One-Of-A-Kind "Snowblower Truck"

One-Of-A-Kind Snowblower Truck SNOWBLOWERS Snowblowers This snowblower truck built by Jon Bell of Allenspark Colorado has a conventional 7-ft Loftness snowblower mounted on front of what appears to be a Ford F-150 1/2-ton pickup     But that s about the only thing that s conventional about this truck It has two engines that mount side by side on back two 4-speed transmissions a shuttle gear two transfer cases and two steerable axles that allow Bell to steer either end of the vehicle The hood was moved to the back over the engines One of the engines is a 6-cyl from a 1958 International Travelall and the other a 302 V-8 from a Ford pickup The V-8 engine shaft-drives the snowblower because the blower takes more power and the IH engine powers the pickup The pickup s heavy duty custom frame was widened to make room for the two side-by-side engines Both engines use the same 15-gal gas tank      I built it as a challenge says Bell After clearing snow with a plow for many years I decided there had to be a better way to handle the deep stuff I used two engines because I wanted to get away from belts and hydraulics Mounting them on back results in great visibility up front It took me two years to build The only thing I bought new was the snowblower I paid $1 500 for it     The snowblower was originally designed as a 3-pt mounted pto-driven unit Bell made new mounting brackets for the snowblower and on front of the truck s frame The snowblower has been trouble-free except when I pick up rocks It could take twice the power of the 302 engine I run the 302 s 3-speed transmission in low gear says Bell     He started out with two 1/2-ton steerable axles but replaced them with 1-ton GM axles after experiencing problems with broken axle shafts The rear axle is steered by a hydraulic cylinder via a lever in the cab I can steer the two axles opposite each other and turn very short Or I can turn both sets of wheels in the same direction at a 45 degree angle and crab steer the machine Crab steering works great for cleaning plow piles because while the truck is on the road the blower hangs out over the ditch     The list of transmissions includes the Travelall s original 4-speed; one off an airport tractor that s used to push planes; and a shuttle gear off a sawmill forklift     With two transmissions the shuttle gear and two transfer cases the rig has a total of 64 gear combinations in both directions I actually use only six or eight of the top 16 gears says Bell I needed extra transmissions because when blowing deep snow I have to go very slowly When I put all the transmissions in low gear it ll go only 660 ft per hour which is so slow you have to watch closely to even notice the vehicle is moving Even though the cab is mounted high up I ve cleared snow so deep I couldn t open the driver s door when I was in the cut     Both engines face backward so all the transmissions also face backward The gear shift pattern is also backward so Bell had to learn the shift pattern upside down He posted the new shift pattern on the dashboard     In order to fit all the transmissions into a 100-in wheelbase Bell added a second transfer case which doubles the drivetrain back onto itself and drives the final transfer case from the front even though the engines are located at the rear      This rig is complicated and has really odd controls The controls include a gas pedal and brake pedal two clutch pedals four gearshift levers and two hydraulic levers - one to raise the blower and the other to control the rear steering It has two heaters and a very aggressive defroster says Bell     Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Jon Bell P O Box 344 Allens Park Colo 80510 ph 303 747-2611; jonbell@indra com

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