# dump truck or pick up



## bulldog excavat

I'd like to thank anyone who takes the time to answer my question, possibly saving me a lot of time and money.
I have a bob tail (singe axle dump truck), 33K GVWR, 2WD (4 rear tires) automatic transmission 5 yard dump truck that I would like to put to work this winter. My friend who does commercial landscape maintenance picked up snow removal contracts on several large (home depot sized) parking lots. 
My questions are these:
1. First and foremost is it advantageous to run a small dump truck over a pick up
2. Can I use my trucks PTO to save money on hydraulics on the plow
3. V-plow or straight blade
4. Where can I find a good price on a used plow?

That's it for now, ANY questions, comments, concerns are very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Phil


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## Brant'sLawnCare

I think for a lot that big, that dump truck would be a good size. A pickup wouldn't be big enough to do a whole lot of work on a lot that size. A V would be my choice of plow between that and a straight blade. You might also want to look into a Blizzard 8611 Power Plow, or a Western Wideout. Those are nice for big lots. Oh and make sure you put ballast (weight) in the back of your truck since it is only 2WD.


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## bulldog excavat

*Thank you!*

thanks for the affirmation, I was going to put 4-5 yards of sand in the bed, that should add about 12K pounds, 
I was also thinking the V plow, 
What size would you suggest? and who makes it?


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## mullis56

BOSS 10' V-Blade !


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## J & A

*Single Axle Dump*

I agree with everyone else the single axle dump is the way to go for parking lots I just upfitted my international with a western heavy weight 10 foot for roads and my bigger lots used it last winter and it worked great .


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## Bajak

I think that you may want to look into salting or sanding before getting a plow. I'm only suggesting that because a company I worked for had loads of plow equipment and the plowing contracts. A new guy with 1 dump truck bought a salter/sander and salted all of our lots and picked up a few other lots to do. We had storms that took 17hrs. plus to plow and he made near the same money as we would if it could be done plowing in eight hours. Also there were events that were salt/sand only (freezing rain). He was busy enough throughout the winter and the salter paid for itself in less than one season. He was on by the tonne and we were on by the hour. I am sure he did as much in income as we did that season but with fewer hours. 3hrs. plowing is equal to roughly 1/4 to 1/2 hr. salting and he got to sleep in while we cleared the path.

Investigate your market and see where the gaps are and fill those gaps.

Welcome to PS bulldog:waving:


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## bulldog excavat

*salt and v plow*

This site is awesome,
How much is a 10' Boss plow?

Also, to our northern neighbor. Salt advice is also appreciated, and under consideration. The truck is already plumbed for a salt distributor with the pto. My friends contract is for liquid de-icer, is salt better? he said the customer does not want salt tracked into the building via foot traffic.
Phil


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## Bajak

bulldog excavat;791211 said:


> This site is awesome,
> How much is a 10' Boss plow?
> 
> Also, to our northern neighbor. Salt advice is also appreciated, and under consideration. The truck is already plumbed for a salt distributor with the pto. My friends contract is for liquid de-icer, is salt better? he said the customer does not want salt tracked into the building via foot traffic.
> Phil


Salt over de-icer is subjective. I don't like having to clean floors either but I have too. Where I live salt is great except for it when it gets too cold and it becomes ineffective. Here we use sand salt mix because we need traction in all temperatures. I live in a basically rural area therefor there is not a lot of money to be spent for winter maintenance and it is impossible to maintain a "bare asphalt" condition with the budget that the customers have to work with. I have little to no experience with liquid de-icers. There is a lot of info on this subject if you use the search.

Your PTO will work everything if you get the right valves installed.


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## mercer_me

bulldog excavat;791163 said:


> I have a bob tail (singe axle dump truck), 33K GVWR, 2WD (4 rear tires) automatic transmission 5 yard dump truck that I would like to put to work this winter. My friend who does commercial landscape maintenance picked up snow removal contracts on several large (home depot sized) parking lots.


Plows I recomend for you situation:
9.5' Fisher Xtreme V
Fisher XLS
10' Boss V
Since there are man holes, drains, and other things sticking up in parking lots you may want a trip edge. All Fishers (except the Home Steader) come with a trip ege, the Boss V plows have a trip blade.



Bajak;791227 said:


> Where I live salt is great except for it when it gets too cold and it becomes ineffective. Here we use sand salt mix because we need traction in all temperatures. I live in a basically rural area therefor there is not a lot of money to be spent for winter maintenance and it is impossible to maintain a "bare asphalt" condition with the budget that the customers have to work with.


It's the same wear I live, salt works great except when it getsto cold. We also we use sand salt mix.


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## B&B

mercer_me;791228 said:


> Plows I recomend for you situation:
> 9.5' Fisher Xtreme V
> Fisher XLS
> 10' Boss V


 You're joking right? There isn't a plow on your list rated for an application over 24K GVWR. Any one of those would be a pretzel after the first event on a 33K truck. Not even an MC series Fisher is recommenced or warranted on a truck over 27K.

Bulldog you really need to look at the heavier plows for that application.


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## Bajak

B&B is right. Too bad you can't find a good used Frink. My Dad that is now retired used them North of Parry Sound for 20 years and never had a complaint about them. What ever happened to Frink? They were good fabricators..
They were mounted on single axle 28k trucks for the municipality and pushed 2 feet of snow like there was no tomorrow.


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## basher

mercer_me;791228 said:


> Plows I recomend for you situation:
> 9.5' Fisher Xtreme V
> Fisher XLS
> 10' Boss V
> .


But then MM buys scrap iron, which is what any of these plows can become very quickly if you install them on that heavy a truck. Take B&Bs advise and look for a plow designed for that weight class.

Is you PTO continuous duty? Most truck come installed with a momentary duty PTO designed to operate for a short period while sitting still and dumping a load, not for continuous service use while driving as required by a hydraulic spreader..


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## murray83

If I remember right and don't hold me to this....Frink was merged or bought out by Everest plows maybe in the late 90's 

We had a 9' 5'' Fisher V on a Chev 5500? I think at a company I plowed for and it was way to small for that truck.Look into an Everst or similar type plow if you do consider the plow


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## SuperdutyShane

bulldog excavat;791163 said:


> I'd like to thank anyone who takes the time to answer my question, possibly saving me a lot of time and money.
> I have a bob tail (singe axle dump truck), 33K GVWR, 2WD (4 rear tires) automatic transmission 5 yard dump truck that I would like to put to work this winter.


Not trying to break balls, Im just bored. If Im correct, a bobtail refers to a tractor with a 5th wheel without a trailer? I could be wrong  Anyway, I would listen to what B&B said, the guys like a plowing guru. Go for a heavy duty plow. Once in a while you can look on Craigslist or some MachineryTrader or something and see a guy who has an 11' hd blade.


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## theplowmeister

SuperdutyShane;791692 said:


> Not trying to break balls, Im just bored. If Im correct, a bobtail refers to a tractor with a 5th wheel without a trailer? I could be wrong  Anyway, I would listen to what B&B said, the guys like a plowing guru. Go for a heavy duty plow. Once in a while you can look on Craigslist or some MachineryTrader or something and see a guy who has an 11' hd blade.


correct! (adding to make it 10 long)


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## Triple L

Here's what you need.... "built for a canadian winter" 

Plow Name XHD120-P 
Length 120" 
Moldboard Height 33" 
Material 3/8" Poly 
Plowing Width
(Full Angle) 104" 
Complete Weight *1133 lbs. 
Mounting Type Detachable 
Removable Lights
and Power Unit Yes


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## bulldog excavat

*Feedback*

Thanks for everyone's feedback.
I've been told by several local people that the small dump will not maneuver as well as a pickup. I'm sure this is true, but I think my turning radius is not much worse than a 4wd pickup (with the 4WD engaged).
At what point is a small dump truck too much?
Does anyone know how these older international's transmissions take the constant shifting?


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## Triple L

Well i'd assume you'd use that truck on large commerical lots, shopping malls, distribution centre's, factories, ect. ect... You dont use it to plow the local a&w, or tim hortons... There's 2 or 3 guys around here that use freightliner X city trucks to plow thier lots and they work great... They even leave them sitting on site


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## bulldog excavat

*dump tuck plow*

Triple L,
Good to know,
That plow is $9600.00 Canadian. I might as well buy the 79 International with the 10' boss plow for sale on this site. It's less AND it comes with the truck
Thanks,
Phil


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## JohnnyRoyale

We had a 10ft Western put on our Topkick a few years back. Used it mainly for roadways in some of our larger properties at night, then went off to start a salt run. I wouldnt recommend a single to do any type of detail plowing, and it can get quite tiresome clutching and pounding gears in a lot all night. Needless to say, we took the plow off a few years ago, and the truck just salts now. 

IMO, if your looking for a heavy duty plow for your truck, look into Machinability>but I'll warn you now about the price. Good luck.


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## Banksy

I think this is probably what you should get. Maybe not this brand, but something similar.

http://www.commercialtrucktrader.com/big-trucks/find/listing/2000-MONROE-11-SNOW-PLOW-95405484


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## pohouse

I use a single axle dump for a few hotel parking lots. Works great. I have no problem with turning radius. I have a 10' Monroe straight reversible, full trip. Moldboard weighs around 1700lbs. It's a former municipal plow. I agree with the comments that you should think about a heavy duty plow. One time I was approaching a curb with a pile and I misjudged where the curb was. The plow tripped, stopped the dump truck dead. Then the recoil of the plow springs pushed the truck backwards about three feet. After I scraped my face off the steering wheel, I checked out the plow, hitch and truck. All were fine. If I would have had a lighter duty plow, it would have folded like a newspaper.

I think 12,000lbs of ballast is overkill. I run around 5000lbs, not even enough to set on the overloads. the GVWR on my truck is 27,500, I run around 19,000 with plow and ballast. Don't make your truck/transmission work any harder than it has to. 

As for PTO hydraulics, you will need valves/operator controls. The valve that operates the up/down, single acting (power up, gravity down) cylinder to raise and lower the plow, will be different than the valve controlling double acting cylinders which turn the blade left and right. The point is, it gets complicated and expensive piecing it together. 
If your truck isn't plumbed for a plow than I recommend getting a complete set up (plow, controls, hydraulics). Some guys around here run Meyer heavy duty equipment on dump trucks. I've never owned Meyer so I cannot atest to their quality or durability. 

Another option might be to just buy a dump with a plow set up already installed. Lots of ex-DOT stuff out there for $3K-7K. The reliable, well maintained ones are hard to find, but there out there. All the best.


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## SuperdutyShane

I was bored the other day looking around on the internet, and I found this website.... http://www.henderson-mfg.com/snowplows.ASP They seem like a pretty nice blade. Im sure there is at least one guy on here who owns one and could tell you if its worth it.


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