Plow questions..single cab 4 banger

I would only be doing a small driveway (my own).

Would this work/be worth buying a plow?

I'm leaning to no, but my wife put the idea in my skull.

 

I wouldn't bother just for your own property.

 

VTDAVE used his four banger for 5 yrs

Here is a thread for example his post is a couple down or advance search his threads....

http://www.tacomaworld.com/forum/2nd-gen-tacomas/106123-snow-plow-regular-cab.html

 

A guy that lives a couple blocks from me has an ATV plow and winch set up on his explorer. Looks goofy, but it gets the job done.

 

We had a 500 ft driveway when I lived in Rhode Island... We used a 87 Nissan 4x4 4 banger with a 5 speed with a 6ft blade it actually did good with traction and power...but the Truck was a totaled vehicle we bought off an insurance company (tree fell on the bed bed was useless cab had some damage but frame was straight so it didn't matter if we abused it it wasn't a daily driver... My only concern would be the ware and tear keep in mind mine was an 87 so if you bumped a curb with the plow there was no way to set off air bags and we had a hydraulic pump that we built a custom mount and put where the ac compressor was...

Bottom line
I think the taco is more then able... But I lean on the side of caution with regards of potential of damaging the Frame voiding any Warranty you may have and the danger of setting off the airbags don't laugh it can happen my buddy hit a drift and ruined his 05 Chevy 1500 4x4 bent frame popped bags and he did some wiring damage with install

 

I just put a 6.5 meyer drive-pro on my 2012. Had the same plow on my 95 pre-tacoma pickup. I too just do my place and the neighbors. The truck plows like a champ... so did the 95. Had that for 11 years without issue. Here are some photos, not my truck, but you will get an idea of the look!

http://smithbrothersservices.com/toyota-tacoma-drive-pro.html

 

I plow with my 2012 Reg Cab manual 4 cyl, using a 7 foot steel blade. Weighs 380 lbs.

I had a 2010 as well with the same plow on it - no problems.

It's a great combo for driveways because of the short vehicle length.

I plow semi-commercially with it as well, including a large parking lot.

Contrary to what was said above, it's physically impossible for you to set off the Tacoma's airbags by striking a curb. To set the airbags off you have to crush the airbag module behind the bumper, which can only be done in an actual collision with body damage. So you can relax.

I plow in 4HI. I don't put weight in the back and I don't have any special springs in the front - the Tacoma's springs are strong enough.

I suggest the heavier steel blades so you can cut down to the pavement best. Also go with a 7' or 7.5' blade. The 6' 8" blades, common on jeeps and other smaller vehicles, are too narrow.

Plows have trip springs for a reason, so don't worry about pavement cracks and small bumps/steps. The plow will trip. It'll make a huge racket and you'll feel the "bang" shudder the truck but the trip action on the plow is taking up all the energy. You'll destroy the plow A-frame before you bend the frame of your truck.

Look at your driveway layout and try to see if you will need to backdrag. You might want a hydro plow with downpressure if you think you'll need to backdrag a long distance.

Otherwise, a winch lifted plow will probably be fine for you.

Have fun!

 

I'm in tight quarters so the 6.5 works out for my scene, but I agree with you the 7 ft plow is better if you got open territory or long road to plow.

 

Getting sick of the snow blower?

With a small plow, you will be fine. ATV's work with small plows, your truck will be fine for a small driveway. You'll have to push a little at a time if we get another dumping like we did last weekend but it'll get through it.

 

Merkman when do u wanna sell me your jetta?

 

I'd just get a new snowblower. The nice thing about snow blowers is that they throw the snow, so you don't end up with huge mounds of snow on the sides and end of the driveway. Plus you can do walkways, sidewalks, etc with one.

 

That's not true, airbags are set off by inertia. plowing probably won't set them off, as you have to go from moving to a dead stop or very close within an extremely short time.

 

This. No impact sensor, inertia sensor.

 

I guess airbag technology has changed. The airbag sensors on my Ford Explorer are plastic globes about 3 inches in diameter, mounted in several locations on the front behind the plastic cladding. An impact would crush the globe and a sensor sensitive to air pressure changes inside the globe would go off.

Airbags won't go off unless you're going above 20-something mph anyways (or whatever the cutoff is on the Tacoma), so you'd have to be doing something seriously wrong with your plow to set off the airbags. My point stands. You don't have to worry about setting off the airbags hitting a curb.

 

your point is not true lol if you don't know anything don't post bags can go off a lot of ways with a plow and the right force no prob bags can go off if your doing 0 if u get hit with the right force say parked and a car hits u head on

 

How come if i'm in a head on accident under 20 my airbags won't go off?

 

The accident must not have slowed the car quickly enough.

 

Sloth,

Not sure what the OPs plowings needs are, but snowblowers are for small residential sidewalks, walkways, 20-30ft paved driveways. It's nice they throw the snow, but othrwise they SUCK if you have a long drive and potentially get lots of snow often. They also suck if its windy and frigid cold and you got to be somewhere. The last 2 winters have not been too demanding, but the 2 before, my plow paid for itself. We got over 144 inches both winters. It snowed every 3 days 6+ inches for weeks and weeks...and i"m in a valley, the higher elevations got hammered. Snow blowers don't cut it... Unless you are retired and have no where to go...all the time in the world and can spend day in and day out running to the gas station and running the blower on a nice sunny day... I gave mine away.

Got to have the right tool for the right job. Blowers certainly have their place in snow removal... Anyway these trucks have no problem moving big snow. Am curious about the airbag thing.

 

I guess what i'm getting at is, what would be the difference to the airbag sensors between bumping a curb with a plow under 20 mph and bumping another car? Because I really don't think there is a difference. Because if there was, lots of plow guys would have gotten an airbag in their face at least once lol

 

Now that my curiosity is up, I went over to plowsite.com (big plow guys tech site) to search for airbag deployment reports. I found ONE, but it's pretty credible. Guy posted a picture. He had an F-150 with a Boss V plow on it (Really? A V plow on a 150? lol) and he hit a water meter box and his airbags deployed. However he didn't say how fast he was going...

http://www.plowsite.com/archive/index.php/t-112391.html

As one commenter says:

So I guess I retract my statement that it is IMPOSSIBLE to set off airbags from plowing. But I stand by my original statement that if you DO set off your airbags, you were probably going too fast