So you are interested in a
heavy duty snowplow? Not to use on your driveway I hope.
Size up your equipment to the right job. Don’t use a 6 foot plow to plow a commercial parking lot or a highway. “Heavy duty snowplow” is a wide statement in general and needs to be a little more defined. I would not say that a 7 foot plow on a ½ ton truck is not heavy duty, but not the right kind of heavy duty for some snowplow jobs.
Heavy duty snowplows are used for commercial parking lot and highways and roadways.
It all has to do with pressure, frequency and weight. These are the forces these large plows are overcoming. Just look at the difference in the plow , start with a look at the frame , the amount of steel on the supports, the spacing of the supports behind the mold board, look at the size of the cylinders, the hydraulic lines, the rebound springs, and the cutting edges.
Most pickup’s could not even pick up these plows let alone plow with them. These plows are designed for front axle of 12,000lbs and up. You have to remember it is one thing to plow a driveway at 10 mph with a 6-7 foot plow it’s another to plow a 12’ highway lane at 45 mph hitting all kinds of expansion joints and ice patches. These plows are continually under stress that’s where frequency comes in and harmonious vibration and shock that can easily bend steel , break welds and bend the cutting edges.
So when companies like Wausau, Snogo, Frink America, Viking-Cives , make these plows design them to with the elements as well as the work load in mind. Some of the designs that these heavy duty snowplows have are: one way plows, reversible plows , v plows, wing plows, bull nose plows. Let’s not forget airport runways and the plows that need to keep an airport clear.
So, the reason I writing this is to try to give you a better under standing of exactly what a heavy duty Snowplow really is. I see a lot of people trying to sell snowplows and calling them heavy duty and in my opinion there not. Just like a 69 Camaro and a 69 Super Sport Camaro are not the same. A snowplow and a heavy duty snowplow are not the same. But at least this article is giving you some information to go off of when looking for a heavy duty or light duty snowplow. You basically want to match the right plow to the right job and if heavy duty is what you need make sure to get it. Ask the person selling you the plow and claiming is it heavy duty to show you the difference between the heavy duty and a regular snowplow.
