i plow at globalIII railyard in rochelle il. i get to run a champion grader because noone else wants to run a blade. i personally would rather plow with a blade than a loader because you don't have to look behind yourself as much as on a loader.
740? They just windrow or do they load it in trucks and haul it out? How big is that yard?
lash, we got 6 inches then ice. the loaders with snow pushers couldn't cut it at all, so i had to windrow every aisle with the blade. it is over a mile long and a little ynder a half mile wide. tons of trailers and containers. we pile and haul every bit and dump on site. the owner takes good care of his iron but gets really worked up about cutting edge wear. i got 12 hours on a new edge on concrete and he flipped. i think it is a 780?
Nice machine, what are the two lines up by the windshield for? Are they for something that was mounted on that plate?
those are c-b antennas. i don't know why, but they are there.
What year is the machine? 98?
yeah, thereabouts. real nice cab, good power. pretty quick controls, too.
Yeah, I always liked the newer Champions, as you say lots of power, comfortable, and a great heater..
man-o-man, you aint kidding. heat on 2, both doors open, and a good cigar. life is good.
We are going out to plow tomorrow morning also. It's the first time this fall (winter), there isn't much snow here yet but some banks along the edges of our roads. Also custom work in a couple yards. There's 2 of us in our RM so it takes about 15 hours with 2 graders from the begining. We use CAT 140H's a 2002 and a 2007.
Anybody know who might need a snowplow grader operator?
i am just a lazy union operator, but i would say try paving and excavating contractors around buffalo. also try aero snow and sno-lift. they are airport snow removal specialists. they have used our guys out of chicago to help during a blizzard. good luck.
Thanks for your help with that. That union issue is far to easy to generalize, I do not think anyone means to call anyone else around here lazy. Obviously since income affects us all, tempers can get outta hand in the union poll. If I am going to reside in Buffalo (I'm in FL. now) It will not be in Construction. That town has issues. One of the reasons I'm considering snow this year is because of the amounts already posted, if its going to be a good winter for snow, I'm on the wagon to make a few greenbacks. For many years I did municipal snow removal with motor graders in Canada. Being thats another country its not possible just to jump across the border for a job. So I'm looking in the USA for areas that use graders at all for snow, not many do. I used a few Champ 740 models with wing attachments and they worked fine, I actually enjoyed it.
Boss on the edge! What cutting edges are you guys using? Must be carbon steel to burn them up that fast. Invest in some CAT DH2 edges and you will get 10 times that wear life. We run 1 inch by 8 inch and get at least 100 hours out of a set on heavy street plowing. They cost more up front but are worth it.
I see your trying to stay busy in these rough times. Looks like fun running the blade! Something I've always wanted to do was get on that crew that does the O' Hare airport snow plowing. The amount of iron they have there is amazing!
Grader4me, those 2 cords with adapters by the windshield are for some sort of blade control set up to run off sonar stringline or something like that. If you look in between the two twin cylinders the rest of the controls are there for the setup to override the hydralics when setup. Although I'm not the one in the cab running it, so maybe it is a C-B, but our graders are set up like that for a blade control system.
Thanks for the info!
whoops, i thought he was talking about the 2 antennas visible from the front of the machine. yeah, it had grade control but it was too much to mantain so they got rid of it. i don't need it cause i can finish grade snow to within 1/1000th.
deere, i plowed at o'hare from '96 to '04. i worked for hudson-general, callahan, and others. i have run 35' big blades on 980 cats, d8 dozera, all kinds of loaders, you name it. we plowed around the terminals and the city takes care of the run and taxi ways. it is amazing watching the city's conga line of osh kosh plows, blowers and brooms go past 15 wide at 45mph. bare pavement in their wake. it is like a military manouver or ballet. i quit plowing there because the rules were getting outta hand. no lunch boxes, no spare clothes, no cigars. they leave you out there for 40+ hours with no way to leave the cab. i would rather work in the "real" world and be able to leave a jobsite when i am past tired or hungry. it used to be a ton of fun out there but no more.:beatsme
Dang sounds harsh ointhead no cigar either:Banghead Put me on a 35' plow on a 980 and I would be running over crap left and right! I run a 30' head on a combine and thats too much for me in a wide open field
gimme a call and we can meet for a beer and i can tell you stories...
Ive heard a lot of the same stories about Detroit Metro Q. No place to take a leak, stay until all the snow is moved. I would swing my plow up by the gates and take a wizz off of the cab of the machine.
well, tomorrow i get to meet my blade up in milwaukee for a weeks worth of snow work. should be interesting.
ok, milwaukee melted! no work for me.
what a mess it is man! I fell on my butt like 4 times yesterday on the ice. seen a rolled over/burned hummer in the ditch, along with a ton of other accidents....now there is a lake in my backyard!:Banghead
Grader with its blade, a wing and a plow on the front is great. Get in an Oshkosh with a nice big high speed Vee plow and a wing and you will think you have died and gone to heaven. Given your choice between the Oshkosh and sex, you just may turn down the sex. wellllllllllllllllllll, maybe not that drastic.
howa bouta sex with an oshkosh. kidding. we are t and m out there. not too fast, not too slow.
Greg You're doing it wrong, sex that is....
OK guys, stay on topic please.
Benching with a Champion Grader Took this picture today as I was passing through. This benching job was done by one of our grader operators. He had his wing fully extended.
Benching with a Champion Grader Nice picture, Grader4me. Do you leave the bench that way, so the snow will drift over the outer ridge and stop... or push more of the lower part out? I never got back to you about wings... after loosing my post some where in cyberspace... ... LOL But I have never actually used one... MDT says no wing use in poor visibility, and I usually plow at night, and during a storm. Also, the truck I like the best, and normally use, doesn't have one. The other guys don't seem to care for them either... too light duty and they bounce... hard to see them from in a truck too; right side, down low, and a ways back. Oh!!! I see your on the BOD... better be careful about razzing you... :ban LOL Take care, OCR...
We don't usually cut much lower than that for a couple of reasons.The operator knows that the inside edge of the bench is on the shoulder of the road, so this is his guide during a bad storm. As well, during extremely icy conditions this bench can actually keep you on the road. The bench will be a place to store the next storm when widing out. When the snowbanks get high we bench again.
Benching with a Champion Grader Gotcha... :thumbsup OCR
That's the info I was looking for Although I've never tried the body wings, I don't think I would like them either. The only advantage with them that I could see, is if you had an under body plow then the wing would catch the snow/slush from it. Be hell trying to bench with one
I have a wing on a 2006 Mack Granite. I love my wing, they allow one to move more snow with less passes. We have plastic rods with tape on to indicate the toe position, for the heel we have another plastic rod so the operator can see where the heel is. The heel also has a red LED light on it so when cars try to pass they can see the wing. I think they are a great addition to a snow truck. We use Tenco wings, Some have rubber and some have steel blades. I find when using them to push back you must go slow. I usually place them on float for normal plowing. They can also be used for benching also. They can't push as much as a grader, but they are a lot more mobile. I have used an under body truck mounted plow (3 yrs) and thought is was use full in limited situations, it was very difficult to see even with mirrors and lights. I used my front mounted swing more then the under body. Telescooper
A wing on a truck can move a lot of snow as well. We manually extended one the other day and went benching. The operator never tried this before, so I took the wheel to show him. I would have prefered to hook on the Vee as well but it was in the yard buried in snow. I'm not crazy about setting the one way plow into the high snow banks. Vee is the rig for that. We did just as good a job as the grader could do. Most of our truck plow wing arms are adjustable, but if you don't extend the arms once and awhile they become seized. Out of four plows we was able to get one extended :Banghead
We usually put vee plows on a rubber tired loader or grader. The wings on our trucks raise and telescope hydraulically. Wings definitely save wear and tear on the front plow Telescooper
Yeah, they wouldn't work for that at all. I think MDTs thinking was, that when you were plowing the driving lane, the wing would take the snow off the parking lane too. That does seem to be somewhat effective, but it's a pain... one guy hit a guard rail, and tore the whole wing, and mount off... And, since they're on the right side... this is all interstate... they only work for the parking lane. I think MDT does have some left side wings for the passing lane/shoulder. Last year, in another section, I think a guy was plowing the driving lane and winging the passing lane with a left side mount... and a semi passed him, and ran over it... LOL. Well maybe not LOL, but... .. MDTs policy is to keep the wings on the pavement, so they don't work for the shoulders either, although, on our 2 lanes (secondary roads), when you're cutting the center with the front plow, the right side wing will take it on over to some extent... not that good though, they're just too light. *They do work really well for breaking the support beam between the shop doors... when a guy backs out with it half way down, cause it wasn't chained up, and it had leaked off... :lmao *It was not me, I know what the mirrors are for... :cool2 OCR...
Wings!! I suppose this picture has been post 5 or 10 times here already , but I like it, and pictures make the page wider. OCR
I would like to see that type of wing on our trucks as well. Oh well maybe someday...How does the rubber blades work for your guys? That stuff happens once in awhile. Part of the learning process I guess. Hate to see them hit the guide rail though. Seen that done a few times. How the guy that drives into the shop and forgets to put his box down after washing it outside. You must have seen that happen a few times :Banghead I like that picture as well. MRDC (contractor for our 4 lane) has one.
Wings!! Big Time!!! Never actually saw it happen... but I think it has, about 4 times... I'll ask the boss... I was there when the guy hit the support beam... And keeping on topic... wings... LOL Went out and took a look at the cows, the other day... OCR Picture just for fun... LOL
The rubber blades on the wings work OK. They don't tear up peoples yards like the metal blades. They work like a big squeegee. We have many an operator tear them off. I never broke one off, but I did hit some buried stuff with them. Telescooper
We are using the rubber blades on some of our units throughout the Province. Some like them some don't. We had pretty good luck with the "ice cream sandwich". Rubber blade between two steel blades. I was at a divison today and the operator had a rubber blade mounted on the one way plow with a steel blade over top. The rubber was hanging down about 3 inches below the steel. Man, did it ever clean the road good.
The city uses rubber blades, I guess because of manholes and the like. I have hit a manhole or 2, no fun at all. I was lucky never tore up a plow on one. I'm no saint I did tear up some plows over the years We use Joma blades on most of our front plows. Joma's are rubber and steel, alternated vertically. They are so much quieter then steel blades,I wish we had them for our wings. I really like them, but only used Joma's for 2 years. http://www.jomablackcat.com/ http://www.tenconewengland.com/products/plows.htm
I hear ya! I've been known to put the odd dent in them myself Thanks for the interesting links
OCR, Now that is what I call wings.
Montana