Real World Snow Plowing Tips
Snow Plowing Tips from some Red Neck in the Mountains of Colorado.
So what got me thinking was this article by Four Wheeler Magazine called Snow Removal 101. They did a very good
Gary Ford my Snow Plow Rig!!!
job with their overview of snow plowing, if you live in town and have a top notch rig you are working with. As you can see, my plow rig, named Gary Ford, is a 79 F-250 that has been around the horn a few times and we live 2.5 miles down a primitive un-maintained, barely graveled, rutted mess of a road with canyons and gullies , up hills, etc. So I have a sort of a different outlook on snow plowing than Joe City guy 😉 So here is a collection of some real life snow plowing advice I have to share, but please, if you are reading this I would love for you to share some of your advice on here also. If it is good I will add it into this and will give you a link, if you have a website!! On that note, here is some of my advice.
Create spots to store snow.
This is mentioned in the Four Wheeler article, but I was first given this advice from the gentleman that I traded with for Gary. He told me you need to create spots to store snow, and that was great advice. I
Always find spots to store the snow while snow plowing!
will actually create spots on straight a ways, when I have a full load in front of the plow and I find a break in the trees, I will yank the pile into the spot and then back out and move on down the road. Turns out this comes in handy when you are taking on the mega storm. You will be pushing a big load that will unload itself into these spots as you pass and will help keep you moving. But every time you make a corner or meet an intersection that is a place to push up your pile, as far back as you can. As the winter wears on you will be glad you have them.
Lift your blade to keep moving.
The weight of the blade can come in very handy when you need traction. Both forward and reverse you will notice that if you are having problems moving just pick up the blade a little, you will feel the weight pull down the front suspension and you will start digging in.
To Chain or not to Chain?
Chains on your Snow Plow Rig!
The traction you get from tire chains is really remarkable. If you chain up all four wheels it really is like driving a tank but is it worth the stress on the rig? When I first got Gary the front drive line was toast and needed a complete front drive shaft. It is true that the front drive line is weaker then the rear, from the type of axle to the fact that you have axle joints/U-Joints that have to work in extremes when the wheels are cranked all the way to one side. The front drive shaft also has a steeper angle to which puts more stress on what are usually smaller U-Joints. Couple this with the weight of the blade and the stress of plowing and the front end looks to be a real weak link. So I opt to not chain up the front end, but I do have the biggest set of Truck Chains I can find on the rear wheels and usually I do not have any issues with moving most snow. Next time I have the storm of the century, I still have the option of chaining up the front, but until then I think I will try to preserve it.
I would love your input.
Thanks you for reading this post about Snow Plowing Tips. I am sure I could come up with a few more, but I hope you will share some of your own advice from your real world experience snow plowing. Please comment here or on our Facebook Page, and I think that I will create a new post that I will call Real World Snow Plowing advice from our readers and include credit and links! Thanks- See Ya in the Hills!!!
