I need a break....

[SlimJim Z71]

This past week has kicked my butt!!! I've plowed every day this week. Three storms, one of which dropped about 15-inches on us. Now, it's sleeting. It's gonna turn into snow. About 3-inches.

My feet are cold, my hands are turning black from my steering wheel, got stuck a couple times (one of which took a 1-ton ext. cab dually THREE TRIES to get me out), I havn't slept more than 13-hours all week, I almost ended up driving into the swamp by my work (pile of snow moved a LOT easier than I thought it would), and I have a feeling my truck is out in my driveway telling me to go F*** myself.... you gotta love plowing.

Mike;

I heard a rumor that there's a storm brewing that could dump another 2-feet on us. I'm not happy about that. We finally finished digging out Motorwerks today. Chaos... absolute chaos.

[CCLC]

I hear you there. I am in Mid Michigan and all of that stuff left you and came to us. The only thing is that two of our four trucks were repeatedly getting stuck. Probably 5 time each during the week. My neck and back are bothering me now. Time to go on vacation for a week. But the weather looks grim for that. I guess I'll just wait for spring.

HAPPY PLOWING

[SlimJim Z71]

We were moving piles of snow back as far as possible due to lack of space to pile snow, so we'd ram them. Once our front tires got over the curb, we were stuck. I had to get pulled out 3-times, and I had to pull out our other truck twice. Boy, I tell ya what though, my 1/2-ton was movin a lot of snow. I was proud.

-Tim

[CCLC]

The next snow over 4" we will have the excavation company going nuts over snow removal. We have more than maxed out our lots snow areas. We lost a lot of parking spaces in places that didn't have enough as it was. I have never moved so much snow. We tried to hit everything once before we had 6" but it came down so fast we couldn't keep up.

[SlimJim Z71]

I know that feeling all too well...

-Timhttp://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/s/sp/stanico.gif

[Rooster]

And who wanted SNOW???? hehehe!!!

[SlimJim Z71]

Yeah, I admit, I did... BUT NOT ALL AT ONE FREAKIN TIME!!!

Illinois averages about 35-40 inches of snow per year. We've already had around 25!!! And I know the rest of the winter is not going to be very forgiving...

-Tim

[John DiMartino]

Tim,ive been plowing a few years,and what your doing ramming piles back with your truck is not the smartest thing to do.Rent a loader and do a top notch job,the truck isnt meant to do that and if the pile gives easy you might get your truck 's frame hung up on the drop offs.I used to ram piles back too,i got smart after a few trannys in the old suburban,bent 2 meyers plows right over backwards moving piles.Tore the crossmember off one truck when it went off the lot and into the drainage ditch.I make sure in all my contracts that a loader will be used,the cost and that i use it as needed at my descretion.Hows your neck holding up?Be careful what you wish for you might get it.Send me some snow,if you dont want it all.

[SlimJim Z71]

John,

I know hitting the piles that hard isn't smart... don't worry though, I talked to my boss at work, and he said that they will cover anything that breaks. I wasn't hitting the solid ones, only the ones I knew I could push back a little more. I've tried telling them that they need to get a loader and a dump truck in there, but they're gonna wait till the last minute. Smart. As for my neck, it hurts like heck, but that comes with the job right? I'm gonna call UPS right now and overnight you the storm that coming, so get the trucks ready.

-Tim

[John DiMartino]

Tim,ill pay extra for the same day Air on the snow,hurry,trucks are all ready.Why should the dealer bring in a loader now?Since your ramming piles,he's saving tons of money-now that he knows you'll beat the crap out of your truck,they'll want you to do it every time.This is how it happens to me,id ram piles,crack the plow frame and then it would break in the middle of the night somewhere ele-think they are going to pay now?where you going to get a truck to finish plow at 3am?,think they care?Its your truck,if you dont draw the line on abusing it,it will,usually at the worst time.Time for a backup truck-.How is the sno-way plow holding up so far?How bout the 2stage spreader,try sand in it yet?

[John Allin]

I'm with John on this one....

We're driving 4 wheel drive trucks.... not road graders and/or loaders.

Let 'em pay for stacking with the proper equipment. If they don't want to pay - God will take care of it. After all, He put the snow there, He will get rid of it when He's damned good and ready to - unless they want to pay for the loader time.....

[Matt]

I agree with John and John, the truck that you are driving is your living, your customers shouldn't tell you how to use it. You will learn that your truck as well as the plow on it is not intended to be used as a dozer/loader that is why those machines were invented. You might be impressed with the capabilities of your truck but you will be just as pissed when it lets you down at 3 am some morning when it is snowing like crazy. We push only as far as we can with out stressing the truck or the plow, I have to much money and time invested in equipment and procurment of customers to abuse equipment so that I can't perform work as specified.

[Groundcover Solutions]

I rented a loader after the first big snow here in MI let me just say it saved me a lot of time and money. I do 3 churches and they have huge parking lots some of the piles that my guys made were taller and wider than the loader that I got and it is a big one. So it would be wise to get one and all of my big customers agreed to pay for it and that is another bonus.

[GeoffDiamond]

I am also with John, you need to get a loader in their. When we plow lots with trucks, we hit the pile at a normal speed and raise the plow. However if that is where the snow stops, thats where it is staying. My company policy is not to ram piles trying to make them higher or move them back further.

If they want more room at their lots they can pay us to push the piles back or haul the snow away. Infact in some contracts we have the right to bring in a loader at anytime we feel just. Other contracts have the cost of a loader right in the bid

Geoff

[plowking35]

Its just not worth it, but a mistake most rookies will make. No truck is designed for that abuse. He says he will fix anything, well that bent frame I doubt he will fix. Also when that plow falls off the truck, I doubt he will shell the 3k for a new one of those. Listen to the guys here, we know what we are talking about. Plow the snow, but leave the stacking and hauling to the big stuff.
Dino

[GeoffDiamond]

SlimJim

Don't ever admitt to others that you need a break. As soon as you ask for a break, ya wont get a storm for 3 weeks.

Geoff

[SlimJim Z71]

DAY 7

I thought about it some more, and I agree with you guys. I took it very easy on my truck today. Took breaks about every hour to let the trans cool off, and let the battery charge back up. The SnoWay is holding up great, and that spreader KICK'S @$$!!! Havn't tried runnin sand through it yet.

Actually, one of my main questions to my boss was "If my plow falls off of my truck, you're going to cover that, even if it doesn't happen here?"

He said yes.

We'll see, but I am going to go easier on it.

I'm tired.http://cwm.ragesofsanity.com/s/cwm2/sleep.gif

-Tim

[GeoffDiamond]

Get that in writing.

Geoff

[SlimJim Z71]

Yeah... really...

-Tim

[GeoffDiamond]

The cost of a loader isn't even that expensive. I bet if you got a loader in there for 2 hours at 200 dollars an hour. That lot could be all clean up, 2 hours with a loader does a lot.

200 dollars an hour is on the high side too.

Geoff

[thelawnguy]

Originally posted by SlimJim Z71
Actually, one of my main questions to my boss was "If my plow falls off of my truck, you're going to cover that, even if it doesn't happen here?"

He said yes.

And who will pay for your time that you sit home with your thumb you-know-where waiting for a plow to be installed while its snowing two inches an hour?

Get my drift???

[BRL]

Ditto!
And not to pile the snow banks on you, but since you were one of us that was posting earlier in the season about how bad you wanted it to snow so you could play with your toys, and since a few of us still haven't gotten to play yet, we don't want to hear you complain about needing a break from snow either ;)

Get some sleep cause you got more on the way. Good luck!

[SlimJim Z71]

Ha ha haaa.....

Just so all of you know, I just got an e-mail from Santa. He said you are all out of luck, he's too busy dropping snow on us in the midwest.

No milk & cookies for him this year!

You guys are right. No more hammering on my truck. I just figured it out. I had over 70-hours of plow time this week just at work. That's not including my other accounts. On the bright side though, I got a good nights sleep last night, ready to go back at it again tomorrow.

Believe me, if I could send you guys some snow, I would. I was standing outside last night with those orange flash-lights flagging the snow to keep moving. Seems like it worked!


-Tim

[Edited by SlimJim Z71 on 12-17-2000 at 04:57 PM]

[GeoffDiamond]

Well you sent me plenty of freezing rain last night. Would have rather gotten snow.

BTW as soon as ya ask for a Break you won't see snow for 3 weeks.

Geoff

[SlimJim Z71]

Three weeks huh? All I need is about 3-days!

-Tim

[John Allin]

Rained this morning here, then changed to snow about noon. Temps dropped from 49 to 27 in 3 hours. Salt trucks went out at 1 PM, and they just finished cleaning the hoppers. Did all the retails and restaurants. 2-4" predicted for this evening (and it looks like that's just what's going to happen). We'll be out just after midnight havin at it again.

This makes 29 days in a row. Tomorrow will be 30.

Glad we got the tree up this afternoon..... we got snow predicted for every day this week.

Long range says no snow for Christmas, which we would like.

[SlimJim Z71]

John,

I was just looking at your web-site. I didn't know you were that large of a company. Congratulations. Looks like you've got quite an establishment there.

Hopefully, old-man-winter will give you guys a break over Christmas.

-Tim