[AT] Good tractor work-out...

[Mike Sloane]

I have been plowing my two mile road and several driveways for about 40 
years, starting with a Farmall Cub and ending up with the new pickup 
truck. I have never had any damage to any of the machines that were the 
result of plowing or plows. So I feel I can offer a little advice on the 
subject.

1. Be patient. If you move fast and hit something, even with a spring 
trip, something will feel the impact. I go slowly and try to be aware of 
how things are going.

2. Don't ride the clutch to get a couple more inches. If the tires start 
to slip or you run out of power, drop back and take a lesser cut. Don't 
use the truck/tractor and blade as a ram to push hardened drifts or 
chunks of ice.

3. Don't drive around with the blade on the truck, especially on a 
pickup - NO pickups are designed to handle the extra weight up front, 
and it is very hard on the suspension and steering. 2WD tractor front 
ends aren't much better. But tractor rears are designed to handle the 
weight. Putting ballast in the back of the truck bed will take some of 
the load off the front end and help with overall traction.

4. Don't swing the blade when it is down or under load - back up a few 
feet and lift it to swing. If you don't, you will soon be buying new a 
hydraulic motor and/or cylinders.

5. Take the vehicle out of 4WD/FWA if you don't need it - those systems 
are not designed for constant use like an AWD system. It is hard on the 
drive train and the tires, especially on dry surfaces. On my F350 mason 
dump, it had manual hubs, which were a pain. I was not sorry to see that 
truck gone (for a whole bunch of reasons). If the snow is light, keep 
the truck in high range and plow in first or second. Save low range for 
really heavy stuff.

6. Make sure all your headlights, backup lights, flasher, wipers, PTO 
(or electric lift/swing motor), etc. are in good shape when it is clear 
and dry - it is no fun trying to troubleshoot electrical problems in the 
middle of the night while it is snowing. (been there, done that) Along 
the same lines, keep the fuel tank full and check ALL the fluids before 
the storm, not after it starts to down.

7. Keep a snow brush, windshield scraper, spare pare of gloves, tow 
strap/chain, spare fuses, flashlight and batteries, snow shovel, and any 
other emergency gear in the cab. You may never need them, but if you do, 
you will be glad they are there. If you are plowing with a tractor, you 
don't get much choice about what to carry, but you probably won't be all 
that far from the barn either.

There are probably some other things that folks can come up with, but 
that is all that comes to mind, aside from making sure that the snow 
plowing machinery is in good overall condition.

Mike

On 12/6/2012 11:01 AM, Will Powell wrote:
> Used to plow with my AC WD rear plow, chains. And D17 with front trip
> loader with backhoe on back, both worked great on stone driveway,
> useless after I paved the drive...
>
> I now have a plow on my 1985 F250 diesel. Never thought about the
> load to the u-joints. Never seems to be under a great load when its
> plowing. I feel there is a great load on the front end when the plow
> is up, so, since its just used for my driveway I try to keep it down
> and don't worry too much about it.
>
> Besides this thread, Plowsite.com is a great resource for plowing.
>
> Regards,
>
> Will