View Full Version : Homegrown Plow Dollies
Dapgar was interested in how I made my plow dollies. Here ya go!
It's done up in 1 1/2 x 2 x 1/8" angle. Two pieces about 5' long for the moldboard to fit into. I had to space mine further apart to accomodate the u'edges. Three other pieces welded into a squared off "U" for the A-frame to rest on.
When I made the first ones I had planned on just blocking under the A-frame with lumber and I built them to accomodate that. Since the I had the chance to get the jackstand kits that Sno-Way has and had to add some angle to carry the piece of lumber to set the stand on. The later ones have that built in.
The casters are 3" dia. wheels and all four swivel. They used to be available from Northern in packs of 16 for right around $50. Cheap wheels! I just welded the plates to the framework, with the load they are carrying there was no need to add anything to support the casters. Seems like these are rated for 200-250 lbs each.
In use. This one is carrying a Sno-Way vee plow. Now that I'v egot the floor smoothed up a little it is So handy to be able to dismount a plow and push it aside if needed. Then smiply roll it to the truck when you want to put it back on. No more jockeying the get things lined up right. It's also easy to store them in the summer, roll four plows into a hollow square with the A-frames inward and you can stash four plows in roughly an 8 x 9 foot space.
apgarconstruction
03-07-2005, 11:36 AM
Thanks ALAN. I wish I had a welder and I also wish I knew how to weld. I have some friends that are good at it. I keep telling myself that I should go take a class on how to weld at the local votech school. it's one of those things i want to learn how to do in life, but haven't yet.
i think i can find some U channel that would carry the moldboard too. have you tried that? or does the two pieces of angle work better?
as far as the casters go, i'll try and find some. I'm guessing the bases for the casters have to be pretty beefy, so you can weld them, instead of fastening with bolts.
this project is for my dad's curtis plow in his garage, not my plow. once i saw him with some 2x3 lumber and these huge tires the size of a wheel barrow's, i knew I was going to have to step in and help him out. lmao. his intentions were good, but I don't think it would have worked out.
snowplowjay
03-07-2005, 11:37 AM
Looks great Alan...........I wish I had pictures of the dolly my father used to have for his Fishers.............and I wish I still had the dolly. He gave it away when he sold the old F150........
Jay
snowjoker
03-07-2005, 11:58 AM
Creative thinking Alan!! Like I should be suprised you came up with that idea LOL :D
Dan,
I think I went with the angle as it was lighter, and therefore cheaper than channel. That kept both the weight and the cost down. Most of the casters in that size range have base plates that are about 1/8" thick, so there's plenty of metal to weld to.
I copied a commercially available dolly, I liked the design but was too cheap to pony up over $100 a copy.
wyldman
03-07-2005, 12:42 PM
Nice job !
You need to weld a couple of uprights on the front,so you can just drive up till it hits,then drop the plow.Helps keep the plow in place when you flip it on the moldboard for repairs. ;)
Randy Clarke
03-08-2005, 02:07 AM
If your tight for space what we did is bolt a dolly wheel to a 5"x5" plate and weld a post on it. Than just put it in the hole for the plow feet. Use a 3rd one with no post and use it under the hitch.
Not as stable as Alan's set-up though...
apgarconstruction
03-08-2005, 02:47 AM
that was one of my brainstorms when I started thinking of design. my idea was to use the wheels normally used for mason's scaffolding. I think the diameter of the tube is too large for the hole on the plow. and then I was going to take a smaller dolley and strap the hitch/ights side down to it.
If I can find a set of wheels that work, I might just try that for the heck of it. then over the summer, build something like alan showed.
Ohiosnow
03-08-2005, 03:40 AM
Here's a few pics of the dollies I've built out of the plow shoe pins. I just cut off the shoe & welded a plate on to the pins & then bolted to the 5"-dollies. The center leg is a piece of 1/2"x2-1/2" bar stock with a plate welded on the end & then bolted to a 5"-dolly ;) I bolt them on so if a dolly goes bad I can just unbolt them.
I've been making these for over 20 yrs. out of the plow shoes as I don't need any more doorstops :D I showed a full set of pics. over on the other site years ago in the welding project forum.
Ohiosnow
03-08-2005, 03:42 AM
:)
Ohiosnow
03-08-2005, 03:52 AM
:)
pbeering
03-08-2005, 04:55 AM
We had a local racing fabricator build some cups that the shoes ride in for the lighter plows. Objective is to keep the plastic cutting edges off the floor and not have weight riding on the edge during the off season.
wyldman
03-08-2005, 04:57 AM
Shopping carts have nice casters for these type of projects.The tubing used on the carts is also the same size as most plow shoes,so you can cut them off and slide them in.Just use a small hairpin to hold them in place.
pbeering
03-08-2005, 04:59 AM
For the Blizzard we had to craft a heavier solution, so we borrowed from several of you, and opted for some heavy duty polyurethane non-marking castors, bolted to a 1/4" steel plate welded to a 1" rod, with a rubber gasket to absorb some of the shock when the plow drops.
Painted them red in case some sleepy head forgot them.
They are adjusted to keep the Superior Edge off the floor.
pbeering
03-08-2005, 05:02 AM
We then fabbed a bracket to pin to the kickstand for the front wheel. We drilled another 3/4" hole for the spring stop pin on the kickstand to hold it level. This seemed a better solution than trying to do everything at the 45 degree angle the stand is fabricated to.
pbeering
03-08-2005, 05:03 AM
Overall view
cat320
03-08-2005, 05:38 AM
They all look pretty good guys ,but what if you need to roll it on a rough surface.
wyldman
03-08-2005, 05:44 AM
Originally posted by cat320
They all look pretty good guys ,but what if you need to roll it on a rough surface.
The larger the caster,the better it rolls on rough surfaces.
I have seen some guys use rubber pneumatic tires (off a small moving dolly) so they can move them around on dirt and gravel.
I really like the idea of the casters in the shoe brackets. Only snafu is that I've taken the brackets off my plows to get the weight down as much as possible. The only one with a shoe is the vee plow and that's only becasue you need to run a shoe in the center to keep the edge wearing properly.
apgarconstruction
03-08-2005, 12:04 PM
Pbeering, I really like that setup for your blizzard, even painted red! i'll be making a set of those when I have a shop built here on this property, so i can roll the plow around when I need to in the offseason. the ones i'm building now, are for my dad's plow. his garage floor is kinda uneven, so i'll have to find bigger casters.
pbeering
03-08-2005, 01:12 PM
I used 900# capacity, 4" x 2" polyurethane wheels. Don't want to get hung on the garage drain grates.
They should roll pretty well.
Ohiosnow
03-09-2005, 03:38 AM
cat320
They all look pretty good guys ,but what if you need to roll it on a rough surface.
Mine are 5"x2" polyurethane over steel wheels rated at over 2400# @ & roll just fine but 99.9% of the time it's on concrete surface :cool:
I get used 5"x2" polyurethane over steel wheels for $7.00 @ ;)
Scuba875
03-11-2005, 11:26 PM
Originally posted by dapgar
Thanks ALAN. I wish I had a welder and I also wish I knew how to weld. I have some friends that are good at it. I keep telling myself that I should go take a class on how to weld at the local votech school. it's one of those things i want to learn how to do in life, but haven't yet.
Dan the best way to learn is to get a beginners book read a little on the different settings and what they are for like position, thickness ect.
Get some 6013 and some scrap and just start trying to weld. I taught myself to weld this way and I got certified a couple of years later, I never took one class.
Once you can run good beads with 6013 switch to 7018 once you have that down you will be in good shape and then you can switch over to a mig which after a few passes will be a breeze.
Just don't get to crazy trying to do overhead or vertical at first it will just discourage you. Most of the stuff for shop projects you can position the material so that the welds are being done in the horizontal position anyways.
Just get a small shop welder 200 amp with both AC & DC settings. You can pick them up for under $400.
apgarconstruction
03-12-2005, 03:08 AM
Thanks scuba for the advice. when I do get to build a shop on our property we bought a year and a half ago, then I will defefinitely buy a welder and practice like you said.
right now, i really don't have a real shop right now, but i'm managing with what I have. two decent sized sheds that were left by the previous home owner.
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