Plowing with a T4R ???

[draat]

This is my first post. Woohoo.
I love my new 2004 4Runner Sport V6 with a whole 635 miles on it!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has looked into putting a light weight lexan plow on thier truck?

I know that the manual says that it isn't recommended but when has that stopped you guys.

Oh, and thanks for all of the tips and advice that I've gotten from this forum.

 

[bluewolf]

I'm assuming you have a ton of snow to remove in the winter (like me), otherwise why bother right? I see a lot of people install snow blades on their expensive new trucks, but I sure as hell wouldn't do it. No passenger vehicle's frame is designed for pushing heavy snow around. Although it may get the job done, why would you want to use your 4Runner for something it was not designed to do? Whether it's capeable of it or not, moving any sizeable amount of snow will put a lot of unevenly-distributed stress on your frame.

I'd say use your $35,000 vehicle for transportation and having fun. Buy an old pickup or tractor ($5,000) for beat-up work and grading snow.

 

[TranceKrayz]

what is this for? your driveway? you could just buy a really good snow plow. they plow the snow in my school lot with a big snow plow, not a truck, and it works really well. my church uses a plow for their lot and man do i feel sorry for that truck. forward and reverse, forward and reverse.......all day....

 

[draat]

The plowing that I was considering would be for my personal property and my wifes Preschool business period. It wouldn't be anything major - just a couple of driveways. I figure that the 4R is more than rugged enough ot handle that.

Maybe I'll just stick to freezing my a-- off running the snowblower! But boy would it be nice to sit in my nice comfy warm 4R...

 

[toybox]

I don't know if you have a lawn tractor or how much you want to plow but I bought a plow for my lawn tractor (riding lawn mower) and it works great surprisingly. Plus it is more manueverable than a large truck so I don't damage my driveway or landscaping. I'm kicking myself for not getting this sooner.


EDIT: I was a little late with the reply and now I see what you need it for. The plow was only like $300 and is way faster than a snowblower. Coupled with a small trailer this idea may still be a good one.

 

[EDGE]

Maybe I'll just stick to freezing my a-- off running the snowblower! But boy would it be nice to sit in my nice comfy warm 4R...

If you wanna keep the 4Runner the nice new comfy ride then avoid beating the life out of it with the plow, plowing is hell on every part of the truck, my friend does plowing on the side and he replaces the front ends of his truck countless times during 1 season, and if you plow with a heavy foot you will be looking at a larger repair bill cause then you can end up with driveshaft and transmission problems, odd how guys think driving 30mph into a snow bank does not effect a vehicle.

Many guys I see put plows on pretty new trucks and SUV and the following year they don't since the repair bills exceed the money they made plowing, now most of the smarter guys have a dedicated plow vehicle or just plow with something they can drive to the junkyard after the season.

A friend plowed with a 2002 Jeep Cherokee, the trucks front wheels wobbled 6 inches front to back when driving, truck developed many issues and was sold:

 

[jharris2]

What's a snowplow for? Then again, what's snow???

 

[TechWrench]

This is my first post. Woohoo.
I love my new 2004 4Runner Sport V6 with a whole 635 miles on it!

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone has looked into putting a light weight lexan plow on thier truck?

I know that the manual says that it isn't recommended but when has that stopped you guys.

Oh, and thanks for all of the tips and advice that I've gotten from this forum.

Not that I would ever want to put a plow on my '03, but you started me thinking..........

So I did some quick searching, and wasn't able to find one manufacturer who made a plow system for the 4th Gen runners. From what I see of the front frame on mine, I would think a plow frame would be an interesting engineering challenge. I'm not saying it would be impossible, but I kinda doubt there would be enough of a market to make the development effort worthwhile.

I wish you good luck, if you chose to persue this, but I would have to agree with the others, find another option.

 

[Iman74]

I would never put a plow on my 4 Runner. If for any reason I did need a plow, I would make sure I bought a vehicle that was:
A. Designed for it.
B. Did not mind it getting damaged that is common from using plows:
-Suspension
-Front-end