 Snow on the ski slopes in Utah is a lot of fun. The people of this state enjoy it, and ski buffs from other states travel many miles to go down our snow-covered slopes. A blanket of freshly fallen snow adds much to the natural beauty of our state. But more important, snow provides the state with one of its most precious resources. Water. Belting snow fills our streams and rivers, and seeps into the ground to refill our wells and reservoirs. So we need snow, and we want it. But not on our roads. Here, snow causes all kinds of problems. So it's important that we get the snow off the highways as fast as possible. To do that, the department uses all kinds of snow removal equipment. The kinds of equipment used most often are snow plows mounted on trucks. They're the workhorses of the snow removal fleet. Because plows play such a big part in snow removal, they need to be maintained and operated properly. Otherwise, they could be in the shop instead of out on the road during a snowstorm. This program, Straight Blade Snow Plows Part 1, is the first of two programs on plow maintenance and operation. In this program, I'll discuss mounting the plows, performing the daily preventive maintenance checks, and storing the plow. Let's start with mounting the plow. The first step is to connect the plow frame to the truck. The frame extends from the front of the truck all the way back to the fuel tank. You'll find that it's best to connect it in the fall so that when the first storm hits, all you have to do is mount the plow on the frame. Mounting the plow itself is fairly easy if you have help. Alone, it can drive you crazy. Have someone help you if at all possible. The first thing to do is to carefully drive the truck in between the two arms of the plow. Now, slide the connecting pins through and secure them with a cotter key. Make sure you spread each key so the pins don't vibrate out of the slots. Next, connect the lift devices and adjust them so that both ends of the plow lift up at the same time. If the plow you're mounting has a chain like this one, just look for the link that has a lot of wear on it. That's where the plow was hooked up before, and you probably won't have much adjusting to do if you hook it up there again. Of course, if the link is really worn, get a new chain. If your plow is hydraulic, there's one more step. You have to hook up both hydraulic lines. The connectors are right in front of the truck behind the hydraulic lift. Now you're almost ready to start plowing. But before you do, you need to check and make sure everything on the plow and the truck is in good working order. So let's look at the daily preventive maintenance checks. The procedure isn't much different from the daily check you'd normally make on your truck. But there are a few things you should double check to make sure they're working well. Like your heater, defroster, windshield wipers, and windshield washer fluid. If any of these things aren't working well, the time you spend in the cab will be miserable. Next, check the level of hydraulic oil in the reservoir. In most trucks, the reservoir is by your seat. In others, it's under the hood. In either case, if the fluid's low, be sure you add the right type. And here's an important point. This check has to be made with the plow down. That way the oil is in the reservoir, not in the lines. Now that's important because if you add too much oil to the reservoir, you'll damage the whole system. And of course for safety, check the emergency lights, headlights, and blinkers front and back. And be sure to clean them off too. They're not worth much if they're covered up. Okay, now the plow. The first thing you should do is make sure it works. So raise it. And be sure to block it. It doesn't make any sense to risk having the plow fall on you. Now check the lift device. Make sure it's secure. Are the connecting pins in place? How about the cotter keys? The last thing you need is for the plow to fall off. Look over the turntable. Make sure there aren't any fractures. And if you do see a fractured area, tell your supervisor right away. Now check the mold board and the carbon tip closely. Make sure the carbon tip extends below the mold board. That's because you want to plow with the carbon tip, not with the mold board itself. If the tip is worn down even with the mold board, it's time to change it. Right away. If you keep using the plow in this condition, you'll damage the mold board. There are a couple of ways to change the tip. The best way is to just raise the plow and hook it up to an overhead hoist. Be sure to take the slack out of it until the plow raises up a little. Now you're all set to take the bolts out safely and replace the tip. Actually there are four things to replace. Three carbon tips and the blade. Get somebody to help you take the blade off and put it back on. It's extremely heavy. Now whether you have to change the tip or not, make sure the mold board is straight. If it's bent, it'll go through tips in no time. Check the bolts in the mold board too. Make sure they're in tight. Tell your supervisor if the plow is damaged, if there's excessive wear or if it's bent. One more thing about the plow. You can't see it from the cab, so make sure you put safety flags or cables like these in both ends of the plow so you know where the edges are. If you still can't see the edge of the plow, try wiring a flag to the cable. Plowing is a hard enough job when you can see the edge. You don't need to make it any harder. And that's it for the daily checks, except for this. I can't stress enough the importance of performing the daily checks. You only take a few minutes and you have to let the truck warm up anyway. It'll make your job easier too. The snow has to be removed with all the trucks or with half of them. Okay, now let's look at storing the plow. As I said earlier, mounting the plow can be difficult, so keep that in mind when you store it. The best way is to block the frame at the same height as the connecting arms on the truck. That way it's not only easier to mount later, but it also helps keep the turntable and the frame from rusting. Now all you have to do is release some pressure from the lifting device and unhook it. And of course the last step is to remove the cotter keys and connecting pins. Now if your plow is hydraulic, you have to unhook the lines too. Remember to always unhook them at the front of the truck, not at the turntable. That's it for part one, mounting, daily checks and storage. If there's such a thing as a snow belt in this country, we're in it. Why in some years the snow base and our ski slopes is over a hundred inches by Thanksgiving. Yet despite all the snow we get in Utah, it's our policy to get the state's roads plowed as soon as possible. To do that, many of our plows are out on the road day and night. As you recall, part one of this program covered maintenance. The procedures for keeping the plow on the road. Here in part two I'll discuss the basic operations involved in getting the snow off the road. Basically there are three important points to consider. Speed, direction and positioning. Let's look at speed first. Even though you need to get the job done as quickly as possible, you can't ignore safety. Plowing snow at too great a speed can cause major damage and serious injury if the plow happens to hit something on the road. So gauge your plowing speed according to the conditions on the highway. I'd recommend not going faster than 35. But if you're plowing at night or in a bad storm, slow down even more. Okay, so 35's normally a good speed limit. But one of the best ways to gauge your speed is by the job you're doing. So keep an eye in your rear view mirror to be sure you're getting the snow off the road. Now the second point, plowing direction. The rule is to plow with traffic, not against it. And that's an easy rule to follow on a major road or an interstate. But it's not always an easy rule to follow, especially on some of our narrow canyon roads. So if conditions exist where you have to plow against traffic, make sure all the warning signs are in place. That's all there is to direction. Go with the flow of traffic if it's at all possible and when it isn't possible, provide plenty of warning. Now let's look at positioning. Obviously, you want to get the road plowed in as few passes as possible. So whether you're plowing alone or with another truck, the first pass is made with the leading edge of the plow near the center of the road. Now if there are two of you, the second plow should line up so that its leading edge catches all the snow moved by the first plow with a few inches overlap. That way it doesn't leave a windrow. And that's all there is to it for a two-lane road. Just repeat the procedure on the other side. Of course, on a wider road, you'll have to make more passes. Keep in mind, though, that the first pass should be made in the center of the road. And there you work toward one side, then toward the other. Of course, to do that, you'll have to change the angle of the plow to get the snow off to the left side of the road. If your plow is hydraulic, all you have to do is turn it to the left with the control in the cab. If it's manual, here's what you should do. First, put a bar or a pipe onto the moldboard so you'll be able to swing it around. Then lower the moldboard. Now just like when you hook up the plow, you have to relieve some pressure from the lifting device. Next, unhook the chain. Take the pin out of the turntable. Then swing the plow around. The last steps, of course, are to put the pin back in place and hook up the chain. OK, back to plowing. There are a couple of situations you should be familiar with. Plowing a fork in the road and plowing near obstructions. Let's start with forks in the road. The whole idea is to keep the snow out of the nose or gore of the fork. Snow in the gore can cause all kinds of problems later on. So push the snow into the road on each side of the fork so you'll be able to move it on your next pass. Keep in mind that no matter how many warning signs are in place, some people ignore them. So always drive with caution and be extra careful when you back up. OK, now plowing near obstructions. For the most part, guard rails, fences, and other obstructions on the side of the road are clearly marked by flags. But some are not. Keep in mind that even when obstructions are marked, flags do fall over. So be familiar with the obstructions on the side of the road. And remember, you can't see the edge of the plow. So make sure your plow has flags in each edge. OK, that covers the basic operations for getting the roads clear. But that's not the end of it. When the storm is over, there's some cleanup work to be done. First, clear the shoulders. If there's already too much snow built up on the side of the road for your plow to take care of it, tell your supervisor, you need to get somebody to clear it with a blower or a grater. That way, when the next storm hits, you'll have someplace to push the new snow. But there is another reason to get the shoulders clear. If the weather warms up, water running across the road will not only create potholes, but can also turn to black ice when it gets cold again. And that's a bigger hazard than the snow. The same idea applies to forks in the road, especially exits. As you can see, snow remaining here is a double threat, potholes and black ice. Here's what the gore area should look like. The snow has been removed, so there's no water running into the main road or the exit ramp. Along with shoulders and gore areas, medians and traffic islands also require special cleanup. As you can see, if snow isn't completely removed from the medians, there's going to be trouble. And this situation is even worse because it's a super elevation. It's the same thing with traffic islands. If the snow isn't removed, when the weather warms up, the water will pond and damage the pavement or turn to black ice when it turns cold again. Of course, you have to get the roads clear before you can start cleaning up. But if you keep these points in mind, you can work toward cleanup in these problem areas. And finally, when all the roads are clear, check over the plow and the truck. Make sure everything's ready to go next time. If you spot a problem you can't take care of, schedule the repair work to be done. And if it's late in the season, coat the face of the plow with rust inhibitor. Well, that's basically all there is to operating the plow. Maintaining the right speed in the proper direction at the best position on the road. By maintaining the plow in good condition and operating it correctly, you'll help us weather the worst storm and keep our roads safe and passable.