SNOWPLOW LIGHTS- What do you need to know?

It is that dark time of year again, and night time visibility is low. This is when we start to make decisions
on what type of plow light we put on our vehicles. But before we do that we need to know a little bit about lights.

Snowplow lights come in regular sealed beam and halogen high intensity lighting, xenon. Head lights are measured in the amount of candlepower which is a way of measuring how much light is produced by a light bulb and a lumen is a way of measuring how much light gets to what you want to light! At least this gives you a small basis on what you are looking for. So when you are buying snowplow light s keep this information in mind.

The snowplow light manufacturers now make this systems with different ratings on their lights.
The systems mostly used now are halogens, with separate bulbs for high beams low beams.
Another thing I feel you need to keep in mind especially if you have an old plow and want to up grade your lights. Make sure your old snowplow light harness can handle the up grade. There is nothing more frustrating then installing new plow lights, and the system blows a fuse or relays and you do no know why. Especially when they usually will not blow until after 5 minutes, so just when you think you are fine the lights go out. So make sure your snowplow light harness can handle this increase.

The other thing to keep in mind is how much you want to be seen by other drivers. So you may want to start to think about installing an overhead yellow or over head strobe light. Check with your state laws there could be a requirement if you are going to install an over head strobe light. They also make them in permanent and magnetic. Personally I prefer the magnetic strobe lights It gives me the ability to choose to be removed at any time. The permanent is cheaper but requires some work to install. Please keep this in mind when buying these strobe lights and do not to get a light that is mesmerizing to oncoming drivers. You just want to notify and warn them you are there.

When buying new snowplow lights, ask about any warranties and guarantees that apply with their product. One thing I also want to talk briefly on is a lot of snowplow owners try to cram all kinds of light s in there fuse panel. Before adding any light make sure you have room in your fuse panel for any additional plow lights. When wire splicing make sure you solder, or use butt connectors and then heat shrink tube over all spices. Do not use any type of temporary connections.
Happy snowplowing and remember Edgeolite is here to keep you safer!, and Smarter.
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Windshield Glare ,Blocker, it’s that time of year.

Did you ever notice as the sun goes down earlier the head light’s come on earlier, that’s a no brainer.
But people just don’t realize how much smaller everything becomes in the dark.

What I mean by that is the distance our eyes can see, or how easy it is to almost become mesmerized as the 2 red dots of the cars tail lights about 500 ft in front of you just stay there like they are parked, like not moving but they are not stopped, they are moving the same speed as you.

That’s usually when someone comes up behind with there high beams on, and blinds you with the glare from their lights. Just about the same time, a passing car comes form the other way with their high beams on and now you are fighting their glare also. About this time you remember you can not run people off the road, from the frustration of not being able to see.

Now try having this problem in a snow storm or rain storm. You can certainly imagine how amplified the problem of glare gets. Well I’m not going to tell you I found a total solution, but I will tell you there are some products out that can assist you in light glare dilemma’s.

These products are not very expensive for what they can deliver, some do last longer than others and I’m not going to tell you that it is 100% cure, but I will say it is certainly an aid when battling with light glare if you use glare blockers.

The products vary, I have seen products from plastic shields to a paste you apply on your windshield each with a little different approach and application. But this time of year is the time of year to start thinking about using these products and limit your liabilities. Get rid of windshield glare and Drive safe edgeolite.com

heavy duty snowplows- whats yours?

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.

Snowplow For Sale -What To Look For

So you are looking for a used snowplow truck to buy? Hey what the hell it’s less
then a new snowplow truck. Is it really? I guess that all depends on what you are doing and what you

are looking at to buy. The first thing I would have to think about if I was looking to buy a used snowplow truck, is what am I going to do with it? Will the snowplow truck be used for just my driveway? Will it be used for a residential snowplow account, mainly driveway work?. Or are you subcontracted by a municipality for snow removal on major road ways.

The answer to this questions is of major importants. OK, for the first application if your plowing just you own driveway an older snowplow truck that is being retired is fine, as long as all the major components work proper like the brakes, 4 wd, and the snowplow it self. If you are doing residential work you want
thoroughly check out the snowplow truck prior to buying because now that truck is your reputation.

Homeowners do not like to be told their driveway won’t be ready for them to go to work because your truck broke down. So when you are looking for a snowplow truck for sale you want to check out all the major components. Also run the plow makes sure everything works as it is suppose to. The other thing to keep in mind the brand of the truck, yes that’s right. You do not want to buy a snowplow truck that is
a special model because you will feel the pain when you need to get a part for it and you have to wait a few days instead of being in stock. Remember the auto parts stores stock what sells best not what doesn’t.

The next thing to consider is if you are subcontracted by a municipality, this is usually being paid be the hour for your snowplow truck and you. Remember, this is not start and stop type of plowing this is usually continuous plowing on town road ways. They will usually give you a certain section in your town to plow. When you are looking at snowplows for sale , you again want to keep this in mind.

You do not want a six foot snowplow, you will want a truck with an 8’ foot snowplow blade and with a rubber deflector. Good luck trying to plow a roadway with out a snowplow deflector on it at 30 mph or better. If you are looking at snowplow for sale this is what to look at, and do, pre-trip the truck first of all and that should cover all lights , tires ect. Then get on your creeper and start looking underneath check drive shafts, brake lines, cooler lines, wiring harness, fuel tank straps, exhaust and exhaust hangers, and check for fluid leaks. DO this inspection with the engine cold and then at operating temperature.

After dong that then cycle the plow many times not just once or twice why?, because, it takes a few cycles to warm up the hydraulic oil in the the snowplows system and then that’s usually when the seals start to leak, and need to be replaced. After the inspection, if everything seems up to snuff and in good working order then make the seller a fair offer. Try not to wait to long, because if the truck is in good shape and everything is fine someone will buy it. Time is money you do no want to spend the plow season looking for a truck especially if you found what you are looking for. I will come out with more on this topic on our snowplow Blog in the next few weeks in the mean, time happy hunting.
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Snowplows- Then and NOW!

Snowplow creators were issued their patents for snow plows in the 1800s. Several years passed before the plow designs were put to use. The plow made of wood was attached to a cart drawn by a team of horses through the snow covered streets.
until the steam trains arrived and made their appearance several years later. They pushed their way through heavy drifts with giant plows attached to their front ends. Salt was used in a few cities, but was not appreciated because it ruined the streets for sleighing and damaged the shoes and clothing of pedestrians.

Plows were a necessity to city dwellers, enabling winter transportation to recover more rapidly from storms than in previous years. However, this solution was accompanied by a new round of problems, some of which remains with us today. Plowing cleared the main streets for traffic, but effectively blocked the side roads and sidewalks with huge, uneven mounds of compacted snow. Does this sound familiar to you? Businessmen and shop owners initially hailed the success of the plow, but later complained and even brought lawsuits against the plowing companies.

Gas and diesel engine’s also changed the snowplow machine , leading to motorized dump trucks and plows in the early 1900’s . Many cities rushed to update their snow removal fleets, abandoning most of their horse-drawn carts. In conjunction with the new trucks, cities began to use (Caterpillar tractors) known as “HOLT-Cat” equipped with plow blades. To haul the snow away, they used steam shovels, cranes, and railway cars to get the snow off the streets and dumped into the rivers, and water ways.
However, the need for laborers was a must to make sure the areas where snow removal machine could not get, the laborers could. Then Barber-Green snow loader, was successful and several cities purchased snow loaders that same winter. The snow loader was an ingenious piece of machinery. Riding on tractor treads, it was equipped with a giant scoop and a conveyor belt. As the snow was plowed, it was forced up , caught by the conveyor belt which carried it up and away from the street into a chute at the top where it was dropped into a dump truck parked underneath. It effectively made snow removal easier and more effective for the cities by making the process much less labor and time intensive.

However, this was all great. But you have to think of then and now to really get the understanding of how much we have advanced in snow removal from then until now. Back in the beginning of the 1900’s the word hydraulic wasn’t even in the vocabulary like it is today. The snow plow operators of that time was exposed to the winter climate as the were working removing snow in storms, they did not have a climate control cab. The plow designs where also primitive, They had big bull nose one way plows like you see on trains today . The ability to move snow from one side to the other while moving was not even an idea. Today an operator can change the radio with one button while moving snow with another button at the same time. Snowplows have certainly come along way. The advancement you can see just in the past 20 years. Snowplow pumps where driven on a belt off the engine pulley, the more you would rev the engine up the quicker the plow would move.

Now snowplows are run electrical over hydrualic with electric motors and solenoid valves, quicker ,lightweight, and can be installed in smaller area’s. There is also big change with using laser guided devices to assist the snowplow operator in locating the roadways he needs to plow, while looking at a big white blanket. Snow removal has come a long way and will continue to change in the next decade.


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Snow Plow Prices - When To Buy

Snowplow prices what are the choices? Well years ago this was a much simpler answer
and a lot easier then today. Why is that? Because there are so many different models and
variations then the snowplows of years ago. I have always started off with simple method when it comes to truck snowplow equipment. I feel you always want to over spec the plow you need instead of getting into a snow plow that is under qualified to do the work you need it to.

With this is mind, whatever you buy will last through your work load with no break down. Plow prices are basically determined by how many options, features and the size and style you need to plow. Most of the time the determining factor in buying snowplow equipment, is; Should I replace my old plow because it is slow, or some parts are going to wear out soon and will be costly to replace. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the improvements in plow designs in the last few years compared to 10 years ago. A new plow comes with no problems, and with much more options from a straight blade to vee plows to gang plows. After some research I have even found mail order snowplows that comes in a kit and you put it together for about $1,000.00 and more elaborate vee plows are priced for about
( $4,000-$6500 )

I look at snowplow prices , because a new snowplow is basically an investment in a piece of snowplow equipment , that should operate flawless for a duration of years with no other investment except its maintenance. That’s why snowplow prices are important and should be considered negotiable to a point.
The best time to shop for you new plow is not during high demand season. The first thing I do with the snowplow prices is go to some snowplow forums and hear what the users are saying about some of the brands. I would ask questions about the products. I would want to hear there likes and dislikes as well as their application of use. The application is important you want to make sure the plow is being used the same way you would be looking to use it.
Once I found the plow I think I would need I would then try to find the next plow up in size. I have always like to buy a piece of equipment that is made a little heavier than what I need because I want
To last. Then I would start to shop down the prices of the plow I want, I would try to get three bids from three different suppliers, just like consumers do to us. I would also try to get a fair trade in price for my old plow.
Ok so lets go over what we spoke about with snowplow prices. The first evaluation is what are you going to be using the snowplow for? Residential plowing commercial plowing, parking lots roads? Investigate what plow you feel fits your truck, watch your front end weight. Go to the forums and read about what the user are saying about the plow you are interested in. Find out what warranties and guarantees are offered with the new plows. Find out if the manufacturers offer you low interest financing. Then when you are ready to buy make sure it is off season or at the end of the seaon. Offer them a price 15% off retail see if the can move there numbers
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Snowplow Equipment - What's the difference?

When it comes to snow equipment there are many different things you should know. I guess the first thing I would consider is what my application is. Am I plowing driveways? Parking lots? Or country roads or highways?
What it doesn’t matter! Wrong it does matter! The next thing to look at is the front gross axle weight of the truck you are putting the plow on. You want to have an idea of what the front end of your truck can support before putting a snowplow blade on.

I laugh, when I see a ½ ton truck with a 8 ft steel plow on the front of it and the poor truck suspension is struggling to keep the plow 1 inch off the ground as the driver passes you on the road. I think to myself when he hit’s a bump that’s going to hurt. So you want to make sure your truck can keep its front end height up enough where it is safe to go down the road and not have any problems.

The next thing when thinking about snowplow equipment is the shape. If you are plowing tight driveways with little room to push the snow you might want to consider the 7 foot VEE plow. But when shopping for this look at the size of the hydraulic cylinders steel support holding the swing frames and structures to the snowplow blade. Keep in mind that you want something that is easy for you to repair and maintain. Especially, if the plow goes down in a storm you do not want to spend a lot of time taking it a part to repair it. Some designs will vary do to patents and engineering this is something you want to look at. You want your snowplow equipment to last and the more movable parts the more that it can wear so make sure you get a well designed plow frame.

Let’s not forget the curve of the plow that’s also important, deeper the curve the more the roll when plowing and obviously the more shallow the snowplow blade curve the more push and resistance on the truck when plowing. The other thing we need to touch on is the materials they use now to manufactures snowplow equipment. Years ago it was basically steel frame and steel mold board. Why? because plastic and chemicals where not as advanced as they are now. There are plastic and urethane parts today that are on the market that can take more of a beating than any steel parts can in certain applications.

The advantage to these style snowplow equipment is they are lighter and faster in weight opposed to steel. Less stress on the front end of the truck. However these can also effect the down pressure of the snowplow blades when plowing. SO thats why I say snowplow equipment, WHATS THE DIFFERENCE, because what equipment you need in New England may not be what you need in Michigan. So take your time when deciding on what snowplow EQUIPMENT to use.
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