Plowing with small trucks or jeeps

[Bluegrass Lawn Service]

I have a 350 ford with 8 foot blade and would like to get another pusher but I'm thinking about a small 4by4 like a s10 / ranger / toyota. Maybe even a jeep? let me know what you think. Hate to waist money on something that won't work. I would like for it to be a helper truck. Like pushing Dairy Marts, driveways whatever. Please help

[John DiMartino]

I plow with an S10,and I used to plow with a Toyota LAndcruiser,both do an excellent job,considering their size.I think the S10 is the best pushing small truck on the market,especailly the 88-93 4.3V6 's with automatic trans.Ijust bought a 95 S10 Blazer to plow with as mainly a backup truck,but I know Ill come to use it more after the first big storm when the calls start rolling in.

[matthew Urban]

I had the same thought about 3 months ago, but I decided for what I was going to need a pick up would be better.
However in my searching i did find sevral setups i liked.
As far as how they work, I have no first hand experiance but i can tell you that in my area the local school department has a ranger with a plow, and I know of 2 companys that use jeeps. One cherokee sport and one a wrangler.
I can also tell you i think my cherokee with the 5spd and the 6cyl would make a great small plowing rig. Mine has a good turning radius, without tinted windows theres great visability, and mine has been very reliable. it may not plow but we take it wheelin, so it sees some pretty heavy use.
lastly I can tell you that should i need to in the future i wouldn't hesitate to put a 6.5' plow on mine
I hope this will help, good luck, let us know what you decide to go with.
matt

[diggerman]

I have had two jeeps with plows,they work fine but can be a repair problem because the drivetrains are a little light for plowing

[plowking35]

We have a 99 ranger that we plow with, and it is great for tight areas and sidewalks. I had to use it last weekwhile my truck was in for repairs. I didnt have size with the 6'9" blade, but at least it was quick. And with the tailgate spreader, it got me through.
Dino

[Alan]

Two S-10s with 8' Sno-Way blades here. One is an 88, the other a 91. Both are 4.3L, automatic and 3.40something axles. Not the perfect plow rig, as they get a bit cramped after many hours in the saddle, but they work fine.

According to the forecasts we may actually get to use them tomorrow.

[mdb landscaping]

we've had a s-10 with a plow and it worked great. we then got a jeep too when we replaced the truck. we put a western on it. one year we got over 180 inches and it performed great. its always good when you can go up a driveway and turn around at the top and drive back down.

[Greenkeepers]

I was thinking the same thing. How big of plows do you guys put on them? I have a 8' on my 99 Ram and I saw someone had an 8' on a s-10. That seems like it would bog it down if we had a lot of snow.

[Charles]

Was watching CNN today and they were showing all the snow up north. The plows were out there too. They showed one snow covered lot and a guy actually plowing it with a Lazer mower with a blade sticking a few feet out front

[John DiMartino]

I wouldnt go any bigger than 7' on a little truck,if you ever get in a heavy wet storm with an 8 or 7 1/2' you wont even be able to push.With real wet snow my S10 feels OK with a 6 1/2.I wouldnt want any bigger for wet snow over 4".

[logjammer]

That clip that was on CNN, was it from Cleveland, Ohio, by any chance. If it was, was the guy plowing around a monument. I sorry my name is not familiar, I keep my mouth shut and just look to see what other people have to say.

[Alan]

>>>I wouldnt go any bigger than 7' on a little truck,if you ever get in a heavy wet storm with an 8 or 7 1/2' you wont even be able to push.With real wet snow my S10 feels OK with a 6 1/2.I wouldnt want any bigger for wet snow over 4".<<<

Well, last April we got 14 of snowball material, wet, packy stuff. The S pushed that 8' blade just fine. I've had a lot of people tell me I can't do anything with that combination. Lucky for me I'm too dumb to understand why.

We've got three trucks, two of them S-10sm one a K2500. At times we've had the 8' blades on all of them. Three different drivers too, and none of us can see any practical difference in pushing power. Granted, the heavy truck will generate more power to the ground, but I'm talking practical conditions, once you're pushing a full blade waht more do you need?

[BRL]

Alan or others,
Are you putting V-boxes in those S-10's? I saw one the other day empty, and I don't know how that poor little truck was going to make it down the road with salt. Looked overwhelmed. Just curious.

[Alan]

No vee boxes for my S-10s, even though there are 1/2 yd, 5' long boxes available. I will be putting my SnowEx tailgate hopper on one of mine, will probably set them both up with wiring harness so I can put the hopper on either one.

[Charles]

Logjammer, I was trying to think of the city before I made the post but cant recall. I am pretty sure it was not clevelend

[Mark Oomkes]

We have used a Wrangler with a 6' 6" Western for about 5 years now. It is mainly used for sidewalks, but we have done lots with it when we get behind or on a late snowfall. We have not had any problems with the Jeep or plow and if you fave some weight in the back (like sidewalk salt bags) it will push alot of snow.

[logjammer]

I was just curious, because I was using our Z on its virgin snowplow run today, in downtown Cleveland, and this guy was video taping us with his tripod set up in different spots. He left before we could ask him where he was from. The Lazer plowed decent for anyone that is curious.
We replaced the turf tires with agricultural tires, I was a little disappointed because it replaced a Deere F935 that could move some snow. We also use a Deere 4300 with a brush since alot of the walks are granite.
Oh yeah, I had a bright orange ski mask on, with a black hat.

[John DiMartino]

Alan,with the plowing Ive done,I wouldnt put a bigger blade on mine.Mine does push well,but when my v-box is full on the 2500,the laws of physics do apply-there is no way my 4300 Lb S10 can push with the 8500-9000 Full size truck,even if the S10 has a 6 1/2 and the F/S has an 8fter.SOme of my passes are over 1000 ft long and near the end the S10 is getting pushed off pretty good,while the F/s keeps 1/2 the blade in the windrow.

[Charles]

That probably was you then Logjammer. I have never seen a Lazer plow before that shot came on. But it only stayed on the lazer for a few seconds. Cnn always chopping up film and slipping stuff in. It was doing parking spaces I think.

[JCurtis]

I was actually considering buying an older CJ or S10 Blazer for some of my accounts with circular drives. The shorter wheelbase will make it easier to clean up the circle. Trouble is the accounts with the circular drives have big long drives, and not sure the smaller truck could handle them in a big storm (if we are ever lucky enough this year to get one here in Coastal CT)

Wis I could find the guy that designed these drives, I have a few choice words for him.

If only I could figure away to piggyback the jeep or S10 and a salter onto my K10 ????? LOL, just kidding!!!

[Alan]

John, since until last year we had no spreader of any kind on any of our pickups we ran them all in the same condition of load, empty. I will concede that with even a tailgate hopper you see a big difference in power delivered to the ground. But that wasn't what I was talking about. Unless your snow acts differently than ours, the limiting factors are either snow coming over the top in a straight push or flowing around the leading end when the plow is angled. I don't care if you put a D-9 behind it, a given blade size will only carry so much material. I have rarely found a time when I ran out of power behind a blade, my full blade is determined by the amount of snow it's moving efficiently. An 8' blade, moving across a lot at 15 mph, angled fully and not losing any snow around the front is about an ideal, I'd say. And in that sense, neither I nor my two drivers can see any difference in what truck we have behind the blade. Granted, I can find some extreme conditions that will prove otherwise, but in average conditions, with a good driver, in Vermont, under the right phase of the moon, at low tide, running the same grade of fuel, an S-10 will push as much snow as a K2500 will.

[Bluegrass Lawn Service]

You guys are great I truly enjoy you comments and I'm still thinking about what to do. I haven't heard from the Dodge Dakota people. I'm looking for something for snow plus gas saver for pulling the trailer this summer. Also I'm pushing with my Dixie Chopper with 5 foot blade small lots and sidewalks. In southern Indiana we haven't been getting a lot of snow in the past years but I believe this year is going to be different. Thanks again