I thought this would make an interesting thread. When I was 10 I used my grandfathers CubCadet to run around the neighborhood. When I was 15, I bought a Worthington tractor with a 6 foot blade, boy, was I tough! At 17, I bought a 62 Ford F-250 4x4. Now, I'm 10 foot tall and bullet proof! It was a beauty, 292 V-8, 3 speed on the column, (fill the oil and check the gas) custom exhaust with cherry bombs. My buudy and I cut down an old highway plow to about 8'6 wide and 3' tall. You needed 2 men and a boy to steer it. YeeHa! Then, along came the blizzard of '78. OhOh...I chained down a 50 gallon fuel tank on the flat bed, shoveled about 2 yards of sand around it, hung tire chains on all four corners and went plowing. 4 days later I came home without the plow or push frame, used over 150 gallons of gas, and had about $3,000 in my pocket. Slept for 2 days!
1960 F250 Pickup, with a 292 engine, and a 4 speed. had an electric lift plow , manual angle. had to get out, move the pin and angle the plow every time you wanted to change direction of the snow push. Was a real pain in the A$$. Second truck was a 1974 GMC K25, 350 , standard 4sp.trans. Great truck. I bought used and put the plow on. 3rd truck was a 1978 K10 Chevy, 350 LT1 engine, auto trans. never had a plow on it until I bought it. had dual tanks, a dump pickup bed. Fantastic truck, wish I still had it! But I had to get out of the business due to work considerations. Work considerations have changed again, my "new" truck is an 86 K10, bought it 2 summers ago. first winter blew the motor, trans, and transfer case. Replaced them all. This winter truck is running strong(knock on wood) This summer going through the whole thing. its former owner won't recognize it when I am done. Not gonna get rid of this one. if I still had my other chevy and GMC man would I be raking it in now. My next truck will be a mid 80's K30 or K3500 dually, with a salter and 9 foot fisher. Those late 70' to 87 chevy/GMC can't be beat!!!
Besides the lawn tractors.Sears and Economy tractors.Now that Economy tractor was a tuff tractor,had a 5'plow hyd up and down. Now comes the big step up. 1959 willeys Jeep w/6.5'Meyers electric plow.Ready to set the world on fire.Well first I had to get a new battery,generator,clutch,and whatever else the darn thing needed. Buy a Jeep and Weep!!!
I was 20 years old Bought a used 1980 F-250 PU in 1987 for 3800 putting half the cost on my American Express card. The truck might have been an old DOT vehicle as it came solid orange, with bed and rail boxes and a E-47 Meyers 7.5' two spring plow on the front. Took it home that night without even knowing if the plow worked as it was laying in the bed of the truck. Pulled the plow out of the back and hooked it up just before the snow started falling. Obviously I had no contracts but called up my old boss and asked if he could use another truck and went and plowed with him for rest of the winter. Eventually took another job subbing for another landscape company and starting my own biz in 91. That truck went through hell and back, include the storm of the century in March 93, all the ice storms of 94, and the blizzard of 96. Finally died last year when the third engine blew and sentimentality aside I had to bury her. You never forget your first one and that truck didnt owe me a thing when it died. Sorry gotta go dry my eyes now CMerLand
I've plowed with a few different trucks, but my first was... '78 Ford F-250 w/351cui. Four speed. Bald tires. Equiped with power brakes, power steering, heater, 4wd, but none of it worked (the 4wd did, but u-joints went on me in the middle of the season.) I hated it and got rid of it at the end of the winter. Only paid $500 for it to use as a yard truck. Now I have a 95 Dodge Ram. Everything works! It's comfortable and I love it. I'm easy on my equipment and I only have a few accounts, so it should last me quite a while.
First plow vehicle I plowed in was a 1960 Wileys Jeep, with manual angle plow and soft top (back in 1969). I was plowing for my fathers business in New Jersey. Didn't even have a drivers license yet. Cold way to go. First plow vehicle I owned was a 1978 Ford Bronco with a Valk Plow. Bought it new. Lasted me 9 years with no real problems. Have a framed picture of it in my office. Then bought a 1986 F250, new. Still plow in it now.
My first was a 1981 Ford F150 extended cab long box with a 7.5 Myers. I know I know, not the ideal setup, but I knew diddly about snowplowing. I still have it, a friend uses it to plow his private driveway and it gets it out of my yard as it is an eyesore! Still runs great though, however the brake lines rotted off so my friend drops the Meyers to stop!! I had a 1988 Ranger 4 cyl/manual with a 6 foot Myers which I plowed with once and realized how ridiculous it was and sold it. I then had a 1991 F150 with yet another Myers 7.5. It was a step up but still not what I was looking for. Getting close now, bought a 1990 Chev 2500 with 8' Arctic. Love the truck, still have it with 326000km on it, can't kill it. Currently drive a 92 F250 351 with a Boss 8.2 V. This one fits me like a shoe so I will keep her till she rots away.......
First plow rig was a 76 Pontiac station wagon,which had been rolled.We chopped off the back half,filled it full of gravel,a set of chains,and welded on a 6.5 ft tractor blade.I used it for almost two winters doing small parking lots,until DOT pulled me over and yanked it off the road.Cost me next to nothing to build,made about $2000.00 over the 2 seasons,and got a $450.00 in fines from the DOT.Learned my lesson and bought a pickup,and went on from there.We now have several 87-2001 Dodge ram's (all diesel),and a bunch of older chevy's.
John Allin- is this your truck? <img src="http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?u=993086&a=7299518&p=36714910&Sequence=0&res=high"><p> I found this photo of ur truck in an old Sno Pro magazine and scanned it in. Bryan
1 A 1949 Fergeson TO 20 Farm Tractor with an 7'6" Fergeson snow plow blade. 2 A 1988 Kubota L2550 with Sims canvas cab, Kudota 2040 dozer snow plow blade on the front and an Arps rear grading blade on the rear. 3 A 1989 Ford F350 SRW, IDI 7.3 pickup with a 8'2" Boss Power V. 4 A 1999 Ford F350 DRW, Dump, PSD 7.3 with 9'2" Boss Power V. 5 A 2000.5 Ford F550 DRW, Dump, PSD 7.3 with 9'2" Boss Power V.
1 A 580k case 4x4 backhoe 2 A 1997 Dodge 1500 Reg.cab 4x4 w/ Boss 3 A 1998 Dodge 1500 Ext.cab 4x4 w/ Boss 4 A 1990 Dodge 3/4 ton 4x4 has dana 60 in front dana 70 rear has no blade yet but looking at Boss V.
Last year plowed driveways with a Ranch King 18h.p. tractor with a 42" blade and a 125# Agri-Fab pull behind spreader. I also aquired the salting contract for a 109 home private plat and did it with the Ranch King...kinda' cold some of those days and nights. This year bought a 1985 G.M.C. K-2500 8,600 GVW put on a 7'6" Western blade bought used and a 400# Western stainless steel tailgate spreader. Kept the plat contract and took over the plowing also. Also got a couple of other businesses. Not setting the world on fire but it is a start. Learning a ton of info from all of you at this site. Probably saved me some money, time, headaches, etc. By the way John nice truck...must be dependable. Thanks Bruce Happy plowing
FIRST SNOW PLOW I guess my first plow experience was with a ROPE START Gravely L with a 42 inch plow. Try pulling that when the block is cold! Chased that for a few years then got my driver license sooo,, My first plow truck was a 1946 Willys CJ 2A, 4 cyl, L-head, no heater, canvas top, vacuum wiper on the driver side, and a hand wiper on the passenger side. Go up hill and the wiper would stop. 7.00 x 16 inch wheels, it would walk over anything with chains on. Monarch pump and manual swing plow. Sold it for a jeep with heat, CJ3A, and kept the plow and monarch unit.
When I started plowing I was working at my dad's company. Age 15 first plow truck. 1972 ??? F 350 4x4 9' fisher plow. Age 17 1977 ??? F 350 Dump Body, V-box and 9' Fisher Age 22 1981 F 350 Dump Body, V-box 9' fisher Age 27 1986 F 350 Dump Body V-box 9' Fisher plow Age 29 1988 GMC 1500 9' fisher ( the one year I had to try a chevy, 1988) Age 30 1989 F 350 Dump Body V-box 9' Fisher plow. Gave the GMC to an employee. Saw the light that ford was # 1 Age 35 1990 F 350 Pick Up 9' Fisher Plow Age 40 1995 F 350 Pick up 9' Diamond Plow. Age 45 2000 F 350 Pick up 9' Diamond Plow. Geoff
First thing I ever plowed with was a SC Case, 1942 model with a loader back in 1949. Don't laugh, I'm old. My first pro plow was a 1975 Bronco with a 6.5' Western Plow. Wish I still had it.
I bought my first plow truck at 18...a 1990 GMC 2500 it had 62,000 miles on it. A few alterations a 7 1/2' Fisher and at 100,000 miles the truck has paid for itself five times over and still runs great.
First truck I ever owned that I plowed with was a 74 Jeep CJ-5, with a 4 cyl, and a 6'6" Western. It did OK sometimes, but the way the plow mounted to the front axle was a real hack job. It liked to cause the Jeep to spin out when the snow built up in front of the blade. Man did that thing stack! The blade had no stops, so it stacked until it hit the Jeep bumper. Had a stick to control the plow, mounted between the bucket seats. I could work it with my elbow while shifting gears. Next came the 80 GMC K/25 I have now. I just can't give it up, it's too cheap to keep it going. This spring I will put on new fenders, and some clean used doors I already have. ~Chuck
My first plow truck was actually a farm truck I bought that happened to have a plow on it. Fresh out of college I bought a dairy herd. A friend gave me a 70 f250 DOT truck. The rear seal went out on it. So I took a torch to the body and sold the undercarriage and engine for $300.00. Saved the flatbed and started looking for a new farm truck. Found a 81' f250 on the side of the road for $1100.00 with some old manual plow on it. Talked the guy down to $900.00 and drove it home. Painted the plow, used duct tape over the bottoms of the rusted doors and painted it. When you put it in 4x4 it made the worst grinding noise you could ever imagine, but it would work. Used it around the barn a little and a couple neighbors. When retired from farming I sold it for $1200.00. A little paint sure helps the value.
