Any body plow snow?

[Mark13]

I'm a subcontractor for another guy so I don't bid my own stuff. I have my own insurance for plowing and my own equipment including a salt spreader. I get the salt from him and wait for a phone call to go out. My boss is the one who gets all the contracts and deals with the customers. I just provide the service to them. I give him my hours sheet once a month and a week or so later he will drop a check off or I'll run and pick it up.
I know I could make more if I bid my own accounts but to me it's so much easier to just wait for a phone call and get salt when I need it from his property then to deal with all my own stuff.

Sorry I'm not much help as far as getting contracts goes, it's not my thing.

[CountryChevy15]

nah its kool. I can figure the price thing out easily i think i just need to find a super cheap plow for my truck. Not gona happen i know but thats what i need.

[Mark13]

Originally Posted by CountryChevy15

nah its kool. I can figure the price thing out easily i think i just need to find a super cheap plow for my truck. Not gona happen i know but thats what i need.

What's your budget?

You can get a plow from about $800 for a pretty well used plow that needs some work up to spending $4k for a new straight blade or $5k+ for a new V plow or power plow. It's all about what you want to spend and how much work you want to put into it. I run a 7.6ft straightblade with wings that makes it 9.8ft. I can clear a plow pretty quick and without my wings on I still fit in most residential driveways. However for my next truck I'm getting a V plow or a power plow. Straight blades are nice but they aren't best at anything anymore, it's old technology that has been greatly improved upon.

[CountryChevy15]

well i was looking at the ones you manually adjust the angles from left to right. Thats probably the cheapest. But id like to have one that is remote adjust from in the cab but those seem to be expensive. And one that needs some paint and minor stuff would be fine i dont need a brand new one.

[go-go-gomez]

don't get those manual ones, the frame will bend the first time you push snow, they are not really made for plowing more than 2", or anyhting more than a 10 foot long driveway

[Mark13]

Originally Posted by CountryChevy15

well i was looking at the ones you manually adjust the angles from left to right. Thats probably the cheapest. But id like to have one that is remote adjust from in the cab but those seem to be expensive. And one that needs some paint and minor stuff would be fine i dont need a brand new one.

The ones that you adjust manually are very cheap made and not designed for commercial use, just a few driveways at best. And your going to adjust your blade angle way more plowing then you think you will right now thinking about it. I bet in a small parking lot I change the angle of my blade 40-50 times. Sometimes it's only a slight change a few degrees or from angled left to straight, or sometimes it's all the way from left to right. It would be a huge pain and be unproductive to have to get out each time to do that. Spend the money on a decent used plow and it will pay for itself quickly. You don't need to go for broke on a V although they are very nice to use and very productive. A nice used 7.6ft plow will do your truck just fine.

I'd recommend to stay with major brands- Western, Fisher, Boss, and Snoway. Those are what's popular around us with Fisher being the minority out of them. I run a Western with no problems and my boss uses a Boss V with good luck also. I've used it and it's very nice.

Blizzard makes sweet power plows that are very efficient in moving crazy amounts of snow quickly but arn't as popular but are very heavy duty.

I'd stay away from Meyer/Diamond, there arn't to many of them around. They are built well but seem to suffer from lots of small problems and electrical issues. It's no fun to try and figure out why your plow motor doesn't run at 2am in a snow storm trying to feel things with your fingers when it's 10 degrees out.

Edit, here's a little something to get ya in the mood for the pennies from heaven to start falling and to spend many sleepless nights driving around in your truck.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F2bMx-lqDyM

[CountryChevy15]

well now my search begins....if you know of one available or one that becomes available for my 97 1500 let me know.
Thanks

[Mark13]

Originally Posted by CountryChevy15

well now my search begins....if you know of one available or one that becomes available for my 97 1500 let me know.
Thanks

Like most stuff anything from 88-98 Chevy 1/2-1 ton will fit your truck. And if you buy a plow off lets say a 99 f350 the blade and lights and all that will work. You will just need a different truck mount and wiring harness for the truck. So you don't have to look for something off a 97 k1500. It's nice if you can find a plow that came off another obs chevy but it's not a requirement. And I'd look for a 7.6ft plow. It will be plenty for what your doing.

[CountryChevy15]

ok that clears stuff up a bit thanks

[Mark13]

Also while looking for a plow find yourself a nice large trans cooler and a temp guage to put in also. Plowing is rough on a trans and anything you can do to keep it cool is needed.

[CountryChevy15]

well after some searching for a plow i found a western plow with specific mount for my truck also has in cab controler all working for $700. good deal?

[harborfire17]

Anybody know what a fisher v plow goes for? and can you hook it up to an older head unit.

[Mark13]

Originally Posted by CountryChevy15

well after some searching for a plow i found a western plow with specific mount for my truck also has in cab controler all working for $700. good deal?

Have any pictures of it? Do you know what kinda plow? I'm assuming a Unimount? $700 sounds like a good price, but unless you check it over well you may be buying a $700 peice of junk that's been abused.

Originally Posted by harborfire17

Anybody know what a fisher v plow goes for? and can you hook it up to an older head unit.

Depends on what age the plow is. You could probably pick up an older fisher V in decent shape for $2500, or spend $5,000 on an almost new one. What mounting system? Minute Mount 1?

[CountryChevy15]

havent seen it yet. havent bought it either but since its a 3 hr drive to pick it up what should i look for to see if its good or not

[Mark13]

Make sure you test it before you give him any money. Up, down, left, right. Make sure the motor sounds strong. If it drops slow that's not a big worry, you can change the drop speed. Some guys like theirs to drop slow, I like mine to drop the second I hit the controller. Also look at the back of the molboard and see if it's ever been welded on or bent. Look at the top of the blade where it starts to curl back towards the truck and see if it's all rusted out. If left outside water sometimes sits up there and rusts thru the top of the blade. Check the A frame (where the hydraulic angle cylinders mount, jack mounts,etc. Look for any cracks or repairs. If you can check the front where the center pin goes up by the blade (where the blade pivots left to right), that probably will be cracked infront of the bolt (against the blade) if lots of backdragging was done. Also check the connectors and lights to make sure they are in good shape, they get expensive if you need to start replacing them. Ask how often the blade was serviced. See how often they drained the oil out of it and all the rams, cleaned the filter, and refilled it, find out if they used actual plow fluid, atf, or hydraulic oil. Some say atf isn't good for them, others say its fine. If to thick of hydraulic oil was ever used there's a good chance the pump was well overworked trying to push nearly solid fluid consitancy thru the lines if it was very cold out.
Pretty much check it over the same as you would if it was a vehicle. Some guys really abuse plows so be prepared for it to be in rough shape. Also figure a cutting edge to be around $180 if you need a new one, a 1/2" edge will last quite a bit longer then a 3/8" edge.


Edit, where's it at?

[vegaman04]

I am also a member on Plowsite. I prefer Western products because the parts are so readily available. 7.5ft Unimount is what i have, i also have an extra undercarriage for your style of truck.

[CountryChevy15]

theres two the 700 dollar one is in Murphysboro illinois down by carbondale il, and the one for 900 that i have no idea about other than he claims it works good and everything is there is in Ryan iowa which is up by cedar rapids iowa just mapquested and each is a little over 4 hrs away

[CountryChevy15]

Originally Posted by vegaman04

I am also a member on Plowsite. I prefer Western products because the parts are so readily available. 7.5ft Unimount is what i have, i also have an extra undercarriage for your style of truck.

wana sell it? then all i would need is a plow not the frame specific mount which is a pita to find with a plow

[Mark13]

Do you have pics of either plow? If not before I drove that far to look at one I'd request a bunch of pics of each plow sent to me. Wouldn't be much fun to have 4hrs there to discover a pos plow and then 4hrs back with nothing to show for the trip besides gas reciepts.

[CountryChevy15]

Originally Posted by Mark13

Do you have pics of either plow? If not before I drove that far to look at one I'd request a bunch of pics of each plow sent to me. Wouldn't be much fun to have 4hrs there to discover a pos plow and then 4hrs back with nothing to show for the trip besides gas reciepts.

Guy said he would email me some of the cheaper one on wed so ill wait and see if that happens.