Plow truck performance review;)Fina

[Goinmxn]

Plow truck performance review

I have 9 events pushing snow and spreading salt/sand for Vdot now and can share what I have learned.
First, these trucks will effortlessly move large amounts of snow, easily keeping up with quad axle dump trucks while pushing in tandem. Traction with the super singles is great. I have not had to us 6x6 once. I tried it to see the differnce, but it is not needed under my circumstances. The cabs stay plenty warm and comfortable to operate in with the air ride seats. I am able to push back shoulders farther than the trucks with smaller tires that fall off the road and have a hard time maintaining traction. Vdot loves this.
Now the biggest negative. Visibility because of fogging during heavy snow. First, the fresh air intake tube packs full of snow during higher speed clearing of deep snow. I disconnected the intake tube from the inlet and let it breath right behind the light to help this. I am working on solutions to bring more airflow to the windshield. It doesn't need more heat, just more volume and better distribution. I would also like to improve the mirrors, but I'll be happier with better defog first. Secondly the headlights. I need them on the roof, keeps the snow off them and visibility good. Luckily where I plow is well lit. If it were in the country I would be in trouble. Finally I need fenders to keep everything cleaner, working on that now.
Overall I couldn't be happier with what I've put together and will be doing more of them (building) in the future!
Steve

 

[Wildchild467]

Any pictures?

 

[hklvette]

Any pictures?

This. If I had more time available during snow events I'd get the 931 or a 923 setup to run plow duty.

 

[m1010plowboy]

Moisture in the cab, mirrors, fan-belts and heater intake is just a pain. Plowing real slow works and having a driver that is dry and does not exhale helps but is not usually an option.

Heated mirrors, protecting intakes, add big wind inside the cab and after-market heated seats would make things easier. https://www.heatyourseat.com/

We're all hungry for pictures and a big truck plowing video now!

Here's a baby MV plow as an appetizer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7qGYnrwz-e8

 

[188slo50]

HaHa, the reason I'm interested in these trucks now is cause I saw your trucks sitting behind your shop all fall being worked on its a small world. Very nice setup you have and hope to get one in the near future, message me if you ever need another hand I'd love to learn more about these.

 

[rivercreek]

Don't know why the picture is sideways, but I put these 24V LED's on our 5 tons and have been VERY impressed with them. I was initially concerned about glare off the hood and fenders, but this has proven to not be the case. Got them from Fleetpride. Weren't very cheap, $60-80 each, but worth it in my opinion. I believe the brand name was prima-tropics if I remember correctly.

 

[shadow1]

I have a question for you guys. I have a 923A2 and am getting ready to put a snow plow on it. I think they call it a hi speed hiway plow. Small on one side and bigger on the other. Anyway I dont have the wet kit on the truck and I was thinking about using a electic Warn winch series 18. The plow only goes up and down, it does not go left and right. What do you all think ???

 

[sweetk30]

works on smaller scale with atv's

maybe use a snatch block to help with the load down on the plow end so the cable goes down / around pulley block / back up to frame .

just get a good quality winch no CHINA crap .

but also it wouldn't take much to just do a engine drivin hydrolic clutch pump off the engine serp belt .

or even a 24 volt hydro power unit .

with the last 2 this would leave you room to expand later on down the road over the winch .

also winch is not designed to hold a load for long time road travel . so if you do a winch add a good safty chain / road travel chain to the system . fisher did this years ago on the old speedcast plows .

 

[rivercreek]

Shadow1, I agree w/ sweetk30 on all of his points. while you could do this effectively for quick work (your own long driveway, etc.) it probably would not be best way to go for more intensive/lengthy work. I installed belt driven hydraulic pumps on my trucks (I have 4 - A1's that I contract with VDOT for snow removal.) The hydraulic pump that the winch trucks have are not really designed for on-highway/constant use (not a true wet-line system) although I've read a few others on SS say that they've used them without failure for similar operations. I use belt driven hydraulic pumps to supply both the plows and hydraulic salt spreaders, and they have worked very reliably for me. It's a lot more work up front, but it'll last you for years. A 24V hydraulic power unit as sweetk30 mentioned would work well for you too, as you don't need a lot of volume to just raise a plow. One thing i'll mention (because I've seen it happen) is to consider your lift cylinder volume if you decide to go this route. Bigger isn't necessarily better in this particular case. The 24V hydraulic power units that I've seen out there have quite small fluid reservoirs and don't put out much flow (cfm), which can potentially cause 2 issues: 1). If the bore is too large, it will raise VERY VERY slowly; and 2). If the bore AND stroke are too large, you can run your reservoir dry before you reach full extension, result being that your plow won't lift very far off the ground.

 

[shadow1]

Thanks for the comments guys. I am new to all this big truck and big plow stuff and I am at a loss. Do you know where these parts can be had ? You all will have to forgive me as I am not the shapest tack in the box. I know almost nothing about hydraulics but I am a good wench. I will try to post pics of what I have and see what you think.

 

[sweetk30]

lots of big truck supply shops ( aka big truck auto parts stores ) can get / sell you the stuff for the hydro's .

and some if it is a common engine might even have direct bolt bracket kits .

to keep hoses to a min maybe look at electric control valves .

 

[OilfieldRoughneck]

Thanks for the comments guys. I am new to all this big truck and big plow stuff and I am at a loss. Do you know where these parts can be had ? You all will have to forgive me as I am not the shapest tack in the box. I know almost nothing about hydraulics but I am a good wench. I will try to post pics of what I have and see what you think.

cheapest option is to buy a broke down or wore out large plow truck. Remove the plow, and mount it to a MV. This is what I did. I bought a 2 1/2 ton with a plow, removed the plow, and sold the truck for the same price I paid for it.

 

[rivercreek]

Well, I think the first question that needs an answer is what do you intend to plow with your new truck? By that, I mean would it be for personal use or for business use? All the parts you would need can be easily gotten. Once you decide for certain which route you want to go, I'd be happy to give you suppliers/part #'s etc of the parts I use. You will need access to a welder, drill press, etc., and you will have some metal fabricating to do as well if you intend to install wet line hydraulics on your new truck. Just throwin that out there. Good luck and let us know what you decide. P.S. - Don't see any pictures yet..

 

[shadow1]

Well I live 3 1/2 mi. back a dirt road that I need to keep open. And I have already talked to the county about sub contracting. I'd like to put the truck to work for me. Usually we get a fair amount of snow up here except for last year. On average we get about 10 ft all winter long more or less. So theres money out there to be made if you have the truck. I got a great truck, just need to get the plow on and get it all working

 

[shadow1]

well this is what I have so far. ( see pic above). The hyd. cyl. is a 12" stroke and a 2 1/2" bore and only has one fitting on it. The pump I am looking at is a Rexroth hyd. clutch pump, 2.32 cu. in., 20 gpm, 2200psi max.,8 grv. serp pullet.. Looks like I can mount it behind the alt. mount with a custom bracket. Am I headed the right direction or spinning my wheels ?

 

[whiteout2204]

Great Plow Trucks

Met with Goinmxn (Steve) today as he said he would give me info on setting my truck up for snow plowing. Great Guy and his trucks are awesome! THANKS AGAIN STEVE!!

 

[sweetk30]

lift ram only needs 1 hose .

power up gravity weight down