Picture it: Wind blustering, strobes flashing, the sounds of whining hydraulics and steel dragging against asphalt. It may not seem like much to most folks, but for an adolescent car nut during a Maine winter, that scene was like Norman Rockwell comfort food. The plowman’s late-night arrival meant there was already enough white stuff on the ground to possibly shut down school in the morning or, at the very least, provide some fresh powder to play in. The rumble of that ’78 Chevy’s Cherry Bombs blasting out 350 cubic-inches of power as it bulldozed its way down the driveway was well worth a few minutes of lost sleep.
Thirty years later, the kid has grown up, and now sees plow trucks from a more mature perspective. Sure, in some respects they’re still big toys, but now they’re big toys associated with big dollars, both spent and earned. And, like trucks, snowplow technology has advanced significantly over the years, providing lots of value, convenience and capability, yet serving up an equal number of questions on different types of plows, features and options to be aware of, pricing, and a few examples of models designed for different trucks and needs. Let’s dig in.
Snow Plows Basics
There’s a lot that goes into a snowplow, but the most obvious part is the blade. Finished in shiny stainless steel or painted any variety of colors, blades are either straight or V-shaped, the latter featuring a pivot point in the middle that helps direct the snow. Buyers can opt for extendable blades, ordered directly from the factory or created by hooking up so-called “wing” accessories.