Snowplow Adventures 2011 (1 Viewer)

[CruiserStuff]

Well, we're just cleaning up the remnants of a pretty good storm here in the San Bernardino Mountains (Lake Arrowhead to be more exact). I've plowed each winter with an FJ40 for about 12-13 years now and this was some of the heaviest, wettest, nastiest snow I've seen in at least a decade.....it is kinda like a mix of cement and snot. So, I've been stuck more times in this storm than I have in the last 3-4 seasons combined. Very hard on the truck, but it held up very well.

Anyway, thought you'd like to get a POV ride along on a job I did this afternoon. It is a paved road, but not plowed by the county. I estimate it to be about 200 yards + of snow to be removed.

Everything started out great. The drop off to the right is pretty significant, but you'd probably get hung up in the trees before you rolled.

And this is how you plow snow in the mountains:
YouTube - MVI 6024

It took me about an hour's worth of plowing (back and forth, back and forth) like in the video above to reach the guy's house.

I got into trouble when the road started to head downhill. You try to keep the road clear where your front tires are, but when you head downhill, the blade of the plow wants to ride up onto the snow and leaves snow that your tires can wallow in. Then, you can't get any momentum to back up the hill to make another run at it. Like this:
YouTube - MVI 6026

The owner of the house who I was plowing for had come outside to watch me. As soon as he saw I was stuck, he decided to go inside. Nice. After shoveling some, I got free and then got stuck again. Still no sign of the owner. A neighbor heard my commotion and came out with shovel in hand to help. See, not everyone is a jerk. In just a few minutes I was unstuck and finished up the job.

I got my check from the owner (who emerged from the house when he saw I was no longer stuck) and I got back in the truck and started backing out of his driveway to leave. Wait a minute.....what's this?

The rest of the story is in the video:
YouTube - MVI 6033

So that's a day in the life. Hope you enjoyed.....

 

[fj404life]

Cool a 40s gotta be about the perfect plow rig. I have been tempted to toss a blade on mine but cant bring myself to do it! I do have a 1969 JD140 that I plow with 4x4 would be nice!!

Question though...why not angle the blade and shove that stuff off to the right of the road instead of ramming the same pile over and over?

 

[CruiserStuff]

It is so heavy that the snow pushes the back end of the rig around (when the blade is angled) and off the path that you've already cleared.....more potential for getting stuck. What you can't see very clearly is that I'm lifting the plow as I come up to it, which pushes snow up and over the top. As you move forward, snow sluffs off to both sides. As you go around a corner, it sluffs off to the outside edge of the curve. Once you make an initial "cut" down the road, you can go back and widen it.....

 

[fj404life]

I was figuring it was either tossing your front end over or something of the sort! Good stuff!
We are due for 10"+ in the next 24 hours...my lil old JD tractor is hoping it will be the fluffy variety!!

 

[lostmarbles]

Found myself rocking backwards and forwards in my seat in time with your forward-reverse movements Cruiserstuff.

I can see your experience in continually using the rebound momentum.

Kinda wish we had snow like that to plough here.



PS. Thanks for sharing.

 

[gisham]

that my friend is classic!

 

[Rockets2000]

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing.

 

[CruiserStuff]

Glad to share.....there might be another chapter or two before this snow season ends.....stay tuned!

 

[DanS HJ-45]

Very cool to see!

I'm kind of surprised that you can get enough traction to go uphill while pushing snow.

Is the pushing of the back end around due to the lighter weight of the 40, the short wheelbase or a combination of both? Our Power Wagon pushes the front end around with a big angle (at least, if the chains aren't on), but I've never felt the back end get pushed around.

Since I plan on putting a plow on the 45 someday soon, I'm just hoping to understand how the 40 plows compared to the bigger, heavier trucks I'm used to.

Dan

 

[CruiserStuff]

It has alot to do with the fact that I had already pulled off my chains. I hate chains and use them only when necessary. They tend to tear up the roads and driveways when they spin and owners are not terribly happy when you're leaving stripes on their blacktop. I could have put chains on and had little to no problem, but sometimes I enjoy the challenge of doing the job without them (even if it means breaking out the shovel now and again).

The short wheelbase does make a difference as well, as does the type of snow you're moving. The snow in this last storm was so wet and heavy, it was literally blue in color (which is the water). Nasty stuff to plow.....when it is compacted, it is like trying to move brick walls out of the way. When you hit those "walls" with the plow at full angle, it really tosses the rear end of the 40 around. If it had been light powder, it wouldn't have the same effect.....

Pushing the wet, heavy snow uphill is a struggle. It can be done, but again, you'd be spinning chains and "striping" the blacktop.

 

[1973barnfind]

wow, thats an awesome video. how did you get the plow to lift? hydrolic, electric, or pto?
the torque, and the 4000 pounds of steel really help to push I'd imagine

 

[CruiserStuff]

My plow is a Meyer brand. It has a hydraulic ram for up/down and rams on either side for left/right angle. Though the rams are hydraulic, they are actuated electrically. In big storms (read: long hours of plowing), it can really drain the battery and the stock alternator has a tough time keeping up. Eventually, I'll probably go to a dual battery setup with a larger output alternator.