I know this has been brought up in the past, but with all the new people, i thought i'd ask again. does anyone here use wing plows? i've seen some f350 dumps for sale in the truck trader w/ a one way plow and wings on them. does anyone use them? if so, what kind, and do they help productivity? thanks, bryan
These types of set ups are common to towns with lots of small roads. Come to maine and you can find tons of them, for a dime a dozen. I don't have any wings yet, however when i replace on of my L 9000s, i am going to replace it with an all purpose body, and a frink resverable plow, and wing. Geoff
To get a wing you would have to have mega snow to pay for the extra cost<At dyer sales in mass they thought it was crazy to be putting a wing on an international but tey paid to do it so they put it on but the shop forman thought that it was a waste of there money for mass any way.
When you to the extra cost of a wing you obviously are talking new because used trucks with wings cost no more or even less ,no one wants the hastle.I bought an Oshkosh with wing, belly blade and sander,I cut them all of but the sander.My road grader is an old county machine with wing we have never even had it mounted.Most all of the older wing plows are cable operated, newer models are hydros,and cables mean problems unless you have someone who is careful and understands the risks of dealing with cable and not getting their finger cut off.Geoff I assume is going to use a wing on road ways which is were they were intended to be used,for parking lots, wings are very unresponsive.they are hard to see when down and hard to see around when up.
Currently i am not useing any wings. 10' fisher plow, on an f 650 or 750, handles a private road just fine. Yes wings have advantages for stacking snow, however i used to do roads with a 9' and a 1 ton, and never had a big problem. My big plow trucks, 650s and 750s, also do some lots, so i haven't added a wing for that reason. Plus for a good wing system ya need a class 8 truck, class 5 - 7 really don't cut it. Also the road has to be set up right for a wing, meaning no tress really close to the side of the road, and even ground at least 3 feet away from the edge of the road. Some of my roads could use a wing, with out having to lift it a lot, most would require a lot of lifting. When i replace one of my L 9000s in about 5 years. Right now i am looking at sterling for replacement. I will get a 2 axel truck, with a all purpose body from Frink or swenson, and a 10' frink reversalbe plow, and a frink wing, both plows with trip edges. Then this truck will do roads, and only roads. The advantage is i can still use it to haul snow, however the body is quite small. The other major difference is the cost is about 90 to 100 K when your done with lights, plows, bodies, registration, and other misc. My first F 650 has a v-box in it, and it works well, because it has a low profile body ( body with 18" or 2' sides). My new F 650 and F 750, have standard bodies, and will use an under the tailgate spreader system. Right now the 10' fisher plow is run off the electric pump, however if i start to get pump trouble. The hydrolics for the sander are set up with electic valves for a plow and sander in the cab. The contolls are their and the hoses run, so that all i have to do, is add an lift cylinder to the fisher frame, and i am good to go. Right not the wires for the valves are disconnected, to prevent accidintal use. Geoff [Edited by GeoffDiamond on 10-09-2000 at 12:26 AM]
Most wings are run on a serious angle, meaning an 8' wing will only gain you about 4-5' in plowing width. My friend plows the town roads in Sebec Maine, and his truck has a wing on it, they use it mostly for cutting the snow banks back after the storm. The truck is a 1980's Bison with a 12 yard swensom frame mounted. It has a 450hp detroit 4 cycle and a 13 sp road ranger. It is a beast. He did a driveway last year with, and pushed a full size pick up that was covered in snow about 200' and never knew it. Dino
I like to use the Pro-Wings that bolt onto the sides of a straight blade to turn a 7 1/2' blade into a 9 1/2' sweep. That doubles my productivity. You guys sound like you're talking about something different.
Dino was that the same guy that was posting about using a T800 for doing residentials,this bison isn't his daily driver is it.
Well cosidering the amount of snow they recieve every year, he drives it almost everyday. But no, as a rule he doesnt plow driveways with it. Seems the drive is at the end of a dirt road, and they use the ladies drive as a turnaround. Well my buddy be as nice as he is, thought that it would be a nice gesture to plow the drive as a thank you. Dino
John this is backwoods Maine. Everyone has a junker in the yard. Kind of like as Jeff Foxworthy says." If you mow your lawn and find a car, you might be a redneck." She was happy the truck wasnt in the driveway anymore. She didnt know how she was going to move with all the snow that was on the ground. She probably even paid him to plow it out of the way. Dino
Belive me this is true. We did a utility job once at an industrial site (probably the size of John Parkers yard). Well we were putting the cable,phone and power underground, the site was going to be on well water, till we found 2 berried cars. Its kinda funny when the exevator pulls uo the roof of an old VW. You can go out to a farm, and walk around in the woods that could be 2 or 3 miles away from the farm, and you won't belive what you will find. Geoff
