So my little 940 Volvo has always slept the winters away, never knowing the rust causing road salt. Just before Christmas the government called in a panic because one of their districts 720 champions had laid down, and might be down for months. Boss said it wouldn't turn a wheel for less than government rate. The must have got it, because they put on the 6 winter tires, and wing that came new with her in 2012. I have been running a loader every winter for some years, and the company engineer, who also looks after all the plowing contracts said that he would not give me up in order to operate the grader. Funny how people can't praise your work while you do it, and it takes the risk of losing you for something to be said. He said I was dependable, efficient, and that both he, and my customers were pleased with my work. The big boss said fine ( you need to remember that I am the companies only grader operator) it's only snow plowing, I will find someone. To tell the truth, I was somewhat relieved, because a lot of my plow customers are good for a few good tips, coffee gift cards, and the odd pint around Christmas time. Plus I didn't want to lose my loader, or route for a short term plow gig. Long story short, 2 attempted grader operators later, and a promise that I could return to my old post when the DTI was through with the grader, I'm on the road. Most of my route are rural roads, or B roads I guess they are called. I get the odd trip on the A road. I also do 2 Indian reserves. I have never seen so many high sanitary manhole covers in my life, it is like navigating a minefield. Just when I think I have figured out where they all are another one pops up. I did a street the other day that I had done 5 times before, and BOOM!!! cut the front side delivery right off at the plow mount. Glad I wasn't drinking a coffee. My boss was just happy that the plow was a loaner from the government. The government plow operators told me not to sweat it, happens to them all the time. In fact, I suspect that they are happy that I am plowing the reserves instead of them. Any of you guys in the snow plow business have any manhole, or curb contact horror stories.
last winter 1 of the times after finishing my street on a snow emer in south buffalo around 3 in the am we all go in with wheel loaders , i went down another street to get back to the main road and was saying to my self holy cow that looks like a hole in front of me , so i jammed on the binders it sure as hell was !!! had to get out to inspect , it was obviously a cowboy driver hauling ass and hit this high manhole he didnt take out the cover he took out the whole top assembly that held the cover and 5 to 6 more feet of pavement down stream. i looked down the hole it was like 15 to 18 feet down . anyway i called my boss he said dont worry about it , i said i cant leave this open in a residential city neighborhood, he finally agreed and said standby he'll call a supervisor 1/2 hour later he said stay there tell the water dept arrives . i was there for 5 hours parked over the hole. would of been great if it was my 5 th day at the storm but it was my 1st , i could't sleep anyway i was pissed at myself , but i could't see a child falling in it !!!!
Uh... yeah. Lot's of popped blades. Corners popped off, in the center . One gravel road I used to plow and maintain had 8 of them in half a mile. Had plowed one side of it and was going down the other side and seen a cover laying in the snow bank. Hadn't felt a thing when I made the first pass up. Lucky to see it and get the cover bank in place (got drug quite a ways too and they don't roll that easy) before a car fell in the hole. We normally plow at 14- 18mph but not around those things. Grading that same road was fun too. The roads would get rough around those rings and covers so you had to very carefully carry gravel over them. But if there had been a lot of rain then it wasn't unusual for that top ring the cover goes on to skid around. How was your year? Good I hope and Happy New Year to ya.
We had an excellent year. Boss said if it was not the biggest, it was top 3. We laid so much blacktop, that I traded my grader for an asphalt lute at the end of it. I plowed for another company years ago, and did city streets, but have never seen manholes like this. I know they don't like surface water to run into the sewers, but come on. The cuttin edge that came on the wing was only 5/8 thick. It had to be flipped after one storm, then done the next storm. The replacement blade was one inch, and did 2 storms. I mentioned that I didn't think it could last another, but they wanted to use that last little bit. 2 and a half hours later, I am in the shop to get her flipped. Keep in mind that I am on by the hour with the province. So last storm, I reset my trip meter. 327KMs in 10 hours of plowing. You would be worn out too. The government trucks that run the A roads, use carbide. The others just double up the edges. SW wear parts says carbides will chip on gravel, and then you have a thousand dollar steel cutting edge without carbide. No popped or broken moldboard blades. They don't want me using my moldboard. They don't like how it leaves that skim of ice, hence the reason they loaned me a front side delivery. The only time I use my MB is for going around turns, or if the snow is really packed. The garage I am plowing for normally has 5 trucks, and one grader. They now have 2 trucks, and me. So if I shine up the roads with my MB, it might be hours before the 2 trucks finish their runs, and come sand mine. I guess all the districts in the province are down on equipment, and the province does not have the capital to replace them.
No man holes here thank goodness We do run carbide on gravel though with a steel face plate over it lasts forever and ever i just cant say how much I love carbide even on the pickups we run 190 miles of road mostly gravel and all gravel shoulders on the blacktops in the summer the moldboard blades are carbide also they get switched to steel in the winter as to not beatup the pavement to bad when we need to use the moldboard
What kind of carbide do you run? The one I am talking about is a steel blade with a carbide strip along the edge. They come in short sections, about 350 bucks a piece. I have never used them, but it is the seller that condems them for use on gravel.
We use old truck blades with carbide on the wing over the wing blade. The wing doesn't see a lot of gravel. I have seen carbides on the moldboard with a blade over as mentioned. I didn't run it myself. Only issues I'm aware of, the bolts pretty much had to be snapped off with a torque multiplyer, and was told it didn't cut well.
Yes the kind with the strip of little carbide segments along the edge for gravel you want a face plate over the top as the gravel erodes the steel part of the blade and they get concave where the segments are braised on also if you hit a rock the steel in front should help prevent chipping we do have some that have a carbide splatter on the front instead of a face plate also I just cant say how much I love carbide blades any time we need a edge I do my best to talk them into carbide on the snow plows they last years and years they just dont wear graders in the summer last thousands of hours Honestly I would check with a different supplier I realize it is a temp gig but changing blades stinks(; We have one wing blade from Winter equipment there saleman was out today and I see they do have a rep in Canada Still glad to not have any manholes to deal with though there has been a few wings ripped off graders on stumps and curbs and the front blade got run over on a warm spring snow that the roads had already unthawed coming down a hill it cut into the road and dove down the front of the grader raising in the air destroying the plow before it could be stopped
Used soft blade under the short carbide blade on one way and wing on a720a for DTI on gravel and chip seal they outlasted the old grader 5plus years