[AT] BOOO! anyone awake in there?

[Mike Sloane]

As Charlie mentioned, getting that old Western plow on my F350 dump 
truck was a chore that I never looked forward to. It was so much of a 
pain in the butt that I would put it on in December and leave it mounted 
until April. One thing that worked for me was to buy a 5' long tapered 
bar from Northern. I found that I could use it to align the mounting 
holes and slip the pins in somewhat easily. (Northerntool.com and look 
for "Truper Hex-Shaft Digging Bar – 5ft.")

The old truck finally became a maintenance nightmare, and after the 
brakes failed (again), and the power steering went out (again), and the 
frame and body were rotting, I had it hauled away by the salvage yard. I 
refused to sell it to anyone, as it was an accident just waiting to happen.

The replacement vehicle is a new 2008 (left over) Toyota Tundra with 
Fisher plow - the new plows are set up to be MUCH easier to mount; you 
just drive up to them and move a lever to set the pins. Speaking of 
which, it has started snowing here a little while ago. Fortunately, the 
accumulation is supposed to be minimal, so I don't think I will have to 
fuss with the plow (yet).

Mike

CEE VILL wrote:
> Long winters disability is more like it in my case.  The last month
>
> 
> Yesterday I went outside and installed the snowplow on my truck.
> Mike Sloan can tell you that the Western Pro Plow is not an easy
> install.  Western assumes you will have a smooth concrete floor and
> have the plow on a dolly for easy alignment.  It is not that way in
> my world.  After jockeying the truck to as good as possible, it came
> down to a pry bar to get exact enough to install the pins and links.
> It would be a fairly simple two man job, but it is hard for one
> person to be in two places at once.  After an hour, it was on and
> working and I managed not to let the light/pump frame  drop on top fo
> me. When I finished, I thought I might have to carry myself into the
> house.  Walking was pretty painful, but when I get the 480 lbs. of
> ballast in the back of the truck, let it snow..
> 
> 
> Other than the above, it is pretty quiet here in WNY.
> 
> Charlie V.