Snow plow ? Recomendations ?

[MAshley]

How hard would it be to install a snow plow?

recomendations ?

Plows to stay away from?





Looking for maybe a v Plow and I need skids to leave a miminum of 2 inches of snow on the ground.



Truck is a 2006, 4X4, quad cab, dully 3500, 6sp manual, CTD

 

[bmoeller]

I've used 3 different Western snow plows. Liked all 3. Never an issue with any of them. I didn't own them, just used them. All were 7 1/2' plows on Ford or GM 3/4 ton trucks. The newer quick-tach set ups work a lot nicer than the old ones.



See mostly Western and Meyer plows around here. A Boss v-plow or a Blizzard plow look to be nice ones as well.

 

[corprimo]

I've been impressed with Western plows - used them since 1978. 7' 6" works well. Beware of excess weight - even the 7' 6" will eat up U-joints and ball joints if you drive a lot with the plow on. My '90 Ford went though 2 front differentials (on an extended warranty) because of plowing. V plows are nice for busting drifts, but they're heavier. From what I've seen, the more moving parts on the plow itself, the more they break. Also, baby your clutch or it won't last long. Most plow trucks use Autos. Put about 600 pounds of weight back by tailgate to help balance the truck. Last bit of advice - if you do a lot of plowing, eventually you'll want a welder...

 

[BGarofalo]

Ive had a plow on every truck i've owned. All westerns. The fact is it wont hurt your truck as long as you are carefull with the plow. I see guys out there that just bash into curbs, dumpsters, trees, cars, etc... and it ruins the plows. Its not a dozer blade.

I have the same setup on my one truck now. 9' western ultramount, 2003 4 door, long bed, dually with a six speed. Get a 9 foot western to cover the fenders when your cornering. Trust me, 8'6" just wont do it. This is assuming your doing alot of plowing, if you are doing your driveway thats not neccesary.

Also to save about 400 bucks depending on where you live and how ambitious you are, buy the plow unassembled and install it your self. Its not hard at all I do it on all my trucks.



PS: Try plowing with a 3850 DD.

 

[Turbo Tim 1]

With a Dually you're going to want a 9 foot plow otherwise you'll be running with the tires in the snow bank. I like my FIsher plow, the mount is tucked up pretty high when the plow is off. Some of the mounting systems hang down really low so if that is important to you check them out first.



The new Fisher x-blades in stainless steel look really nice. The V-blades are really handy for moving snow to another area and also for stacking the snow up but they do tend to put more weight on the front of the truck.

 

[Jong]

If you have a dually you can get away with a 8'6" V blade, most V plows are odd sizes. I've plowed with Fishers for years... some worked great and others didn't. Get a BOSS plow... you won't be disappointed. Easiest plow I've ever taken on or off a truck, mine's 2 years old and still looks new, and has the fastest actuating hydraulics and best lighting of any plow I've ever used. Stay away from Curtis and Sno-Way plows... . they don't hold up. The BOSS is a pretty easy install as well. Check out their website... lots of good info.

 

[CDyksman]

I scond JONG's motion. Get a Boss, they're tough, and V-plows are more efficient than a straight blade.

 

[Blue Ox1]

Definitely get a boss a very good plow ,I had one for over 7 years and no problems .

 

[IC Smoke]

Plows to install are pretty easy, just bolt up the bracket to the frame and then run your wires to the cab and plow!!



Id stay away from the CURTIS, HINKER, BLIZZARD, plows... . kinda cheap residential plows



BOSS 9'2" V-PLOW!!!! quickest hydrolic of the plow crowd AND the quickest hook-up from truck to plow with the RT3. Im not sure if this is a fact or not but it seems that the BOSS has a more of a angle range than the others.



. 02

Ian

 

[Scrappy]

Get the widest plow you can to cover your duals. I like BLIZZARD plows, IMHO they are very heavy duty. I used an 810 power plow to do commercial parking lots when I lived in AK and I never had any issues with it. it is power adjustable from 8' to 10' wide hydraulically. The 810 will always be at least 8' wide while a v plow will be alot narrower when "v" ed. The hydraulics stay with the plow when disconnected just the light bar and mount stay (the lightbar comes off with 2 pins and 2 plugs also) there are only 2 pins and 1 electrical connector to disconnect the plow itself from the truck. The only downside to the 810 is that it weighs 1000lbs.



here is their website:

www.blizzardplows.com

 

[CIverson]

Look into snoway plows. They are lighter than the competition for the size, which is important w/ a diesel truck to not go over the front GAWR. If you look at the BOSS website they don't even list a dodge cummins as an option to install a plow because their plows are so heavy (at least they used too when I was looking at them).



I've had my snoway 9'1" V for 3 years now, and not a single problem.

 

[Jong]

Look into snoway plows. They are lighter than the competition for the size, which is important w/ a diesel truck to not go over the front GAWR. If you look at the BOSS website they don't even list a dodge cummins as an option to install a plow because their plows are so heavy (at least they used too when I was looking at them).



I've had my snoway 9'1" V for 3 years now, and not a single problem.

That's funny... I just spec'd out a plow for a Dodge with a Cummins on BOSS's website, and I know my truck handles the weight just fine. Glad to hear you like your Sno-Way; I think you are probably in the minority of Sno-Way owners. They may be fine as a residential plow for one driveway, but are far to light duty for heavy-duty use like plowing a parking lot. Their control systems leave a lot to be desired as well, with the hugh control boxes. I like having small control boxes, simple plow operation, and a plow made of a lot of STEEL.

 

[CIverson]

That's funny... I just spec'd out a plow for a Dodge with a Cummins on BOSS's website, and I know my truck handles the weight just fine. Glad to hear you like your Sno-Way; I think you are probably in the minority of Sno-Way owners. They may be fine as a residential plow for one driveway, but are far to light duty for heavy-duty use like plowing a parking lot. Their control systems leave a lot to be desired as well, with the hugh control boxes. I like having small control boxes, simple plow operation, and a plow made of a lot of STEEL.

That is funny, I just did the same thing ('03 4wd quad SB diesel) and it only lists straight blade plows, as their V's are too heavy, although the truck will handle it. I should have stated they list no V option, but I think a straight blade is useless except for in certain circumstances so I always disregard them.



Commercial use is nothing compared to the camp roads I plow, those are tough on a plow.



I had a boss on my previous truck (their company HQ is about an hour away from me). Used it for plowing motel parking lots, had several hydraulic issues with that plow, one of which was extremely expensive. Plowing the camp roads with it I ended up shearing off cutting edges 3 different times.



I'm not sure what you mean about control box, either the hydro unit on the plow, or the in cab piece. My wireless remote for my snoway is pretty damn small, although the wireless is still a prototype deal for the trucks.



I don't know if you have ever seen their video of testing plows, they used to have it on their website, but any dealer should have a copy. Anyway they do it at an old airport about an hour away from here and hit concrete parking stops and other large hard objects at high speed to diagnose their failure points, it is pretty cool to watch.

 

[Yo Hoot]

I run a Western 8. 5 MVP



It's heavy but the truck handles it. The V is incredible. Western and Fisher are the same company. The blades of the V's are the same but the frames are different. I chose the Western variety because the Ultramount system is super easy to use. Plus it allows the plow to tilt some side to side to follow contours better.



Most important thing...



USE PROPER BALLAST in your bed.



The only issue I have is you can't turn the front wheels on dry pavement when you are not moving.

 

[Jong]

That is funny, I just did the same thing ('03 4wd quad SB diesel) and it only lists straight blade plows, as their V's are too heavy, although the truck will handle it. I should have stated they list no V option, but I think a straight blade is useless except for in certain circumstances so I always disregard them.

When I was checking the website, I spec'd a 2001-they did have V blades for that model year. I like the straight blades... less to go wrong and simpler, faster controls. They really don't take any longer to plow with, either. I had bad luck with a customer's Sno-way that lost the hydraulics twice and had a bad habit of draining batteries when parked. I do like the down-pressure system on the Sno-way, it is great for scraping ice. But the moldboards are WAY too thin, and their contol boxes (in cab) have been HUGE for the last few years... and I hate that toggle switch standard control system. One thing I REALLY like about both the BOSS and the Sno-way is NO LIFT CHAIN!!! That means no slamming your blade off the ground when you go over a big bump in the road while transporting...

 

[bighammer]

My Boss dealer explained that their site is pretty sensitive to the weight issue. He said the trucks are fine with the plows and if you put in a reg cab instead of quad, it will show your options. I always thought a shorter truck was better for plowing, but I've had a few tell me since I'm mostly doing a mile of road and not a bunch of driveways, the length of my truck would be better. (directionally more stable in heavy snow)

 

[MAshley]

Commercial use is nothing compared to the camp roads I plow, those are tough on a plow.



I had a boss on my previous truck (their company HQ is about an hour away from me). Used it for plowing motel parking lots, had several hydraulic issues with that plow, one of which was extremely expensive. Plowing the camp roads with it I ended up shearing off cutting edges 3 different times.

.

can you explain a little more on the camp road? I'm giving a bid to do a 3 mile stretch of a gravle road, that some might call a camping road. there are a bunch of homes I have to do as well, and im debating if I want to buy a plow for my truck, or for my rubber tracked skid steer loader, both have there advantages and disadvantages for the area im going to plow, the truck would be faster on the road but wont work on the homes, truck is a little long and turning could really be an issues. but the skid is nimble, but slower then a truck, the only issue Im worried about it rubber tracks on ice- snow for traction.

 

[CIverson]

can you explain a little more on the camp road? I'm giving a bid to do a 3 mile stretch of a gravle road, that some might call a camping road. there are a bunch of homes I have to do as well, and im debating if I want to buy a plow for my truck, or for my rubber tracked skid steer loader, both have there advantages and disadvantages for the area im going to plow, the truck would be faster on the road but wont work on the homes, truck is a little long and turning could really be an issues. but the skid is nimble, but slower then a truck, the only issue Im worried about it rubber tracks on ice- snow for traction.

You say it's a gravel road, do you mean like a normal county gravel road? A normal gravel road isn't really too much of a problem, you have to be careful the first few times you do it as the plow will catch in the gravel, but after a few times what snow is on the ground will compact and freeze to make a nice base, then you can plow it with ease.



What I call a camp road is alot rougher and has alot of pit run gravel in it (think fist size rocks). The ones I do were mostly made by an excavator digging up the sides of the trail to make a raised portion in the middle for the road. Lots of bumps, ruts, rocks, dips, and uneven surfaces to contend with. Not to mention that if you go off the side of the road you are stuck, and it's easy to do when the road is only 9ft wide in some areas and there is a slippery, icy base to it. After awhile though some snow gets packed down and the road smoothes out alot and things get much easier. You just need to be careful until that happens, or you will be tripping the plow alot.

 

[JTurk]

Hiniker! I used a 9' on my '96 2500 for five seasons. The guy that bought the truck also took the plow. Put new one on my 04. 5 when I got it. Also a 9'. Best part is it only takes a couple minutes to put it on or take it off and you don't have a pile of crap on the front of the truck to put up with. Hiniker makes commercial plows as well so the know a bit about it. http://www.hiniker.com/snow_products/index.html As for installation, I installed both of mine rather than pay the dealer $400. Takes a day or two at best. The mounts are custom for each truck/model. The best thing about it is you never get stuck with 700# on the front. And. . it has adjustable skids.

 

[Yo Hoot]

V plows make for a predicament when it comes to plow trip design. Boss and Hiniker use the full mold board trip. Western/Fisher use the trip edge design.



Full mold board trip when the plow is a V can be quite an episode.