Commercial WorkTruck Series
By: Steve Taylor
There are dozens of manufacturers of snowplows for light
duty and medium duty trucks and utility vehicles. There are also a multitude
and variety of distributors and dealers for these products. How do you make the
best choice?
First, the size and model of plow will dictate the size and
model of truck that is required to push the blade. This is because of a number
of factors, including the weight of the blade and truck mounted components as
well as other mounted equipment and accessories.
Determine how the plow will be used. This will help determine the style and size
of the plow. Will it be used to plow commercially or for your own
driveway? If you will be using it for your own driveway, you might decide to
use the family SUV and a small plow blade. If you will be plowing commercially,
then you will probably want a ¾ ton or 1 ton or larger truck and an 8’ or 9 or
even a 10’ plow.
How much snow does your area generally get? If you live in
the southern states, you may not use your plow for several years. And when it
snows, you may get 3-4 inches. A smaller vehicle and a lighter blade will work
to keep the snow plowed if you start early and keep ahead of the storm.
But if you live in upstate New York or on the Upper
Peninsula of Michigan, you may be using the plow every day for a few months
every year. You will probably want a larger blade to make the job more
efficient. If you have a lot of area to plow in a compressed window of time you
will need a larger blade and a larger truck to push it.
If you plan to plow commercially and have no experience at
it, then you will be wise to research a variety of plows and vehicles. Most commercial
plow operators start by using straight blades; plow blade moldboards that are
straight with functions to control raising, lowering, and angling left and
right. These are basic designs satisfactory for most plowing
conditions. The straight blades most commonly used commercially are 8 ft. and 9
ft.
Determine what specific vehicle will be needed. The plowing conditions and the size of the
blade will help you determine the right size truck as well as the other options
and equipment needed.
There are a lot of considerations to choose the vehicle and
the plow make and model. Plan a day to drive around looking at snow plow trucks
in your area. I would recommend talking with other trusted sources including
neighbors and contractors who use plows. Ask them about their experience with
plow makes and their sales and service experience with the dealers and
distributors. Call distributors listed in the Yellow Pages, ask them about
their years in business, what brands they handle and their parts inventory, if
they have extended hours during storms, etc.
Plows that are 7.5 feet wide and less are mounted on ½ ton
pickups or SUVs. Generally, the 8’ blade will be mounted on a ¾ ton truck and
the 9 ft. will be mounted on a 1 ton truck with dual rears wheels. The 10’ will
be mounted on the heavier or greater than 14000GVW range truck chassis with
dump bodies and or spreaders. Almost all serious plow trucks are 4wheel drive.
Other brand model offerings are V-Plows, Extending Blades,
Side Mounted Wings and Back Drag. My advice is to start with straight blades
and learn from others about these other plows before you consider buying them.
There are some advantages in all these models but you should consider are they
worth the extra expense for your needs, and also what other issues do they
potentially present for maintenance and breakdowns?
Straight blades are the most common style of plow but other
styles include Variable V-Plows, Extending Blades and even Side Mounted Wings
and Back-Drag styles. The extending blades or “wing flaps” are relatively new
to the market. I would conduct a very though investigation of their performance
and durability before purchasing them. The same with side mounted wing plows;
these are normally very heavy and load up the front suspension of the truck a
lot. They are used mostly for plowing roads. The back drag plows are not very
common but can perform very special snow removal such as dragging snow away
from the overhead garage doors.
Here are some of the advantages of the Variable V-Plows.
They keep the truck on a straight path when positioned in the “V” shape and
plowing heavy deep new snowfall. An angled straight blade tends to push the
truck to the opposite side when angled. The V-Plow can be positioned to the
exact same positions as straight blades, and it can also be positioned and used
in the scoop “U” shape. This position works well to push large amounts of snow
a substantial distance without loss off the ends of the blade. It also enables
snow to be “stacked” or “piled up” with greater efficiency.
You will find that certain brands have regional acceptance.
They have become the “gold standard” for certain areas of the country. This can
be true for a number of reasons. The manufacturer or distributor has built a
very good and reliable product and service reputation and a loyal customer
base. My advice generally is to give a lot of attention to these products,
learn as much as you can about the products and the local service and if you
want to look at other products, compare them against what you have learned
about the local “gold standard.”
As much as brands have regional acceptance, so do particular
designs. For instance one of the major differentiating features of several
brands is the design of its “trip function”. In other words, the blade will
encounter a rock or curb under the snow and the blade will respond by either
tripping forward as is the case of a “full trip blade” or it will remain
upright because the bottom edge will “trip.” These are two distinctive designs,
some manufacturers offer only one or the other and others offer both. Now, at
least one manufacturer has a 10’ V-Plow with dual trip functions designed into
the product, the cutting edge or trip edge trip function plus the full trip
function designed into the blade.
Talk to others about their experience with trip design
functions, you will find a variety of opinions if you were to ask the same
question in every state that gets snow. Generally, the opinion is that the full
trip design gives the truck more protection as it trips, while the trip edge
design may plow more snow as it keeps pushing ahead after a full trip blade has
lost its load.
Another feature that many have found useful when you may be
stuck in heavy snow is the power angle feature on a trip edge plow: Using the
hydraulic extending force may help you get the truck out of the ditch as you
angle the blade. The full-trip design probably would be of little help because
it “trips over” when it is extended against the heavy bank of snow.
Other design considerations are the choice of the blade
moldboard material. The three choices for most manufacturers are standard or
“plain” painted steel, stainless steel, or poly material. The poly design is
the “slipperiest” plow moldboard. It also retains the color after several years
of operation. It is corrosion proof and scratch resistant. Over time it may
have some deterioration in appearance due to UV or exposure to the sun rays.
The poly moldboard is heavier because it is not as rigid as steel and needs extra
reinforcing structure. The stainless steel moldboard materials may be slightly
more slippery than steel and because they are not painted, do not get degraded
by scratches.
Many truck dealers and equipment distributors can be helpful
depending on their experience and how well they understand your needs. Tell
them of your plowing plans and all the options you intend to install and use including
spreaders and trailer towing, etc. Ask how long have they been specifying
plows?
You should know the following about the manufacturer and the
distributor/dealer:
Years in business
Years manufacturing or selling/
servicing snow plows
How long have those certain makes
and models (V-Plows, Extending, Back Drag, etc.) have been produced?
What is their daily and weekend hours
of service operation, especially during a storm?
Do they have snowplow factory
trained and dedicated snowplow technicians?
In the case of dealerships, do they
have separate service writers for commercial customers?
What parts do they consider high replacement
parts – why?
Parts availability
Warranty
You should be confident in specifying the snow plow brand
and model you want mounted on your truck if you have done your research.
Here are some great snow removal tips and equipment videos:
