I'm looking for a plow for my 02 Chevy halfton. Just about everyone around here uses a Fisher plow. Rock solid and reliable. But it uses chains (huge thunk over bumps and bad on the front end). The Boss and Curtis plows look pretty decent on their respective Websites, but I've not seen either around here. The only place I've ever seen a Western or a Meyers is twisted up in junkyards.
Any personal experience good or bad floating around out there? Pete
First my personal experiences/opinions -
Boss is a good, strong, heavy product. Holds up well to commercial use, rarely have problems with these. Fishers are good, but heavy - or so I hear, I've never had/used one. Don't dismiss Western too quickly - they have both a residential and commercial grade product and there is a world of difference between the two.
My personal choice is a newer company called Blizzard. Strong, well built units. The design of the blades with the power extensions allows almost zero overlap windrowing, cutting plow time on large lots virtually in half. Also their blades tend to be taller, again allowing better performance.
Second - see www.plowsite.com
Gregg
P.S. I generally don't reccomend plowing with a half ton truck, unless you are doing only your own drive and a neighbors. Half tons just get used up even with careful drivers. Around here 3/4 ton is considered the minimum, and a 1 ton is the best bet.
Remember - If I sound like I know nothing about farming it's because I really don't!
I plowed snow here in Michigan for about 10 years with a 1 ton Ram. I had two plows in that time, a Western and a Boss. I had few problems with either, although I did have more problems with the Western than the Boss (just a blown seal, no biggie). I don't know about plowing with a 1/2 ton, I've seen it done, but I've never done it. Lots of guys around here use old Jeeps, which have to be even smaller and they have those fancy lightweight plastic (Lexan maybe?) plows that look like they do a real good job.
Do you need a plow? Do you have a tractor you could mount a snowblower on? If your drive is gravel you are going to be replacing a bit of it every spring I'd imagine.
Jeff
Gregg -- I hear you about using a half ton truck, but the plan was to get one so easy to mount and dismount that it would be on the truck only while plowing, then be dismounted for the drive to work. The thing I dislike about Fisher is the chain lift. When you drive over a bump with the plow raised there's this horrible BANG as the blade bounces off the chains. Can't be good for plow or truck!
We thought long and hard whether to go with the half ton or 3/4 ton truck. The Wife wanted the larger truck, but in the end I felt the bigger engine, reduced mileage, and stiffer ride the rest of the year didn't justify the extra cost. Sure hope I was right, since she has declared this is the last truck I'll own in this lifetime! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
Thanks for the advice. Pete
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Do you need a plow? Do you have a tractor you could mount a snowblower on? If your drive is gravel you are going to be replacing a bit of it every spring I'd imagine.
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Well, we live next to a ski resort, so snow from late October till early May is a fact of life. But unlike the folks who get those huge lake effect dumps, most of our snow comes in six inches or less...more or less continuously. So very few folks around here use blowers. Probably three times in the past seven years I wanted one for a particular storm, but the rest of the time the rear blade on the tractor did just fine.
As for the gravel, the way I deal with it now is to push snow with the convex side of the blade till the ground freezes; after that the gravel is locked in ice till spring thaw and just doesn't move. But it's wicked cold here in the Green Mountains come winter. Last winter three solid weeks of minus thirty. And as I get older it gets tougher to put up with that sort of cold sitting on a tractor with no cab and no way of generating body heat. I'll snowshoe for hours, or play with the dogs in the snow endlessly, but sitting still? No thanks! [img]/forums/images/icons/frown.gif[/img] I'm showing my age!
Pete
boondox, I've been plowing snow since 1996 with a 1/2 ton 4 X 4 Ram pickup. I use a 7 1/2 foot Meyer snow plow. I plow commercially for a man who has us drop the plow starting at 2 inches and we continue until the snow stops. Can make for some long days (and nights), plus sometimes overnighters at area hotels. I live in northern Maryland so we don't get a tremendous amount of snow, but when we do, we get hit hard (noreasters!). Anyway according to members at plowsite.com almost everyone hates the Meyers plow. [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/confused.gif[/img] Around here we use Meyers, Snowboss, and Western. I noticed that the local county government went to Snowboss because of their easy attach/detach design. My Meyers has a "decent" attach/detach design but there are better designs out there. I've never had a problem with the Meyers working other than one year when I was in the process of moving I had to leave the plow outside and water accumulated in the pump and of course the first day I wanted to use it it wouldn't raise up, it froze. Had to warm it up in the garage with a propane heater in front of it, drain the contaminated fluid, then refill. Completely my fault. Meyer recommends that during the spring you change the fluid but I've always (except the above one time) change the fluid in late fall so that I'll have fresh fluid all through the winter. I feel this is a must do job. Would I buy a Meyers again? Because Snoboss and Western has a better attach/detach design I would probably switch over to them. As far as the chain mount I have a chain that attached to the bottom A frame then to the lift cylinder. Since I don't (and won't) abuse my truck for anyone I don't use the plow as a bulldozer. I work steady back and forth and when I encounter raised objects, manhole covers, pipes, etc. the jarring from hitting those items isn't too bad. I don't drag race my truck to get done. I've seen some guys plowing that drive like they are at a race track. Not me, nice and easy, back and forth. Of course hot coffee in the thermos next to me. [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]
I recently went through a fairly extensive research process before deciding on a snowplow. I have a 2800' driveway in Northern Idaho with a 250' elevation gain and major drifting potential. I settled on a Snoway V plow. I have an F-350; I'm not sure what's available for a Chevy 1/2 ton. While the Snoway plows don't sell the volume that Western, Fisher, Boss, etc. do, they seem to have a faithful following. Their website is www.sno-way.com
Good luck,
Will
I have a Blizzard 8' mounted on a Dodge 2500 that I use for my driveway and barnyard. After years of chains on Myers, Fisher and Western I tried something different. I love the way it back-blades, almost as good as my tractor! It is heavy, you would need the lighter model but they are out there and even look pretty decent on a Jeep.
The ONLY plows I have owned that have not given me water in the oil problems have been the old Myers belt driven that were standard fare on Power Wagons and this Blizzard that is under a nice cover on the plow-frame. And yes I do change the fluid.
Bayrat
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