Snowplow write up

I've been planning to do an extensive write-up on snowplowing with a Tacoma because it's almost unheard of. However, given that this winter was extremely mild for the mid-west, this may be relatively short. But, if you're like me, you searched "plowing with a Tacoma" prior to purchasing one and came up with very little to go off of. I have a +600' long asphalt driveway that bends and goes uphill. It has fields on both sides of it and i live in northern Illinois. Needless to say, it snows a lot, drifts a lot, and my 700cc ATV didn't keep up on previous winters.
To start, i wanted a plow that was light weight. I considered the Myers Home Plow. But the absorbant amount of negative reviews kept me away. I also thought about a light Western Plow but again, i was turned off by the cost, which was well over $4k.
I knew i didn't need anything heavy, and that while hydraulics were definitely a convenience factor; i was only plowing my own driveway, and hydraulics added a lot of weight and thousands of dollars.
I started seeing reviews for a plow called the, "Snowsport". The reviews were great, the overall weight was light, and the cost was do-able. There were many reviews on various plow websites raving this product. Again i ran into a snag. I wanted to finance it with 0% interest and Snowsport plows were all sold through websites and retailers not in my area. So no financing was available.
I then found that DR (of DR Field and Brush Mowers) sold an identical plow to Snowsport. I wrote down both plow's specs and they were identical in every way. I went to their website and their actual video on the plow featured a 2nd gen Tacoma. Awesome. Plus they offered 1 and 2 year, 0% interest and a 1 year unconditional warranty. So i committed to the DR Redi-Plow Plus.
Here was my truck stock. Like it was when i put the plow on. -


The plow arrived in 3 boxes. The plow, the hardware and instructions, and the receiver hitch; which was made by Curt. Here is a picture of the receiver, which took about an hour to install:


Next, i put the plow and mount together which took about 2.5 hours total. The mount slides into the 2" receiver (which is bolted to the frame) and the plow goes on the mount, obviously. When using the plow, it free-floats on the steel mount. When you are finished, it sits on top of the mount and i secured by two 5/8 hitch pins. It actually is pretty genious. Here is a pic i snagged online:

Here it is mounted on my truck after install:

The truck performs well. We haven't had a lot of snow days, but we've had a few. I just got new tires so when i used it i had, no lift and stock Dueler HT's. Also should mention i do have the v6 with Auto tranny.
So anyone considering a plow for their personal use... It can be done. And it can be done well and on the cheap(i was plowing at $1500 total). However, i would not suggest this set-up for anything commercial. This is only for my own driveway and it's great. I may try to post a video of me plowing although the one have isn't too exciting as the snow was only a few inches deep.
Here is the link of the DR Video with the Tacoma in it: https://youtu.be/IDhBxxD-bqk

If you have any questions about it. Feel free to ask.

 

how well does this scrape the asphalt? I keep thing about getting one of these or the snowsport.

 

It doesn't scrape. It leaves maybe 3/8"-1/2" snow on the drive. Normally this small of an amount will melt with any sunlight shining on it.
On the bottom of the plow is a strip of heavy-duty rubber.

 

The front end of a Tacoma is no slouch. My (hydraulic + poly-over-heavy-steel) plow weighs around 500# give or take. The Tacoma factory front end holds it up fine. Obviously take it a bit easier over bumps when carrying the plow since it is a little closer to the stops, but nothing to worry about.

 

I have been thinking of buying one of these plows.
Is there a real benefit to having a plow with down pressure like the snoway plows have?
So far I like the dr..snoway and possibly the k2... all I know is I'm not spending 4k when the plow will never leave my driveway.
I also like the idea of installing my own front hitch and installing plow myself.
I hate letting people drive/work on my truck.
Makes me cringe

 

I have the same plow. I’ve had it for 2 winters now. Works great for my dirt driveway. A lot quicker than a snowblower.

 

If you have a 2” lift, will the plow drop to the ground? Will it work with a lifted truck?

 

do you have a link to the current set up?

 

Where did you get it from?

 

I got it from my dad when he upgraded plows. Pretty sure he ordered it from DR directly.