Snow Plow Mounting Systems - Mount Truck Snowplows Blade to Vehicle
Snowplows can usually be found in the yellow pages under snow removal equipment. I have seen the Snowbear snowplows being sold at Sams Club. You buy the blade at Sams and then send away for the mounting kit. I have also seen the Snowbear plow advertised in some Kmart sales flyers but have not actually seen the plow itself at a Kmart store. The only problems that I see with the Snowbear plow is that is has no way to provide any down-force on the plow blade. With the Snowbear plowing setup being made as light as possible to conserve weight, this seems to have a drawback in that the blade does not offer enough down-force to keep the blade in contact with the ground. In hydraulic plows, the weight of the system helps to provide down force on the blade to keep the blade in contact with the ground. There is an optional hydraulic down-pressure system for some Sno-Way plow systems that adds additional downforce to the plow blade which is useful for back-dragging. The Snowbear systems uses an electric winch to lift and lower the blade which can also be a problem due to the fact there is no limiter on the winch to keep it from unspooling to much cable and then wrapping back up around the winch drum.
The Bigger the Plow the Larger the Vehicle
The bigger the plow you want, the larger the vehicle you will need. Plows can start at widths of around six and a half feet and go up to large nine foot wide sizes. Most compact/mid-size trucks will have a width of 7.5 feet or less. Half ton trucks will have blades in the 7 to 7.5 foot range and three-quarter ton trucks and up use blades from 7.5 to 9 feet.
Typical Mounting Systems for Snowplows
Most of the snowplows now sold come with much simpler to use mounting systems than in previous generations of snowplows. What this means is that there is a frame mounted under your truck that the plow hooks up to when you are using it. When you are done plowing, you pull a couple of pins and unplug some electrical connectors and the whole system is left at home, including the lights and the lift-pump. Western snowplows use a UniMount system which just leaves a rectangular mounting frame hanging down on the front of the truck after the plow is removed. Fisher snowplows use a system called the Minute Mount System. The Fisher system is another detachable snowplow system that claims to be the quickest and easiest mounting system available. The Minute Mount System allows you to drive the vehicle into the plow mount and then hook up. Boss snowplows use a system called the RT3 quick hitch system. The RT3 system also allows you to drive the truck into the plow mount. Hiniker uses the Quick-Hitch system which is also a drive into the plow mounting system. The main benefits of these mount systems are that you are able to leave everything at home when not plowing snow.
This is different from older plows in that the older style of plow had the lift-pump and the headlights on the front of the truck all year round. Most of the older systems also required removal of the front bumper with the bumper being re-installed in front of the light/pump frame after that was put on the truck.
Hydraulics Power
Most of these snowplows use hydraulics for power up/down and power side-to-side angling. There are two type of hydraulic systems. One is a regular hydraulic system driven off of an engine mounted belt and the second is an electric/hydraulic system where the trucks electrical system drives a pump that runs the hydraulics. Of course, the all hydraulic system can require more room under the hood and is more expensive to install. Some of the lower end of the price range snowplows may use an electric cable reel system which is usually a power up/gravity down system. Most of the electric lift systems offer only manual blade angling. If you just have a small, simple driveway, a low end plow could be for you. If you want to clear parking lots or large driveways, think about full power systems.
As a brand new snowplow can be very expensive (anywhere from 1500 or 2000 dollars and up), you might want to think about buying an older truck that already has a snowplow on it. Most local newspapers have a vehicle for sale section that is strictly for snowplows. If you were using a older vehicle just to plow your driveway, you wouldn't even have to worry about license plates or insurance. Having a separate truck just for plowing also saves the wear and tear on your daily use vehicle.
If you use your truck for four-wheeling, you may want to look for the highest clearance mounting system you can find, such as the Fisher or Northman plow mounts. Fisher even offers skid-plates for the plow mount when the plow is not on the truck.