# Do i really need trip springs?



## apachemh60

i have been lurking about this website for a while but havent posted much, i have a hiniker 700 series poly plow on my 05 silverado crew 1500, 

my problem is that my hiniker trips over the smallest bump and it is making it impossible to plow my driveway that is about 150ft long, i know there have been alot of questions about plows that trip easy and ive tried to uprgade my springs with no luck.

i put a couple of 1000lb breaking strength straps on the plow frame to prevent it from tripping at all about a week ago and tested it with great success and have successfully plowed my driveway through the ice and heavy snow down to the cement and it works great.....my concern is that has anyone heard of someone doing this sort of thing and getting rid of the trip altogether??

will my plow bracket break eventually?

keep in mind i bought it brand new this year and only do my own driveway and dont pile the snow at all (i just push it in the street and mnDOT takes it for me.

its been working great i just dont have enough experience to know how much stress its puting on the rest of my plow. any help is VERY VERY VERY much appreciated. -joe


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## tinymitymo

If your plow trips that easily I would say the angle is wrong and it is digging in......

Either that or you need some serious lessons on how to plow....

No offense......:waving:


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## topdj

I had a model 700 up until 2 weeks ago, I traded back to dealer for a 8' Hiniker Straight blade
and it trips a whole lot less and back blades 5 times better.
see if your dealer will let you trade it back for a 7.5 steel straight blade. I only paid 800 to upgrade
plugs right in to your existing hardness and mount.

Did you say you push the snow in the street? heck I would catch hell for that


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## Captain

The trip springs are there to protect your plow and your truck.

I would say at some point you will hit something that wll do serious damage to the plow or truck......just my 2 cents.


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## Dave Meyers

Can you post a pic of the truck with the blade in the down position, on a level surface? If springs are new, I would think it is the angle, too. My problem was different, old worn out trip springs. Very frustrating to have them trip all the time. I tightened them and one broke. Two new springs were inexpensive, tightned them to spec and is very nice now. Sounds like they are new, but are your springs tightened to spec? I would not remove them and replace with something more limitting. I considered it, but eventually decided not to, and glad I did. I want to preserve the integrity of the truck and plow, and when the springs are working right, that's when they will trip, and not otherwise. They still do so occasionally, but I know they are preserving my old truck and my old plow. I accomodate the occasional tripping by learning techniques that can be found on this site.


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## elite1msmith

eliminating your springs is a bad idea , for your truck your plow, and your driveway

I have bend heavy duty plow frames, and i have trip springs... I could only imagaine the damage to all 3 with out any


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## 04sd

Since the plow is new I'd have the dealer replace the springs and make sure they're adjusted to spec. I have no experience with Hiniker but it looks like the 700 has two springs similar to what is on a Meyer plow. I've had 7' and 7.5' Meyer ST plows with two springs that would trip to easy, the solution was to add a 3rd spring. New ST 7.5 plows now come with 3 springs from the factory. Also, a 1000lb strap, 1" wide I'm guessing, I think you may tear the strap before you'd bend the plow.


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## artic429

Almost dumped my coffee in my lap when i saw this posting.....!! You say you have been lurking around this site for a while but finally posted something.. If you run without the ability to trip your springs, you will start to become a more regular on this site instead of out playing in the snow. Better see if you can tighten them springs down and get a little more snap out of em. More strength that way is better for your plow and your pocket book. wesport


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## Kevin Kendrick

I spit my diet coke all over my computer when I read this. I think you need to take up some other profession.


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## coldcoffee

I can assure you the above statements w/ concern for damage to your plow and truck are well stated. I would also add that if you so much as hit some uneven concrete or a curb, you will be kissing your steering wheel and probably be taking a trip to your dentist. It's your call, just realize what your up against and don't forget that if you should wander over to a neighbor or friends house.

Personally, I'd strongly recommend either fixing or modifying, and make it safe for you and your equipment.


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## JDiepstra

apachemh60;716317 said:


> i have been lurking about this website for a while but havent posted much, i have a hiniker 700 series poly plow on my 05 silverado crew 1500,
> 
> my problem is that my hiniker trips over the smallest bump and it is making it impossible to plow my driveway that is about 150ft long, i know there have been alot of questions about plows that trip easy and ive tried to uprgade my springs with no luck.
> 
> i put a couple of 1000lb breaking strength straps on the plow frame to prevent it from tripping at all about a week ago and tested it with great success and have successfully plowed my driveway through the ice and heavy snow down to the cement and it works great.....my concern is that has anyone heard of someone doing this sort of thing and getting rid of the trip altogether??
> 
> will my plow bracket break eventually?
> 
> keep in mind i bought it brand new this year and only do my own driveway and dont pile the snow at all (i just push it in the street and mnDOT takes it for me.
> 
> its been working great i just dont have enough experience to know how much stress its puting on the rest of my plow. any help is VERY VERY VERY much appreciated. -joe


You do what???? What happens a car hits that, spins out of control, flips, and a family of 5 is killed??????? Illegal and dumb!


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## theplowmeister

you need something to give on the plow when you his an obstacle, that is what the springs are for. Try using 1 strap, if you hit an obstacle it may bust the strap before you damage something else. Let us know how it works.


i just push it in the street and mnDOT takes it for me.


If I had an accident because of you pushing snow into a public way.... I'd own your house! That is a really stupid thing to do.

and illegal in most states. witch means if you do something illegal and somebody gets heart YOU are responsible.


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## elite1msmith

has anyone ever shoveled snow.... had the shovle catch a crack in the pavment...and the handle hits you right in the >>>>>>> ouch


ur 4mph walking speed did that......now take into account a 20 mph driving speed, and the momentum of a truck and plow... 

yep on the steering wheel


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## kmclawn

Do not put snow onto a public road! If somebody were to get injured by hitting your snowpile, you will be sued. With the economy where it is at you will start seeing more lawsuits for anything.


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## apachemh60

yea i sort of figured i would get that sort of response from you guys i do know how dangerous piling snow in the street is but i guess you would have to see my street, its a cul-de-sac and i push it up against the pile that mnDOT makes and when they come around they push it even more, i dont just leave a ten foot pile across a busy neighborhood street. the strap i use is a 1000lb breaking strenght which is actually very wimpy. i figured they would break. 

and for all the opther insults, its not my profession, hobby, or even choice to plow my driveway. im 18 and my dad bought me the truck and the plow in hopes of not having to shovel our long driveway anymore. i am probably the most undereducated about plowing many of you have ever talked to.

that is why i am here to ask teh question, the strap is off and i will probably end up welding some replacement northern tool springs on teh plow frame beside the stock ones to strengthen it up.

i appreciate the good advice from most of you.


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## Krieger91

I would advise against welding trip springs on. Most plows, to my knowledge, have them bolt on so you can adjust them accordingly. Welding takes that away. Bad idea.

Also, bad idea to use strap. Even a weak strap will put alot more abuse onto your truck and blade than the trip springs.

Also, bad idea to pile snow in the street. Even as you are claiming to do it, I would be there's a law somewhere against that,. and f anything happened because of it, I do mean anything, it'd be your responsibility and liability.


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## topdj

since I'm the only one in this thread that just traded my model 700 I will say just tighten the springs all the way up it will be a lot safer then straps, I had my all the way and its was just fine.
And now that I see your pushing th snow in the same pile as the town I guess I might do the same if needed. It just sounded like you left it in the road which doesn't fly in anytown USA


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## artic429

tighten your springs up on your plow man. dont do any mods on it if you dont have to. With some more use of your plow there will be many more things to weld on so dont get trigger happy with the stinger yet. And the "insult" part,.... jeepers... you asked a question, you got some pretty straight forward answers. Got the point across didnt it?


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## MLLC

i'm gonna ask this question, your dad bought a truck and plow for a 150ft driveway? i can shovel that in less than half an hour, or snow blow in 15 mins. my driveway is hundreds upon hundreds of feet, and the only reason i bought a plow is to do my grandparents driveway and farm.


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## zztarg

I agree with the plow angle - that needs to be checked.

Also, what's the driveway surface?


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## ghlkal

apachemh60;717410 said:


> and for all the opther insults, its not my profession, hobby, or even choice to plow my driveway. im 18 and my dad bought me the truck and the plow in hopes of not having to shovel our long driveway anymore. i am probably the most undereducated about plowing many of you have ever talked to.


You'd think this would be a good place to ask questions and get answers. Most folks on here seem reasonable to me ... just have to ignore the others.

You had a legitimate question. Keep asking and learning


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## the new boss 92

throw a third spring on there or got to western or boss and pick up some heavy contractor springs and throw them on there and see what that does for you. also if i were you i would try and get a couple of your neighbors driveways and make a few bucks to go out to eat and put the gas back in you truck. its well worth it.


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## apachemh60

the driveway is asphalt and brand new last year so its very smooth, i think i may just replace the stock springs with heavier duty after market replacement ones that fit from northern tool, see how that works and go from there. 

and the reason i dont do my neighbors is i would have to pay almost 4 grand for a 6 month insurance policy and my closest neighbor that has a paved driveway is like 5 miles away and i dont have the plow shoes.

i really appreciate the good responses and the straps are off ill try to get some more heavy duty springs. -joe


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## WingPlow

ghlkal;718349 said:


> You'd think this would be a good place to ask questions and get answers. Most folks on here seem reasonable to me ... just have to ignore the others.
> 
> You had a legitimate question. Keep asking and learning


most people would think that

ya really have to love the answers to some of the questions that get posted on this site
when i was growing up i was taught two things

1) when you dont know something ask

2) if you dont have anything good to say...well you know the rest


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## kmclawn

I apologize if my last post seemed strong. The way your first post read, you were pushing into the street. A cul-de-sac is a completely different critter. I see in the ones in my town the city piles the snow and removes it later. The homeowners will push into the piles also.


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## apachemh60

well my final solution is i went to northern and bought WESTERN plow replacement springs, they are about an inch shorter than the stock hiniker ones and it allows me to tighten the adjustment botls further. i tried it out on the lake in my backyard and it worked fairly well. this will probably be ym final solution. i appreciate the responses and i will defidently be asking more questions in the future. -joe


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## coldcoffee

Hope that works out for you Joe...and hope to see you back again !!!


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## Krieger91

WingPlow;718488 said:


> most people would think that
> 
> ya really have to love the answers to some of the questions that get posted on this site
> when i was growing up i was taught two things
> 
> 1) when you dont know something ask
> 
> 2) if you dont have anything good to say...well you know the rest


Same here.

I apologize is my post came off as insulting or offending. I was offering you my best knowledge on the topic.


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## ghlkal

Wow, I’m impressed.

Like many of you I belong to a number of different forums. I can only recall one other forum where the members would apologize for being a little “over the top.”

Nice – keep up the good work :waving:


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