Snowplowing

Anyone plow snow with an S10/Sonoma pickup? Am thinking of buying one to plow a small condo complex with narrow streets and drives. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Fred

Reply to
fredbarga246
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Unless your average snowfall is less than a few cm, you may want to try something bigger, particularly if you're pushing loads more than say, 10 meters. Remember that as you travel further, the load on the blade increases, and if the snow's wet, you could easily have 2 tonne of material in front of your blade. If you have a large piling area, you might be ok, but if you have to push back the piles to make way for fresh clearing, you might run into trouble. Also, 4 wd is a big help and a larger truck will push a heavier blade, which is useful for scraping up ice buildup and stuff. You'll need at least the sonoma to power the hydraulic system, I'd recommend at least a full 1/2 tonne with 4wd.

-JD

Reply to
John D

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote in news:1123841293.d31d31c371914a73fa75a8f83c1b6c40@teranews:

Howdy Fred A S10 may be a bit light. I would go with at least a K20. ( or dodge equilvalent) A few years ago i used a 74 K30 w/ a 6 foot blade. Was lucky to get 7mpg when plowing 350/4b carb. Had to rebuild the steering gearbox at least once a year. The seals (o-rings) would blow from a sudden shock to the system. You may want to get a blade with right or left angle to move the snow to the side. If so, get one that is hydrolic, not pined. It is a pita to have to lift the blade, get out pull the pin, change the angle and put the pin back. Plus i've seen the pins shear, when angled. Another thing. Get an extra fuel tank. Unless you've got a 24 hour 7/11 real close. That may or may not be open when the snow is deep. Pushing snow uses gas like crazy.

BTW i added a extra heater core that i picked up at a junk yard. I could plow in shorts and a tee shirt. O ya, that was in Mich.

Reply to
Throckmorton P. Ruddygore

I have been at this for over 20 years now the the single biggest mistake that people make is putting too much plow on too little of a vehical. A S10 will work for you fine in this task if you limit plow size and weight. I would suggest about a 6.5 foot blade or so and added a aux tranny cooler and running about 300 to 400lbs of ballast in the back of the bed minimum. If you are going to buy the truck, get the deepest possible axle ratios (at least a 3.73) and a HD suspension if possible. Drop by my new site if you have any further questions and there are links there too for all of the major plow brands.

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Reply to
TheSnoMan

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