I think I am finally going to get a snow blade...been putting it off for fear of not only tearing up my truck but also having to leave it with an employee when I'm out of town during the winter. My plow guy does a fine job but often times is too busy to come back around and hit my lot during the day as the snow continues to fall. Anyways, I'm curious what a couple of the makes look like from the front when not attatched...anyone have pics showing what the truck mount and elec connectors look like? I have a Snow-Way dealer close...opinions on how they rate over Western or Meyer?

 

SnoWay, Boss, and Blizzard put the pump on the A-frame while Meyer, Western, and Fisher favor the chain lift assembly, which stays on the truck.

The SnowWay and Blizzard mounting systems are pretty easy to use.

You don't say how big the lot is, which might also impact the decision about which manufacturer/model.

 

Boss is easy too

 

wrong. western and fisher are both owned by douglas dynamics and have since then kept the entire unit as one piece. which means...well here take a look at my setup... the one pic shows the plow as a unit, the next is the mount setup. this is an ultramount from western. you drive the spears into the recievers on the truck and connect 3 wires. then pull the red pins and flip the feet back! thats it. takes me all of 20secs to do this, and in the summer, the recievers come off the truck, you cant even tell you have run a plow. last pic shows the isolation module. wiring used to be such a pita. i had to hard tap 3 wires. thats it! running lights and turn signals. pretty sure every other manufacturer still uses the relay system, however i could be wrong. i researched every plow style before i came to the conclusion this is the simplest period. ohh, stay away from meyers its junk, theres a reason they sell all the parts in the autoparts store







check out plowsite.com its full of great information! your truck will handle any plow on the market basically. in my opinion sow-way is more for a tundra, or smaller of the trucks. get a blizzard 8611 lp.... sorry for the long post

 

In true fashion, I posted the question and then went to a few of the mfgr sites to see for myself. Agreed, the Western appears to have the easier install and hook-up. The ultra-mount looks like what I want for a stealth look off-season as well. I'd be clearing approx 50,000 sqft as the largest area. I'm sure the 8.5' blade would get the job done but like the functionality of the v-blades for detailed cleaning. Thanks so much for the info. May I ask for a ballpark price of your install?

 

Suzuki is correct, now all the Douglas nameplates have the goodies on the A-frame. Mea Culpa.

He is also correct about simpler being better, to a point. You may wish to consider something with wings, (Blizzard 8100, SnoWay Mega, or a V) to allow you to carry snow to wherever you plan to stack it.

Your lot is an acre and a quarter. Not sure where you are or how much snow you get, which also impacts the decision. Generally speaking, Meyer will be the cheapest, SnoWay and Blizzard will be more expensive, depending on size, features, etc.Western and Fisher will be somewhere in the middle. Douglass has made some interesting changes in this year's lineup but so have other manufacturers.

The other major consideration is dealer service and support, because sooner or later something will break.

Another approach would be to wait a tad longer and pick up an end-of season bargain.

 

I am waiting til the end of the season...I wouldn't break a contract without good reason anyway. In trying to keep my money local, I also see the benefit in only have a couple miles to drive with a broke plow if something happens. Thanks.

 

My suggestion, and I personally own a 7' 6" Western Plow, but is going to a 8' 2" Boss VX-T next year, is to get a 8' 2" Boss Power V. Boss makes the best plow in the business hands down right now, and this is coming from a guy who only a few weeks ago, would never look at them. Douglas Dynamics (Parent company of Western and Fisher) has made their new plows incredibly cheap compared to the older models, from the cutting edge, to the electronics and pump encasing. Boss plows have every standard feature you could want, with an easy mounting system. The only additional feature you will want to look at with the Boss V-Plows, is the Smartlock Cylinders, which hold the wings in place when back dragging.

The Boss plows are also much easier on your truck when transporting, do to a direct lift hydraulic cylinder, vs. a chain lift setup traditionally used. This means, when moving over bumps or rail road tracks, your plow doesn't jump up then slam down on your front end.

My suggestion, 8' 2" Boss Power V. With as little work as you do, the V-XT isn't worth it. It only flares the blade on the edges from 32" in, to 37" out.

 

Another question, do you have the snow plow prep pack on your 08?

 

I'm not sure...lost the sticker. How can I tell?

 

doesnt the boss have a big mounting frame that hangs down and stays on the truck
i have a fisher and mine is not cheap
i would stay away from the plastic plows

 

For the little you are going to do I would not worry about the snowplow package. Sounds to me like you will not be driving all over town with the plow on. With as easy on/off as they are you would not want heavier springs in the front which would make your truck ride stiffer the rest of the year. Put the plow on when it snows, take it off when your done. Driving around with it on is useless and just lets salt get all over it. My truck did not come with plow prep package and it carried my 9'2"Vee fine for the first season. I added stiffer springs and a leveling kit to gain more ground clearance while driving to do all my work. Transporting a 9' Vee the blade is only off the ground 3" which is not a lot. The op will not need a 9' vee to his lot.

You could also get the 8'2" Vee and add wings. Many options......

 

Those truck side brackets that you see in Suzuki0702's pictures come off - they are just held on by a pin. Once you have those off, you can barely tell that the truck has plow hardware on it (you said you wanted a stealth look).

I have the same setup on my 2006 F-350.

I've been plowing since 2003 - three years with a 1999 Ford Expedition and 8.5' Snoway, and four years now with a 2006 F-350 CC and a 8.5' Western MVP. Re your concern about beating up the truck plowing, I've never had a problem with either truck due to plowing with them in all of these years. Main thing to make sure to do is be completely stopped before you shift from forward to reverse, etc. That will keep your transmission from dying on you.