Powered driveway gates for areas with snow.

[Strouty]

Been having way too many cars driving up my driveway and either turning around or parking and walking around, I am not always there, but I am starting to get worried. Have a camera system, but police are little help, they just say I can have them towed, so now I am thinking gate, there are power poles that I can have a meter and panel set, so I would prefer 220 or 110 volt options with DC as a backup, has to be remote, my neighbor is on board, he and I share the driveway and enjoy the privacy. My biggest concern is winter weather and the gates not operating properly. Anyone have a suggestion for the mechanism? We will most likely build and install ourselves. Thanks.

 

[Bogie1632]

For winter weather I'd recommend either a gate that raises (expensive...like alot) or a swing arm. I don't recall the exact company or cost but one of my previous shops had a swing arm gate installed with remotes for under $2500 that covered a two late entrance. Short of that if you don't have a private drive/no tresspassing sign up I'd get one to hopefully deter a few folks.

Just my $.02.

Good luck.

V/R
Bogie

 

[Strouty]

I saw a few systems, just the mechanism, for about $6k, I am talking with a local trucking company that runs that style gate to see what they use and what issues they have.

 

[Higgins]

Just a few thoughts. I don't know how long the driveway is.

On a previous piece of property I installed sensors across the driveway that would turn on some large sport lights. Go farther up the driveway and another set of Halogen lights would go on. Most people never made it to zone 3.

Had neighbor farmer that people would park on the driveway for access to his fields. LLE wouldn't do anything, so on numerous occasions he parked one of the LARGE JD on the drive, people couldn't get out. One morning the kids needed to get into the field so they just hooked up a tow chain and dragged the car into the side of the road.
After an article in the local paper, it all stopped !!!!

 

[SVTchris]

My neighbor and I also had the same problem. I put this up and we haven't had anyone come up the driveway in months.

 

[juddspaintballs]

Use a forest service style gate. Unless you get a ton of snow, it'll work fine and keep cars out.

 

[Cruzan80]

I will let you know. I have one of the Mighty Mules that is in my garage that should be installed in a week or two. Ours is just a 12' gate, but we do get a decent amount of snow in CO. However, it is the soft fluffy kind, not like that NE icy slush.

 

[pmiranda]

How wide is the driveway?

Solar-charged battery units seem pretty reasonably priced.
I'm looking at an aluminum double-swing 16', but for snow, I'd think a sliding gate would do better if you have room for the tracks to the side(s).

 

[Strouty]

I think the gate would need to be 14’ wide, we have tractor trailers going through and I don’t want any issues. It does look like the sliding style is the most sensible in this situation.

 

[sweetk30]

at work we have a sliding gate on a chain . its prob 20ft wide opening and we get snow here in upstate ny but not like you do up in maine .

we plow the driveway area but hardly ever do anything at the fence were the gate slides in/out from .

 

[Strouty]

Good to know, I am in the southern part of Maine, so I am sure you get more snow than I do.

I just ordered some of the signs recommended, I figure I have to start somewhere.

 

[tarmy]

I had the exact same problem...solved it with this...

Sliding gate...it is actually cantilevered over 26 feet. If the snow is real deep I dig out an area for it to open...

Like others mentioned...if you are in a snow area...there will be some snow removal...even for the vertical lift gates...

 

[Wood Rat]

You can avoid the requirement to shovel snow if the gate rolls back into a tunnel as long as the gate.
When I was working in upstate New York we installed a few gates on equipment yards that were like that. We used panels that could be removed from the inside of the fence line for gate, chain and track maintenance. Some were solid steel panels some had clear panels. The clear panels had more issues catching rocks from mowers, the advantage was you could see through them.

 

[Strouty]

The area that the gate will slide to is actually about 4' lower than the driveway, so I suspect it will be a non issue.

 

[Wood Rat]

PM me if you want a product name to look at. The design drawings for the product are worth a look.
What I will send you was big bucks 20 years ago when I was getting it for the government so just bee aware.

 

[Wood Rat]

You should have it.

 

[Tom Sestito]

Cantilever gate all the way. I have one here in Manitoba and we get a ton of snow. Mostly it just pushes it out of the way but if it gets real deep a quick pass with the shovel takes care of it.

 

[4xdog]

I have friends in the mountains west of Denver who live on a dirt road well off the main path. They have a gate going onto their property that lifts vertically, like a railroad crossing gate. It as a parallelogram setup so it's a regular-looking gate with pickets or crossbars until it lifts, when all that stuff pivots.

Works very well for deep snow with no practical chance of clearing a path otherwise.

 

[zoepop]

I Live in Southern Maine too. Where I rent my shop for work has sliding gates. They leave them open when son is predicted, close them after its cleaned up.

Although I like ducksface's idea better

 

[zoepop]

Sorry, I should have proof read. Should have been when "snow" was expected

 

[casmurbax]

Duckface has the right idea. With the slide gate, it doesn't have to be 4ft in height and 3 inches off the ground. It could be 2 feet off the ground and only 2 feet in height, that would slide easily and keep the cars out.

 

[801cdw]

I have a solar powered 14ft cantilever, slide gate (roboslide by elite) that I have used for the last decade.
The only big problem I had was before I added safety covers for the roller mechanisms. Before when it would snow more then a couple inches the roller would jam and I would have to clear out the packed snow to get the gate to open/close correctly.

 

[walta]

My neighbor and I also had the same problem. I put this up and we haven't had anyone come up the driveway in months.

Is that a custom sign if not care to share where you got it?


Walta

 

[readhead]

Having built and installed a lot of gates in snow country these are my thoughts.
First choice, swinging gate 16” off the ground. Simple, inexpensive, but the hinge post needs to be very stout. Don’t forget it is stressed in the open position also.
Second choice, rolling gate, but cantilevered to stay out of the snow. More expensive, a lot more work and moving parts and requires more space.
Last choice, vertical gate. More expensive, more complicated operation, weight becomes an issue and when it breaks down it is always in the wrong position no matter where it is.
Worst choice, folding gate. A lot of HOA’s have outlawed them because of liability. To many pinch points and to many pivot points. Seemed like a good idea when they came out but the idea hasn’t held up in practice.

 

[555]

We had a 20 foot sliding gate in Richmond, VA. The year we put it in and nearly every year after that we had record snow falls. I never had to clean out behind the gate, but did have to clean off the electrical box so the "eye" could see my remote. We had both a key pad and remote to enter and close it. The property was a hot spot for artifact collectors, Revolutionary War, Civil War, Colonial before the wars and Native Americans before them. I didn't mind them looking but they would trash the place and leave the old gate open when they left. I had a lot of fun with a guy one Saturday morning. My Wife had dropped me off and I was in a shed getting some tools. Guy drove in, got out of his car and started metal detecting. I waited until he was on the far side of the property and closed the gate. About an hour later he came back to his car and when started for the gate, I opened it. Just before he got to it, I closed it. He sat for a few minutes and then got out of the car. As he approached the gate, I opened it. He ran back to his car and when he got in, I closed it. He kept looking around, but the shed door was shut and he couldn't see me inside. This went on for about an hour. At one point he started driving around in circles like he was trying to "trick" the gate switch. I waited until he got to the far side of his circle and opened the gate. He made a mad rush for the gate and I closed it. About this time my Wife returned. She pulled up in the drive and used the remote to open the gate. The guy got out of his car and my wife got out of the truck with a pistol in her hand. I guess she thought he might have killed me or something. She told him in no uncertain terms he was trespassing and we did have a no trespassing sign which had always been ignored. She asked if he had seen me and by this time he was in tears. He said he hadn't seen anyone, the gate was open when he arrived but closed when he tried to get out. He told he had been trying to get out for over an hour. She figured out that I must have been messing with him. Got his license number and his driver's license information and let him leave. She called out for me after he left and we both laughed until we cried.

 

[SVTchris]

Is that a custom sign if not care to share where you got it?


Walta

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0089ONRR2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[SteveCh]

Use a forest service style gate. Unless you get a ton of snow, it'll work fine and keep cars out.

We've had hunters actually drive up our driveway and park at the garage, leave their cars and head out walking during deer season. A number of times. Last time this happened, I accosted the 4 guys and they said, "We don't have to walk as far uphill this way."

I welded up a gate like this forest service thing, put in an opener, and no hassles since.

First had a Mighty Mule. This turned out to be the biggest piece of trash I might have ever bought. Two neighbors stopped by to ask about my MM, before I replaced it, and I told both to forget it and get something that works. Neither took my advice, both of them have since trashed theirs.

I ended up with an Apollo, and it's been trouble-free for the ten years we've had it.

 

[4xdog]

Some of you need to look up:
Curtiladge.

Perhaps you meant to spell it "curtilage"?

Feel free to expand on what you're thinking in more detail -- thx.

 

[gb99]

The other gates we have are the standard double gate.
You know how you combat 18 inches of snow?
You build the gate to be 20 inches off of the ground.

(I walked my considerable *** a 1/4mile to get this picture for you.)

Great idea and post! I am going to build a wooden swinging gate as you suggest and add one extra feature: a detachable lower panel. This won't be an often used gate, so if and when I need to open it AND there's snow on the ground, I'll remove the lower panel.

 

[kbs2244]

I am a fan of Vertical Pivot Gates for Driveways in snow country
The RR style dosn't care about snow depth or road condition

http://www.tiltaway.com/

https://www.lazygate.com/

https://www.autogate.com/vertical-pivot-lift-photos/

https://www.estate-gate.com/

 

[tonyciambrone]

We have an 18 ft opening sliding gate at work. Its basically a chan link fence on 3 rollers. Its about 12" off the ground, gate is cantilevered as states probably 28 ft long.

I have never had an issue with snow, I mean, not even close. It does run off of either a 3/4 hp or 1hp motor. Personally I would go farm gate due to expense.
I cant imagine how snow would cause a problem with a slider.

 

[Strouty]

Some great info in this thread, thanks for making the trek for the pics Ducksface.

I just got two signs in, will post those sometime this week, I have a few more signs arriving by the end of this week.

 

[LifeLongWNYer]

As a security advisor, I've designed gates for many industrial sites, and we have never had a snow problem with a sliding/cantilevered gate leaf. If the gate leaf has a 3" wide frame, all it needs to do is punch a 3" wide path in the snow, and all the good operators do that easily. A brand we used often was Hy-Security.

If security is a concern, you can install a industrial grade overhead door contact to monitor the position of the leaf, and trip an alarm if it remains open, or is forced open.

The operators which drive the leaf with a "bicycle-type" chain do have a vulnerability in that if the chain is cut with a bolt cutters, the gate leaf can easily be slid open manually. The hydraulic operators which have hard rubber wheels, which pinch on a flat plate, are more resistant to forced openings.

The tilt up operators, in which the leaf rotates 90 degrees up, so they are perpendicular to the ground, when raised are good to protect rail road tracks, in that they can lie within an inch, or two, of the ground, and make it more difficult for intruders to squeeze under the leaf. With cut outs for the rails, they work well.

There is a company which makes an operator for swinging gates, which lift the leaf 3 or 4 inches before it starts the swing motion, they are nice if there isn't room for a sliding leaf, but fairly pricey.




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