# Plowin streets



## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Well they suck but I'll post what i got. Want to start a pic/video thread for my dump truck and the work i do plowing and salting for a small local town. I've determined I need a better camera besides my cellphone and I need to learn to not miss the opportunity to take a good pic or video. I took 2 pics last night after topping off with salt and a quick video at about 1am while I was cruising down Main Street trying to stay awake. Quality sucks but I promise better ones to come...

Click the bottom to play. And yes the road is very bumpy, lol.


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## Omran (Oct 10, 2009)

it just dark, well I wait to the next ones.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Well, I didn't get any pics that came out ( too dark ), and forgot the [email protected] video camera, but my wife got a new camera and stopped by yesterday morning and snapped a few of me doing some final cleanup after about a foot of heavy wet stuff.

Parked the truck to give it a rest...









Another one... (notice the almost empty salt bin on the left, hope the next delivery comes before more snow)









Doin some cleanup with the skid...


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Few more on the skid steer...


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## WIPensFan (Jan 31, 2009)

bighornjd;1216963 said:


> Few more on the skid steer...


Nice skid, looks shiny and new! Truck is sweet to.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Thanks, just bought it back in the spring, it's an 05 but it only had about 190 hours on it when i got it. I try to keep it nice, got about 325 on it now. Been good to me so far, full cab and heat would be nice, but the plexiglass sides I put on help alot.


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## PowersTree (Jan 9, 2006)

Why don't you like plowing roads? Most roads I've done are private high end subs, and I love it. Trucks not quite as big 4x4 GMC 5500, but I run em all backwards, so curb is on my side, and run with em.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Never said I don't like plowing roads? By far i like them better than driveways, and even a little better than commercial lots. Maybe you misinterpreted my first post where I said the pics quality suck? 

I occasionally angle left and push some of the smaller streets, but for the most part, I have to push to the right 90% of the time because there is too much traffic. Just have to learn how to use the curb feelers. When the plow guide tip is brushing the telephone poles then you know your close enough.  It's an old town with narrow streets, so you can't get away with leaving much in the streets and have to get it curb to curb. 

I take pride in plowing wide!


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## DeereFarmer (Dec 12, 2005)

Nice equipment. Both look new, not just the skid.


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## PowersTree (Jan 9, 2006)

bighornjd;1217109 said:


> Never said I don't like plowing roads? By far i like them better than driveways, and even a little better than commercial lots. Maybe you misinterpreted my first post where I said the pics quality suck?
> 
> I occasionally angle left and push some of the smaller streets, but for the most part, I have to push to the right 90% of the time because there is too much traffic. Just have to learn how to use the curb feelers. When the plow guide tip is brushing the telephone poles then you know your close enough.  It's an old town with narrow streets, so you can't get away with leaving much in the streets and have to get it curb to curb.
> 
> I take pride in plowing wide!


Right on!! I misunderstood the original post.

Nice equipment.


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## Omran (Oct 10, 2009)

nice equipment man, and very good looking plow.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Thanks for all the compliments. I want to get more pics of the truck soon, maybe some video to, unfortunately all of our storms have been at night so far. The skid is usually just used to load salt in the truck. This was the first time I used it for actual snow, cleaning up the intersections and pushing piles back on the corners so people can see to pull out. I'm still pissed that I didn't have a beacon light on it being out in the streets. I put on a magnet mount in the beginning of the season and hardwired it in to a switch. I had the skid and truck parked at the salt shed over a weekend and some @sshole cut the wire and stole the light. They also reached under the front fender of the truck and cut all the wires to one of the pedestal lights and unhooked the hydraulic couplers on my plow.:realmad: I haven't bothered replacing the light yet since it's not really needed just to load salt. I was kicking myself yesterday for that decision. Need to pick one up this weekend. Now they let me park the skid inside locked up and the truck comes home with me each time. Was nice leaving the plow hooked up and tire chains on between storms, but just not worth the risk if I have to deal with that crap or worse. Oh well, throwing chains and hooking up the plow is done on the clock...payup


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## DareDog (Oct 22, 2007)

nice pics!

get some side shots of it.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Didn't get any more pics this last storm, had the camera all charged up and ready to go then left the [email protected] thing at the house like an idiot. Found a couple older ones buried on my phone though while cleaning it off...
One from back in the summer before the plow went on - truck actually somewhat clean.








First time with the plow mounted








Waitin on white gold








Pushin open an alley early one morning - one pass with a 10 footer and she's done, not much wiggle room either...









Hopefully we get some more snow before the end of the year so I can get some more pics, and more money too of course...


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

Nice truck and plow. Do you ever wish you had a wing?


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## DeereFarmer (Dec 12, 2005)

I totally LOVE that truck.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

mercer_me;1251051 said:


> Nice truck and plow. Do you ever wish you had a wing?


Not at all. I only do right in town, which is just over a mile long and about 3 blocks wide. Main street is the only one that really requires multiple passes in each direction to clear. It's tight enough as it is with cars parked on the side and meeting oncoming traffic with a 10' blade even angled. PennDOT seems to be the only trucks around here with wings and half the time I don't even see them down. I'm on the mason-dixon and in MD wing plows are practically non-existant around me. I don't know why they aren't used more, MD SHA doesn't have any that I know of and I don't think anybody pays extra for contractors to use them.

Thanks DeereFarmer, I love it too. It really is in great shape for it's age, and I got a steal on it.


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## pohouse (Jan 26, 2009)

Nice looking dump truck.


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## tailboardtech (Feb 28, 2010)

bighornjd;1251210 said:


> I'm on the mason-dixon and in MD wing plows are practically non-existent around me. I don't know why they aren't used more, MD SHA doesn't have any that I know of and I don't think anybody pays extra for contractors to use them.


the Hereford sha shop does have one for there tandem but i have only seen it on once and that was during the feb. blizzard last year. you head toward Fredrick county west you start seeing them on there T/A trucks. they also have 2 Oshkosh's somewhere.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

tailboardtech;1251431 said:


> the Hereford sha shop does have one for there tandem but i have only seen it on once and that was during the feb. blizzard last year. you head toward Fredrick county west you start seeing them on there T/A trucks. they also have 2 Oshkosh's somewhere.


Cool, I figured if there were any they would be out west. My Dad works for Harford co. and last year was the first year he has seen them put the big snowblower they have on one of the loaders. Its pretty impressive. One of these days i want to stop in the shop he works out of and snap some pics of all their equipment to put in the DOT rig picture thread.

Are you a firefighter? (just assuming by your username) I used to volley at Jarrettsville and Norrisville when I lived in Harford Co. I have several friends who work at BCoFD.

Thanks everyone for the compliments.


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## RN Lawncare (Sep 1, 2009)

nice truck, looks great! what is the pop. of your town?


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

RN Lawncare;1251524 said:


> nice truck, looks great! what is the pop. of your town?


That's a good question that i don't know the answer to, lol.

But, luckily there is Google.

A quick search reveals that the zip code I live in has an estimated 2009 population of about 5,500.

The borough that am working for or the actual "town" has an estimated population of just over 700 (PA has all kinds of little gay townships and boroughs if your not familiar). the borough is in the same zip code I live in, however I live out in the rural area or in the "township". I only plow for the borough or "in town" as we call it. The township has their own trucks and employees and takes care of everything outside the borough limits. Actually, they have some pretty nice stuff I need to get pics of sometime. 2 newer Pete six-wheelers and a new Mack Granite tandem plus 2 older IH singles.


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## mike6256 (Dec 15, 2007)

Nice stuff!! Did you end up getting much out of the Monday night storm?? I know we got squat, did a little salting and that was it...


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

mike6256;1251593 said:


> Nice stuff!! Did you end up getting much out of the Monday night storm?? I know we got squat, did a little salting and that was it...


Yeah, I'd say we ended up with around 5 inches, I didn't really check that close or measure. Had to be at least 4, maybe closer to 6. Got in a full night of plowing, and had everything pretty well cleaned up and salted by the time most people left for work in the morning. I had all the streets black and wet, cleaned the salt out of the truck and dropped the plow. Headed home and all the state and township roads were still snow covered. Guess I was on the ball...


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## pohouse (Jan 26, 2009)

Hey BighornJD, I noticed you mounted lights on your mirrors. What kind are they and do you find them useful? I'm thinking about doing the same. Any pros and cons?
Thanks.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

pohouse;1252057 said:


> Hey BighornJD, I noticed you mounted lights on your mirrors. What kind are they and do you find them useful? I'm thinking about doing the same. Any pros and cons?
> Thanks.


Yeah they are pretty bright and help alot. The plow lights only shine straight ahead past the plow. These are angled sligtly to the sides and down, they hit right about at the corners of the plow. They are just cheapo tractor utility lights. I started with Blazer brand from Tractor Supply for about 12 bucks a piece but they suck, they didn't last two storms - a few manhole cover hits did them in. The housings were a harder plastic kind of rubber and I guess the shock and vibrations were too much for the bulbs. I got some Petersons for like 16 bucks from a local hardware store that are mounted under the bed facing rearward, obviously they take much more abuse and held up fine - the rubber is more flexible and higher quality. I replaced the lights on the mirrors with Petersons when the Blazers crapped out and have had no trouble since. (BTW the Blazers were made in China, the Petersons in the good ole USofA - imagine that)ussmileyflag Obviously the few extra bucks was worth it.

I used a set of mirror mounts for CB antennas, just had to add a flat washer to the studs on the light mounting brackets cuz the hole in the CB mounts was a little big. I have the trapezoid pattern lights, I'd recommend the same or a flood pattern, not spots. Let your plow lights show you where your going, and use the mirror lights to show what's around your plow.Thumbs Up

Originally they were mounted on the underside of the top mirror tube, I flipped them to the top when I had to replace them. They used to reflect back at me a bit too much if it was snowing hard, now they don't bother me at all since they are above the window (not sure why I didn't do it that way to begin with). They can be pretty blinding to oncoming traffic, even angled down since they are so high. So I try to turn them off if there is much traffic and i can do without them. For the occasional lone car in the middle of the night, they can deal with it.

For as cheap and easy as they are to add, I highly recommend doing it. You can never have too much light to help you see what's going on. If you do add them, hopefully my long winded post will keep you from learning the hard way and making the same mistakes I did...


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## tailboardtech (Feb 28, 2010)

bighornjd;1251486 said:


> Cool, I figured if there were any they would be out west. My Dad works for Harford co. and last year was the first year he has seen them put the big snowblower they have on one of the loaders. Its pretty impressive. One of these days i want to stop in the shop he works out of and snap some pics of all their equipment to put in the DOT rig picture thread.
> 
> Are you a firefighter? (just assuming by your username) I used to volley at Jarrettsville and Norrisville when I lived in Harford Co. I have several friends who work at BCoFD.
> 
> Thanks everyone for the compliments.


yea i ride over at Hereford i was Chief at Boring VFC but i moved the first of this year, i have been to there shop i think its off 543 before, they have better stuff than Baltimore county does that for sure especially after comparing our shops to there's, last year they brought out the D 6 from the landfill and was clearing roads with that in there wise wisdom baltimore county sold all there V's now there buying some new ones 

btw i love the old internationals the contractor i have helping me in my route has obs like that but the cancer is really bad on it hes fixing up an old pen dot truck for next year


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

bighornjd;1216997 said:


> Thanks, just bought it back in the spring, it's an 05 but it only had about 190 hours on it when i got it. I try to keep it nice, got about 325 on it now. Been good to me so far, full cab and heat would be nice, but the plexiglass sides I put on help alot.


I got just the fix for that open cab. PM me if your interested.


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## joey7599 (Jun 27, 2010)

That truck is sweet


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Haven't been on Plowsite in awhile, man. Too busy to think about snow yet i suppose, however the town I plow for did just finish putting this years plowing contract out for bid. ( i kindly requested they try to do it a little earlier than last year and not wait till two weeks before a snow storm  ) I didn't wanna be left wondering if i had the contract again or not late in the fall with no time to find other work for the truck (little harder for a dump truck that size than say a pickup...lol) I was hoping they would do it Aug or Sept but hey July is OK too! They decided to give themselves the option to go to a 2 or 3 year deal to keep from having to do the whole process and readvertise every year. Needless to say I was the only one to submit a bid and they decided to lock in for 3 years. So I have guaranteed snow work for the next 3 years and making 5 bucks an hour more too. Anyway, i plan on starting the slow process of getting everything ready in another month or two, i'll try to get plenty of pictures this year, hopefully we get lots of snow.


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## pohouse (Jan 26, 2009)

Great to hear your all set for a few years. I locked in a 3 year contract as well with the city. Gives you a nice fuzzy feeling knowing the truck will have work. I'm going to add those lights on the mirrors this fall. Last year I was pushing snow on some roads on the edge of town and it was dark! Never had a problem with running arterials within the city since there are lots of streets lights, but they sent me out on some different routes last year on the outskirts.


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

Finished this setup today. Found myself using the skid steer on a few of the alleys last year as they are a little tight for the dump. Kinda sucked with just a six foot bucket (especially without any type of trip mechanism). I'll get a little more per hour with the plow on it, although not enough that I wanted to go drop a couple grand on a plow designed for a skid. Welded brackets on my pallet fork frame and added a chain hook. Can slide forks off and pin plow on in a few minutes. Traded about 300 bucks worth of hauling for a guy and got this Meyer 7.5 poly plow and another old Meyer 7.5 steel that's a little rusty but usable. Still need flow restrictors and a crossover relief but otherwise it seems like it will work great. Probably have about $300 in setting it up when I'm done and a couple hours tops.


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## pohouse (Jan 26, 2009)

Looks very workable. Now all you need is a heated cab on that skiddy!!


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## bighornjd (Oct 23, 2009)

pohouse;1327407 said:


> Looks very workable. Now all you need is a heated cab on that skiddy!!


I'm workin on it, lol. I have plexiglass to go on the sides that I made up last year they just werent on yet in this pic but they are now. Also got the vinyl front door for it and put on the other day. Now I just need some heat. Hopefully I'll get to it before the weather gets bad.


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## Matt10486 (Mar 4, 2009)

could you shoot me a pm when you have some free time i have some questions to run by ya! thanksThumbs Up


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