Anybody have a Plow on their 4Runner?

Ryan1975

Ryan1975

New member
Inquiring minds want to know.

Trying to decide if I moved way up north if I'd need to trade for a F-150/250 to maintain a 1mi section of road or not.
 
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I know you won't plow all the time. But, my experiences with plow vehicles is horrible. You'll have that unsightly plow frame hanging from the front of your truck 24/7 and salt and sand completely destroy undercarriages. You'll spend $1000 in equipment for the little use you'll get.

My opinion, buy a used RAZR or Quad, put a plow on it...and have a blast all year long.
 
Ducmonsta said:
I know you won't plow all the time. But, my experiences with plow vehicles is horrible. You'll have that unsightly plow frame hanging from the front of your truck 24/7 and salt and sand completely destroy undercarriages. You'll spend $1000 in equipment for the little use you'll get.

My opinion, buy a used RAZR or Quad, put a plow on it...and have a blast all year long.
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Actually in this location I would...I'm thinking it'd be best to spend the $10k - $13k and buy a used plow truck that's ready to go.
 
Is this a gravel or dirt road you'd have to maintain year 'round? If so, I'd consider a Ford 7n or 9n tractor with a scraper blade. Bulletproof. Mower in the summer.
 
Ryan1975 said:
Road is Dirt about 1mi in length. Located in the snow belt of Upper Michigan.
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All the more reason for a tractor. As one who has lived in the country with a dirt and gravel drive, road "maintaining" is a year round job - more than a snow blade can handle.

A proper three-point hitch set up has a blade that be turned backwards to push deep snow.

Sounds like you're thinking "acreage". If so, there is nothing like a small tractor: blade, bucket, mower...... yee haw.
 
Ryan1975 said:
Actually in this location I would...I'm thinking it'd be best to spend the $10k - $13k and buy a used plow truck that's ready to go.
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I used to plow snow. I had 18 lots (Wendys, Banks, Used Car Lots, Etc) and there is no such thing as a "Plow truck ready to go." If you buy a brand new truck you have to:
A) Modify electrical system and install dual battery system
B) Upgrade front suspension
C) Upgrade either gearing or shift kits in automatic transmission.
D) Have a heated garage for when the hydraulics freeze up and to make repairs on the truck.

If you buy a used plow truck you have to:
A) Replace batteries and fix the rigged electrical system
B) Repair or replace front suspension and re weld the frame where it has broken
C) Just go ahead and replace the automatic transmission with the heaviest duty one you can find.
D) Keep that heated garage warm! You will need it!

Look, it sounds cool to buy or install a plow on a truck. It's cool too to plow 4" of powder at 30 degrees. What sucks is when you wake up and you have 2 FEET of snow that fell at about 30 degrees and the temps dropped to 2 degrees. That's when you can and will break things like transmissions and crossmembers. Also you never want a manual transmission to plow snow. Too slow in reverse. Knowing what I know about plowing snow and how hard it is on vehicles I would buy a tractor, as mentioned above, with a 3 point hitch and rear blade. It is made for pulling and it won't break easy.

In the years I plowed I think I ended up with only the frame, rear diff, one fender, all wheels, brakes, bottom end of motor and interior as being original to the truck. It was a 1976 3/4 ton short bed Chevy 4X4. I replaced:
Rusted Fenders
Rusted out Cab and Doors
Rusted out Bed
Several transmissions both rebuilt and new
Front Axle
Front Crossmember
Countless of welds to frame
Shocks
Front Leaves
Radiator
Transmission Cooler
Lots of Batteries
Heads
And the list goes on.

I honestly do not think there is anything harder on a vehicle than plowing snow. This includes running it over a cliff. Our Toyota are tough but not that tough. Good luck.
 
philsey said:
All the more reason for a tractor. As one who has lived in the country with a dirt and gravel drive, road "maintaining" is a year round job - more than a snow blade can handle.

A proper three-point hitch set up has a blade that be turned backwards to push deep snow.

Sounds like you're thinking "acreage". If so, there is nothing like a small tractor: blade, bucket, mower...... yee haw.
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We have the big tractors over at the sawmill that I could commission for big maintenance stuff and I'd avoid the road during breakup (Apr - Memorial Day)

Just thinking what could keep the road open during the winter. There's one hill that might be tricky so a tractor with 4WD and chains would probably be pretty important.
 
If your plowing all the time you'd be better with a mid 30's hp 4x4 tractor w/ a PTO driven blower on the rear and a plow front. Better resale, lots of uses, built to use in tough conditions.

We have a new holland with a box blade and front end loader, but the 4Wheeler works best.

Our 4wheeler is a Suzuki Eiger 400 4x4 w/ 2.5k winch and 48" plow.
 
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I also have about 1 mile of dirt road that sees storms in excess of 3 feet at times. I no longer plow the entire thing, just my driveway and access road which is about 1/8 mile.
I have a Gehl skidsteer which is perfect. When we were responsible for the whole road we had a cat IT 24 which is ideal, but expensive.
Depending how much snow you get a bucket is a must so you can keep the snow pushed back. As mentioned with a machine like that you have versatility. I use my skidsteer all the time, firewood, road maintenance, taking heavy shit out of the truck etc.
And it does wheelies :)

4runner would make a lousy plow truck anyway. I wouldn't do that.
 
philsey said:
. . . there is nothing like a small tractor: blade, bucket, mower . . .
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... post hole digger, trailer mover, roto-tiller, pallet forks, boom pole, snow blower, log splitter, wood chipper, bale spear, etc. . . . .

The 30 hp tractor in "My Garage" does a lot more than keep the snow cleared from 12,000+ square feet of pavement.
 
jrob said:
I also have about 1 mile of dirt road that sees storms in excess of 3 feet at times. I no longer plow the entire thing, just my driveway and access road which is about 1/8 mile.
I have a Gehl skidsteer which is perfect. When we were responsible for the whole road we had a cat IT 24 which is ideal, but expensive.
Depending how much snow you get a bucket is a must so you can keep the snow pushed back. As mentioned with a machine like that you have versatility. I use my skidsteer all the time, firewood, road maintenance, taking heavy shit out of the truck etc.
And it does wheelies :)

4runner would make a lousy plow truck anyway. I wouldn't do that.
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After thinking about it - a 30hp tractor is just what I need and if I can get it for 3-6k all the more better. I'll put a blade on the UTV for the smaller storms. Anything larger and I'll contract out time from the machines at the mill.
 
Bumping the thread I see that e-trailer is advertising plows on here now and there is another user here that runs a plow it was spotted in his garage
 
As Greg pointed out, plowing is brutally hard on equipment, and will break untold components. If your road or driveway isn't too large, an ATV with Warn plow does wonders. Mine handles a 1-mile road without trouble and doubles as a Zamboni.
 

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