# 1st Plow session with Snowbear



## tayln99

Hi all, Well I got to test out my new Snowbear Today. Nice March Snow storm stopped by and snowed off and on all day for a good 8 inches total so far here at our place in SpoKane,Wa. Not the mass amounts we were having dump on us this winter but enough That I was able to go Test Plow a few times today and not look like to much of a Idiot ! lol

Plow did fine. I did My Full Driveway ( gravel and 250 ft long) I did Our Road ( 1/2 mile Dead end street) I did the intersection off our Road to a Housing development. Also did a neighbors 800 ft long Gravel driveway. I did These all 3 times today ( for extra Practice Time) This was my 1st time Plowing with a Truck/plow setup. The Snowbear did all about how I expected.. Back draging a concrete driveway was not to great results (as expected) but doing the City Road and The 2 Gravel Driveways was Great and all I wanted out of this Plow setup. I am very happy with the performance. I never had to get out and change angle once. Power side to side would have been Nice but still was not that big of deal to Plan a bit and leave it set to one side and got through everything fine. 

I usually use an Old John Deere 140 with a 52 inch blade. The Truck does fine But I still rather like using the JD. I can SEE whats going on with the blade and snow etc with the Tractor, Don't get the same vision and thrill inside the truck  haha ! 

The Dog liked the truck plow but he to Kinda Missed the JD Plow sessions. We have decided that we will use Both to keep us happy. Truck does main work and JD for Clean Up and Close Detail Trim work here at Home. Still cuts our work time way down yet lets us Play with Both Rigs as much as we like.

Just wanted to give out MY Thoughts and Review about our 1st Truck Plow experience and our Thoughts on the SnowBear Plow.

Laters


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## sday88

Cool, glad you like the Snowbear. I think it's interesting how many people on here that have them really love them, but the ones who don't have them are the ones who rag on them. Like you, I found a way to plow so I don't have to change the angle. I back drag in front of my garage, then I angle it to the left and finish the job. I plow my ~300 ft driveway and the private road I live on that becomes my neighbors driveway that all totals about 1/4 mile. The Snowbear does a fantastic job.


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## tayln99

Thanks..yep there is a real Niche for the Snowbear's. It is what it is . A lightweight, affordable alternative to a full blown setup. Fit's right into what I needed it to do for a good price and was easy to self install and should be easy enough to maintain. 

Another thing is CHICKS dig Plows !!! lol


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## hero419

I'll chime in.
I used my snobear 30-35 times this season, steep gravel drive, 300 yards, lots of intersections and tough spots.

The plow worked fine, got beat up a little. The arced frame where the pin slides in a "C" channel got bent out of chape and needs to be fixed. The piviot bolt hole opened up and got sloppy, may need to weld close and re-drill. The frame on the truck bent down and does not lift the plow all that high now, not sure how I am going to fix that one.

I'll admit I have been a bit rough on the plow so I can't complain.


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## tayln99

That seems about right ? Have to expect some of that ? 30-35 times is prob what some of us would use in 5-6 seasons . Do You still Think You getting your Moneys worth from the Snowbear even at that ? Since I Got to Use a Truck/plow combo finally I can really see Just How easy it would be to back into something or catch something bad and bend/break a plow or a truck for that matter or both .
I was all Excited to crank some tunes, crank the heat and had both dogs... Heck, I turned both the heater and music Off Just to help me concentrate on everything. Probably takes some time to get used to but i wanted to hear every little sound and was overly carefull I suppose to make sure I didn't break My stuff or Other peoples stuff on My 1st adventure with a Snowbear. 

They say if the Plow mount BENDS down Just use a Jack to try bend it back up . For a Minor adjustment mostly i would bet ? . 

The other day I read the Commercial Plow Section and a Thread about "What did You break this year" or something like that, Anyway go read what "They" broke and bent this season on the full setups...Holy Cow !:


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## hero419

I think I over estemated my usage!
it was more like 20 or less.
Not sure what I was thinking.


Yes, I definitly got my money's worth.
its hard to snow blow with a 1 year old


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## cherokeeman

*snowbear*

ussmileyflagi have owned my snowbear 7 foot poly plow put it on my 96 cherokee its a perfect match i put a 4 inch skyjacker lift on my jeep been going strong for 7 years now but not without problems when i bought my snowbear 7 years ago it took forever to get it to me here in the northeast it took about 2 months to get it i ordered it a week before christmas when i looked at it on line i thought it was made of metal when i recieved it my heart sank it looked cheap to me at first so i put it all toghter and found there were no springs trip springs so i called snowbear told them i needed trip springs they told me that plow did not require them i called them so much they knew me by my first and last name i finally got my springs then i was not happy with my remote controll my plow would would only move in small increments up and down took me forever to get my custemers jobs done so i called and complained about that they sent me a pistle grip hard wired controll with a toggle at the top that worked out the balls i love it i plow a pizza plaza my parents house both sisters and brothers house ect i picked up alot of jobs besides them i was plowing last year when i hit a man hole cover i bent my plow almost in half on the left hand side i took the plow to a friend he bent it stright and added steel to both ends he did a pretty good job i thought that my problems were over about 4 or 5 storms ago i was plowing the pizza plaza just finishing up the snow was very heavey the temp rose to 35 degrees i had a full blade of wet snow so i had to go faster than i normally go when i hit a curb it broke every weld on the frame upper and lower not to mention i cracked my cutting edge in 2 places so i took my plow to a friend who ownes a muffler shop he welded all of my crackes to the frame plus he added some heavy angle iron to the top and bottom of my frame plus he installed a heavy duty cutting edge now i can back drag pretty good with all that added weight must admit my electric lift is struggling i had problems with that lift since day one it freezes up on me alot so i always take my torch with me i ordered a new lift last year snowbear told me i bought the second last one so i got my old one rebuilt for 60 dollars i know people rag on snowbear alot but atleast i was able to modify my plow and make it stronger i dont know abought you does people always walk up to you and ask you why you have wheeles on your plow i used to be embarrest when i had to get out of my jeep to adjust my blade when i seen other plow trucks drive by i look at it now i dont have to worry about hydralic leaks or lines blowing out on me during a storm plus i can plow snow piles higher than my jeep even with a 4 inch lift after all i have been through i still love my 7 foot snowbear sometimes the less thay add to a plow the better good luck guys hope you all are making money this winter cherokeeman


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## pmorrissette

Dude! Use some punctuations once in a while...


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## RipT

Sounds like more 'Bears do'in what they were designed to do. Those of you with gravel drives, check out the posts on Gravel Drives for some good tips. The split-pipe probably works the best for minimal $ and effort.

Good Luck

Oh, and Cherokeeman....break-up into paragraphs too.....they do not charge by the inch for posts.


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## cherokeeman

this is cherokeeman im sorry about my typing when i get on a roll thats what happens my question to you did i get my story across without offending too many of you grow up and deal with it sounds to me like you guys have too much time on your hands i never thought my typing wuuld blow wind up your skirts i come from a family of 12 to be honest i did not spend much time in school i had to work to support my family i hope your happy pointing this out to me i type with one hand this i all new to me yhanks alot cherokeeman


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## tayln99

Great Story Cherokeeman  I wouldn't worry to much about the typing slams.. We all can't be perfect  

Sounds like You have got your Moneys worth from your SB  I would Like to see a pick of Your plow Mods if at all possible ? Like the Backdrag setup you mentioned .


Yes RipT, I Like that Pipe Idea to and hope to make a setup this summer. Until My Driveway freeze's it can be a pain to Not mess up all the gravel. I need a New cutting edge on My JD's Blade and am thinking I should make up a Pipe Setup for it as well even .


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## cherokeeman

thank you tayln 99 i will take some pictures of my plow for you as for those suckasses i wish the shoe was on the other foot maby they would not whine like little girls what pisses me off the most is im trying to help people such as your self my typeing is what it is i get so angry i ended up mispelling alot of my words i am glad someone like you does not judge me on my typing i will give you somemore specs on what i did to my plow once again thank you cherokeeman


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## 071011

This was my 1st season to ever snow plow in my life and my employees. I own a business with a free standing building. Site is about 400 ft long and 100 ft wide; all paved. In the last few years we contracted snow removal for the season. Cost was in average $8K/season including salt. Purchased a brand new Jeep Rubicon/4dr/auto and installed Snowbear. This would be paid off in 3 years with savings alone plus we do somewhat better job cleaning since there is no rush. Snowbear works well. We changed the winch to Superwinch UT3000. Original is not that good. 
I just have to say that this site helped me learn how to plow and which plow/setup to go after based on our needs. Big Thanks!


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## kylejohn

pmorrissette;770410 said:


> Dude! Use some punctuations once in a while...


hahaha one long run on sentance. Good story tho


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## mercer_me

tayln99;768348 said:


> I usually use an Old John Deere 140 with a 52 inch blade. The Truck does fine But I still rather like using the JD. I can SEE whats going on with the blade and snow etc with the Tractor, Don't get the same vision and thrill inside the truck  haha !


You will get used to not being able to se everything like you can with a tractor.


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## maccrazy2

I have had mine for 2 seasons now and am very happy with it. I orriginally was looking into getting a snow blower but, for a few hundred more I got the plow. I only use if for my paved driveway which is a few hundred feet. I have the house on one side and a fence on the other so angleing was not a big issue for me. I just ordered a new winch strap last month so I will not be stuck when mine lets go. 
As others have said for personal lite use they are great for the money. I am glad I got mine.


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## F150dash

Snowbear makes an excellent personal plow. I had mine for three years and it did more then I ever expected it to do. I am upgrading to a Snowdogg, so I sold the snowbear but was sad to see it go.


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