Snow Plow?

[slybel]

Any of you have put a snow plow before on your Explorer?

Can it be done without really killing the truck?


Thanks

 

[Blee1099]

Search.. Mbrooks420 has one on his but he has a V8. If you have a V6, be prepared to buy a new transmission.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

be prepared to buy a new transmission.

Yeah, not exactly the best idea. :thumbdwn:

-Drew

 

[96limitedX]

i would not plow with anything less then a 3/4ton truck. lightweights have a much higher chance of destroying things. plowing is hard on a truck.

 

[vervepipes]

i think the manual states that the truck cant handle plowing too

 

[TheFox88]

i would not plow with anything less then a 3/4ton truck. lightweights have a much higher chance of destroying things. plowing is hard on a truck.

Agreed! My family's current plow truck is an '81 Chevy Custom Delux. 3/4 ton truck with 1 ton suspension and axles.

 

[96limitedX]

Agreed! My family's current plow truck is an '81 Chevy Custom Delux. 3/4 ton truck with 1 ton suspension and axles.

yeah we have a '91 f-250 auto 5.0..its been thru 2 trannys(i think it was the guy we had do the work on the first one) and it only has 60k miles on it. plowing is def very hard on a truck. the guy down the street from me uses his '89 f-150 V6...and he is allways replacing somthing(granted he has more miles) my f-250 has not had any probs besides the tranny.

plow on a X...your asking for trouble IMO...

 

[Glacier991]

Nothing sweeter than a picture of a plow on a nice shiny Explorer. It should stop there. It would be for lookin, not plowin.

Now you MIGHT build a 4R70W that could possibly stand up to a plow on a V-8.....

 

[ezrider440]

it's been done, i had a plow on my truck last season for about a week, 5.0 V8 with some extra mods and rear wheel drive, the only problem is the stress on the torsion bars they aren't designed for pushing otherwise no problems

 

[ExplorerDMB]

Now you MIGHT.....

exactly, MIGHT

 

[briwayjones]

Not a good idea. Nothing on an explorer is close to being made for it.

 

[DeRocha]

IMO most of the plow kits available for the Explorer and other SUVs are only meant for very light duty plowing... Basically just using the plow for your own driveway/road; Anything more and you're asking for trouble. I wouldn't even consider making it a dedicated plow rig.

 

[slybel]

IMO most of the plow kits available for the Explorer and other SUVs are only meant for very light duty plowing... Basically just using the plow for your own driveway/road; Anything more and you're asking for trouble. I wouldn't even consider making it a dedicated plow rig.

Yes, I was not saying that plowing the streets and driveways but my long hobby farm driveway. Why would HomeDepot sell a little to nothing plow with harness not meant for larger trucks?

I guess it's back to looking for an older half ton with plow.

Thanks for the posts!

 

[EMG7895]

I would look for a cheap old farm/ plow truck. People sell them cheap because they are so rusted out they cant pass inspection.

 

[CowboyPenner]

I wanted to put a plow on my '99 Sport but before I did I phoned my insurance co. at the suggestion of me dad....boy oh boy am I ever glad I did...I found out that if I put one on my current coverage would be null and void. I was gonna do some residential plowing around town but even if I used it just for personal use as it's designed your personal insurance will not cover you. I'm in Ontario, Canada and in other regions things might be different. Check before you get yourself in trouble.

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

I would look for a cheap old farm/ plow truck. People sell them cheap because they are so rusted out they cant pass inspection.

or you could find a nice little used tractor with a blade that would be sufficient for driveway use

 

[SkanlaxJMO]

I have seen some x's with OHV v6's in michigan were i used to live with a full sized plow that he used. It did bad things to the front suspension. Say if you dropped a ford 9 inch in the rear and an SAS it would be ok for plowing but it will destroy a transmission it is so much stress to plow. If you are like me nad you know the feeling of driving through more then 2 feet of snow imagine pushing that.

 

[peterbrown77]

I have a long (1200 ft) and difficult driveway that was costing me between $75 and $100 every time it snowed, depending upon whom I could convince to plow it that year. Plus, the added stress of wondering if the guy was really going to show up when it did snow didn't help. My wife and I both work, and while my Explorers have had no trouble in deep snow, my wife's Forester doesn't have enough clearance for really deep snow.
Two years ago I bought a Snow Bear snowplow and put it on an 89 Cherokee that I kept as a third car. I've since gone over to a Comanche pickup I got cheap. Easy to install, and it does a decent job too. Paid $900 at BJ's Warehouse, and maybe another $100 in accessories (skid shoes for my stone driveway, a headlight kit I made myself from Walmart foglights and some EMT - not exactly street-legal, but it works).

I would have no qualms putting this rig on my Explorer, it is just more convenient to leave it on the Jeep until I need it. It is lightly enough constructed that I am sure I would damage it before I hurt the vehicle. I don't let more than 6 inches accumulate before I plow. I probably don't exceed 10mph when plowing ( just did 4 inches this morning). It is really just a winch motor with a strap to lift the blade and a manual angle adjustment. I know my driveway and am not going to go running into boulders with it or anything. Then only strain it puts on the driveline is if I go on the highway with it, the engine runs hot (not enough airflow), so I stick to secondary roads and try not to exceed 50 mph. Seems to be a magic point in there at about 65 when temps go from normal to almost redline pretty quickly and just dropping back 5 or 10 mph addresses it.

One note: buy the 'big' plow - there are two sizes. I've had snow come over the top of the "big" blade occasionally and it is unsettling to think I might get my plow stuck and block my driveway. The smaller plow is probably inadequate.

 

[Mbrooks420]

I have a snowbear on my Mounty. I highly recommend them for personal use. You shouldn't have any problems using your Explorer to plow your own driveway. I wouldn't even consider trying to make money with it. And on a v6 auto I'd get a big trans cooler, and take it very easy. Your choices for available plows are basically the Snowbear for around $1000, a Western Suburbanite, or a Fisher Homesteader. All are light duty person use plows. The Western, and Fisher will run about $3,500 installed.

 

[gijoecam]

Yes, I was not saying that plowing the streets and driveways but my long hobby farm driveway. Why would HomeDepot sell a little to nothing plow with harness not meant for larger trucks?

I guess it's back to looking for an older half ton with plow.

Thanks for the posts!

There is a used-car dealer in Westland, MI here that has four or five old Ford plow-trucks... they range in price between $1000 and $3500... they're all rust buckets, but they run.

-Joe