Snow plow

Hey all, any thoughts or advice on putting a snow plow on a 2011 regular cab 4x4 with a 2.7 four cylinder with an automatic transmission, only for personal use

 

I don't know brands but go light weight. A 6 foot poly plow would be perfect. They also make them that hook into a trailer hitch but that seems less convenient

 

I know knowing about snow plows, but a wise man on another forum once said that pushing snow was about as hard on transmission fluid as any activity he knew of. Keep clean fluid/filter in your box

 

I've heard this too. An old fella I knew once said to never plow snow with an auto. I think that's a bit of an exaggeration though. Treat snow plowing like towing something heavy. You should probably add a trans cooler and keep an eye on your fluid.

 

something with a lightweight poly mould board and quick attach.
plowing snow is tough on chassis and trans. i wouldn't put one on anything i intended to keep nice.

I would definitely install larger trans cooler

 

Check out Snow Dogg stainless steel plows and skip the light weight poly plows.

The lack of weight of the plastic plows lets them ride up over the snow instead of biting in. My Snow Dogg weighs only about 400 lbs, much less than the Fisher Plows we liked back when. Skip the snow shoes. I live and plow in NH and have for the last 35 years.

My Toyotas outplowed my F-250 for driveways, Commercial and parking lots are a different story..

Plow with the storm and try to stay ahead of it, always use 4 lo with tranny lo and take it easy, small bites at a time.
Don't be stupid and don't worry about the auto trans.

http://snowdogg.com/products/snowdogg-snow-plows/

 

Hey Pudge... thanks for the "like", I appreciate it.

I got to say though I would prefer at least a 7' foot blade so that when the plow is angled all the way to the right for instance, the path of the left front tire will be plowed. Too short a blade could leave that area unplowed or with a windrow that you would have to slog through.

Also, skip the homeowner trailer hitch mounted plows from the usual Big Box stores that have you jump out of the cab and angle by hand, Spend the money, you do want a hydraulic 4-way plow.

 

http://www.snoway.com/

 

Stay with something light. I bought a fisher Homesteader. It's 260lbs all in. It has a lock feature to hold the blade down, or you can let it float. I put it on a couple weeks ago and will take it off in April. It really drives well with it on. It plows really well and got me thru 120" last year no problem

 

Just my $.02 but seems like you're better off finding an old 22re single cab for this purpose. I've always herd that plows bend frames.

 

A lot of truth here.
I never ever heard of anyone bending a frame on the truck. I been at it now for 30+ years as well. Once you get used to it, you can be very effective with a lightweight personal use plow. They are not cheap. Mine was $4200.00 installed, paid for itself the last three years. all gravy now

 

If one of my guys bent the frame on one of my trucks, he is fired on the spot. some folks are hard on machinery

 

let us know what you end up going with, i am also in the market for a plow and i drive a 2.7l 4banging reg cab as well!

 

wow

 

I ran a Fisher Homesteader on my '06 LJ and it worked really well. Used it clear my driveway in Northern Maine, which is known for large amounts of snow. Never had any issues. Just make sure to stay ahead of big storms, don't try to clear 12+" at once. Especially wet, heavy snow. And make sure you push your banks back good and far in the beginning of the season, because a light vehicle like a Jeep or Tacoma won't move them when the snow builds up later in the season once they're frozen.

 

Tacoma REQUIRES a minimum of 7' in order for it to clear the wheels.
I'm not aware of ANY current vehicles that would be OK with a 6'. Probably something small and old, like a suzuki samurai.

Light weight and good snow plow are mutually exclusive terms. This truck can handle about 500 pounds of plow before you need to start modifying.
Poly is a nice material for plow skins, but be aware that a good quality poly plow is HEAVIER than a steel plow. The reason is that the steel frame that supports the poly has to be able to hold itself together. On a steel plow, the skin is part of the structure.

Cheap homeowner plows should be avoided (western/fisher are toys).

 

Sure, being run over by a herd (of bison?) probably will bend a truck's frame.
As for a plow though, probably only bend a GM frame. Tacoma can do the work.

 

I held off on a plow due to worrying about warranty and general health of the truck. Then i thought to myself, i take care of my truck like its a child, always change fluids way before needed, and wont be plowing anything but my own. Ill be getting one next year, probably a snoway because of the down pressure feature

 

I would not put any plow on our trucks.
They are not heavy duty enough to handle plowing.
I am basing this on many years of plowing with various trucks & equipment.
My suggestion,buy a used utility 4 wheeler with a plow.
You'll have an excuse to buy a toy,& have a tool to use for various projects including plowing.