cycles. A couple of years ago I made up a steel comb using railroad stakes that replaced the cutting edge on the rear blade. My thought was that I could rough up the ice for traction. With no downforce and insufficient weight it didn't do a whole lot. That's why I'm wondering if the land leveler would achieve something similar.

Someone should design, build and sell an implement that is capable of roughing up an icy driveway. Maybe something like a flail that could be mounted on the rear that has chains or something, or like a tiller. I don't like putting salt down and have no desire to expose the tractors to salt, so a mechanical solution would be the bees knees.

 

[Mowbizz]

Your best solution is sand/salt like others have said (besides a flame thrower!)
I have the same situation with my 500’ driveway…recycled asphalt partially solved it as the water “mostly” runs off but my paved hill leading up to the house is an ice nightmare in the right conditions…I have 3 sand/salt barrels there. Funny though as I haven’t needed to sand yet this season…just some rock salt one icy morning did the trick.

 

[bird dogger]

.......Someone should design, build and sell an implement that is capable of roughing up an icy driveway. Maybe something like a flail that could be mounted on the rear that has chains or something, or like a tiller. I don't like putting salt down and have no desire to expose the tractors to salt, so a mechanical solution would be the bees knees.

You need to invent and make a pto or hydraulicly driven 6 ft wide needle scaler or needle gun attachment.

 

[skeets]

Sand lots of sand and rock salt,, been doing that for years,, dont use a scarfing blade it will just rip things up you will have to fix later

 

[mcmxi]

Your best solution is sand/salt like others have said (besides a flame thrower!)
I have the same situation with my 500’ driveway…recycled asphalt partially solved it as the water “mostly” runs off but my paved hill leading up to the house is an ice nightmare in the right conditions…I have 3 sand/salt barrels there. Funny though as I haven’t needed to sand yet this season…just some rock salt one icy morning did the trick.

Yesterday morning I went down the driveway in 4WD LOW and 1st gear and tried to keep the right side wheels in some snow. It's not a lot of fun once the truck starts sliding! I really need to figure something out, even if it means getting hydraulics for the HERD 750 seeder/sander. At the very least I could buy bags of dry sand and keep them out of the wet so that I can dump them into the hopper when needed.

 

[mcmxi]

You need to invent and make a pto or hydraulicly driven 6 ft wide needle scaler or needle gun attachment.

I'm surprised that something doesn't exist already. Even a chain or disk that could scratch the surface perpendicular to the direction of travel might be enough to provide traction.

 

[shelkol]

Just a wild off the cuff idea - How about one of those lawn aerators. Just to rough the top layer of ice. You'd have to do it every morning though.

 

[je1279]

I'm surprised that something doesn't exist already. Even a chain or disk that could scratch the surface perpendicular to the direction of travel might be enough to provide traction.

Courtney from GWT is using this to groom snow trails. Unsure of how it would work on the ice though.

 

[ctfjr]

I have 100' or so of our gravel driveway that gets almost no sun and is the steepest / curviest part. When we get that freeze / freeze thing I have the same problem.
I refuse to let salt be put on it. The snow plow guy I hired years ago killed all my plants next to the driveway with the salt / sand he was dropping.
When that area really gets slick I use the bucket / toothbar. I've become pretty good at ripping up the ice and leaving the gravel.
For 100' its an ok solution. Not the fastest so I'm not sure if it would extrapolate well to Montana.

 

[je1279]

You could try the scarifiers to rough it up a bit but I would keep them raised enough to not get under the ice and possibly tear your driveway apart.

 

[Michford]

Most cases scarifiers on ice will not do much besides sliding right over. Ice is a tough bastard to deal with. I have a concrete driveway and the ice is there until the temp warms enough for the concrete below to loosen its hold on the ice. Only then does my box blade start to scrape it off. And I still dont use the box blade scarifiers as they just arent as effective as the blade itself of the box blade. I dont want to spread salt or sand on my driveway either. I'm lucky that my driveway runs east/west and garage doors face south so sunny days help the most with loosening the ice hold on my driveway. Before I had the driveway concrete done, there was no scraping of ice from the gravel. Had to let nature take its course and melt the ice.

 

[mcmxi]

Just a wild off the cuff idea - How about one of those lawn aerators. Just to rough the top layer of ice. You'd have to do it every morning though.

I like the way you're thinking. Up here we only get a few days a winter when we have to deal with ice, and typically it's at the end of winter as we head into spring. This year we had lots of snow early and then it warmed up so this is twice the normal amount.