# V-Box Spreader?



## HolleysSnow (Sep 10, 2011)

So im looking for a v-box spreader for a 1 ton. what spreaders have you had best luck with..poly/steel? Electric/Gas? Im looking at either Buyers, SnowEx, or Western


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## [email protected] (May 29, 2009)

As far as gas v boxes go....they are all very similar in design. You cant go wrong with any of them really. As far as electric, Snow Ex has fewer issues most of the time than other brands...however they are more expensive. First and formost, which brand is your local dealer going to be able to service, thats what you should look at first, the quality,then price. Swenson and Downeaster make great units at reasonable prices


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## HolleysSnow (Sep 10, 2011)

I got priced at $5900 for a snowex 8500 which is a 2yd capacity and $6166 for a western tornado 1.8 yd capacity. i have had a snowex tailgate and never have had a problem in the 3 yrs ive had it. I guess i would be between the buyers and snowex spreader, plus the dealer is not a min from our shop. anyone have any opinions on the buyers? considerably cheaper than the snowex


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

Is the truck worth putting hydraulics on? Once you use hydraulic salters you will have a hard time using anything else. They are pretty much bullet proof.


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## [email protected] (May 29, 2009)

We have some Swenson 2 yard SS electrics that are pretty nice, 4450.00, the buyers SS electric is 3999.00


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## kuhndogg (Mar 3, 2009)

I've got a Buyers 1.5 yarder and I absolutly love it. The cost was perfect on it and it works great. I normally run Snoway v boxes and I love them too. All are electric. Its nice and quiet in condos and residentall areas. Around here dealers are sick of selling snow-ex. There getting out of selling them. Only selling parts and working on them. Thats my imput.


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## HolleysSnow (Sep 10, 2011)

I know I have figured it out in the past but how many tons does that 1.5 yd hold? 1-2 ton? and why are they stopping selling snowexs. that was my first choice for awhile now but have heard great things about the buyers lately..


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## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

1 yard is approx. 1 ton.


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

HolleysSnow;1307105 said:


> I know I have figured it out in the past but how many tons does that 1.5 yd hold? 1-2 ton? and why are they stopping selling snowexs. that was my first choice for awhile now but have heard great things about the buyers lately..


Snowex benefits from their marketing strategy, but if you figure out the sum of their parts, they're overpriced. Considering it's a piece of plastic (like some of the others) supported by a painted steel frame that will rust quickly, you're really not getting what you pay for. For the same money, you can buy a damn nice stainless steel unit that's not going to rust before you ever put a load of salt in it.


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## SnowGuy (Jan 7, 2006)

I bought 2 new Salt Dogg Poly-V Box spreaders last year and absolutely loved them. Had SnowEx for years, decent product, but their controllers are junk and expensive to replace. (IMO) You will make the same profit with a $3200 spreader as you will with one that costs almost twice as much. Also, the SnowEx frames rust really bad and there is nothing to rust out on the Salt Dogg Poly-V. Just my 2 cents !


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## bieriewk (Dec 2, 2009)

I have a Salt Dogg Poly-V Box 2yd. as well, absolutely love it, very simple unit, no problems whatsoever, friend of mine runs SnowEx and his auger always would jam, no trouble with mine, which if it jams auto-reverses and tries again. Only downside to poly is if you drop it or hit it with a loader, chances are your going to break it, and it is not as easy to weld a poly box back together as it is to pound a dent or weld a stainless or steel box. But if your careful with your equipment, no worries.


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## mc1 (Mar 2, 2007)

smith metal works in newark ny 
they are local to me but they are by far the best stainless steel. mine is 4 years old and looks brand new. replaced only a cable i cut ooops and a spinner shaft bearing that i forgot to grease before storing it in the off season. it has electric motors they can build anything from a 1/2 yard to mosters seen on state trucks with hydros and brinenozzles they are not cheap but buy one and done


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## Stan (Nov 28, 2003)

mc1;1308229 said:


> smith metal works in newark ny
> they are local to me but they are by far the best stainless steel. mine is 4 years old and looks brand new. replaced only a cable i cut ooops and a spinner shaft bearing that i forgot to grease before storing it in the off season. it has electric motors they can build anything from a 1/2 yard to mosters seen on state trucks with hydros and brinenozzles they are not cheap but buy one and done


Was a little leery at first but after using them for a season I became a dealer for them. The series IV kicks ass. Are you running a II or a IV?


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## [email protected] (May 29, 2009)

We have a nice Swenson SS electric...has flip up chute, auger...very nice unit


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## battags (Aug 8, 2004)

[email protected];1306778 said:


> As far as gas v boxes go....they are all very similar in design. You cant go wrong with any of them really. As far as electric, Snow Ex has fewer issues most of the time than other brands...however they are more expensive.


Respectfully, of course, I must disagree. My snow-ex 8000 was nothing but headaches for the first two seasons I owned it. I went through 3 digital control boxes (before switching to a solid state controller) and an auger transmission. It got so bad at my dealership, SnowEx reps came down to see the unit in person. Befuddled and confused, they gave me a new unit but I insisted on keeping the solid state controller. If other spreaders were this bad, I can't see a company staying in business. Worse yet, a company just north of me bought 13 of the same units and had 10 with the same problems as mine. I will never buy SnowEx / Trynex again.


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## H&HPropertyMait (Oct 17, 2011)

Love our Buyers 1.5yd Poly/electric. nice product


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## [email protected] (May 29, 2009)

Yes, there are always lemons in there some where, cant deny that


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## sluggish (Aug 15, 2010)

Wow there is quite a variety of responses and opinions(as there always is) so I'll add my 2 cents just to confuse you a bit more. My first unit was a Snow-Ex simply because it came on the truck I bought. It ran flawless for the 2 seasons I used it, then I sold it to a buddy and it has been flawless for him for the last 2 seasons. Only sold it because it was just a 1 yard model and I needed bigger. I then picked up a 2 yard metal v-box with a Briggs & Stratton a couple years ago. Ran great and still does,(I keep it as a back up unit) but it annoys me to have to fill it with gas all the time plus it is definitely loud. No vibrator on it either so I have to whack the side with a rubber mallet every now and then. Last year i bought the Buyers Salt Dogg 2 yard poly unit, nice and quiet but the auger does tend to jam up on me every now and then. Get out with a wrench and turn the shaft a bit and it frees up but it is annoying. So in conclusion, the Snow Ex gave me the fewest problems(zero) and if they weren't so darn expensive I would have bought another one. For durability, reliability and ability to withstand abuse, I would say it's pretty tough to beat a steel unit with a B&S motor if you can tolerate the noise and the re-fuelling. I will run my Buyers poly unit again this year but will make a few mods that will hopefully reduce the jamming up. My next one will be a hydraulic unit to put into the back of my tandem. Hope it's clear as mud now.


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## Stan (Nov 28, 2003)

[email protected];1328203 said:


> Yes, there are always lemons in there some where, cant deny that


smith metal works in newark ny
they are local to me but they are by far the best stainless steel. mine is 4 years old and looks brand new. replaced only a cable i cut ooops and a spinner shaft bearing that i forgot to grease before storing it in the off season. it has electric motors they can build anything from a 1/2 yard to mosters seen on state trucks with hydros and brinenozzles *they are not cheap but buy one and done*
Reply With Quote
I would agree


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

Stan;1331394 said:


> smith metal works in newark ny
> they are local to me but they are by far the best stainless steel. mine is 4 years old and looks brand new. replaced only a cable i cut ooops and a spinner shaft bearing that i forgot to grease before storing it in the off season. it has electric motors they can build anything from a 1/2 yard to mosters seen on state trucks with hydros and brinenozzles *they are not cheap but buy one and done*
> Reply With Quote
> I would agree


Good guys! I look forward to using my new 4yd Medium Duty I bought from them! Thumbs Up


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## Stan (Nov 28, 2003)

wizardsr;1332348 said:


> Good guys! I look forward to using my new 4yd Medium Duty I bought from them! Thumbs Up


Shoot us some pics.


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

Stan;1332366 said:


> Shoot us some pics.


http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=122849 Thumbs Up


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## MahonLawnCare (Nov 18, 2007)

How many years do you guys get out of your electric motors on those Saltdoggs? I just picked up a used two yarder and was curious


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## H&HPropertyMait (Oct 17, 2011)

MahonLawnCare;1334429 said:


> How many years do you guys get out of your electric motors on those Saltdoggs? I just picked up a used two yarder and was curious


This is only our 2nd year with it but man it worked perfect last year, hoping for the same luck this winter.


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## MahonLawnCare (Nov 18, 2007)

Yeah me too, supposedly mine had one motor replaced last year. My luck it won't fail til it's loaded down in the middle of an event. How did yours handle the chunks of salt or if the salt isn't perfect?


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## CGM Inc. (Dec 15, 2008)

We run 5 spreaders now, 3 are electric and 2 are gas.
Cant beat the electric! No issues wit our snow dogg's either!


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## H&HPropertyMait (Oct 17, 2011)

MahonLawnCare;1335518 said:


> Yeah me too, supposedly mine had one motor replaced last year. My luck it won't fail til it's loaded down in the middle of an event. How did yours handle the chunks of salt or if the salt isn't perfect?


The auger did surprisingly well with breaking almost all the chunks up. Every so often it'd need to need to be poked at, nothing terrible by any means. I really liked it.


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## Stan (Nov 28, 2003)

wizardsr;1333887 said:


> http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=122849 Thumbs Up


Looks awesome. Nice attention to detail.


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## MahonLawnCare (Nov 18, 2007)

H&HPropertyMait;1335691 said:


> The auger did surprisingly well with breaking almost all the chunks up. Every so often it'd need to need to be poked at, nothing terrible by any means. I really liked it.


thanks for the insight...that was one thing i was worried about, having to jab it with spud bar at 4 a.m. lol


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## H&HPropertyMait (Oct 17, 2011)

MahonLawnCare;1335907 said:


> thanks for the insight...that was one thing i was worried about, having to jab it with spud bar at 4 a.m. lol


Haha yeah it's not bad, keep the salt dry and it should solve almost all your problems.


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## Longae29 (Feb 15, 2008)

Boy the "search" feature of this website is helpful.

Thinking of making the move from gas to electric for v-box salters, getting sick and tired of the gas fillups, oil change, motor not starting, battery going dead, having to pull start and then the rope is jammed and snaps your arm back. My main concern is that the electric wouldn't be able to handle some of the chunks that inevitably end up mixed in. Sounds like not a problem? I also like the fact that electric is quieter, and operators would be able to hear the salt coming out. We tend to really heap the salt on to all the spreaders is this an issue with the electric? Good reading so far on the topic, hope to see a little more insight into gas v electric


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