Just In Time For Winter! 1950 Oshkosh SnoGo
Coming at you out of your nightmares, perhaps? This is one heck of a snow moving machine! It’s a 1950 Oshkosh SnoGo that is located in Tolland, Connecticut and is listed for sale here on craigslist. The price is a steep $25,000! But before you decide that’s nuts, take a look at this youtube clip of what one of these things can do! Go to the four minute mark to really appreciate what it can do! Thanks to reader Peter R. for this superb find!
I don’t want to argue with anyone driving this thing! It’s said to be in excellent operating condition with a new diesel engine as well as the original gas engine in front (yes, this monster has two engines!) Oh my. The diesel is a brand new engine with zero miles.
The seller tells us that you can rent this vehicle out for $750 to $1000 per hour! Just think, you might pay for this thing in a weekend if that’s the case (which has me wondering why they would sell it).
Here’s a picture of the SnoGo in action. It just eats the snow and fires it 100 feet or more! Seriously, if you haven’t watched that video clip in the first paragraph, go click on it now. It’s unreal!
Needless to say, ergonomics were not a prime consideration when this cab was created. One of the impressive aspects, though, is the nice set of labeling someone has done for the gauges and controls for both engines. I’m guessing that huge thing in the center is a heater; when you think of when this truck is typically going to be used, you know a heater’s necessary! So what do you think? Any of you run a business that could use a monster like this? Let us know in the comments!
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Comments
I live in florida now but i wish i had this back home in the blizard of 78 in mass , truck would have payed for itself and then some $$
If I still had my lawn care and snow removal business I still would have no need for this, We did condo complexes and with no power steering and their small parking lots scattered through out the complex it would not be feasible to operate. The farmhouse I used to own was similar to the one in the video up on a slight hillside and the road would close every winter due to normal state plows couldn’t move the snow fast enough before it piled 4 foot high so then they would bring in one of these but a newer version mounted on a typical state plow dump truck used on the interstate. Very cool truck but too hard to maneuver and out dated for the roads of today.
There’s no way anybody will give you $750-1000 an hr for cleaning snow! That guy is smoking something! $25k is pretty steep as well, you can buy a new huge truck mount blower for less, and during the rest of the year you dismount it and use the truck for other duties.
I don’t think your assessment of this is correct, that ‘no way anybody will give you $750-$1000 an hour for cleaning snow’. This is clearly a very specialized vehicle, and under the circumstances which it is used, I’m pretty sure someone, like the ‘state and town’ mentioned (which are government, and are good at spending your money) would.
The video shows this thing moving an 8+ foot high snow bank from one side of the road to the other at around 5 miles an hour. If that needed to be done some where, pretty sure moving that much snow across a road for $200 a mile would seem like a bargain.
Lets say you had a 36″ snowfall over a weekend in your area and the plow company couldn’t keep up. You have a strip mall or other property with a big parking lot. This guy says ‘Give me $500 and I’ll have it cleared out in a half hour’. You don’t think ‘anybody’ would pay that? I think they would, and perhaps more.
You had to throw math and common sense in there didn’t ya!
What a beast!
Growing up in NY my dad used to plow snow for the town. One of the vehicles was an old Oshkosh. It wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done! Ahhh … good memories of a great man
Fun, but not incredibly efficient. Without a rotatable chute, you’re putting the snow back on the road, as shown in the video. And you need to live in an area that gets the snow to use it… otherwise it’s a very complex piece of equipment that needs maintenance just sitting there all year.
The one in the video doesn’t (appear to) have a rotatable chute, but the one for sale does. Still a beast. I watched one of these clear the snow from Beartooth Pass in southern Montana in mid June a couple of years ago – amazing to see in action.
On the plus side, you be the first and only one to have something like this in neighborhood. I wonder what home owners association would say about this lovely piece of yard art? They have no sense of humor!
I’m sure that thumbs down is from the president of home owners association! Just sayin
While travelling through the UP of Michigan, I came across the Houghton Co. Historical Museum, ( well known for their incredible snowfalls) with several pieces of vintage snow removal equipment, and they have a snow blower exactly like this on display. Pictures don’t justify how big this thing is. The one in Michigan has the original 4 cylinder Buda gas motor on the back. It was huge, the size of a kitchen table (with inserts) That handle you see on the back, WAS HOW YOU STARTED IT!!!. Can you imagine trying to get a huge motor like that started in below 0 weather? The replacement Cummins probably has a self starter, but years ago, that’s how it was done. A driveshaft runs along the right side of the truck to power the front augers. The only place I could see this useful, is in a mountain setup, as for whatever reason, it just doesn’t seem to snow, like it used to. I’d say it’s worth it. Try and buy a piece like this today. You could add another 0 to this price easily. Great find.
This could be you.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=t0Yf_fvD-lY
This is cool to see, but I got to see a bigger one in action onetime, here is a you tube video of it, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KCqEBdjaXpM
I did not take this video, but was lucky to see this unit in action when I was in the National Guard doing winter training in North West Nebraska.
Used to see these in full battle regalia along US-2 through the Marias Pass. A lot of snow falls along that road through Glacier Park and I’ve seen as many as four of those plows out at one time. That blast of snow is quite a sight to see. They really get it out of the way…
This one is underpowered compared with the two I bought and cut up. They had Detroit 12-71 400 HP auger engines and 6-71 240 HP truck engines. I used the engines in marine applications and the balance went to the smelter. The mechanical repairs just to keep them running was incredible. Modern Hydraulics have taken over everything. Mine came from the National Park service in central California, one needed bearings on the blower drivetrain. The mechanic said it would cost 10,000 in parts and a weeks labor with 2 men. They were always in the process of destroying themselves as they operated. I paid scrap prices for them, a lot to have them moved 50 miles but the engines were fresh and value able to me. I remember a similar unit working in heavy snow in the Washington state Cascade mountains that ran over a car abandoned in a blizzard. It was completely buried in snow and the operator could not see it…..made a mess of everything.
It looks hungry. Can someone please feed this thing a Prius?
I rather buy this blower and the rest of the season you still can use the loader. And “No” local government officials are not paying you $750-1000 an hour, you’re lucky getting that in a day, otherwise I would have a fleet of them.
I agree with you to a point. But where is the “cool” factor in modern equipment? Kind of like having a hot girlfriend but dressing her like a Nun.
Lmao, of course you dress her like a nun otherwise everybody wants her haha.
If it’s that cold that I need snow blowers, I want to get the job done comfortably not freezing my balls off in an ancient piece of equipment that’s only worth $5k.
a friend of mine used one similar to this to clear my drive way one year. 1500′ in just under an hour…
Did you pay him $750-1000?
JUST saw this at Stafford Springs last weekend…impressive to say the least! Great guy and was very knowledgeable about the unit as well. I even called my wife to tell her I found a new snow blower!
Couple things – about the hourly, my uncle used to have a plowing service. He was getting $100/ hr per truck. There were times when a big commercial job had to be done and it would take 4 trucks to get it done. He used to pay me 30 an hour to run a truck. This was 20 years ago too. I was 18 and believe me I wished we were in Alaska or somewhere that it snowed all the time lol😆. Imo, the perfect is for something like this is for Ski resorts. For whatever the reason often times the state/ county plow trucks don’t plow all the way to the resort. They usually stop at the bottom of the mountain . The resorts are responsible for the rest and I know my favorite place has a hell of a time with the mountain Rd that leads to the lodge – it’s always quote theadventure the last several miles up to the lodge. ANYWAY something like this would be perfect for those type places.
I remember watching one come by are house when I was a kid with a plow . Wow could that thing move snow . It seemed like it would take mom and dad half a day to shovel out the end of the driveway out after it came by. Good memories