Prowler On A Gravel Road?

[Luke Seubert]

Good day everyone, most especially experienced Prowler enthusiasts.

Could folks share some advice on using a prowler, such as the Elite FTS Prowler 2, on a gravel road?

The road in front of my house is packed and scraped gravel. What are the possibilities of pushing a prowler around on such a surface?

If this isn't a good idea, after 500 feet the gravel road turns into a asphalt paved road with a dedicated bike lane, ideal for prowlers. Would sled dragging a loaded prowler up 500 feet of gravel road be feasible?

Please be aware that I am not so much worried about how hard it is pushing or dragging a prowler on gravel. Rather, I am concerned about excessive wear and tear on the prowler itself.

Thank you.

[OCG]

It's steel. It'll be fine, although very noisy.

[Mcpie]

The Prowler is a pretty heavy duty piece of equipment. The one I use has taken a beating, and aside from chipped paint + a bit of rust, is doing just fine.

Keep in mind this is in the great white north/Canada. It takes some abuse when used outside.

[Dastardly]

They wont be fine indefinitely, They will wear out eventually. But Im sure they'll still last plenty long.

Good thing is, that Elite FTS sell replacement ski's, so its not a concern.

[Luke Seubert]

Thank you OCG, Mcpie, and Dastardly for your replies. I appreciate the advice and feedback.

[ColoWayno]

Dragging that thing the 500 feet to get to the asphalt road will be a pretty good workout. I push mine on grass. I imagine gravel would just make it a little harder like grass does. Just use less weight until you get a feel for how easy it slides.

[Thomas Jones]

My old house had a 500' gravel driveway. I always drove my prowler (Rogue's Butcher, actually) out to the asphalt road to push it around. While it would have worked fine on the gravel driveway, I was worried about footing and fearful I would slip and fall on my face. As to your specific question, I cannot imagine gravel causing excessive wear and tear on the prowler. I'm guessing the 1000' of pushing/pulling will cause excessive wear and tear on you, though!

[Luke Seubert]

Dragging that thing the 500 feet to get to the asphalt road will be a pretty good workout. I push mine on grass. I imagine gravel would just make it a little harder like grass does. Just use less weight until you get a feel for how easy it slides.

You are right about a 500 foot drag being a decent workout in itself. If it poses too much of a workout before and after the real workout, I can always unload the thing and hand carry the plates separately in a second trip up to the paved road I suppose. Reverse pulling it as a sled would be an interesting warmup as counterpart to forward pushing.

Right now, I am working out with a very simple DIY prowler in my basement. I took an old aerobic stair stepper, flipped it upside down putting the flat top surface on the floor, and fit 207 pounds worth of my Quick-Lock dumbbells into the notches of the extruded plastic. I push it back and forth across the basement in intervals based upon my heart rate.

Unfortunately, this simple little Ad-Hoc prowler isn't as hard to push as a real prowler. I knew that when I first tried it out, but I figured it would be better to start working out now rather than in a few months when the budget allows the purchase of the real thing.

Having had the good sense not to eat or drink anything for two hours before my workouts, I haven't experienced Prowler Flu. Although I did feel dizzy and nauseous after the first two workouts. Since then, I have steadily improved my work capacity. They are pretty tough workouts, but they most certainly get the job done. Prowler sprints are an excellent complement to my other workouts, which are oriented towards fat loss for the time being.

[Luke Seubert]

My old house had a 500' gravel driveway. I always drove my prowler (Rogue's Butcher, actually) out to the asphalt road to push it around. While it would have worked fine on the gravel driveway, I was worried about footing and fearful I would slip and fall on my face. As to your specific question, I cannot imagine gravel causing excessive wear and tear on the prowler. I'm guessing the 1000' of pushing/pulling will cause excessive wear and tear on you, though!

Yeah, you might be right about that. I'll try different ways of dragging it first though, to see if I can somehow make it work. If not, I might find a neighbor up on the paved road who wouldn't mind letting me keep it on his property - maybe somebody who would like to borrow it and work out with it? If that doesn't work, I can follow your example and load it into the car and take it out to the road. But I would prefer to explore better alternatives first.

[grand666]

I though it would damage the parking lot at the park but all it does is make some vaguely visible white "scratch" lines here and there. I expected the police to show up but so far so good. when we get back to the park the following week the lines are gone. I pushed it on grass before but it sucks balls.

I dig the prowler. Beast you up good.