# First season Plowing



## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

Hey all, glad to be a member. This is my first season plowing and I can't wait for it to actually accumulate here. I'm 19 and a part time college student. I'm also self employed with a small vending business.

I am using a 1993 F250 XL with Western UniMount and Western Pro 7'6" Blade that came mounted on it. Just bought a Snow Ex SP325 salter to do spreading.

For this season I'm going to be doing 1 commercial lot that belongs to the family business and then some residential lots for family and friends jsut to learn how to work everything and get a handle on it all. Maybe next year I'll do more.

I'll post some pics tomorrow, don't have any right now.


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## BelleTerra (Dec 2, 2009)

Right on!! Sounds like you've got yourself a great set up! 

Welcome to the site! Im new myself!! 

Missy


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## Ottneys250 (Nov 9, 2009)

Yeah buddy lets see some pics. Im bout the same everything as you mines the salter


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

Tosa93F250;890836 said:


> Hey all, glad to be a member. This is my first season plowing and I can't wait for it to actually accumulate here. I'm 19 and a part time college student. I'm also self employed with a small vending business.
> 
> I am using a 1993 F250 XL with Western UniMount and Western Pro 7'6" Blade that came mounted on it. Just bought a Snow Ex SP325 salter to do spreading.
> 
> ...


Congrats....Hope you have a GREAT winter...Lets see some pics..payup


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## redman6565 (Jul 14, 2008)

good luck this year. glad to see you join this site, use it, ask lots of questions, be prepared for a lot of sarcasm.


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## cleansweep007 (Oct 21, 2008)

Congrats Belle Terra & Tosa93F250 on joining the site. You will find a wealth of knowledge on this site. Welcome to the snow plowing business !!!


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## Matson Snow (Oct 3, 2009)

redman6565;891276 said:


> good luck this year. glad to see you join this site, use it, ask lots of questions, be prepared for a lot of sarcasm.


Sarcasm....From Who????.....I have NEVER encounterd or taken part in any sarcasm on this site...:laughing::laughing:...Welcome again and enjoy..


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## hydro_37 (Sep 10, 2006)

Welcome Tosa and you are starting the right way...small
Good Luck


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## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

Thanks everybody. I'm glad to be a member and can't wait for the snow to start flying. Weather reports lied and there's no snow tonight as I was hoping.

Didn't get out today to take any pics of the truck so here's a couple older ones without the spreader installed:

Side View:









Day that I bought it parked next to my F150:









I'll take some new pics tomorrow when I go to change the blower motor. It's been making some wired noises and the last thing I want is to have my heater crap out in the middle of the night.


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## asps4u (Sep 16, 2009)

Welcome and Good Luck this season


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## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

As I said last night, here's some new pics I took today:

Hydraulic tank in bed:

All of the valves for the truck are in that black box on the left side of the bed. I'm not sure what the liens running backwards were used for. As far as I can figure they ran either a hydraulic spreader of some kind or they ran a lift gate.










Mount:

The pump is under the hood and runs off the motor via belt. All valves are in the Bed.










Cab Controls:

The Western solenoid doesn't do anything, it's an extra controller from the previous owner when the main control board friend in the console controller. It's now disconnected and does nothing but take up more space...










Snow Ex SP325 Junior Tailgate Spreader:

It's a little small and I'm still trying to figure out a way to add marker poles similar to the ones on the blade so I can tell where the corners on it are from inside the cab.


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## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

Passenger side view:

The passenger door is currently inoperable. Next spring I plan on fixing that. If you look close you can see the marking under the tan paint. Those I'm guessing are the lines left over from when it used to belong to Green Bay DPW. They bought it new and have almost complete service history that came with the truck.










The business end:

Western 7'6" Pro Plow. Not sure of wing Mfr. But they seem pretty nice. After this season I'm going to repaint the blade. With those wings it's about 8.5-9ft wide. Not sure of exact measurement but they add about 9" on each side. The cutting edge on the drivers side doesn't touch the ground but I'm guessing that's because it needs a new edge. Which will also get replace next spring unless it gets to a point that it has to be replaced during winter.










Well that's my truck. Can't wait til tomorrow night, supposed to get hammered.

BRING ON THE SNOW!!!!!


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## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

*Bad start to the Season*

Well, had some bad luck tonight...

Was just finishing up my second pass over the lot when suddenly I hear a clunking noise from under the cab. Got out to look and the friggin front drive shaft had snapped off...:realmad: When it busted it took out the linkage for the shifter lever and looks to have done damage to some kind of metal plate The shifter lever now just dangles from the bottom of the truck since it's not connected to anything. Can't tell much right now since it was dark.

Dropped it off at the truck repair place here and have to go get a price on it in a few hours when they open. I really hope this is the only major break down I have this season. If not I don't know how long I'll be doing this since I've already spent way too much on this truck.

I'm hoping that the damage to the shifter lever is just a snapped linkage that got taken out by the flailing drive shaft. If it's something that requires pulling the T-Case I'm going to be pissed.

More info on this tomorrow when I find out exactly what got annihilated by the drive shaft.


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## casaburgos (Dec 5, 2009)

Good Morning Folks,
I just invested in a plow for my truck and need some expert advise. I never plowed before.
We've just received 5" of snow in my area , and now its raining, tmp is 36 going up to 41.
Question I have is, "do I plow the wet snow or let the rain wash it away?


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## linycctitan (Aug 13, 2007)

casaburgos;896384 said:


> Good Morning Folks,
> I just invested in a plow for my truck and need some expert advise. I never plowed before.
> We've just received 5" of snow in my area , and now its raining, tmp is 36 going up to 41.
> Question I have is, "do I plow the wet snow or let the rain wash it away?


First, welome to the site. 
Second, when you have a question or something to say that is not related to anyones current post, post a new thread. What you are doing here is called threadjacking. We'll let it slide this time, but in the future if you do it, be prepared for the hounds to be unleashed. Just some friendly advice!  
Third, to answer your question, it depends on if you are only doing your own or if you have contractual obligations to service other properties, and the details of those contracts.


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## casaburgos (Dec 5, 2009)

*newbie*

Dear Senior member,

Thanks for your advise, both on how to start a new thread and answering my question.

Peace


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## linycctitan (Aug 13, 2007)

Tosa93F250;896277 said:


> Well, had some bad luck tonight...
> 
> Was just finishing up my second pass over the lot when suddenly I hear a clunking noise from under the cab. Got out to look and the friggin front drive shaft had snapped off...:realmad: When it busted it took out the linkage for the shifter lever and looks to have done damage to some kind of metal plate The shifter lever now just dangles from the bottom of the truck since it's not connected to anything. Can't tell much right now since it was dark.
> 
> ...


Welcome to the site, and congrats on you first storm and first breakdown!!

Don't let it discourage you, we've all been there and it sucks, but it's all part of the job. Pushing snow is tough on equipment, especially older stuff, but everyone has to start somewhere. I'm sure we could go on for days, talking about everyones first year or two, what they had, what broke and when. Fact is it happens, and unless it was a rare catastrophic incident, after shelling out a little more dough you'll be back in the game. Best of luck.


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## linycctitan (Aug 13, 2007)

casaburgos;896411 said:


> Dear Senior member,
> 
> Thanks for your advise, both on how to start a new thread and answering my question.
> 
> Peace


Dear Newbie,

You are quite welcome. This site has tons of knowledge to offer, as well as a ton of sarcasm. Be prepared for both and you will prosper, grasshopper!:laughing:

Signed,
Senior Member


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## Nelsen (Oct 19, 2008)

*Welcome Tosa....just a little advice.*

Welcome to Plowsite, Tosa. This is a great place to get your feet wet and hang out.

Good luck in your first season, but for the future.....think of getting away from the whole family thing. Really it just causes problems. I know, I know, that won't happen because everybody is cool. I'm just saying, I've avoided plebty of problems by NOT going after bids for family businesses, HMA's, etc., because it could create a conflict of interests.

First year, you gotta do what you gotta do, no doubt. But after you get some fresh customers, you're interests start to change.

Much luck to you.:waving:


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## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

Nelsen;896614 said:


> Welcome to Plowsite, Tosa. This is a great place to get your feet wet and hang out.
> 
> Good luck in your first season, but for the future.....think of getting away from the whole family thing. Really it just causes problems. I know, I know, that won't happen because everybody is cool. I'm just saying, I've avoided plebty of problems by NOT going after bids for family businesses, HMA's, etc., because it could create a conflict of interests.
> 
> ...


I don't really have a choice, the truck was purchased specifically to do the lot at our business. If we didn't have that we wouldn't have the truck. In fact if we didn't have the business I wouldn't have either of my trucks.

I'm doing family stuff only this winter because it's my first year, next year I'm hoping to get some more stuff. Not sure though if I want to do commercial or residential so that's why I'm doing a little of both this year,


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## linycctitan (Aug 13, 2007)

So, what broke?


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## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

linycctitan;897431 said:


> So, what broke?


Right now I know for sure that the U-Joint by the Transfer Case on my front drive shaft it gone. The shaft may also have to be replaced if it was damaged while it was flying around under the truck.

When the U-Joint failed the shaft was spinning and hubs were still locked so it also flew over and took out the linkage connecting the Manual Shift lever in the cab to the Transfer Case.

I think it may have also done some damage to the case because it's still engaged partially even though the 4x4 light is off in the cluster. I'm waiting on the shop to call me and tell me what all gone destroyed.

The truck is almost 17 years old and has been a plow from the day it was first purchased so that's a lot of stress. I knew I would probably have something in the drivetrain fail eventually because it's worked hard it's entire life. I was just hoping it wouldn't happen so soon. I was also hoping it wouldn't be really expensive if it did. I'm fine with paying a couple hundred dollars for a new shaft and linkage, I'm not going to be too happy if it did internal damage to the Tcase


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## naturalgreen (Dec 6, 2008)

good luck that was one of my first trucks at the end of college loved it diesel though and it at up starters because I was to impatient in the cold but I ran 350000 miles through her and she was a beast for plowing


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## Tosa93F250 (Dec 4, 2009)

The guy at the repair shop just called me, Transfer case is still good.

The U Joint nearest the Tcase froze up and and pretty much just blew apart according to the shop. When that happened it took a chunk out of the TCase near the top. He isn't sure yet if there's a hole in the case or not but it didn't seize up while driving it to the shop and the fluid is still in it. Said he could just JB Weld it and call it fixed. While the shaft was flying around under there it got bent and knocked of the sensor that turns on the 4x4 light on the dash. Also knocked the linkage for the lever off, but everything is still there form that so nothing has to be replaced.

Going over there late tomorrow to look at what exactly is broken and get a final price to get it fixed.


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