Road maintenance: Snow plows for tractors and trucks

The state, city or municipality is usually responsible for winter maintenance of roads. In this article, we would like to describe how different machines with blades could help and what to think about when selecting and operating them.

Winter maintenance of roads

The road maintenance plan should usually specify:

  • Approach to winter maintenance
  • Maintenance deadlines
  • Basic technological procedures
  • Road maintenance schedule

Furthermore, maintenance is specified according to the needs of the city or municipality. The procedure described in winter road maintenance should always apply from 1 November to 31 March (at least in Czech Republic).

Winter road maintenance machines

For more efficient road maintenance, various machines are used to which a snow plow can be attached. Applicable machines are:

  • Large snow plows
  • ATVs
  • Tractors

A front plow, a rear plow or a rotatable plow can be attached to these machines. Ideally, a plow with an interchangeable suspension adapter system can be used. This plow can be used on various vehicles.

Advantages of using the plow to clean the road

The plow can be used to remove snow, mud or leaves. Various other loose materials can be removed with it.

The advantage of using a plow is more efficient cleaning. Thanks to the use of rubber blades, the road or sidewalk is not damaged at the same time. The metal surface of the plow does not rub against the hard surface and thus both the plow and the cleaned surface are protected. 

Plow widths

Snow plows are manufactured with different widths. In practice, the plow width is usually 1000 mm to 3500 mm. The correct choice of width depends on whether the sidewalk (smaller width) or the road or motorway (larger width) is being cleaned.

Snow plow use

Snow plows can be used in two different ways:

  • The blade is perpendicular to the axis of the machine - the blade pours material in the direction of travel.
  • The blade is mounted obliquely in the direction of travel - the material is pushed to the side.

Rubber blades for snow plows

Rubber blade edge allows minimal wear of the plow and minimal damage to the cleaned surface. Snow plows can be fitted with either bevelled or non-bevelled rubber blades.

  • Non-Bevelled rubber blades
  • Bevelled rubber blades - easier material scraping

How KSK Belt can help

KSK Belt is a manufacturer of rubber blades for snow plows. Contact us for more information.

9/11/2021