To Plow or not to Plow that is the question?

[OttoVonMog]

I think I need to put a 10-12' snow plow on "The Duke"...

I think the best way to go is a self-contained unit with a plow set up to run either 24v or 12v via an inverter unit. That way I don't have to add anything to the truck engine to pump hydraulic fluid to the hydraulics for the plow. And, I also don't need to run any extra things into the cab to make the plow work. I think I want to switch over to super single tires: A3 14.5R20 style tires would be my choice. Does anyone know a good place to buy them? Another addition is of course Air-Lockers to the truck's axles. Those are very important. But the real question I'm having is with what sort of reinforcing does the front of the truck need to handle a 10-12' power angle plow weighing in with mount around 1300lbs or so??? I think it will be a snow pushing monster with lockers.

 

[doghead]

For all of what you just said you want to do, you can just spend the same amount and buy a dumptruck with a plow on it.

 

[m-35tom]

i doubt you will find air lockers, they are very rare, white owl sold out years ago. you don't need to do anything to the suspension. expect the truck to completely rust out in 5 years, when they were made there was no attempt at rust proofing and there is nothing you can do about it now. whereever there is 2 layers of metal it is just bare metal in between.

 

[Triple C]

I have a 925 and considered the same thing. Old hwy dept plows are cheap. I saw a 12 foot V blade and mountings sell at state hwy auction for $80. And there are times I need the ability to plow our rural road, just to get my car to the state hwy --- till I looked at my insurance policy. It looks to me like there are a lot of ways they could avoid paying out any claims, should something unfortunate occur. Now, I have a collector car policy so most everything is out anyway but I would be careful. If you are on any property but your own, the insurance company can make a pretty good case it is commercial (and exclude you) and if you are on a road or hwy - well I don't think anybody is supposed to do that except the authorized agency. Not that it was going to stop me if I could get coverage but pretty sure I don't have.

 

[OttoVonMog]

i doubt you will find air lockers, they are very rare, white owl sold out years ago. you don't need to do anything to the suspension. expect the truck to completely rust out in 5 years, when they were made there was no attempt at rust proofing and there is nothing you can do about it now. whereever there is 2 layers of metal it is just bare metal in between.

I found ARB Air Lockers for the 2.5ton axles very easily- I have them on order--they will come in about 3 days! The suspension doesn't worry me so much-- I figure if I don't like the way it sits-- add a leaf or two to the truck. What I'm concerned is with creating the custom mount. I not sure how much actual support the mount will need from the frame-I'm thinking of running a small c-channel inside of the frame back from the bumper about 10-12"- extend the bumper out 4" and add some serious angle iron 3/8" thick by 1.5" inches with some plate on the sides creating a box. This I think will really make the plow sturdy when it impacts with the snow!

 

[OttoVonMog]

For all of what you just said you want to do, you can just spend the same amount and buy a dumptruck with a plow on it.

I figure at most it will be $7,000k-- I cannot find a good dump truck with a gvw of 23,000lbs or so for $7k used. I'm pretty happy with my solution plus it has 6x6 with differential lockers! So, basically I will be the biggest truck in town next to the plow crews for the state and town. It will be funny to see it.

 

[OttoVonMog]

I have a 925 and considered the same thing. Old hwy dept plows are cheap. I saw a 12 foot V blade and mountings sell at state hwy auction for $80. And there are times I need the ability to plow our rural road, just to get my car to the state hwy --- till I looked at my insurance policy. It looks to me like there are a lot of ways they could avoid paying out any claims, should something unfortunate occur. Now, I have a collector car policy so most everything is out anyway but I would be careful. If you are on any property but your own, the insurance company can make a pretty good case it is commercial (and exclude you) and if you are on a road or hwy - well I don't think anybody is supposed to do that except the authorized agency. Not that it was going to stop me if I could get coverage but pretty sure I don't have.

Actually, I only plan on using this on my own property.

 

[RodUSMC1962]

Is the Duke a 5 ton? If it is a duece you will have a **** of a time turning it.I don`t see pic of your truck in your avatar.

 

[OttoVonMog]

It is a 2.5ton... So I will need to put the air-assisted steering unit into it as well.

 

[OttoVonMog]

Does anyone make a bigger alternator for the LDT-465 Series engines or do I have to have it custom rewound? i would like one about 120amps or maybe 150amps?

 

[TehTDK]

Otto,

I actually had thoughts simular to yours when I get a Deuce. But instead of a plough I intend to having a revolving "brush" installed instead and a snowguard. Means I get to the surface of the road and "brush" away all the snow and ice rather then potentially leave 1-2mm of snow/ice on the road. Secondly I eliminate the risk of causing frame stress since I wont actually "hit" anything at force. A snowplough actually suffers a lot of frame stress when it "slams" into drifts at speed, and I am hoping I can negate that with the revolving brush attachment instead. But for that to work I would obviously need to keep a much slower road speed then a regular plough would.

 

[OttoVonMog]

Otto,

I actually had thoughts simular to yours when I get a Deuce. But instead of a plough I intend to having a revolving "brush" installed instead and a snowguard. Means I get to the surface of the road and "brush" away all the snow and ice rather then potentially leave 1-2mm of snow/ice on the road. Secondly I eliminate the risk of causing frame stress since I wont actually "hit" anything at force. A snowplough actually suffers a lot of frame stress when it "slams" into drifts at speed, and I am hoping I can negate that with the revolving brush attachment instead. But for that to work I would obviously need to keep a much slower road speed then a regular plough would.

That is a good option if you want to relieve the stress on the frame of the M35A2 with a mechanical means of removing snow. I would look into a Snowblower/snow cutter and the MB Unimog Solution if I lived in Denmark. I mean I see a ton of them for sale and they are really cool. This is just something to play with.

 

[OttoVonMog]

I really wonder how much snow the M35A2 can push...

 

[BEASTMASTER]

u can use a 12volt hydraulic unit on it. i've been using one on my 5 ton for 7 yrs now and don't have any trouble with it. thats picking up an 11 ft 1500ld wing plow. the singles, i think VINTAGE IRON has some.you will need power steering, or start going to the gym. it will be hard to steer,and it will kill you're king pin bearings . the front end is pretty much the same as a heavy duty pick up truck.

 

[TehTDK]

Otto, I am not too fond of the looks of the Unimogs. Hence why I am looking at Deuces instead . But yea I dont intend to do heavy duty ploughing with it. More like clearing a few small private roads and "estates" for a few bits of coin and carry a few other snowclearing machines on the bed of it, at least during snowfall and expected snowfall.

 

[fireball]

go to plowsite.com. expect to make pennies and spend dollars

 

[OttoVonMog]

Otto, I am not too fond of the looks of the Unimogs. Hence why I am looking at Deuces instead . But yea I dont intend to do heavy duty ploughing with it. More like clearing a few small private roads and "estates" for a few bits of coin and carry a few other snowclearing machines on the bed of it, at least during snowfall and expected snowfall.

I like the Unimogs a lot. However, each to his or her own vehicle. I just think that for your application having centralized hydraulics and pto's might make the truck much more effective. Have you looked at Autoline.com for MAN trucks they have a couple nice MAN http://autoline.info/sf/truck-tippe...ommunalWinterdienst-12120700561192365200.html

I really like some of the Old MAN KAT 1 series trucks in 8x8... But still my passion is a Tatra T-813 or T-815.

 

[OttoVonMog]

u can use a 12volt hydraulic unit on it. i've been using one on my 5 ton for 7 yrs now and don't have any trouble with it. thats picking up an 11 ft 1500ld wing plow. the singles, i think VINTAGE IRON has some.you will need power steering, or start going to the gym. it will be hard to steer,and it will kill you're king pin bearings . the front end is pretty much the same as a heavy duty pick up truck.

Well, I just replaced the King-Pins last year. So I should be okay for a little while. I do plan on putting the air-assist steering on the truck. I plan on running it through a 12v-24v Inverter system so that I can use 12volts like you said for the plow and switches, while continuing to keep the rest of the truck still operating in 24volt. The thing I want to do is have a bigger alternator put on the truck so I can run an all electric heater for the cab.

 

[militarydeblok]

I really wonder how much snow the M35A2 can push...

My dad had one with a 11 foot plow and boy could it move snow. The bigger the parking lot, the better. You wouldn't want to do any small lots. Once you put an extra 5 feet of plow on your truck, it needs a lot of room to turn. After a few hours of plowing, you won't need to go to the gym. It's a work out.

 

[JasonS]

expect the truck to completely rust out in 5 years

My 1953 was a plow truck and in perfect, rust free condition when I bought it. Given the option of other, better plow trucks, it never got used.