Impressive Boss V-Plow Testing

Why Have a Blade Trip Mechanism? Obstructions and obstacles are a part of snow plowing. They come in all sizes and shapes, from manhole covers and curbs to frozen snow banks and everything in between. Hitting something covered by snow is almost inevitable. This reality of snow removal requires snow plow manufacturers to design and build in features that protect the truck and the plow from damage. By definition, Blade tripping is the rotational movement of an element of the snowplow blade system in reaction to impacting an obstacle. Blade tripping is typically offset by some type of spring mechanism. The purpose of Blade Tripping is to protect the snow plow and vehicle from excessive forces which might result in damage to the snow plow or truck. At slower vehicles speeds, the tripping action may be less pronounced, but the inertia of the vehicle will often allow the snow plow to clear the obstacle anyway — either way, the vehicle and the plow are protected from damage. Two things reduce the energy of the impact to the vehicle and operator and snow removal equipment, the tripping mechanism and pressure relief valves. Pressure relief valves utilize hydraulic cylinders which are able to absorb some of the energy produced by the impact. Working in tandem, the valves and the tripping mechanisms provide protection during the snow removal process. Understanding the importance of protecting valuable snow removal equipment, BOSS Snowplows has outfitted its plows with various tripping capabilities. Some of our products have tripping moldboards, in which our entire moldboard structure rotates to provide the protection. Other straight blade models feature Tripping Cutting edges, in which just the cutting edges trip. BOSS V-plows are designed with Full Moldboard Tripping. They are designed to trip in any position that a plow operator will use them in, including the “V”, “straight” and “scoop” positions — in other words, in any position. The attached video, recently filmed with professional, high-speed cameras gives you an excellent view of the BOSS V-plow tripping moldboard tripping over obstacles at various speeds. Notice how the impact is absorbed before it gets to the vehicle and driver? Even at higher speeds, those typically used by snow plow drivers, the driver’s body is impacted very little.