# which plow to buy



## paulplow1968 (Oct 25, 2010)

After the snows we had last year here in Virginia I am thinking of getting a plow for my 2009 GMC Sierra K1500 4 X 4 with Z71 towing package. I will only plow my 300' driveway that is on a 20% grade. I don't want to spend a lot of money and have been looking to the Snow Bear BB200 plow or the Meyer home plow. Any advice on these or other plows would be great.


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## eric02038 (Oct 1, 2010)

for that kind of money, you could buy a used fisher sd or ld and have a real plow


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

I hear myer makes a great product these days, I've talked to my dealer about it and he said they used to be the crappiest plow on the market but have fixed everything. If I couldn't have a boss it'd be a meyer. Take a look at a brochure or catolog of theirs, very intresting to look at especially the alm controller. But i use a boss v plow.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

eric02038;1096918 said:


> for that kind of money, you could buy a used fisher sd or ld and have a real plow


Pretty sure the Snowbear and Meyer are not imaginary. You could drop one on your toe to be sure......


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## the new boss 92 (Nov 29, 2008)

i would get a western hts or midweight and do a couple driveways 4or5 to help pay the plow off, never hurt to have an extra 150 bucks in the pocket after a sno storm!


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

Don't waist your money on a Snow Bear. You should get a used 7.5 Fisher SD or HD IMO. Boss also makes a good plow IMO.


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## G&T LAWN (Nov 7, 2009)

Snow dogg make a good half ton plow also. Give them a look


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## paulplow1968 (Oct 25, 2010)

*more help please*

If I get a used plow as some have suggested will I be able to put it on and off quickly? We only get a few snows a year and I don't want to have a plow on my truck all winter long and I don't want anything showing when I don't have the plow on. I also worry that if I get a used plow I may have problems that would require me to take it to a shop and have it fixed. I don't have all the tools you need to weld and fix something if it breaks.

I was leaning to the SonwBear because it did not have hydraulics. My thinking is that it would be a lot easier to replace a inexpensive wench rather than a hydraulic pump. What are your thoughts on this?

Thanks for the help


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## G&T LAWN (Nov 7, 2009)

You will work on that winch ten times before you work a hydralic pump. If you buy a real plow you will always have a resale value if you decide to quit plowing.


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## eric02038 (Oct 1, 2010)

2COR517;1097131 said:


> Pretty sure the Snowbear and Meyer are not imaginary. You could drop one on your toe to be sure......


pretty sure if i dropped a 2x3 on my foot i would feel it too, doesn't mean I'm going to build a house made out of them. those plows are jokes, made for suckers


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## paulplow1968 (Oct 25, 2010)

G&T LAWN;1097414 said:


> You will work on that winch ten times before you work a hydralic pump. If you buy a real plow you will always have a resale value if you decide to quit plowing.


Thanks for the advice on the winch and the resale value. I did not consider that.

If I do get a "real plow" what about the ease of removing and installing the plow and will the brackets show when the plow is off?


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

paulplow1968;1097458 said:


> Thanks for the advice on the winch and the resale value. I did not consider that.
> 
> If I do get a "real plow" what about the ease of removing and installing the plow and will the brackets show when the plow is off?


The mount will.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

paulplow1968;1097458 said:


> If I do get a "real plow" what about the ease of removing and installing the plow and will the brackets show when the plow is off?


If you get a Boss it will go on and off very easy and fast. The Boss Smart Hitch 2 is the best mounting system on the market IMO. No matter what plow you get you will beable to se your push plates when the plow is off. I personaly think push plates make trucks look better.


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## 1PapaDock4 (Sep 13, 2010)

A snowbear isn't a bad choice, you can find one on craigslist for pretty cheap..
Other plows like meyer/boss/western etc are also good choices. If you have room in the budget, definitely look into those first. There's always going to be an issue with the plow, snowbear or not (more often w/ the SB), but nothing a little time/effort can't fix.
Happy plowing!


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

mercer_me;1097507 said:


> If you get a Boss it will go on and off very easy and fast. The Boss Smart Hitch 2 is the best mounting system on the market IMO. No matter what plow you get you will beable to se your push plates when the plow is off. I personaly think push plates make trucks look better.


you can hide most of it on the ford trucks, but you have to cut two slits in the trim for it to be able to hook up. And you'll see a little bit but not much. I'm sure you can do the same with any other truck. Except a Toyota :laughing:


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

ajslands;1098088 said:


> you can hide most of it on the ford trucks, but you have to cut two slits in the trim for it to be able to hook up. And you'll see a little bit but not much. I'm sure you can do the same with any other truck. Except a Toyota :laughing:


With the Tundra they took the tow hooks off and put the push plates wear the tow hooks were. The push plates arn't very noticable.


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

mercer_me;1098480 said:


> With the Tundra they took the tow hooks off and put the push plates wear the tow hooks were. The push plates arn't very noticable.


Why? Tow hooks are to pull you out when you get stuck.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

ajslands;1098509 said:


> Why? Tow hooks are to pull you out when you get stuck.


The only time I get stuck is plowing so the wouldn't work when the plow is on. If I do get stuck and need to pull somthing I can put a shackle on one of my push plates.


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## Mr. Horsepower (Feb 21, 2010)

For the last 8 years I've used a Fisher Homesteader (same as Western Suburbanite). It is very functional and light and easy to put on and take off. In 8 years, the only repair was a pump motor. I would recommend this to anyone doing non-commercial work in a light snow environment.

I sold the Explorer with the plow this spring because the truck was getting old and the last few years we have been getting multiple 18" plus storms, which the Explorder / Homesteader combination did not handle well. The Explorer ground clearance and the Homesteader blade height were both too low for that much snow.

I spent the last 6 months researching which plow to buy for my 2007 Tahoe and finally settled on the Western HTS, but the Boss Sport plow appears to be as good, if not better in ceetain ways. The fact that my preferred dealer for sales and service was not a Boss Dealer made my decision, if he was a Boss dealer, I probably would have gone with the Boss Sport.

If you are only getting up to 12" of snow and are not going to do more than 1 or 2 driveways, the Homesteader / Suburbanite is a great plow and will be fine. You can remove the mounting plates with 2 pins on each side each during the summer months.

If you are going to do more than the 1 or 2 driveways and / or you get multiple deep storms (12" +) where you are, I would go with the Western HTS or Boss Sport. The difference in price over the HomeSteader / Suburbanite is about $500.


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## Mr. Horsepower (Feb 21, 2010)

With the Western HTS, here is what you are left with on the Tahoe Z71 after the shoes are removed, the brackets fit right in under the tow hooks and are not very noticeable. On the Z71, the chin spoiler stops where the black turns to silver and the air dam is not as deep. The LT or LTZ is will require much more cutting


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## paulplow1968 (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks for the advice. How much did you pay for the plow?


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## Mr. Horsepower (Feb 21, 2010)

paulplow1968;1100393 said:


> Thanks for the advice. How much did you pay for the plow?


$4195 installed. However you need to consider I'm in Westchester County, New York, which has the highest taxes in the country and EVERYTHING is more expensive here! I was quoted $3695 for the Homesteader / Suburbanite installed.

Good luck with your decision. I wish I could give you some feedback on how the Tahoe plows with the HTS but have not had the opportunity yet.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

A Homesteader is way to small for a full size truck IMO. Like Mr. Horse Power said the Western HTS would be alot better match for your truck.


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## 04ram1500 (Nov 10, 2010)

*Try This*

Check out Snowdogg lhttp://www.snowdoggplows.com/snowdoggMD.html
My ram 1500 is in the shop as I type this getting an MD 75 installed. I went with Snowdogg, for the exact reason you are. I only have to do my driveway and our restaurant parking lot. I am only paying $ 3,100.50 installed. IMO you can't beat that price.


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## 98tacoma (Mar 4, 2007)

You could try a snowsport, this is my third winter with mine, does a great job for the price. Very simple mechanics so very little to go wrong and price is right. PM me if you have any questions. I've also get some pretty impressive pics of it in action if you are interested.


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## paulplow1968 (Oct 25, 2010)

Thanks for all the advice. I got a new Snow Bear BB200 (88" x 26") from Snowplowstuff.com for $1,850. I looked into all the other plows that were suggested. Most were priced between $3,000 to $4,000. I couldn't justify spending that much money to just plow my driveway the few times a year we get snow. I will be installing it this weekend. I will let you know how it does when we get some snow.


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## Bladesaway (Jan 3, 2011)

*Snow sport*

I know that you have already bought a plow but if you ever consider buying a second plow snow sport makes an excellent light duty plow. I bought a snow sport HD plow last year. I use a 1997 tahoe 4wd to plow with. I plowed 20 condos, and now plow a large factory with it. It does a great job! The only draw back is if there are garages you may have to back as close as you can and push the snow out. We had a small garden tractor that took care of the rest of the snow in front of the garage.


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