# Blizzard 760LT vs 7.5 Curtis Sno-Pro 3000



## Boondox (Sep 4, 2004)

This is on a Chevy K1500 regular cab longbed with auto tranny and 5.3L. The truck has the prep package and I've installed Timbrens up front. I will be plowing only my own property: a short dirt driveway, a longer dirt drive (100' max) between the house and barn, and about 1/4 mile of dirt road. Then, unless a major storm is forecast, I'd leave the plow at home and drive to work without it.

At first I was leaning toward the Blizzard because of its light weight...but we have a single Blizzard dealer in the area and if I need parts in a hurry that leaves me dependent on one very busy man. The Curtis is 200# heavier, but I like the hookup and the fact I am surrounded by six dealers.

Advice? Pete


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## Bolts Indus. (Dec 22, 2003)

A 750 pound plow is too heavy for a 1/2 ton truck regardlees of brand, regardless of timbrens.


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## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

I would go with the curtis only because of the dealers that are close to you. Curtis has just revamped thier line of plows, now offering trip edges like the fishers. Also new is the 7'5" LD plow which still weighs 690 LBS which is a little on the heavy side. They have had repeated requests to make a lighter 7.5 and finally have but it is still heavier then other plows in its class. The thing with curtis dealers is that they usually won't deny you a plow for your truck eventhough its heavier plow. Blizzard also makes a great plow.

My personal opinion from using the curtis its great, and it has one of the easiest mounting systems out there. Curtis is growing rapidly many, many people are now buying them around the northeast. I would not worry much about the weight, beef up the front end and just be careful. I can't remebmer how many times i have said this now but my F-150 ext cab handles 750 LBS without a problem. I have timbrens, snowplow prep and thats it. The truck barely squatted with out the timbrens now the front end barely moves. No question you feel it driving around town but its never caused any harm to the truck. If it was riding on the bumpstops id be concerned but its not.


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## Jon Geer (Jan 21, 2002)

" A product is only as good as the dealer supporting it !!! " Good points, but I would go with a BLIZZARD of course. Ask the dealer to stock the parts you think might fail ( not that that should be a huge list ). I have seen very little failures with BLIZZARD plows at 2 am, but there always could be always a first. Most Blizzard dealers should have adequate parts in stock, but be safe and ask. :salute:


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## wfd44 (Jan 31, 2004)

Based on weight alone I would go with the Blizzard. Even the lighter Curtis weighs more than my 7'6"RD Fisher including the replaceable cutting edge. I was going to suggest the Fisher LD but the Blizzard has a higher moldboard with only a slight weight penalty over the LD Fisher.


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## PLOWMAN45 (Jul 2, 2003)

i think curtis is a good investment check out there video


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## Boondox (Sep 4, 2004)

Bolts Indus. said:


> A 750 pound plow is too heavy for a 1/2 ton truck regardlees of brand, regardless of timbrens.


And therein lies the problem. Your statement makes perfect sense, yet Fisher, Boss, Curtis and others can point to thousands of other half tonners running heavier plows for years with no problems. Let me put it another way; is there a problem running a lightweight plow? Do they not handle wet heavy snow as well? Are they more inclined to trip? What are the pros and cons of weight?

And how much is it worth to have several dealers nearby? The fact that there is only one Blizzard dealer within 100 miles of me is not making me feel warm and fuzzy. Curtis, on the other hand, has six dealers within a 50 mile radius. Of course, I do have a Kubota for emergency backup and pushing back the heavy stuff! Pete


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## wfd44 (Jan 31, 2004)

Ok, let me try this. First off there really are 2 basic kinds of weight of primary importance here. These would be blade weight and total package weight (assuming the parts left on the vehicle are of comparable weight regardless of manufacturer).

Total Package Weight
Pro - 

A heavier package made of the same materials should be stronger

Con - 

heavier package means more wear and tear on the vehicle and possibly on the pins mounts etc for the plow itself (this somewhat reduced with the modern plow designs that allow 90% of the total package to be removed easily

Blade Weight
Pro - 
A heavier blade will scrape better than a lighter blade. This is why some manufacturers use down pressure (Snow Way) and blades that lock in the down position (Fisher Home Steader) to make light weight blades the can scrape very well (some my even better than a heavy blade).

A heavier blade may have a higher moldboard which equals better in deeper snow or on long runs

Con - 
The blade has a lot of mechanical advantage hanging way out on the A frame and therefore a heavy blade can put a lot of stress on the front end.

So you see it depends on where the weight is and how you plan to use the truck as to just how imporant it is to go with a lighter weight plow. 

As far as years ago running heavier plows on half tons goes. Todays half ton trucks are a lot different from those of twenty years ago. Leaf sprung straight axle trucks could carry the weight better but today's IFS trucks get better traction and ride better the other 9 months of the year. This is prety much why the manufacturers developed the Minute mount/smart hitch/quick hitch type of plows in the first place. When I was growing up the two plow trucks on my Grandfathers farm got the blades and belts put on before Thanksgiving and they didn't come off until after St. Patty's. If you needed to go any distance you just plain took it easy or you took a different vehicle. Only a few people ever took off their headgears and no one ever took off their push plates in the summer.


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## wfd44 (Jan 31, 2004)

As a general statement in reference to dealers. I would rather have one well stocked committed dealer than a handful of half assed ones.


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## Jon Geer (Jan 21, 2002)

Good point WFD44 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## Boondox (Sep 4, 2004)

*Still haven't made a decision!!!*

Still stuck on this one. My 02 Chevy 1500 4x4 with snow prep and front timbrens has a 5.3L with auto tranny, regular cab longbed, and excellent studded snows.

I like the Curtis a lot. Mounting is really easy, the plow is responsive, and the truck mount is virtually unnoticable when the plow is off. My wife really likes this one. But it weighs 750#.

I like the Blizzard almost as much. Mounting is easy, but with the lights staying on the truck I haven't figured out the lining up part yet; it's still a two person job for me. But it weighs 550# and my wife hates it. This translates into she won't use it if I'm out of town on business.

And it's not like the plow will live on the truck all winter long. We're talking private use here. My gravel driveway. A path to the barn. A 20' parking space just off the road. And about 300 yards of dirt road on a steep hill. That's all I need to plow. Then the plow gets left at home while I drive the 12 miles to work. How much wear and tear can the Curtis cause in the short time it's on the truck?


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## crashz (Jan 12, 2004)

Western has a new plow (on their website its under Whats New or New Products, something like that) which is a mid weight plow. Not their suv plow, not the suburbanite, but a plow dedicated to newer 1/2 tons and Dakotas. It weighs a little more than the Blizzard, but still under 600 lbs. Built very similar to their poly pro. Looks nice. 

I'm torn between the Blizzard and new Western for my Ford. Hopefully both will be displayed at the NE Snow and Ice Expo.


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## Bolts Indus. (Dec 22, 2003)

Blizzard light tower removes in 30 seconds by pulling 2 pins. mounting and dis mounting is done with two fingers on the electric switch. What could be easier. 700 lbs. is to heavy for a newer model 1/2 ton.


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## Plowbie (Oct 4, 2004)

Boondox, what are the pricing differences between the two? If you don't mind posting the actual prices I'd be curious to know.


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## Boondox (Sep 4, 2004)

Plowbie said:


> Boondox, what are the pricing differences between the two? If you don't mind posting the actual prices I'd be curious to know.


Not much difference. The Curtis runs $3200 installed, plus tax. The Blizzard runs $3373 installed, plus tax. So price isn't the issue. What I like about the Curtis is the fact that the lights and everything are left behind when you dismount, and the truck mount is really small and unobtrusive. Plus it has an extra set of reinforcing ribs just in case I catch an edge on my 150 year old stone walls. What I like about the Blizzard is the weight. 200# lighter means 200# more snow I can push, right? And 200# less hanging on the truck even though it will only be for an hour or so each storm. Or is my thinking wrong?

Pete


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## flykelley (Dec 29, 2003)

Boondox said:


> Not much difference. The Curtis runs $3200 installed, plus tax. The Blizzard runs $3373 installed, plus tax. So price isn't the issue. What I like about the Curtis is the fact that the lights and everything are left behind when you dismount, and the truck mount is really small and unobtrusive. Plus it has an extra set of reinforcing ribs just in case I catch an edge on my 150 year old stone walls. What I like about the Blizzard is the weight. 200# lighter means 200# more snow I can push, right? And 200# less hanging on the truck even though it will only be for an hour or so each storm. Or is my thinking wrong?
> 
> Pete


200 pounds lighter really is not going to make a difference. The truck will not even notice it. Myself I have a Curtis snow pro 3000 8 ft on my 2001 Chevy 3/4 HD and I love it. Its a piece of cake to hook up or remove. The front mount is four feet wide at back side of the blade which make's it stronger. When its off the truck you can't hardly tell its a plow truck. Now I'm not saying the blizzard is junk but I have a Curtis and LOVE it. It has not failed me one time yet and I pushed alot of snow last winter with it.

payup Regards Mike


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## seville009 (Sep 9, 2002)

Pete;

Don't forget that you should also be adding ballast in the back when you have the plow on; helps to balance out the truck and take the weight off of the front a bit. My Snoway frame and blade weigh about 600 lbs; I throw six 80lb bags of salt in the back when I have the plow on.

I think you'll find that you won't be taking the plow off your truck after each time that you plow (it sounds like that is what you intend to do). It only takes me about five minutes at most to either mount or dismount mine (I put it on rollers in my garage, so it's easy to line up), but I left mine on last winter for about five weeks because we had so much snow. I'd plow when I left for work, and when I came home, I'd clear it again. Driving around with the blade on is not that difficult.

If it were me, I'd go with the heavier plow if the truck can safely handle it, as to me, heavier means stronger. Much as with a tractor, I think that you'll find that you'll lose traction before you run out of "grunt" force. If you do, simply take a smaller bite of snow.


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## Boondox (Sep 4, 2004)

seville009 said:


> Pete;
> 
> Don't forget that you should also be adding ballast in the back when you have the plow on; helps to balance out the truck and take the weight off of the front a bit. My Snoway frame and blade weigh about 600 lbs; I throw six 80lb bags of salt in the back when I have the plow on.
> 
> ...


Thanks for all the advice! I drove to the two dealers this morning for a last look and it's definitely the Curtis for me for a reason not previously mentioned. I live in the sticks. No concrete or flat ground anywhere except where the house is standing. So everything heavy settles into the dirt/mud over time. This morning, the Blizzard dealer's 760 had settled and he had a terrible time trying to get it to latch! Took three strong guys and half an hour to line things up so the PowerHitch could get a grip. The same thing had happened to the Curtis plow, but the dealer just drove close, made his connection, and extended the hydraulic kickstand till things lined up. With all the mud where I live, that's the plow for me!

Pete


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## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

Good Choice!!!  
blizzards are great but you don't need the big mount hanging so low on your truck, especially if its just for personal use. Curtis has really done a good job developing their plows into what they are today, they have set themsealves apart from all others. Did you inquire about their LD 7'6" at the dealer, they just started offering the lighter 7'6" about a month ago, also offer a trip edge plow now. DO take the plow off when you are done as you mentioned it is just not worth the extra stress on the truck, the curtis takes 30 seconds to drop the entire setup, and just one plug for everything. I keep mine on for the entire storm, and until i finish with clean up. The longest i have had it on is 7 days straight after 2 and a half feet of snow. As far as the "sinking" issue goes, thats a fact of nature, probley not too dependent on plow manufacturer + the dealer is human so its not always perfect with any plow mounting system. It takes time to really be able to mount it up with your eyes closed.


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