Anyone have a snowplow

[97BlackX5.0]

Anyone have a snowplow installed... i was reading a while back and seen one that fits into a front reciever... in kinda need of a plow now and was wondering how much those kits are and if anyone has or had one.... how does your truck push it / hold up....

 

[Critical_Level2]

I don't have one, but I have seen them at home depot for about $900. If this winter is as bad as they are predicting, I may be getting one.

 

[jimbo74]

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/...=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

 

[Doug]

there is a guy on the board with a small on on his mountaineer i think it works pretty good for him but i can't remember his name off the top of my head.

 

[Lee S.]

this thread might help you out:

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=99168

Lee

 

[Mbrooks420]

there is a guy on the board with a small on on his mountaineer i think it works pretty good for him but i can't remember his name off the top of my head.

Geez, That'd probably be me, wouldn't it Does short term memory loss just follow me around or something?

The plow is 82 inches wide. This isn't the type that goes into a front reciever. This uses a bracket similar to one that a heavy duty brush guard mount. You slide to tubes on the plow onto the mounting pins, and use 2 hitch pins to keep it secured. It works well, and will stack the snow pretty high for it's size. The reciever style plows are about $1,400. With a v8 I wouldn't worry about damaging anything, as long as you use your head. I wouldn't put one on a v6, unless you only did your driveway(not the whole family and friends, which crawls out of the woodwork as soon as the plow is mounted) I just couldn't justify any kind of hard use of any a4ld family transmission.

 

[Doug]

Geez, That'd probably be me, wouldn't it Does short term memory loss just follow me around or something?

The plow is 82 inches wide. This isn't the type that goes into a front reciever. This uses a bracket similar to one that a heavy duty brush guard mount. You slide to tubes on the plow onto the mounting pins, and use 2 hitch pins to keep it secured. It works well, and will stack the snow pretty high for it's size. The reciever style plows are about $1,400. With a v8 I wouldn't worry about damaging anything, as long as you use your head. I wouldn't put one on a v6, unless you only did your driveway(not the whole family and friends, which crawls out of the woodwork as soon as the plow is mounted) I just couldn't justify any kind of hard use of any a4ld family transmission.

WaWaWa, so your named slipped my mind for a minute, I'll be home saturday wanna start something? bring it punk!

 

[Lee S.]

Mbrooks:

How much does it cost for your plow set-up and who sells them?

Lee

 

[97BlackX5.0]

cool... i was hoping that they wernt that much... if i was gonna spring 1400 bucks i might as well go for 2200 and get a real plow from boss or blizzard or something... thanks for all your help

 

[taxx]

cool... i was hoping that they wernt that much... if i was gonna spring 1400 bucks i might as well go for 2200 and get a real plow from boss or blizzard or something... thanks for all your help

but why put that kind of money on a plow on an explorer? spend 2200 for the plow and get an old beater 3/4 ton 4x4 for $500 to plow with. makes no sense to put the wear and tear on something as light as an explorer. Might be ok doing your driveway, but if you wanting to make money at it get something with some backbone.

 

[hunterdan]

but why put that kind of money on a plow on an explorer? spend 2200 for the plow and get an old beater 3/4 ton 4x4 for $500 to plow with. makes no sense to put the wear and tear on something as light as an explorer. Might be ok doing your driveway, but if you wanting to make money at it get something with some backbone.

Thats what I was thinking. A small plow for plowing a decent sized driveway would be all I would mount on an explorer. Any of the bigger plows should only be used by 3/4 or 1 ton trucks or bigger. Those plows are heavy, and you just end up killing the front springs. They make polycarbonate plows that use a small superwinch to lift it, thats what I would use, but for the price you could get a large snow blower, or snow thrower attachment for a lawn tractor and do a better job. Or buy an old ATV and get a plow for that. I've seen a lot people with plows on durangos and Bronco IIs, but you will never be able to plow enough snow with it to make the money back, because you will be replacing parts. Even 1/2 pickups arent the best things for plowing. THey just dont have the beef. The larger 3/4 and 1 ton trucks can be ordered with snowplow packages. This includes beefier shocks, springs, tranny cooler, oil cooler, heavier alternator etc. The idea about getting the beater $500 truck to plow, thats probably the best way to go. It dies, it dies, not a big deal. But then your not worried about the rust eating away at the body or suspension components. Snow plowing kills a lot of vehicles. But thats just the way i was raised. Sorry for the long post, but like I said, i've seen and heard of a lot of vehicles that have died from plowing snow.

Dan

 

[Mbrooks420]

I would be leary of of full size plow on an Explorer. Blizzard does make a light weight 7 foot straight blade that will mount up. I wouldn't even consider plowing for money in an Explorer. An atv plow doesn't cut it, you just can't get the power down and with a 60 inch blade and trail off it takes forever. And a lawn mower with a snowblower is a cold, miserable date. I'd like to get a fullsize Bronco next year, and try and make some $$$.

 

[Glacier991]

On the c0mments on a 6 cyl and an auto trannie (A4LD, 4R or 5R...) I say AMEN. Don't plow with these! You will kill your trannie.... The comments above are good ones, and worthy of your consideration. Personally I'l go for a beater truck with a manual trannie.

 

[taxx]

if you look around you can probably find a beater with a plow already on it for around a grand.

I agree with above too, if ll you are doing is your driveway get a nice blower, they are a little more manual labor, but narrower and you can get your sidewalks too.

But the lawn tractor and ATV plows don't work too well for driveways atleast in my past experience.

The things people do somethimes amaze me (the things I have done too). Sit back and think about what you want a vehicle for then buy the appropriate vehicle vs. buying one you like and trying to make it do things it wasn't intended for.

 

[DeRocha]

I have a 48" plow on a 12.5HP Sears lawn tractor. You can adjust the blade left, center, right, up, and down from the driver's seat. Out of the box plowing isn't that great - No traction. I added wheel weights and chains which improved traction, but still not great. I fab'd a 100lb concrete weight box for the rear hitch and now it works great. The drawbacks are it's turning radius, blade length and height. The 48" length requires you to make multiple passes to clear a 10' wide driveway. But I must say for its price $200 (for everything) it worked 100% better than expected. I now have an 8.5hp snowblower that I use and only break out the plow to move the slushy stuff my 8.5hp snowblower has a hard time with.

IMO A snowblower is the ideal piece of equipment for home use. It is very maneuverable (sidewalks and paths) and able to churn through deep snow. Plows are less accurate and can dig up your lawn. Plows also stack/push snow in a single area, whereas A blower disperses it over a a wider area making it much less noticeable.

 

[97BlackX5.0]

thanks for all your input.... good comments all... its not that i want a plow to go around and make money with.... i live in an area where you can get 4 feet of snow in a single night.... we average over 280 inches a year... my family owns many ways of removing snow... including an 80 horse 4wd new holand tractor with front end loader and 6ft pto drive snowblower that will blow snow about 100ft... its pretty amazing to see... it'll back through a 3 foot packed drift like it wasnt even there. Weve never owned a truck plow mostly because we get too much snow and by the time you wake up in the morning you cant even move the truck...my dad has a f350 dualie lariat.... and while it would hold up to the rigors of plowing... its like backing up a schoolbus.... not exactly the most manuverable vehicle if you know what i mean.... i live about 20 miles away with my gf in an apartment in town. dont have room for another vehicle or that much money to throw around.... i was hoping i could find something in the few hudred dollar range that i could just throw on the front end of my truck to clear off where i park..... alas it looks like im stuck with a shovel or corraling my neighbors to plow for me as a small blower wouldnt even chip what the road grader leaves for me in the morning *rock hard*

 

[97BlackX5.0]

oh and by the way... there are many many jeeps, broncoII, and half ton trucks with plows on them up here.... as long as you take care of them and not ram into snow hard enough to se the airbags off they are pretty long lasting.... my boss has a 89 F150 thats been rolled twice new cab put on it and has a western plow on it since it was new....over 200k miles.... granted he's been through a few trannys and suspension parts.... but ole' Betsy just keeps on giving.... he plows his 15 apartments every day at 530 in the morning with it....

 

[Mbrooks420]

I agree with the above that if you take care of it, and plow with your head, and no the skinny pedal, a plow truck can have quite a long life. If you get 4 foot overnight I wouldn't bother adding a plow to your Explorer. It wouldn't be able to push it around without constantly being stuck.

 

[Buckshot]

The things people do somethimes amaze me (the things I have done too). Sit back and think about what you want a vehicle for then buy the appropriate vehicle vs. buying one you like and trying to make it do things it wasn't intended for.

Yeah - but thats the crap I always hear when I wheel my Explorer!

 

[glfredrick]

After living in snow country all my life - GO BLOWER!

They are cleaner - and both throw and compact the snow much better than a plow.

If you get a lot of snow, a plow only makes the piles higher and farther out into your parking area - and by the end of winter, you end up with a very small parking lot...

We ran a 48" double-staged blower on a John Deere hydro tractor (that had a cab, radio, and heat!) and did our motel, apartment building, and several local lots.