Snow Equipment Buying/Pricing Plow on truck or buy a tractor

[2458n]

You buy the old 4wheel drive trucks in June. A old myers or western plow can be had for less then 500 dollars in the summer. By waiting you have added at least 1000 dollars to whatever you buy in the way of snow removal equipment. If you have a place to keep an ugly old truck it would be the cheapest, warmest choice. By old I mean a 3/4 ton truck with a straight front axle and a gas motor.

 

[RoyJackson]

Farmers almanac supposedly is calling for 200" of snow this winter...if they are 25% right that still is a lot of snow.

I'm assuming you're in South Dakota (the "SD" in your nick). 200" is a lot of snow...and a lot of drifting on top of that, I would imagine!

 

[TroySD]

I'm assuming you're in South Dakota (the "SD" in your nick). 200" is a lot of snow...and a lot of drifting on top of that, I would imagine!

Yeah Roy, I'm in northern SD. If it involves snow, wind, and cold, I am familiar with it. I moved out in the country about 5 years ago and its a learning experience every year. Last year was the 3rd snowiest on record and it was a battle trying to keep the drive open. It was pretty much scooping every day to keep up. I'll try to be good about pictures this winter. I've got a bunch of snow fence up, plow is serviced, new tractor, possible new blower for it. Now it won't snow lol

Troy

 

[wva]

If your truck is a 1/2 ton 4wd, then look for a plow that mounts to a 2inch front receiver. Check out a Meyer Home Plow power model at $3100.

hi find yourself and older 7.5 plow of your choice and don't let the snow get to deep before you plow. stay away from the homeowner plow they are way to light and cheap made I use a meyer st90" or cp90 on a 1/2 ton chevy if it a '88 up crank the tbars 2.5/3 turns. let's talk snow.com is a great forum to learn about differnt brands plows

 

[Builder]

My business plows with both. A truck and a 71HP tractor. I plow private lanes, farm driveways, etc. no parking lots. Got out of the commercial racket in the 90's. Since you already have a truck (and if you don't really require a tractor) I would put a plow on your truck in a heartbeat. 1/2 ton 4x4 trucks are great for personal plowing like in your situation, or even a small plowing route if you equip them properly.

One of the old hats that competes with me but has been plowing driveways since the 60's uses 1/2 ton Chevy trucks almost exclusively. He says they're cheaper to buy and if you add a few accessories, they are lower & easier to work out of. He puts heavier springs and shocks on front. I think a lot of the truck manufacturers try to "scare" you into buying more truck than you need-particularly for plowing. Some of his trucks have over 200K on them and still plowing.

I started my plowing business with a Jeep CJ-7 back in the mid 80's and thought it was one of the best plow trucks I ever had. VERY manueverable and even with only a 7' plow, it could do most small driveways in 10 minutes.

 

[MHarryE]

Does your county do private drives? I live in Northern St. Louis County and my dad used to have the county plow. Nothing like a grader with wing plow for a hilly drive with drop offs, and it only cost him about $250 per year. I bought his place 16 years ago but didn't move up until I retired 2 years ago so the county was still plowing until then. Since I am retired now and have a tractor I do it myself, but I froze so much last winter even with my snowmobile clothes I traded for a tractor with cab this year, way out of your snowplow cost range. I also have a Polaris 6 x 6 ATV with plow that can get my 1/4 mile drive in a few minutes in light snow. If it wasn't for my other toys I would have the plow on my 1/2 ton pickup. That's what dad did before the county decided to utilize their manpower & equipment more.

 

[DavidVT]

I used up two tired plow tricks before moving to my Kubota. I have rear chains that I only mount if I have to. My heavy duty plow is a QA fisher on the FEL that I pulled and modified from the last plow truck. Most storms we just use the rear blade and bucket. Yes I would love a blower and cab but we do just fine with this diesel tractor that always starts! Good luck!

 

[Mike_VT]

I plow my driveway and 6 others. All the driveways I plow are "scary" up and down hill, over streams and culverts and steep dropp-offs. I plow the majority of the time a 3/4 ton truck with a 8 foot plow, but for heavy snows (weight and depth) I always used my tractor with the front bucket and a back-blade. This eliminates getting stuck.

This year after many years of getting stuck and being cold and wet I upgraded from my Kubota L4330 open platform to a Kubota L4740-hstc. I outfitted the unit with a 7 1/2 QA fisher foot plow for the front and a 80" blower for the back. I am giving up completely on the truck. With my new set-up, I will eliminate the all night plowing with the truck to keep up with stroms. I have done both and for me the tractor option wins out. Now I will just be warm!!!

 

[Maxamillion]

About three years ago I invested in a skid steer, I thought about gettng a tractor but a skid steer worked out better for me. I can keep it in my garage and plug it in a few hours and starts right up. I find my really handy and also do some snow plowing and landscaping to make some extra cash to help pay for the machine and the up keep. You could find one fairly reasonable and they seem to hold there value, and could be used for snow plowing in the winter and landscaping in the spring, summer and fall. Good luck with what ever you decided to get.

 

[caspar3259]

... Kubota L4740-hstc. I outfitted the unit with a 7 1/2 QA fisher foot plow for the front and a 80" blower for the back.

Can you give more details on the Fisher QA plow? On their web site I can only see truck mounted blades...

thanks!

-Jeff