Oshkosh snow plow

[gotnitro?]

A project I wanted to tackle was a snowplow, and not just any plow..I wanted to build an Oshkosh snow plow . When the snow started  falling here in Huskytown , the time had come !!!

I started this build the same way I usually do, collect tons of actual photos and info about the truck. Luck was on my side because the local highway dept that owned my Brockway,  also had one .

The parts list required was large ! Luckily I had purchased the P series  cab from Jamie at moluminum months ago before I knew what project it was to become. Normal kit tires wouldn't work for such a large truck,  and then the elephant in the room..the Frink plow / wing assembly. 

The stars aligned w a chat w Ryan Pedone,  he had cast a few more sets of his plow s , and a few weeks later the box arrived ! Beautiful parts filled the box. The tires posed another challenge,  finding big tires like this truck used was sparse. A text to moluminum ended the hunt, Jamie had just finished a set of heavy duty truck tires, and they fit the 22 inch deuces I needed!  That's a 20 inch drive next to them !!

Time to get building!!!! Scratchbuild a frame from Gary Wallace's cnc rails, to assure everything was perfectly straight,  drop a few parts box crossmember and I had a solid foundation 

 

[gotnitro?]

These trucks had heavy duty springs all around, so I scratchbuilt a stack using 030 x 156 evergreen strips, including the overload section. The eyelets are tube . The mock up axle was from parts but I'll swap it for a paystar,  this one looks a little light duty for turning those tires .

I propped the cab and plows for a look, nothing keeps the motivation going like seeing everything sitting together. 

I was grinning ear to ear right now , something about a rugged truck and that huge mailbox smasher was really working .

Now the front axle..Gary surprised me w parts perfectly suited for this truck, perfectly cast spring stack w overload leaves, and beautifully cast mounts . 5 minutes after opening the package I had a proper susp.

Yeah..I had the mounts  flipped around , I sorted out my mistake haha  ! 

I used the knuckles off a steerable axle and the gearbox from Gary's front axle to make my front diff. Sometimes you can have your cake and eat it too !!! Everything was drilled and wire glued inside to avoid issues later 

That's it for now thanks for following along , any comments welcome as always 

[mchook]

I'll be watching for sure! My father drove one for the town for over 25 years & I loved it when I got to ride with him. That was in the 70s & 80s, and the town still uses the Oshkosh truck today.

[89AKurt]

My jaw hit the floor. ?  Mailbox smasher, I live in AZ, don't get it. ?

[Warren D]

1 hour ago, 89AKurt said:

My jaw hit the floor. ?  Mailbox smasher, I live in AZ, don't get it. ?

Snow plows are known for knocking over mailboxes.  Actual plow hits are rare but most people see the plow go by and their mailbox go down.  Usually the weight and impact of the thrown snow that does it.

[Warren D]

Great project!

 

[Tesla]

I've been waiting for this project to hit the bench. Looking forward to watching this progress!

Are you saying that Jamie supplied the cab? 

[gotnitro?]

37 minutes ago, Tesla said:

I've been waiting for this project to hit the bench. Looking forward to watching this progress!

Are you saying that Jamie supplied the cab? 

I purchased the cab from Jamie during the summer, hes been working on casting more 

[gotnitro?]

3 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

My jaw hit the floor. ?  Mailbox smasher, I live in AZ, don't get it. ?

Right , people joke that the operators target mail boxes while clearing roads..just a joke 

[gotnitro?]

3 hours ago, mchook said:

I'll be watching for sure! My father drove one for the town for over 25 years & I loved it when I got to ride with him. That was in the 70s & 80s, and the town still uses the Oshkosh truck today.

Awesome  !!!  I'd love to see a pic of their truck if ya get chance 

Always amazed seeing  these trucks still around at numerous townships 

[Chariots of Fire]

AAhhhhh!  Scratch building!   What a treat to watch.  Tell me again where the front steering knuckles came from.  Will be following along for sure.  I've been out of site for a while with truck builds.  This is what has been on my plate.  The Missus thought it would be nice to have a model of Bluenose!?

[89AKurt]

1 hour ago, gotnitro? said:

Right , people joke that the operators target mail boxes while clearing roads..just a joke 

Thanks.  There was a time when jerks with bats would take out mailboxes.

[gotnitro?]

Hello Charles - the steering knuckles were removed from a kfs axle. The diff looked to large,  but the steering components were perfect. 

Love the sailing vessel, beautiful 

29 minutes ago, 89AKurt said:

Thanks.  There was a time when jerks with bats would take out mailboxes.

Yeah, few memories from school days 

[gotnitro?]

More white stuff turned into truck parts ! This time 030 sheet, and more c channel started making the Fontaine salt spreader body.  

I'll add a product conveyor chain to the floor later . I guessed at the angle using photos of the hopper -cab . The easier parts done, next the forward and rear bulkheads will be shaped

Checking hopper w cab , something I check frequently.  I noticed after this photo , the top strip looked too short,  so off it went , being replaced by a section 3/8 wide a minor difference of 1/8 made it look better 

Sorry for the cluttered photos, that's side effect of in progress photos lol

[mikemodeler]

4 hours ago, 89AKurt said:

Thanks.  There was a time when jerks with bats would take out mailboxes.

I lost two mailboxes back when I lived in Illinois- one from the snow thrown by a plow and the other by some HS kids playing mail box baseball. Both times I got reimbursed for a new mailbox.

 

Nice work on that Oshkosh, remember those from the rural parts of Wisconsin and how impressive they moved the snow.

[redneckrigger]

 Absolutely beautiful! Had one of those in our town with a V plow.....a beast!

[Tesla]

11 hours ago, gotnitro? said:

I purchased the cab from Jamie during the summer, hes been working on casting more 

Thank you.

[1930fordpickup]

Nice project and it is coming along nicely. 

You can even knock down a mailbox with a tractor and a big plow. My farmer friend  did it one year while cleaning the roads for a new years party. That road was the cleanest I had ever seen after a show. LOL  He came back and said I should not have went around the block, it just caught me a mailbox. 

[gotnitro?]

Added the rear / front bulkheads last night. Made a pattern from paper and tape then transferred to 030 " , fine tuning it for a tight fit .The ends both angled inwards , so I guessed at the angle . The bottom was left open for the eventual product conveyor to exit . 

Really looking forward to starting the spreader portion w the spreader wheel and housing. I was looking at some chain from Grant (sp?) Line for the conveyor 

[TECHMAN]

???

Cool ole project!!!!  As always, enjoying your scratch building!!!!

DJ

[DRIPTROIT 71]

Great start to a very cool project! Looking forward to seeing more!!

[gotnitro?]

9 hours ago, TECHMAN said:

???

Cool ole project!!!!  As always, enjoying your scratch building!!!!

DJ

Thanks alot DJ  ! Building replicas of these service trucks is very enjoyable,  and only possible with our aftermarket support! 

 

3 hours ago, DRIPTROIT 71 said:

Great start to a very cool project! Looking forward to seeing more!!

Thanks Brian  !  I've been steadily puttering with the sander body , wish I had about 48 hrs more per day lol. Time seems to fly by while I'm building,  realizing its after 11pm and alarm sounds at 5 am really stalls my progress . Getting older sleep is becoming more a necessity 

[Chariots of Fire]

Can I make a suggestion?  See if you can find a rear view of the sander body.  To me the sides look just a bit too vertical.  From the one photo you had at the beginning of the thread it appears that the top of the body sides probably extend outward to be directly over the outside tires back tires but at that angle I could be wrong...just sayin'.?

[gotnitro?]

Thanks Charles I noticed the vertical shape also. I used the cab for reference judging how far out the hopper extended past the corners.

I took a look back at my photos, and your absolutely right, the hopper is definitely narrow.i REALLY appreciate your feedback and will correct the sides . 

[Sergey]

Nice project, Jeff!

Well done! Good luck with it! Especially with the cab. It slightly wrong as I compare to first photo.