# jeep to plow driveways



## mike ward

does anyone have any experience with using a newer Jeep to plow residential driveways?


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## theplowmeister

I opted to get an older jeep for plowing, the newer Jeeps have less torque off idle, wider so even a 7 1/2 ft plow is not wide enough. and the new jeeps have REALLY pis pore viability out the back. so I get a good TJ


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## graycenphil

I plowed my driveway all last wnter with a Snowbear on an '06 Liberty. It worked quite well, for what it is. There's a picture of it in this thread:

http://www.plowsite.com/showthread.php?t=145668&highlight=jeep

We had a lot of snow in the northeast last year, so it was a good test. The Liberty is nice because it is small and maneuverable, unlike a full size truck, especially an extended cab. I thought visibility was fine. It is, of course, much slower than a pickup with a hydraulic plow, and won't stand up to a lot of heavy duty use.

I'm sure Theplowmeister is right about torque on newer Jeeps, but mine's a diesel and that makes a big difference.


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## bodaggin

Torque doesn't matter for plowing because you lose traction. Force=mass*acceleration. If you can't move it, hit it harder.

Sidenotes, nothing will beat a Jeep for driveways. NOTHING. Just be careful on overweight regulations on the front axle. Keep rockin it. TJ's are way tougher than JK's too so excellent choice. (PS weird I thought theplowmeister was the OP, apologies if this comment is misdirected).


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## 1olddogtwo

I always thought Torque got you rolling and horsepower kept ya going.....silly me.

My next plow truck will have 1000hp and little torque.


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## bodaggin

Additional torque or hp do absolutely nothing once the traction of your tires is broken.


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## dieselss

so then do you start out in 5th or overdrive? since torque doesn't DO anything?


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## 1olddogtwo

So a 1 horsepower Mack truck can move the same as a 500 Hp Mack 

Learned meself some schooling 2day

Thanks bud!


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## bodaggin

Trolls are out in abundance today. "Additional torque does nothing once the tires break traction". We don't plow on glue, it's snow and ice. Tires lose traction easily therefore an abundance of torque is not useful. Jeeps can easily break traction therefore they have plenty of torque. 

I never said 1hp or 1tq is enough. I said enough torque to break traction of the tires. Please go back to 2nd day of schooling and touch up on your reading skills.


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## 1olddogtwo

I need a lot of torque to roll my 37's and with 12in of wide rubber hitting the pavement.... Besides my 12's are mud tires that stick like glue.

You need to read Facebook more.

And besides you said and I quote

"Torque doesn't matter for plowing because you lose traction. Force=mass*acceleration. If you can't move it, hit it harder."

I think my reading is correct... It doesn't matter.


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## dieselss

No, no trolls, just going back to the 1st day of school.


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## MXZ1983

Will torque matter with an 8" lifted plow truck?


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## JustJeff

Damn you guys are bad!!!  To the OP, a Jeep is a driveway monster as long as you plow with the storm! Pat and Dieselss you guys outta be ashamed of yourselves!


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## 1olddogtwo

Sorry Dad

It was just to easy. I also have a jeep at home, the kind without a plow. Love wheeling it in the snow. If anything, I would put a plow on my 77 Bronco, 350 HP and the WB of a Jeep.


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## dingybigfoot

Shorter wheel base too. Jeeps for driveways rock!


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## Sawboy

bodaggin;2023191 said:


> Torque doesn't matter for plowing because you lose traction. Force=mass*acceleration. If you can't move it, hit it harder.
> 
> Sidenotes, nothing will beat a Jeep for driveways. NOTHING. Just be careful on overweight regulations on the front axle. Keep rockin it. TJ's are way tougher than JK's too so excellent choice. (PS weird I thought theplowmeister was the OP, apologies if this comment is misdirected).


Dumbest thing I've read on here in a long time. BS relative is my guess?

To the OP, the older Jeeps are the absolute king of the driveways. They can't be beat.


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## graycenphil

We may have lost the OP. Mike Ward if you're still reading, it sounds like old Jeeps are great. And I can assure you that my 2006 does a nice job on my driveway. I don't know if you are looking for newer than that.

I think some of the new Jeeps are really just cars, so be carfeul which you choose. The Liberty isn't an old fashioned body on frame, but it is pretty solid and has a great 4WD system. I'm not sure that is true of some of the others.


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## theplowmeister

bodaggin;2023191 said:


> *Torque doesn't matter for plowing because you lose traction*. Force=mass*acceleration. If you can't move it, hit it harder.
> 
> Sidenotes, nothing will beat a Jeep for driveways. NOTHING. Just be careful on overweight regulations on the front axle. Keep rockin it. TJ's are way tougher than JK's too so excellent choice. (PS weird I thought theplowmeister was the OP, apologies if this comment is misdirected).


If you used REAL snow tires and used counterweight and balast traction is less of an issue. With insufficient torque you have to rev the motor and slip the clutch to get going (manual trany or auto they both have clutches) My YJ I could just take my foot of the clutch and it would push snow didnt need to use the gas. In my TJ if I do that it just stalls so I need to add gas when slipping the clutch.

You need to listen to people who have experiance.

O ya and hitting it harder just brakes things. grow up and learn.


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## 1olddogtwo

theplowmeister;2023509 said:


> If you used REAL snow tires and used counterweight and balast traction is less of an issue. With insufficient torque you have to rev the motor and slip the clutch to get going (manual trany or auto they both have clutches) My YJ I could just take my foot of the clutch and it would push snow didnt need to use the gas. In my TJ if I do that it just stalls so I need to add gas when slipping the clutch.
> 
> You need to listen to people who have experiance.
> 
> O ya and hitting it harder just brakes things. grow up and learn.


He was Banned yesterday.


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## info4tim

1olddogtwo;2023510 said:


> He was Banned yesterday.


No way! The PM!? Wow


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## mwalsh9152

no, the halfwit that he was answering


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## MLG

Jeeps work great for plowing snow. But you want to match the 'right' plow to the truck. I have a Cherokee (classic) and it works great. The uni-body frame on the Cherokees is strong enough. I have a heavy 7' Meyer classic on mine and it can handle it. But I recently bought a lighter Western SUV plow for it to try this winter. I think the lighter plow makes more sense and matches the weight class of the Jeep. 

The other thing is, if you have Select-trac that's a better option than a full-time system like on mine where the xfer case is 'locked'. So having the ability to have differential in the xfer case is important for driving around on snowy roads. 

As for power, I've never had a problem with power. I used to plow with an older Toyota with a 22R which I think is like 90hp, and I never had to put it into low range! Power isn't going to be an issue.


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## SnoFarmer

^i have to disagree.
I have a friend with the select-a-track & that 3rd diff is a hinder in a plow rig.

Differentiating the power between the rear and the front is nice when traveling down the highway at 80 mph....
But not when plowing.

I want the same percentage of power going to the front and rear at all times.


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## info4tim

SnoFarmer;2042313 said:


> ^i have to disagree.
> I have a friend with the select-a-track & that 3rd diff is a hinder in a plow rig.
> 
> Differentiating the power between the rear and the front is nice when traveling down the highway at 80 mph....
> But not when plowing.
> 
> I want the same percentage of power going to the front and rear at all times.


Ditto on select trac as some SUVs call them. When plowing you want a real 4Hi or god forbid, 4Lo n your good to go!


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## MLG

Ok guys, good point. I guess I should have been more specific. Selectrac does give you a few more options:

Full Time* = great for driving around from lot to lot or on semi dry roads (easier on 4x4 components)
Part Time* = Great when you get to the lot and need more traction

* using Jeep nomenclature


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## SnoFarmer

MLG;2042441 said:


> Ok guys, good point. I guess I should have been more specific. Selectrac does give you a few more options:
> 
> Full Time* = great for driving around from lot to lot or on semi dry roads (easier on 4x4 components)
> Part Time* = Great when you get to the lot and need more traction
> 
> * using Jeep nomenclature


then site it or give a link to your source for your nomenclature.

bottom line,
If there is a 3rd differential, differentiating the toque between the front or rear axle it is not a good choice for plowing...
In the old days they called it quadre-trac.
(This system included a differential to shift torque between front and rear)
the things could barley make it threw a mud puddle.

-------
Quadra-Trac II

Quadra-Trac II was introduced in 1999 and it employs a two-speed chain-driven transfer case featuring three modes of operation, "4-All Time", "N" or neutral, and "4-Lo". In "4-All Time", torque is applied to the rear wheels under normal driving conditions. If the rear axle starts rotating at a significantly higher rate than the front axle, hydraulic pressure builds up in the gerotor and causes the clutch pack to progressively transfer torque to the front axle until both axles return to the same speed. "N" or neutral mode is intended for towing the vehicle. In "4-Lo", the front and rear axles are locked together through a 2.72 gear reduction ratio. In 2005 Jeep added traction control and replaced the New Venture Gear NV247 transfer case with the NV245 transfer case.

Applications:

1999-Present Jeep Grand Cherokee (WJ,WK,WK2)
2006-2009 Jeep Commander (XK)

Quadra-Trac I

Quadra-Trac I was introduced in 2004 and works similar to the Quadra-Trac II system, but eliminates the "4 Lo" and "N" or neutral modes. By excluding these modes it creates a system that requires no driver input.[8] In 2005 Jeep added traction control and replaced the New Venture Gear NV147 transfer case[3] with the NV140 transfer case.

,

Freedom Drive I

Freedom Drive I is a light duty full-time electronically controlled all wheel drive system with a locking mode to set the front/rear torque split for especially slippery conditions in the Jeeps derived from the Chrysler/Mitsubishi

Active Drive I

Active Drive I is a full-time four-wheel drive system that requires no driver input. This system under normal conditions sends all available torque to the front wheels while monitoring the speed of the front and rear axles. If the system detects that the front axle is moving more quickly than the rear axle then the system will send power through the power transfer unit to the rear axle until the speeds are the same

*****now were getting someplace.....Thumbs Up

Command-Trac® 4x4 splits torque 50/50 to the front & rear
or
ROCK-TRAC®

The Rock-Trac® http://www.jeep.com/en/4x4/#RockTrack*CommandTrack1*


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## Mark Oomkes

bodaggin;2023191 said:


> Torque doesn't matter for plowing because you lose traction. Force=mass*acceleration. If you can't move it, hit it harder.
> 
> Sidenotes, nothing will beat a Jeep for driveways. NOTHING. Just be careful on overweight regulations on the front axle. Keep rockin it. TJ's are way tougher than JK's too so excellent choice. (PS weird I thought theplowmeister was the OP, apologies if this comment is misdirected).


How did I miss this?

Torque doesn't matter for plowing?

Guess I'm getting rid of my diesels and replacing them with V6s.

And someone better tell Paul that he doesn't know squat, wasting all that money on tractors and blowers, what a maroon.


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## 1olddogtwo

1olddogtwo;2023510 said:


> He was Banned yesterday.


Mark,

He did something that somehow we didn't.....he was banned within 30 posts.


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