first timer Hello, this is actually my first time twice. My first time posting on a forum(so if I do something wrong - please set me straight immediately). And two, I just accepted a part time job as a snow plow driver for the township I live in. I will be using a Cat 140G with wing blade. I went to a heavy equipment school and got the basics on how to use heavy equipment including road graders. I used a Gallion and a John Deer road grader. We did some ditch cutting and road building but no snow plowing. So I am looking for any tips, advise, insight or other helpful input I can get. Any place on the web I can get info or watch videos. As the saying goes "good information is good information no matter where it comes from" Any help is greatly appreciated. Thanx Wes
Nothing beats the experience you will get by doing, forget the videos. Take your time until you find all the curbs, and man holes that might be sticking up. Once the snow banks are high enough it will be easier to turn sharp corners by using the wing like a rudder, although slight down pressure on the right side of the moldboard will help swing you around. Some like to put the moldboard on float, I like to use down pressure. Welcome to a world of angry homeowners who think you get a kick out of filling in their driveways. My favorite weapon was a note book that I would pretend to write down plate numbers, or address numbers. Cars would be parked else where, and no more shovels would be thrown. Good luck
Thanks for the info depending on snow depth I think using the wing to help turn could be useful. Most of my work will be on rural gravel. I do not want to scrape the gravel off, so will float work gravel?
As long as the ground is frosen (sorry, my last letter of the alphabet key is broken.) float will work, if not it will dig in. The wing will dig thawed ground as well. I don't plow dirt roads, but some of the guys that plow for the logging companies can keep the gravel surface exposed all winter for traction.
thanx wes got to go supper is ready
Welcome wesley, Going on my 17th year of plowing gravel roads so I would like to think that I have learned something.( although others may disagree) I would stay away from using blade float as you can and will end up with a lot of gravel in the ditches. If you could tell us a little bit more about the equipment you will be running, the 'grader gods' here will be more than happy to help you. What kind of wing do you have?( hydraulic, cable). Do you have a front plow available. (one way,reversible,v-plow or nothing). What part of the country are you working in?
I should be safe, no gravel roads near my house! Welcome to the forum Wesley:tong
Now that is funny and if you don't get it you don't have inexperienced blade hands grading out your roads. On the six miles of gravel road to my home there are four entities that do the maintenance grading and two of them have little idea of what they are doing. Frequently I have removed large rocks from the traveled part of the road after these wizards of grader land have finished and gone back to the shop. Inexperienced I get, lazy I don't. Take time to go over your product after you park the machine and if you don't like the results, fix it.
Thanks to those with good info. I will be working in central minnesota. It is a cat 140g with front 1 way plow, 14' blade and it looks like about 8' wing. I have about 2 miles of tar and about 20 miles of frozen gravel. The wing is cable. Thanx wes
Welcome Wes, sounds like you can not be to far away from me. Don't plow to soon after the snow and spoil the snow driving fun. I picked up a 1937 Cat Model 11 snow plow special this summer, complete with optional hot water heater. Running good but have yet to paint and mount the v-plow and wing before I can play.
Most 140g's I have seen are outfitted with a 12ft wing. Dont be afraid to use both the one-way and/ or the moldboard ( very light downpressure) for the paved roads. On the gravel roads I would tuck the moldboard up and out of the way and just use the one-way. Not sure if you have shoes or wheels on the one-way but if you do, just lower to the ground and lift slightly to keep the weight on the front wheels. If you have any down pressure on the one-way you will lose what little control you have of the steering. As far as the cable wing, just lower to the ground and again raise it up a little. If you have some narrow(er) roads where the wing runs on the grass shoulder, Just run high enough to 'brush' the top of the grass. Leave the 'toe' and the 'heel' about 1-2" off the gravel or shoulder. The only times that I have broke a cable is when it was run 'loose' and the wing catches something. Hope this helps.