The Snowplowing Thread

[The Branch Doctor]

I just got home from plowing my f#$king ass off!!!!!!!!!! I started pushing snow @ 2:30am and it's almost 2:30pm. I'm totally exhausted, my brain feels like it went through a blender, and my eyes feel like they're going to pop out of my skull..... and I made a BUNCH of money!

1"-3" my ass, we ended up with 6"-8" in town and even more in the rural areas. Man, what a crazy ass day.

It's time for the Doc to take a nap!

 

[SkwerI]

Glad to see you gettin' it while the gettin' is good! Maybe I might start a snow removal business to fill in the slow winter period. Although I might do better with seasonal contracts rather than 'per service' contracts.








How cold does it need to get in order to snow?

 

[squisher]

Brian it'll have to get a little colder than I think you're comfortable with.

 

[SkwerI]

I'll get Gigi to partner with me. Between the two of us, we can cover the entire central/south Florida region!

 

[sotc]

better turn the ac down low!

 

[stehansen]

We got snow enough to stay around 4 days here in 1964!

 

[Newfie]

Definitely not a stupid question Leon. I slap mine down all the way to the ground so that I can clear ALL the snow from the parking lots, driveways, walkways, etc. that I do. I'll have to replace the bottom of my blade in a few years from it being ground down but that's it.

If you haven't already, bolt on the replaceable cutting edge before the integrated one on the plow is worn too far. You'll get much better results when scraping and it is much cheaper and easier just to change it out every season. It looks like you already have done so, but if not, lose the shoes as well, they are pretty much useless in my opinion, even on unpaved surfaces.

More sanding this morning. Supposed to get more snow on Thursday and Sunday. I've had enough of the ice and freezing rain.

 

[Burnham]

Bingo, Newfie.

I never even installed the shoes on our blade...I couldn't see any use to them. Why leave 3/4 inch of ice (or mud if you use the blade as I often do) on the surface? The replaceable blade edge is surely vital for the long term life of the blade.

 

[Mangoes]

To limit wear and tear on the suspension, some won't raise the plow to it's max height. Raise it to 6-8 inches, so on heavy bounces the plow will bottom out saving the springs a touch.

 

[squisher]

Definetely agree on the edge and the shoes. I've heard the shoes are only useful on gravel if for some reason you can't feather your blade a little bit to stop it from digging in. The trade-off is longer cutting edge life but poorer scraping.

We only got about 1/2 an inch last night, nothing worth doing anything with and all my sites are sanded up good from the last round. Oh well next time!

 

[Frans]

We only got about 1/2 an inch last night, nothing worth doing anything with and all my sites are sanded up good from the last round. Oh well next time!

Squish, here I thought you were a good businessman! Haven't you heard of Melting sand?

 

[squisher]

Don't worry I'll be sanding a little lighter next time round . Ah it'll come soon enough it's a nice little breather here to catch up on other stuff.

 

[The Branch Doctor]

Well, my nap didn't last very long. Maybe an hour and a half at best and my phone started ringing again. So I went back out plowing. I finally got back home at 9:00pm and I was so tired I could barely walk up my stairs. Taking my boots off was even a chore. Then I sat down on my couch and past out still sitting upright with my hat on. Woke up around 4:00am long enough to take my cell off my hip, hat off my head, and lay down (less drooling that way).

I slept till noon and woke up still tired. If I didn't have to have my plow billing in today I would've gone back to sleep but getting a fat check before Christmas is worth it!

So, I'm going snowmobiling tomorrow and then we're looking at some more snow tomorrow night. Damn near everything I do this time of year has something to do with snow. Good thing I like snow eh.

 

[brendonv]

It's coming down here now. Suppose to be getting 5-8" today. Looks like I am plowing for my friend who passed father. Unexpected $$, can't complain.

Yuk.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Dang, your truck bed looks 10' tall!!!

 

[squisher]

To me it looks like he's got it raised slightly? No?

Also looks like we're gonna get snow maybe tomorrow or Saturday, both nights we have christmas parties to attend. Sucks for me, me and my wife usually cut loose a little at the christmas parties.

 

[brendonv]

Haha, the bed is tilted so the water runs out the back! It's only 6'.

 

[sotc]

ha it does look huge

 

[The Branch Doctor]

More snow on the way tonight. Not too much expected, 1-3 or so but I've heard that BS before so I'm gonna be ready for whatever.

Oh yeah, I took advantage of the short break in the weather today by going snowmobiling..... and YES, it was righteous!!

 

[IchWarriorMkII]

I put on 18 miles on the new sled today...

... and got paid for it.


Not like the 80 miles I got to get paid for last week... but good enough! Ill take what I can get.

 

[squisher]

Getting paid to sled, sweet. What are ya doing?

 

[squisher]

Plowed a little bit and sanded this morning now I gotta try and sleep a little, go to a christmas party and then more than likely head out plowing by midnight. Busy, busy, c'mon snow!!!!

 

[sotc]

they keep forecasting snow here till a day or two before then change it to rain. typical

 

[squisher]

Not here , but no real big dumps yet, just trickling in.

 

[The Branch Doctor]

Well it's 12:30pm here and I just woke up. I needed the extra zzz's in a bad way! I went snowmobiling yesterday, which was awesome, but it drained my body of every bit of energy I had left in me.

Pushing snow is very lucrative but the crazy long hours can take quite a toll on the body and mind.

Oh well, I'll whine all the way to the bank.