Homeowner Plows?

[fisheye]

I bought a 2004 Silverado 2500 HD and a Western Contractor plow for my little 400' driveway. I do have and 18 degree hill that is 300 feet long so I have to stay on top if it if we are to get a heavy snowfall. My driveway is paved now; it used to be gravel and it would wash out every good rain event because of the grade.

Plowing gravel can be difficult because there is usually rocks sticking up in my neighborhood; maybe your luckier? Sometimes I almost wished that I had bought a smaller plow only because with the big plow I have to worry about overheating if I take it any distance. The larger plows interfere with the air going through the radiator in the up position. At least it gives me an excuse not to plow friends that are farther away! But the larger plow is nice when the snow is deep.

I found that it helps to spray the plow with silicon when it is dry outside and before the coming storm. That way, if you get a heavy snowfall, it does not stick to the blade. The silicon spray also works on snow blowers and even snow shovels.

If I recall correctly I think I paid about $6,000 for the Western plow. You did say that you have plow mounts so that might cut down the cost.

[Toyman at Jewel Lake]

I have a 32hp tractor and blade with hydraulic angle and offset, and also about 1/2 mile of driveway. As others said-how much snow and how often? A tractor will do the job, but there are issues. First it's slow, you're only traveling 5-6 mph when plowing. The real issue is it goes too slow to throw snow, it just rolls off the blade. Not a problem with the first snowfall, but once the berm is piled up you can't throw over it, it's an issue. You'll have to periodically "berm bash" with a front end loader, or back into them one blade-width at a time. A plow truck is far quicker and moves fast enough to throw snow over the berm. Not to mention has a heater. Flip side, it's a lot harder to see the corners when you are working in tight areas, and lacks the versatility for so many other jobs a tractor can do.

[Versatile]

Originally Posted by Swamp_Yankee

Looking for advice on a good homeowner plow to take care of our 1/2 mile long gravel lane. We live 1/4 mile off of the county road and our neighbor lives about a 1/4 mile down from us at the end. Right now he takes care of the plowing with a Toyota Tundra and I believe a Meyer homeowner plow. He and I help each other with road maintenance, etc...and I want to be able to take care of the lane if he's not around or not able to. I am the manager of a small city so I'm no stranger to plows, trucks, and equipment, but that said, I'm not about to go out and purchase the same type of equipment we use on our public works trucks to plow a 10' wide, 1/2 mile long lane 10 or 15 times a year for an hour at a clip. However, I do want to buy a well made plow that will last many years for the type of use it will see.

My personal truck is a 2012 F250 super cab short bed 4x4, 6.2L gas, 3.73 gears, electric locking rearend, and snow plow prep package. It seems that just about every plow manufacturer makes a homeowner model these days and its hard to get a feel for them just watching videos on Youtube, etc... I have seen a few differences though and I will say that I definitely want a hydraulically operated plow as opposed to a winch or something of that nature. Given the fact that I'll be plowing gravel, a model with available shoes is important as well. As far as ease of getting it on and off, that's not a huge concern because most of the time I will plow the lane, park the plow truck, and take my city-assigned vehicle to work. I know that my neighbor's plow is a PITA to get on and off as I've helped him with it a few times.

Any is good. Go online and read reviews of users.
Put a plow on your truck. Quickest easiest and you can drive it to work if really bad and need to plow to just get in. You will also make some new friends.

Or: Buy a city truck at auction and keep it awhile and sell for profit and then buy another.etc.