# LEO Snowplows?



## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Hi guys I was just wondering how many of you have heard of them. Now its mostly going to be MN guys if any cause there builts in ST Paul by Truck Utillities. I know they have a few places in other states but dont know if they make em out of state.
They are kinda similar to fisher but I think they are built better then any other plow. They are just built like tanks, They come with 2" rams standard and the curve on them arent even matched except by fisher when they add their foil but its still better. Now i have to older westerns and when you look at the two side by side you can tell the difference, The westerns look like toys. Now the one I have is an 86 and i dont know the current stats on them today but my whole assembly in all comes in at 1200 lbs. Their lift frames arent like minute mounts they stay on permently and the weld them to the frame.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Here are some pics.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Name


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

A Frame, Rams, Hoop


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Plow Curve


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Controls


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Pump, Its nice havening it under the hood ulike the westerns when its real cold they dont work as well the leo is kept warm by the engine heat.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Lift Frame


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## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

nice plow but that trip design sucks B****.looks like two you know whats hanging there


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

I like the way the hitch pins work. How does the lever latch?


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

No offense, but the whole setup looks odd to me and like someone else said, the trip design looks lousy. Ill stick with my Western. Mike


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Pelican The lever swings over and then theres like a little holder that u can stick a cotter pin through to hold the lever down il take a pic of it tommorow and also the end plates that i have for it. Too bad i have no snow for it to use.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Ha you guys can rage on it all you want but untill you use it you dont know what u tlaking about that thing can take a hole sh*t load of abuse andwith the two westerns we have throught that holloween blizard the westers keep breakin and the leo just kept pn going. And the trip design isnt as bad as you say it is you have to try it and see for yourself.


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## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

trip design looks like two P******! no thanks i'll keep my broken westerns

MIKE97
my names MIKE also so you just know lol lol


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

I kind of figured it was.  This guy seems to love his odd looking plow. I dont care how strong it is, never heard of it and I dont use stuff I never heard of and no one else around here has or even works on it. Where can you get parts? Are parts as easy to get for that as it is to get for Western, Fisher, and Meyer. Oh man, cant believe I said that M word, lol. Mike


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## windmill (Dec 3, 2002)

Looks like a pretty tough plow to me, I'd love to see it in action and wouldn't dare make a comment about its ability until I've seen it at work or tried it myself . No, we don't have them in Canada, but we do have Molsons.


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

Not that you were talking to me, but I wasnt knocking its ability, I was just saying it looks odd and I wouldnt use one for the simple fact that I never heard of it. If he likes it, that great, I like my Western. Whatever makes you happy, thats what you do.  Mike


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Lol well of course you havent heard of it like i explained im my first post on this topic its only made in MN now and you can only get parts from the dealer in MN, I understand why you wouldnt use it but it is a great plow and the next one I buy will be a LEO. Yes I love my odd lookin plow and I keep seeing more and more of them on new trucks but hey it works and i wasnt tryin to say u should go out and buy one I was just making it knowen lol.


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## windmill (Dec 3, 2002)

Talking to no one specifically, It just seemed as though his plow was being dissed (?) a bit, of course you're right about the service backup. You've got to admit the sucker "looks" tough, but if they haven' gone beyond MN I would wonder why. Is it snowing in NJ or do you suffer from insomnia    . 10:30 here on the west coast, raining


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## mike9497 (Oct 30, 2002)

i think the blade and A frame are awsome.but not those dong springs.at least get some bigger ones like the 1 ton 8ft flink plows have.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Ah yes thanks windmill I forgot to adrees why there only in MN, Truck utillties has a few places in different states and ther MAIN
business is makin truck bodies not snowplow there snowplows are just a side biz for them. They are a rock soild company and haven been around sence the 70s. They also make there own slide in dump with a tailgate spreader which im am looking at buying. A funny thing is thoe that the guy who started the company has a brother and i dont know if they were together when they started or not but now his brother runs his own company making truck bodies and snowplows which are basicly the same.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

That is true mike I do need to replace thoes thoes are the original ones but they still work good.


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

Guys, this plow looks like a scaled down version of some of the big municipal plows I've seen, the design is very similar, even the trip design. I'm talking about 11' and 12' plows on class 8 & 9 trucks, I'm sure it does well in this size.

Wesley started his thread by saying the area the manufacturer serves is limited. There's a small welding shop in my area that builds snowplows called Ortiz that are very similar in design to Western. They're a well respected plow in my area, I have a friend who has transferred the plow to his third truck now. Very few people outside Westchester/Putnam County have seen them. Does this mean they are junk?

I don't know about you, but I'm always interested in seeing things I haven't seen before. Thanks for posting, Wesley.


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## paul soccodato (Nov 9, 2002)

hey pelican, you beat me too it.

i was also going to coment on ortiz plows. they are a welding and fabricating shop about 10 miles from me, in hawthorne ny. 

i know the owner, Mark, and let me tell you guys, he builds all his own plows from scratch. 

he's got a very impressive shop. 

i've seen him build everthing from plows for small tractors, all the way up to big 24' plows for loaders, and push boxes. he also builds truck bodies and such.

his plows are pretty stout units, i had one on my old 84 k-20

wesleys plow is the same deal, a local fab shop builds them. it looks like a decent setup.


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

True Pelican, Im with you on that. Im always interested in seeing things I havent seen before. Yea the plow itself and a-frame does resemble the bigger plows you see on town trucks or highway trucks. No, no snow here, just stayed up real late last night reading and posting away.   Mike


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## slplow (May 13, 2001)

In all this time, I thought I had a continental on my 74 F250. It was a Leo.


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

That plow looks huge, what size is that?? 9'? Maybe its just the picture, but it looks extremely long to me. Mike


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## slplow (May 13, 2001)

The truck frame was very ugly but was a breeze to hook the plow up. The tripping of the blade was just right (was not floppy like a meyers or western)and had soft trip to boot. The plow was the only thing that was reliable on that truck.


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

And the size is??  Mike


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## snow (Jan 5, 2001)

Ortiz used to make tow truck bodies, and from what i heard, the cables on them before the body would break. They were just build very rugged and strong. Their plows seem to be built that way, but it seems as though some of the pieces are sort of rigged up. They don't use a plasma cutter, they use a torch and some pieces look different than other ones and such. 

I don't know how their mounting system works, but most ortiz plows i've seen are conventional mount.

I'd like to see his shop one day.


Bryan


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## CT18fireman (Nov 30, 2000)

Don't forget the small setup in RI that builds Pathfinder plows. Kind of like a Fisher with a trip edge, except edge is tripped by urethane not springs. Very well built plows. 

Pelican is running an almost exact copy on his snowfighter.

Don't bash a product until you know enough about it. Some of the smaller manufacturers make the best plows out there. Just for a limited market.


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## paul soccodato (Nov 9, 2002)

snow, your right, ortiz used to build wrecker bodies.

most of his older plows are a conventianal type setup, now mostly all of his are uni-mount type mounts.

everything on all his plows is overbuilt


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## farmertim (Dec 5, 2002)

Hey Mn Mike!

Our local plow maker McKenzie (big road plows)had a leo siting in thier lot it was 9 foot and looking at it I didn't know if my 1 ton would handle it or not!!
I had never seen them before but we are only 150 miles from St paul.
I like the drive into hook up and yeah it looks funky but I bet it will roll snow!!!!

Tim


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## Pelican (Nov 16, 2001)

Ortiz wrecker bodies were built here in Hopewell Junction by P.J. Ortiz, they still will make them on request. With the advent of hydraulic extendable booms, they became somewhat obsolete, Philip was near retirement age and didn't care to make the investment for a redesign. I saw one of his wreckers out at Indy in '78.

Ortiz Welding in Hawthorne is either a brother or cousin of Barry, Philip's son. Paul, are they still making plows? I haven't seen a new one in a while.


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## paul soccodato (Nov 9, 2002)

pelican, yes they still make plows.

during the spring and summer, they pretty much build them, and in the fall and winter they do the install's. besides whatever welding work they have.

all his plows are straight blades, but i'm pretty sure he'll have his own v-plows soon enough.

in one building he's got about 300 moldboards all piled up, so when he does an install, they just assemble them.

in the winter, during a snow event, thier open 24 hours, selling parts, and doing repairs.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Here you go pelican here is the pics of the pin setup.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

oops try agian


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## jkkalbers (Mar 29, 2002)

I have 2 leos and they take tons of abuse, all you guys talking about the trip system being crap have no idea what you are talking about. Fist off it is a scaled down version of a municipal plow because Truck Utilities is a major supplier for municipal plows and truck bodies. The plow rarely trips, even on heavy slush and ice. It will trip on a curb just like any other plow. you do have to be careful though the A frame will absorb the shock and start to bend from lack of tripping. Also the plow sits much further out from the front of the truck than any other plow i've seen. The reason is because it angles farther than western boss or any of those other plows. Causing very little bleed over when windrowing. I would never put one on my personal truck but I have them on my commercial trucks. One more thing they are about $800 cheaper installed than a western of the same size. Parts are also cheap.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Ah finnaly a guy who knows what hes talking about thanks jkkalbers you said just what i was going to say about LEO making municipal plows and pretty much there plows for pickups are a scaled down version. Ok i have to figure out what happen it wont let e post my pics il keep working on it.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

ALright I think I have this pic posting down I hope Here are the end plates they make.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Pelican the pin setup.


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Closed


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Pins In


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## Wesley's Lawn (Sep 18, 2002)

Pins Out


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## plowking35 (Dec 21, 1999)

Stout looking units to be sure. The only I didnt like was the statement that the plow push frames were welded to the truck. That might have been a typo, but I know I would rather have it bolted. Looks like the other full trip plow makers could take some R&D info to help stregthen their plows, esp meyers. If their a frame and quadrants were 1/2 that tough the st90 would last alot longer.
Dino


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## CARDOCTOR (Nov 29, 2002)

> _Originally posted by Mike 97 SS _
> *I kind of figured it was.  This guy seems to love his odd looking plow. I dont care how strong it is, never heard of it and I dont use stuff I never heard of and no one else around here has or even works on it. Where can you get parts? Are parts as easy to get for that as it is to get for Western, Fisher, and Meyer. Oh man, cant believe I said that M word, lol. Mike  *


WERE FINALLY STARTING TO WEAR ON YOU

CARDOCTOR


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

Mike


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## windmill (Dec 3, 2002)

The M word, You were probably thinking of a Molson Canadian right M ike?


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## Mick (May 19, 2001)

Wesley's Lawn, that Leo looks like a pretty tough plow to me. I like the lever setup for the pins. Looks kind of on the order of what Fisher has for the MM2.


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## Mike 97 SS (Aug 11, 2002)

Lol windmill.   Mike


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## slplow (May 13, 2001)

Mike97ss, my leo was a 8ft. After looking more at the photo's and rereading the thread . My plow didn't have that much of a curl to it . (more like a western pro) Also the frame on the truck was bolted not welded.


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## Plowingsince73 (Sep 8, 2002)

I own a plow just like this Leo plow except the name on it is Binion. Our local school system also has one that they have used for many years. Before I saw the one the school has I always thought the one I have was a homemade item. If anyone would like to own the one I have its For Sale CHEAP! All I have is the plow assembly, No brackets or hydraulics. Tom [email protected]


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## audi4kquattro (Feb 5, 2010)

*Leo help*










'm new to this site. Last week I bought a Leo plow in Mn for about 450.00. I plan on putting it on my 93 f250. My switches are 2 rockers and 1 toggle. 1 rocker is momentary both sides which I assume is R/L turn. The other is momentary one side and stationary on the other I assume this is for raising and lowering.

What I can't figure out is there is another toggle switch that is momentary for both sides. Any ideas what this would be for? similair to the link above.

Overall the plow is in good shape... just have to weld in a piece just above the cutting blade. and make mounts to fit my truck.

Also does anyone have a wire diagram for this?the wires are unhooked and i have no clue what goes where.

Thanks in advance also great site.


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## ADLAWNCUTTERS (May 24, 2001)

The rocker switch might be for the headlights and the other for a beacon light?As for leo plows it's not my cup of tea.I don't care if your plow is a piece of plywood if it moves snow that's all that matters.Maybe someone with a leo plow can chime in and tell you what those rockers are for.I would rather have the molsons .God bless Canada..


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## stotts1 (Jan 4, 2010)

ADLAWNCUTTERS;988001 said:


> I don't care if your plow is a piece of plywood if it moves snow that's all that matters.


could'nt agree more ussmileyflag


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## audi4kquattro (Feb 5, 2010)

Thanks for the help. I got her all hooked up and running. Just FYI some people think they don't make the leo anymore. Truck Utilities out of St. Paul are still making it and you still can get parts for the older stuff.
Hope this helps some of you running the Leos yet.

They sure are some heavy plows.


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## Mr.Markus (Jan 7, 2010)

My brother's name is Leo. Your post scared me...he's been looking for a job for the last month. I always like the underhood pumps, but todays trucks don't usually have room for them.


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## audi4kquattro (Feb 5, 2010)

Mr.Markus;1003516 said:


> My brother's name is Leo. Your post scared me...he's been looking for a job for the last month. I always like the underhood pumps, but todays trucks don't usually have room for them.


I put mine on the main frame of the plow. I have a 93 F-250 and I sure wasn't going to move all the emissions stuff around. So far this set up works for me.


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## Mixitdj (Dec 27, 2020)

I have a f150 with a 97 leo plow. I've never had an issue with it and it's taken some huge abuse.. its not a well know plow.. but it's built like a tank.. I love it. If I come across another I would purchase for sure


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