# New to plowing



## coops320 (Feb 11, 2016)

Hi all, I just purchased a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 and was wondering what plow to put on it. I am only going to be plowing my driveway which is very large and my parents driveway down the street...kind of like a family compound thing. My neighbor seems to like Fisher and recommended that. With little to no knowledge on the subject I checked out there site and they recommended either a homesteader, HD or SD. I cant seem to find the difference between the HD and SD, but I would think that the homesteader might not be enough plow. This truck really wont get worked but I don't want to regret buying too "little" of a plow. Or should I be looking at another brand. Thanks in advance for the help...kinda lost here.

-Chad


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## dieselss (Jan 3, 2008)

Fisher is a good brand. 
What dealers are in.your area? That is generally going to be the route most will tell you to go.

Western, Fisher, Snowex, and newer blizzards are owned by Douglas dynamics (DD) so a lot of there parts are interchangeable.


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## Rustyk (Oct 29, 2015)

Welcome,I myself recently bought a 2012 chevy 1500 reg. cab,short bed. I went with the Fisher HT. After hrs. of searching here.The scrape lock feature works great,not to heavy on the front end.I only do my drive and several neighbors.I sold my chevy 2010 3500 with an 81/2ft extreme v and I like my new set up better. Dealer support is critical.Good luck and heed the advice of these good people here.But in the end it's up to you.
Rusty


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## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

For what you're going to pay for a plow for your truck, you could probably pay a professional to do both your parents and your driveways for at least 10 years. Are you sure you want to get into this with a half ton truck? Not telling you not do to it, but wondering how much thought you've given to it. How many times will you have to get out of bed at 3:00 A.M. to go do your two driveways vs. sleeping in and knowing that "the plow guy's taking care of it"?


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## IPLOWSNO (Oct 11, 2008)

Lol there's more halfton trucks with plows than 3/4 tons around here and seeing we got 2' overnight everyone was plowed out by morning!

Very few 3/4 tons in my town and I think I know everyone with one!

We are used to deep snow so plowing it is normal to us in Cny


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## coops320 (Feb 11, 2016)

I'm not sure what dealers are near me, lol, I have to look into that. I see a lot of guys with Fisher and Snow Dogs...so that is my guess until I look into it. I definitely need my own plow. I work overnights and pick up overtime on other shifts so I cant be on someone elses schedule. My wife commutes to Boston from Andover every morning and I don't want her to have to try and shovel out to get to her car. We went the route of a professional plow truck this year and while he does a great job, the timing can be kind of bad. This truck is a crew cab as well, so I don't know if that makes a difference. I will try and research that HT set up a little more! Thank you all again, what a great community!


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## hbrady (Oct 28, 2003)

coops320;2115532 said:


> Hi all, I just purchased a 2014 Chevy Silverado 1500 and was wondering ....
> -Chad


Engine size, plow prep, regular cab? I just traded my 2014 Regular Cab 5.3L with plow prep and HD towing package. It handled a 7'6'' Fisher HD very well. Make sure you use the proper counterweight, not ballast, if you call it ballast you will be schooled by a certain someone


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## coke813 (Aug 24, 2015)

Chad,
The big guys are going to tell you that you need a 3/4 ton truck or to hire it out. But if you have the time and money to purchase a plow, your truck will do just fine for a couple driveways. Then you aren't at their mercy of when they show up or where they pile snow and wreck your lawn, you get to wreck your own lawn! (just kidding, no need for mean replies) ussmileyflag

I speak from experience with a 2015 Silverado 1500. I put the Western HTS on it and I am happy with the setup. I have moved enough snow this year to know it works. As diesels says, all the brands owned by Douglas Dynamics have the same mounts/ hardware. The nicest thing is the removable receivers on your truck, so the low-hanging chevy doesn't bang on every curb and parking stop in the summer time. The new UltraMounts can be removed in about 30 seconds so you don't have to drive around with the weight on your truck except when you are using it.


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## hbrady (Oct 28, 2003)

Harleyjeff;2115557 said:


> For what you're going to pay for a plow for your truck, you could probably pay a professional to do both your parents and your driveways for at least 10 years. Are you sure you want to get into this with a half ton truck? Not telling you not do to it, but wondering how much thought you've given to it. How many times will you have to get out of bed at 3:00 A.M. to go do your two driveways vs. sleeping in and knowing that "the plow guy's taking care of it"?


x2 on this one. We have always owned a plow truck and plowed our family driveways / private road. You know the old saying about an excuse to buy a new tool? Act pissed you gotta fix something but now you have a reason to but that router table you wanted? Thumbs Up Well, just recently traded up to a nice new (to me) truck and V plow but the other morning at 4am I was starting to do the math in my head...14 years until my new setup breaks even  payup payup


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## JustJeff (Sep 9, 2009)

hbrady;2115590 said:


> x2 on this one. We have always owned a plow truck and plowed our family driveways / private road. You know the old saying about an excuse to buy a new tool? Act pissed you gotta fix something but now you have a reason to but that router table you wanted? Thumbs Up Well, just recently traded up to a nice new (to me) truck and V plow but the other morning at 4am I was starting to do the math in my head...14 years until my new setup breaks even  payup payup


That was my point exactly. Not telling anybody to do it or not to do it, but just to consider the cost of the investment vs. the return and length of return on it. Time lost with no sleep, etc... Many places you can get a seasonal price of around 300.00 per driveway, so if you spend 7K on a plow, it will take you 23 years for the plow to pay for itself, that's just used for home use. If I didn't plow commercially, I'd keep that 7K in my pocket and pay 300.00 a year to somebody else, and sleep well for 23+ years.


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## coke813 (Aug 24, 2015)

Harleyjeff,
Can I ask you about your math? The original poster said his driveway is "very large", so I assume its rural. Do you do a rural driveway for $300/ year? lets assume you do. 
He also wants to do his parents as well. So that becomes $600 per year.

A half ton plow installed is about $5,000 where I live. So 5,000/ 600 = 8.3 seasons. That is a little different than what you came up with.


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## FredG (Oct 15, 2012)

Don't put no more than a 7.6 Thats all you should need to be fine. Don't travel with it. Take the time to take the plow off. Its quick and effortless today. Are these paved drives or stone? Your contractor and your schedule did not work out. Go for it.


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## ggb6259 (Jan 14, 2010)

Your Silverado can handle more plow than the newer Fords or Rams. I would recommend that you look at plow selectors for plow manufacturers in your area. Especially if you cannot fix what may go bad. I started with a SnowDogg MD 7 12' on a Mountaineer and moved it over to my Dodge 1500. If I had gone straight to the truck it would have been an 8' Snowdogg HD years ago. I like the stainless moldboard and if you fluid film the rest of it it will still look good in 5, 6, 7 years... The HD will take you beyond the HT, Homesteaders, MD series light weight blades. I would look for something more than 500 lbs up to the 600-700 lb range as they will back drag better. Consider it a one time investment. Your truck will take a Snowdogg VMD as well... You might consider timbrens or a lift kit which always help.. 

As for cost, doking around over the last 6-7 years with my set up it's paid for itself several times over.. I gave $3200 or so installed. Your drive and family drives are minimum $50/push so add that in with the the neighborhood $20 - $30 bills that come your way and they add up fast... 




.02C


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## coops320 (Feb 11, 2016)

Thank you everyone. My area is pretty rural, my parents are not. I called a fisher dealer and they quoted me 4600 for a 7.6 SD installed. I don't know if that is a good deal or not. I have a pretty good mechanic friend that I may ask to look around for a used plow. However, I am thinking with a new truck I should probably put a new plow on there as well.


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## hbrady (Oct 28, 2003)

coops320;2116219 said:


> Thank you everyone. My area is pretty rural, my parents are not. I called a fisher dealer and they quoted me 4600 for a 7.6 SD installed. I don't know if that is a good deal or not. I have a pretty good mechanic friend that I may ask to look around for a used plow. However, I am thinking with a new truck I should probably put a new plow on there as well.


Is that with a joystick or Fish-Stick? Did it include shoes? Not sure about straight blades but the V's don't come with shoes. A lot of people don't run shoes but if you are going to be pushing on gravel and/or onto lawns, I would use them  I've had joystick and fish and for a straight blade I prefer the joystick, nice and compact and can be mounted out of the way (see below). I was quoted 4800 for a 7'6'' HD last year so I guess 4600 sounds about right.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

$4,600 sounds about right for an SD. For what your doing I think the SD will be a good plow for you. Definitely stay away from the Homesteader, it's to small for what you're doing. I personally don't care for the HT either.


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## iceyman (Mar 1, 2007)

Buy the new plow and be done with it. Go with the fisher from the dealer than any problems that arise in the future they can deal with. $4600 is a solid price


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## Powderman (Dec 14, 2014)

If you're in Andover Mass.I would highly recommend Franklin Motors in Dracut. I just had them install a new 8' HD2 Fisher 2 days ago on my 2015 Silverado 2500.they were recommended by a friend and did a great job and beat all the other prices by about $500. They also give a full 2 year warranty. $5369.00 with install and tax.


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## dstifel (Dec 27, 2012)

I'm on second year of the western hts which is the fisher ht more or less and it does about 25 drives s snow no problems yet.


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## Rustyk (Oct 29, 2015)

dstifel;2116908 said:


> I'm on second year of the western hts which is the fisher ht more or less and it does about 25 drives s snow no problems yet.


Not trying to hijack a thread,I talked to 5 owners and see a lot of them hanging on the front of 1/2 ton chevys.And nobody had a bad thing to say about them.I'm really pleased with mine.


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## dstifel (Dec 27, 2012)

Rustyk;2116950 said:


> Not trying to hijack a thread,I talked to 5 owners and see a lot of them hanging on the front of 1/2 ton chevys.And nobody had a bad thing to say about them.I'm really pleased with mine.


Yea mine is on a 14 dodge had to put level kit on it has worked great


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