# At least it's not September!



## gorf37 (Jul 21, 2011)

Hi everyone,

I've bought my first house this past winter, and am trying to address my snow clearing needs before the snow flies. I had initially though ATV (then I'd have one for hunting!), but some knowing friends have pointed in the direction of truck-mounted plow.

My house is on 5 acres, of which about an acre is cleared. My driveway is about 125m long, I have a 30x50m parking area, and there are a number of trails around the property that I'd like to keep clear (or somewhat clear). My plan had been to allow a light base of snow to compact on the trails that I want clear, then plow on top of the base. The driveway is mostly pit-run with a light covering of crush gravel over the parking area.

I live in Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada. We have long winters, but a relatively arid climate. Typically snowfalls are light. We might get 12", but it'll be light and fluffy. 6" of wet snow may come on a warm day a few times per year. Overall we'll typically accumulate 3-4 feet over the winter. Melts are rare until late March. 

I have a 94 Toyota Pickup which is already on the cusp of retiring as my daily driver, but I'm fully intending to keep it so that my new daily driver can be a small car. To add a snowplow to the truck's arsenal would be a great thing. This begs the question: What plow would best-suit my situation? 

I've done some preliminary research, but given that I've only ever had shovels and scoops for clearing snow in the past, I have too little knowledge to really evaluate what I've read. All advice is much appreciated.

Thanks


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

You should just buy a new truck and plow instead of putting a plow on the 1994 Toyota. Do you have any trucks in mind that you want to buy? A 1/2 ton with a 7.5' strait blade would be all you need. 3/4 ton would be nice but, it's not nesesary. I prefer the 2007+ Toyota Tundra with a 7.5' Fisher. But, everybody will suggest a different truck and plow combo. FYI the 2011 Ford F-150s can't have a plow mounted on them and the 2000-2006 Toyota Tundras can only have light duty plows mounted on them.


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## gorf37 (Jul 21, 2011)

Thanks for your quick reply, Mercer_me.

I'm not sure if I can make a new truck + plow fly financially. Is the reason that you'd advise a new truck that my '94 is old and thus a liability to break-down? (Fair enough, though it has treated me very well, and I haven't shied away from the expensive maintenance that came along with seeing it tick over 300,000kms.) On the other hand, I had wondered if it was worthwhile to buy a plow that would almost certainly outlast the truck, then might not be easy to re-sell. Although that might be less of a problem with the really cheap options out there, they don't exactly inspire confidence, and thus I'd be putting a $4000+ plow on a vehicle worth about the same amount or less.

In a way, I was hoping that my post here would reveal that there happens to be a great light duty (home use) plow that works simply and effectively with my vehicle. If that's not the case, I'd tend to agree with your assessment that it's not worth adding a plow to this truck, and I should either find a way to get the job done with an ATV, or start shopping for a used plow truck, or even for a snow removal professional that can help me out.

My newest lead is a 2004 Artic Cat 500 with chains, wing blade, block heater, windshield, hand warmers, welded aluminum trailer. Owner just bought a small tractor which made it obsolete. Could be great!......?


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## matts27 (Dec 21, 2007)

The Toyota will handle up to a 7' plow. I'd start shopping around on Craigslist, probably gonna come across 6'6" Fishers with push plates for your truck or Westerns as they were fairly popular with the Toyota pick-ups. Keep that 22r running, good little trucks, retired mine many yrs ago. I'd stay away from going new as you are probably gonna have to fab mounts as the manufactures have moved on to the newer generation trucks and such. Hope this helps, Matt


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

gorf37;1293527 said:


> Thanks for your quick reply, Mercer_me.
> 
> I'm not sure if I can make a new truck + plow fly financially. Is the reason that you'd advise a new truck that my '94 is old and thus a liability to break-down? (Fair enough, though it has treated me very well, and I haven't shied away from the expensive maintenance that came along with seeing it tick over 300,000kms.) On the other hand, I had wondered if it was worthwhile to buy a plow that would almost certainly outlast the truck, then might not be easy to re-sell. Although that might be less of a problem with the really cheap options out there, they don't exactly inspire confidence, and thus I'd be putting a $4000+ plow on a vehicle worth about the same amount or less.
> 
> ...


I think the Toyota will be reliable. But, atleast around hear it's hard to find older small plows. Since your driveway is so long an ATV wouldn't cut it. You could always buy an old plow truck that's not road worthy anymore. As long as you look them old trucks over and make sure there is nothing major wrong with it you can get a few years out of them.


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## JTVLandscaping (Jan 1, 2010)

matts27;1293539 said:


> The Toyota will handle up to a 7' plow. I'd start shopping around on Craigslist, probably gonna come across 6'6" Fishers with push plates for your truck or Westerns as they were fairly popular with the Toyota pick-ups. Keep that 22r running, good little trucks, retired mine many yrs ago. I'd stay away from going new as you are probably gonna have to fab mounts as the manufactures have moved on to the newer generation trucks and such. Hope this helps, Matt


I second this. For doing just your driveway, buying a new truck is not finacially wise. That Toyota should do fine, Fishers will be heavy though. By the way, I can't believe you have a '94 Toyota pick up and it still has a frame, haha.


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## gorf37 (Jul 21, 2011)

Hi guys!

Thanks for the thoughful replies. Thanks also for the encouragement of my old yota. I think the frame has been saved by the fact that it has spent most of its life in the Yukon, which is a really dry climate, and uses next to no salt in its road gravel. After reading another note about the box frame rotting from the inside above the rear shocks, I went and had a look. As far as I could tell the frame is solid.

In the end I've gone with advice from friends and local yokels, and bought an ATV. After seeing the size of the area that the guy I bought it from was plowing, I feel relatively safe that the ATV will meet my needs, although I'm sure it'll go slower than it would with a truck.

I'll plan on reporting back in the winter time, either for a thumbs up, or a sheepish "I guess you told me so..." Thanks again for your help!

Gorf


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