# Down pressure?



## 68dodgeramman (Dec 5, 2006)

I am thinking about putting a plow on my truck but would like to research everything before I buy. Are there any other plows that offer down pressure on their blades other than Sno-Way? Thanks in advance.


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## toby4492 (Dec 28, 2005)

68dodgeramman;329287 said:


> I am thinking about putting a plow on my truck but would like to research everything before I buy. Are there any other plows that offer down pressure on their blades other than Sno-Way? Thanks in advance.


Sno-Way owns a patent on our hydrualic down pressure system. Currently we are the only manufacturer that has this option on our snowplow.


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## BigDave12768 (Nov 17, 2006)

Not really sure you need downward pressure. Just get a bottom trip plow like a Fisher. They scrape down to pavement without an issue. With downward force seems like you could do some real damage with it. Dig up pot holes and really do a job on a burm


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## dmontgomery (Oct 3, 2003)

Down pressure just makes a 500lbs. plow act like a 750lbs plow when pushing. It is a great help when backdragging......


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## 68dodgeramman (Dec 5, 2006)

toby4492;329320 said:


> Sno-Way owns a patent on our hydrualic down pressure system. Currently we are the only manufacturer that has this option on our snowplow.


Tom -
It's been a while since I have used a plow on my truck. But I remember the old plows with the chain lift. The thing I hated the most was when you would push snow up a bank and then back away from the pile. With that slack in the chain 'BANG' down she'd come! It'd feel like the truck was gonna flip over. How does the Sno-Way handle that? Also I posted elsewhere on the forums to ask what deals if any did Plows Unlimited have on the 7' 6" 29 Series Stainless Steel plow?

BigDave12768 and dmontgomery thanks for your replies and input. I still like the idea of having some down pressure though.


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

No chain to go slack. Snoways stack higher and run quieter then most plows. The lack of chain also means the blade won't ski the pile and end up hung in the snow.

The plow unlimited Factory blow-out is on ST and MT only.


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## wahlturfcare (Oct 24, 2005)

*down pressure*

the plow on my 1 ton uses hydraulic compressor instead of a pump outside and gives alot of down pressure from it. works great but sometimes is too fast and shakes the truck.


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## Ggg6 (Oct 14, 2003)

I thought you could apply down pressure with Boss straight blades.


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## dmontgomery (Oct 3, 2003)

don't they just lock in place???


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## Ggg6 (Oct 14, 2003)

I asked a good friend who has run Boss straight blades and he confirmed they can apply down pressure as well as float. The Boss V blades will not apply down pressure. So Snow Way is not the only Mfg. to offer the down pressure option.


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## dmontgomery (Oct 3, 2003)

I don't want to start a fight but this has been discussed / argued many many times here in the past...

Do a search on BOSS and down pressure..... you will find numerous threads recanting your down pressure statement. Also there is no hint of it on the BOSS website.

My Snoway will apply DP while floating......essentially acting as a much heavier plow, following the contours...........

D


I.A.F.F. 2981 here....


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## toby4492 (Dec 28, 2005)

Ggg6;332048 said:


> I asked a good friend who has run Boss straight blades and he confirmed they can apply down pressure as well as float. The Boss V blades will not apply down pressure. So Snow Way is not the only Mfg. to offer the down pressure option.


Sno-Way is the only manfacturer that offers and manufactures the down pressure option. We own a patent on our design. If your friends Boss plow is doing this it is only due to the fact that he set it up to do so.


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## basher (Nov 13, 2004)

Ggg6;332048 said:


> I asked a good friend who has run Boss straight blades and he confirmed they can apply down pressure as well as float. The Boss V blades will not apply down pressure. So Snow Way is not the only Mfg. to offer the down pressure option.


Boss, Blizzard and Hinker all have the design potentail for DP. i understand Jerre up in Erie has stroked a few blizzards. the hinker c plow has a effective DP in back drag position, but Boss does not offer dp as a factory option.


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## Ggg6 (Oct 14, 2003)

I will have to do some more checking on his Boss plow, I do not know that his Boss was ever modified in any way. Toby I understand what you are saying that SW has a patent on your particular system but that in no way assures or even implies that nobody else can have down pressure. The other Mfg's. just design a different way to accomplish the down pressure. I am in no way trying to discredit SW, their products, or you guys that sell them. It just raises a HUGE red flag when someone especially a sales person says something to the effect of "exclusive, patented, or can't be done, ours is the only one...".


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## toby4492 (Dec 28, 2005)

Ggg6;332349 said:


> I will have to do some more checking on his Boss plow, I do not know that his Boss was ever modified in any way. Toby I understand what you are saying that SW has a patent on your particular system but that in no way assures or even implies that nobody else can have down pressure. The other Mfg's. just design a different way to accomplish the down pressure. I am in no way trying to discredit SW, their products, or you guys that sell them. It just raises a HUGE red flag when someone especially a sales person says something to the effect of "exclusive, patented, or can't be done, ours is the only one...".


What I am saying here is that no other company manufactures or promotes a hydraulic down pressure option other than Sno-Way. I am aware of users and dealers with other brands of plows that are tweaking their systems to gain down pressure. However these systems are different and will put more stress on equipment vs. our system. I'm not just a salesperson I have also plowed for 15+ years, and did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night


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## Ggg6 (Oct 14, 2003)

Toby thanks for the clarification, I obviously misunderstood what you said. I did not get a chance to look at the said Boss plow today. But I did go to one of the largest plow dealers in the area. They carry SW, Western, Fisher, Meyer, Blizzard, as well as a few others, but not Boss. In fact the sales person there was doing quite a job bad mouthing Boss. He also said he didn't know of any other plow that has actual down pressure except SW. He did mention there are other ways to imitate down pressure like smart lock cyls., and lock out pins etc. I did take a good long look at the plows on display and saw that SW is the only Co. with a double acting lift cyl. Which leads me to think if my friend is correct then he obviously has a modified plow.
I hope you slept well at the Holiday Inn.


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## B&B (Nov 4, 2006)

The Boss plows (with smart hitch) can be "modified" for the addition of down pressure....it's all in the wiring. They already have the double acting lift cylinder.


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## 68dodgeramman (Dec 5, 2006)

Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, Sno-Way is the only manufacturer that offers the down pressure option on their plows. But the Boss and the Blizzard can probably be modified to get the down pressure. Thanks for all the replies by the way.


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## B&B (Nov 4, 2006)

Your 100% correct.


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## toby4492 (Dec 28, 2005)

68dodgeramman;333131 said:


> Ok, correct me if I'm wrong, Sno-Way is the only manufacturer that offers the down pressure option on their plows. But the Boss and the Blizzard can probably be modified to get the down pressure. Thanks for all the replies by the way.


Other manufacturers plows can be modified for down pressure, however as mentioned doing so will provide additional stress to their structures. Modifying their systems will apply constant pressure with no relief in the system. Our system is reactive to situations that it is put in. If you are going up the incline of a speed bump as an example our system will sense an increase in pressure and allow oil to go back to tank. Once the blade has reached the top and begins to go down our system will sense a loss in pressure and pulse oil back into the cylinder.


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## Brian Young (Aug 13, 2005)

Our new Fisher Extreme V does "ok" but I was hoping for a little bit better back dragging results from it. My friend just bought a Blizzard from Jerre's (in Erie) and that thing is a road grader, pushing or pulling. It cleans very well. Sno-ways are'nt very popular around here so I don't know how much better they really are, another friend of mine had a Sno-way and he didnt like it too much especially when the mold board got a hole in it. He just replaced it with a stainless steel insert. IMO the mold board was unbelievably thin, maybe the thickness of a dime.


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## toby4492 (Dec 28, 2005)

Polycarbonate skins on Sno-Way plows are 3/16".


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## justme- (Dec 28, 2004)

FWIW the new generations of chain lift plows have stops to keep the blade from riding too high- in other words my Mm doesn;t bang down on the chain like my old Speedcast used to.... not that any of this has anything to do with dodge trucks...ugh, oh yeah- my MM is ON a dodge truck. Covered!


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