Learn me about snow plows fellas.

[MotoSook]

Might be in the market for a used snow plow setup for the truck (F250). It's not 4wd, but I'd only be clearing my own driveway and private road.

I see a used Meyers setup for $1200. Suppose to be complete, but I know nothing about them. Do they have hydraulic pumps mounted on the frame of the plow driven by a DC motor?

Do some brands have engine mounted pumps?

Whatcha know?

[Red88Carrera]

I had a Meyer on my CJ5. Had an E-47 pump(12v driven) mounted on the plow frame. Had lift and angle controls. Nice setup. Now I have a Fisher with a belt-driven pump under the hood of my Chevy 2500 4WD. Lift and angle controls. This setup works great too. Just a little harder to install. You'll want a LOT of weight in the bed if you don't have 4WD. If you hook the plow on a snow pile, you'll be there a while. Another thing to look into is the trip mechanism. My Meyer plow would flip forward if I caught the bottom on something. The Fisher has a bottom trip. I like the Fisher much better. The Fisher also has a top snow deflector.

[MotoSook]

Good to know about the flip. I don't want to go too crazy since the surface I'd be plowing is nicely paved and smooth. I rather not have to mount a pump under the hood. From your post it sounds like a Meyers with the pump on the frame will do the job.

[pete3799]

A plow on a 2 wheel drive pick-up will be next to useless.
If you put alot of weight in the back and run chains you might get by.
Most newer plows have the pump on the plow frame (dc motor)
Older ones will have a belt driven pump.
The meyers plows are lighter then say a fisher 7 1/2 footer which will be easier on the truck
front end.
Not sure if a plow frame will bolt up to a 1/2 ton 2 wheel drive though.
Might have to weld something up.
The plow i use is a meyers that i bought on a brand new 1980 Dodge.
It's been on 3 different trucks since then and still going strong.

[Red88Carrera]

Does it have power angle? What type of vehicle was it mounted on? If it was a same series F250, make sure you get the frame mounts. Lights are also nice to have. Remember, when driving with a plow lifted, your truck headlights/signals will be obstructed, so you'll need lights on the plow frame.

[MT930]

Meyer is a good plow manufacture as well as Western

2 wheel drive will provide less than marginal results. I've never seen a plow on a
2WD truck. When plowing the front wheel traction is doing 60+ % of the work.

[cgarr]

Too much weight up front for a 2wd. I have a Western on my 04 gmc 2500 and it still struggles when we get over 8" but it all depends on how heavy (wet or dry) the snow is too. Be better off with a good blower. Now a back blade is nice to balance them out too!

[MotoSook]

I also have a Jeep Cherokee 4wd. Maybe that'll be better. How easy is it to mount/dismount the plow to the frame mount?

I have a kid who'll be driving the Jeep to school so I'd have to get up early, mount, plow, dismount before 6:30 in the morning so the kid can drive himself to school.

If I mount it on the F250, I won't be leaving my property with it, just clearing the my driveway and the road between the house and the barn.

I have a 2 stage snow blower, but it's a long road.

What's a good price for a used Meyer?

Ive seen some old beaters with a plow for sale in the area. The beater wouldn't even be registered since it'd only be used to clear snow and haul crap within my property.

[Red88Carrera]

If the Ford won't be leaving the property, just throw some chains on the rear tires, and add about 750-1000# of weight in the rear and be done with it.

[speeder]

Plow on a 2WD truck? I'm sorry, but I see one of those humiliating YouTube videos in your future of your plow rig being stuck in 4" of snow. 4WD PU trucks w/ plows can get hopelessly stuck if someone does not know what they are doing.

The weight and wrong kind of leverage that a plow removes from the rear wheels of an already *light in the rear* PU truck makes this an unwise path to take.

[Joe Bob]

4WD is a must....dismounting the plow on a regular basis is a PITA.

What are the costs of a local plow guy coming in on a oncall basis? Think Homer Simpson..

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by speeder

Plow on a 2WD truck? I'm sorry, but I see one of those humiliating YouTube videos in your future of your plow rig being stuck in 4" of snow. 4WD PU trucks w/ plows can get hopelessly stuck if someone does not know what they are doing.

The weight and wrong kind of leverage that a plow removes from the rear wheels of an already *light in the rear* PU truck makes this an unwise path to take.

I agree. That said, I could see myself trying it and after getting stuck a few times and having to shovel snow from behind the blade after ramming a pile, I would then be scouring craigslist for a cheap 4x4 POS to buy to mount the plow on.

I have experience with a 4x4 atv with a plow vs a 2wd atv.... The 2wd atv is worthless for all but 2" of initial snow on a small driveway. The 4x4 atv OTOH works great and is what I use for all my driveways on my property. Before the 4x4 atv I used to struggle with a 2wd ford 9n tractor with a back blade or my Bobcat skid steer with front bucket. With the 4x4 atv I can plow off most snowfalls with light drifting in under an hour now (3 driveways) while it often would take up to several hours with the Ford tractor or Bobcat.

The 2wd stuff works ok for the first plowing of light snow, but after that, when trying to plow additonal snow along long driveways, other than the first path down the middle, 2wd vehicles cannot push the pile off to the side against the snow banks left from the initial snow fall (the angled blade just forces the vehicle off to the side away from the pile). Tons of weight helps, but as others noted.... 2wd is much less than ideal.

[MotoSook]

Good post Tim.

I'd hire a plow guy, but I my household needs to be in full ready by 6 am and I don't think I can rely on a plow guy to come out everytime it snows to get use out by that time.

I'll keep an eye out for a beater 4wd with a plow.

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Soukus

Good post Tim.

I'd hire a plow guy, but I my household needs to be in full ready by 6 am and I don't think I can rely on a plow guy to come out everytime it snows to get use out by that time.

I'll keep an eye out for a beater 4wd with a plow.

Hmmm..... come to think of it, I would not mind having a non-road worthy 4x4 Jeep to plow in heated comfort and to pull a monster lawn roller each year on the runway. Might have to take a peak at Craigslist myself.

[Laneco]

A plow on a 2wd pickup? That's about as useful as nipples on a boar hog.

You can put a bunch of weight in the back, that will help a little but you are really a long way from something useful in this deal. Also, not sure if the Cherokee frame is heavy enough for a plow. Might be - but I'd ask around the cherry forums for that question.

angela

[gatotom]

living in the cascade mountains the last 30 yrs, I have been plowing for awhile.

I plow with a 1996 Chev heavy 1/2 T 4x4 with 5 speed trans. and a meyer plow with hydraulics to go left/right and up/down. I regularly plow over 1 mile of road that is paved. if a gravel road you need the shoes to be on otherwise you dig in.

On heavy snow over 1 foot you plow off in layers, 6 inches is good, out here the sooner you get it off the better, it ain't called cascade concrete for nothing.

The plow is a 1985 meyers that has seen a few different trucks, its best to weld the frame on the truck cuz bolts sheer off at a time when you need the plow the most.

The plow and frame is about 400 pounds, lighter than a boss plow but easier on the truck. When its deep and wet I plow in 4 wheel low, easier on clutch. Since 96 I have burned out only one clutch, you can really smoke them in 4 wheel high.

You can plow with a 2 wheel truck but why??? you would need chains all the time over 6 inches. I run good studless snow tires and never use chains and I plow up and down hills.

I also have a 10 hp snowblower that I use to clean up the edges of my driveway parking area and I snowblow my 1000 sq ft deck.

[Rot 911]

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

The 4x4 atv OTOH works great and is what I use for all my driveways on my property.

Tim, what ATV do you have?

[Tim Hancock]

Originally Posted by Rot 911

Tim, what ATV do you have?

A Polaris 300 Explorer that I bought dirt cheap as a demo model from an old friend who used to own a Polaris dealership in the 90's.

I built a mount and used an old plow from my garden tractor. Works great! It actually throws snow when you are moving fast just like a state plow truck. I started using it with a cobbed up cheapo HF winch mounted to the front rack, but since have replaced that with a winch mounted to the front push bar.

old winch


new winch


It sure beats using my old Ford "2wd" tractor. Which was pretty much useless once snow banks on either side of the drie froze up and would drift closed every night.

[speeder]

That's a purty picture there, Tim.