The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts Plow setup

Hi guys, i have a 1958 viking 60. It takes me and my father with 2 36" snow blowers around 3 hours to clear our driveway when it snows, i was curious if anyone knew of a plow setup that will work on these task force trucks. It wont ever see salt its just for our driveway but it would help us out immensely hes getting older and it would take all day to do it alone. Im hoping there is something out there that will fit right on the truck so we can make our lives alot easier. Thanks!!

Do you have a way to put a LOT of weight on the drive wheels, such as a dump bed you can fill with dirt or gravel? Just being able to push the snow is only the first thing to consider- - - - -you're also going to need traction. How about mounting one of those snow blowers on a 4 wheel drive ATV?

Your post just reminded me of one of the really good reasons my family has lived in either South Carolina or Tennessee since 1763!
Jerry

Is the area you’re plowing relatively flat? If so you can probably get by with chains or mud grips on the back, I wouldn’t try plowing without addressing traction. Chains are the simplest way and they are super effective and can be taken off for the summer.

Jerry, i my truck has a flatbed right now, i can throw a car on the back, or get loaded up with a couple jersey barriers if needed. Attaching a snowblower to an atv would be harder, i would have to buy and store and maintain an atv and a snowblower attachment. The cheapest solution i could come up with is mounting a plow on the truck.

Tony, the area i am plowing is mostly flat, with a very very slight grade towards the end, i could throw chains on the rear wheels as well forgive the ignorance ive never had to use chains but is that something you can buy or do they have to be made? Thanks !!

there are many styles of chains to choose from, and making your own works too, most of the large sets for earth moving equipment that we have are just normal chain put together in a similar method to the store bought arrangements
attached a photo of the weed chains i have for my 1 ton
needed to make some minor repairs with quick links before committing to the welded links
keep an eye out and you can usually find chain sets for cheap where folks don't know what that pile of rusted tangled chain is for.
-s

Chains are available for most sizes of big truck tires, but I don't think they would help if you're plowing a hard surface like asphalt or concrete, and if your driveway is gravel, the chains would make huge ruts after just a few passes. Chains are mostly useful on ice or very deep snow, or maybe a mixture of snow and mud where the grooves in the tire tread get packed and slippery. Once they dig down to a hard surface, the contact patch between the tire and the road gets intermittent, and actually reduces the traction that's available.
Jerry

Jerry, my driveway is asphalt so i do have a hard surface to drive on. Do you happen to know if there is a plow setup that works for these trucks? I might be wrong but traction sounds like its covered weather it be chains, weight, combination lowering the tire pressures etc.

You're going to have to be your own "engineer" on this one. I'm sure there must be a huge number of municipal plow trucks in your neighborhood to use as patterns, but the basic idea is to install brackets in line with the frame rails to provide push points for the blade, and some sort of hydraulic system to raise and lower it. I've seen plows that attach to vehicles like Jeeps or 4WD pickups, so do some internet searching to get an idea what's available. Finding an exact-fit, bolt-on item for a 70 year old vehicle is probably going to be somewhere in the neighborhood of "Slim-to-none"!

Do you have enough length and width to the area you're trying to plow that will allow you to maneuver a vehicle the size of your truck without running off the paved area? If you have to get off into an unpaved area to turn around or push the accumulating snow from several plowings somewhere, it's going to look like a war zone once the snow melts in the spring.
Jerry

Your gonna' have to fabricate the carriage for the truck, if you can find a decent used plow on craigslist or similar that is complete it will make things easier. You probably don't need to worry about lights but the hydraulics would be good to have a complete set-up. For the medium duty Task Force you would want a 8 -10 foot plow. 7.5 - 8.0 ft. is the standard for a full size pick-up.

Your bed should be about 90" wide, so an 8' blade will be a little short if you angle it, 9' would be better.

Any good welding shop or dealer that sells snow plows should be able to fab up the sub-frame to attach the unit.

Mike B

You used to be able to get plows for trucks like that. Back in the 60's the city had a '58 or '59 C-60 or C-70 dump truck that had a plow on it. Later on they got a '69 that also had one. Similar to what the DOT uses on their trucks now, except perhaps slightly smaller.

For what is worth. I would not put a snow plow on anything thing that I thought much of. I plowed snow for a number of years at our local school district. That is one of the hardest things you can do to a truck. There are always hidden obstacles that you will find that will bend plow frames and rip mounting hardware off of the truck. You will learn to be a pretty good blacksmith and welder before it is all over.
If I was looking for a snowplow, I would find an old beat up 4x4 pickup That if you damaged it wouldn't be the end of the world. Snow plows are also susceptible for accumulating dents when you back up or slide into something as well. Lots of old pickups are available with snowplows already mounted on them.
Just my thoughts for what is worth.
Jim

Jerry, i have plenty of space to push the snow, its plenty wide with lots of places to turn the truck around. I figured the fitment wpuld be somewhat close to a newer 3500+ setup since these taskfprce cabs are easily swapped over to duramax frames.

Thanks 78 buckshot i was thinking 9 ft but 10 sounds a little better since the bed is 7ft wide.

Rich'stoys, luckily my brother works for our towns highway dept so i can run over there and check out anything i want which may prove very useful

Jm, the area im trying to plow is a flat paved surface with no obstacles nothing to slide into, i know it will be hard on the truck but its just 1 driveway thats ideal for plowing, there is nothing to hit. No salt to get at the truck. And quite honestly its the most heavy duty truck i have. The only flip side of this is we have a 48 1.5 ton truck that could do the job next year currently it just needs a motor which my viking will be donating to it because i plan on running a v8 in the viking. Starting this spring.

I agree completely with JM. His recommendation is spot on -- Everything will be VASTLY simpler to spend a few hundred bucks on a beater 3/4-ton truck (that won't pass inspection but still works) with an automatic transmission and power steering ( ) with a modern MeyerMax (for example ...) plow with nifty push button controls that sit neatly in your lap (that you don't have to lean half way across the cab to operate ...)

I hope we hear from 48bigtrucks -- He plows snow with his bigbolts and may have some insight for you from his personal experience.

Something else -- How expensive is it to pay someone to push your driveway versus how much you'd have to spend on rigging one of your trucks? Plus the time involved ... plus how much do you enjoy laying under your truck in the snow at 0300 getting hydraulic fluid dripped on your face while searching for something that broke off so you can reattach it and at least get the truck moved out of the middle of the road/driveway .... ? Just things to think about.


John

John, since its already plow season the prices are higher on those beaters, plus they could crap out on me any minute and id have another paperweight on my property which has a high amount of vehicles on it anyways. . I like the idea of using my big bolt to push some snow out of the way. Id rsther not let it just sit all winter long either. As far as the investment goes a plow setup should last me a lifetime if i only did my driveway a few times a year, prices to get my driveway plowed as crazy as its so big/ long. Its worth the investment to me. And as far as the problems go im used to it. I would love to hear from 48 big trucks, my idea was to grab a new plow setup and get it to fit the truck so one hand has a remote the other on the wheel but my driveway is simple so all i need to do is drop the plow and push and steer as needed. Nothing super crazy. At this point im almost determined to get this done just to say i did it.

I like plowing, I fab'd my first plow on my new 1974 GMC pick-up just out of high school. I swapped it over to my new '76 Chevy and it worked hard for 18 years until I sold the truck. Same 50 year old plow was fab'd on to my 2000 Chevy dually crew cab diesel for my now 350 ft. driveway. I'm not going to mount it on my 2011 2500HD, I might modify it for my tractor though. I like winter nights, working trucks - it just feels right. Oh, just for the record, the first two trucks were full size 350's, 4 speed's, I could keep up with the guy's with automatics and never had to replace a clutch, let the tires take the slip and not the clutch.

If you wind up with electric controls for a plow, mount them on the shifter so they are within reach without moving your hand off the knob. I did that with a Scout many years ago and my current garden tractor/blower. Saves much fatigue, speeds the job a lot.

I just made a small bracket to mount the switches about finger length from the knob and let the wiring lay on the floor so it did not bend much when shifting. No problems in many years, use high quality switches so they last.

I used to plow with a '67 GMC 1-Ton Dump. We loaded the bed with sand and that's all we needed. Although the truck also had snow tires, traction was impressive.

I used chains on a '66 GMC 1/2 Ton. I would put a little weight in the back for some extra help. Traction was also impressive.

Now a 1-Ton or 2-Ton with weight and chains should be really impressive.

If your truck is a show truck or close to it, I would definitely pass. But if it is a good solid driver and plan to use it and not abuse it, I would probably go for it too.

My tractor is a '59 John Deere. Although not a show tractor, I'm not afraid to push a little snow with it. Does a machine good for a little work out now and then, lol.

The worse thing about snow plowing, in my opinion, is road salt. If you can avoid the salt, like I do, that would be big plus.

If you go for it, I would just try it with weight in the back. If you need extra help, you could always add the chains later. If you do find that you need chains, try a truck parts supplier. The negative with chains is they can mark your asphalt.

Keep us posted on it.

You would think, up in your part of the country, used snow plows would be quite plentiful. There is little doubt you will have to fabricate the mounts. Maybe you will get lucky and just have to tweak what comes with the plow. Good luck.

As others have already stated, the salt and brine they are putting on the roads are the biggest negative of snow removal.
But, that is not an issue for your plan. Check on Craigslist. There are plenty of used plows out there you could probably
cobble something together out of for your application. Some brackets, a little welding and wiring and I think you could have something very useful.
https://worcester.craigslist.org/pts/d/oxford-curtis-snow-plow/7242324002.html

I plowed snow for over 35 years and never had significant abnormal issues in regards to wear and tear from plowing, just from the salt. My '94 was rusting down around the frame but still ran like a top.

I like your plan to use your truck. You obviously know how to take care of the rig while getting some use from it. A decent, complete, used plow and some common sense should get it mounted up to your truck. Make heavy brackets that bolt in place. You might need an alternator to keep up with extra electrical demands, maybe not. I would not hesitate to do what you are doing if it were my truck. I hope you have the skills to mount it yourself, I don't like others working on my old stuff. Go for it and let us know how it turns out.

Mike

C90 bill- my truck is definately not a show truck, but its nice no rot etc, i dont have to worry about salt wrecking it but im going to work the truck. Salt isnt an issue because its just my driveway.

Justhorsenaround- snow plows are pretty common but usually its just the blade. Im trying to find a complete setup unfortunately my fabrication skills are lacking. Im more mechanically inclined.

Bill marlow- i did see that but christmas also made the budget nonexistant so im going to have to keep searching probably make a setup over the summer.

35mike- i plan on a v8 swap this spring and the v8 i have has a 130 amp alternator which should be plenty of power for all the lights and the plow electrics. Im also going to be running dual 12v batteries in parallel which should help everything out just a little bit more. Once i get a setup going and have it all mounted up this spring / summer i will definitely be posting pictures!!

I understand that it'd be cool to utilize your big bolt, but don't forget about maneuverability. Big trucks are not the handiest in tight places. A small tractor or an old CJ Jeep would be the way to go. I use a Kubota with 6' rear blade for my driveway and private road. Biggest negative is no cab, so it does get cold.

I don't know how big of an area you are clearing, possibly a garden tractor with chains and a front mounted snowblower might work well for your needs. Older ones often sell reasonably cheap at estate sales (spring and summer). Plus, it could all be stored in a garden shed in the off season.

John