The biggest question for the OP "rdl" is have you determined a way to calculate gains in efficiency, production rates, or overall machine route capacity by using your model of pusher, over more conventional models? I know if you pushing a 16' pusher, at X rate of speed, you will cover the same ground no matter what brand or type. But other than driving down the road legally, what gains or ROI should I expect to see that would justify me spending twice the money on your pusher, over a conventional pusher?
Also, explain the differences and or benefits this product offers the end user over the very similar design that S Houle offers.
I think it looks nice and I'm not bashing it, I just would be interested to know what the story is there. I buy equipment based on numbers, and facts, not emotions and coolness factor. Its kind of like that "why should I hire you" type of question that any business needs a unique answer to. If theres not a clear answer with reasoning and facts, theres no purpose to anything.
+1
Collin,
Thank you for clarifying my earlier question
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2006 ford f350/8' fisher HD MM2
I really like the concept of these blades, along with the Shoule blades (which this looks shockingly similar to), but still I too have a hard time justifying the cost of these types of blades. Also, the moving parts worry me on these. If I'm running a good old pro-tech rubber edge, and something breaks, grab a sledge hammer, tap it out, and weld it back together. Not so much the case with a lot of these.
On the other hand, that is what I thought of the snow blowers (esp the cost), but now that I own two I am able to easily justify the cost based on my increase in efficiency. Being that a snow blower is a completely separate tool, for a different use, with no comparisons and a pusher has endless types, models, and companies to choose from, it becomes much harder to justify the extra cost.
As far as expandable goes, I do like it better than the "swing-out" foldable designs though. Also, a big advantage I see is fitting in between islands, then expanding and covering sq footage. A big problem I have is sites where the snow needs to be located to one area, I have to get the snow from one big lot, to the other big lot, but I have two sets of islands to get through to bring it there. Anything bigger than 12 feet simply will not work for this, but when pushing the open parts (95% of the lot) its too small and inefficient. I know theres got to be a better way, and this style pusher looks like it. But again, time vs. cost... It just doesn't weigh out here for me.
The biggest question for the OP "rdl" is have you determined a way to calculate gains in efficiency, production rates, or overall machine route capacity by using your model of pusher, over more conventional models? I know if you pushing a 16' pusher, at X rate of speed, you will cover the same ground no matter what brand or type. But other than driving down the road legally, what gains or ROI should I expect to see that would justify me spending twice the money on your pusher, over a conventional pusher?
Also, explain the differences and or benefits this product offers the end user over the very similar design that S Houle offers.
I think it looks nice and I'm not bashing it, I just would be interested to know what the story is there. I buy equipment based on numbers, and facts, not emotions and coolness factor. Its kind of like that "why should I hire you" type of question that any business needs a unique answer to. If theres not a clear answer with reasoning and facts, theres no purpose to anything.
Hi Collin,
I will try to answer your questions in order. The non BS fact about these blades is that they are designed to open and close. If you are not going from one parking lot to another or in your example of the islands, not needing to change plow sizes, you will be fine with a straight blade. As I wrote earlier in the thread, I have nothing bad to say about companies like Protech or Avalanche who specialize in these kinds of plows. Keep this in mind, that adding a plow to a bucket puts things that much further out in front of you and decreases mobility and visabilty.
I would like to give you a number in terms of efficiency over conventional plows but I don't have it and I don't believe it would be accurate for if I did have it. Besides the mobility advantage that these blades provide in terms of driving legally you also need to keep in mind that the back dragging does give you a distinct advantage in terms of how close you can get to objects.
In terms of ROI, if you have a look at plows like ours and our fellow Canadian competitors S-Houle you will see a distinct difference in terms of construction. We are built tough, and if you want to be competitive in Quebec where we don't have LIGHT winters you have no choice but to be well built. The fact is, whether it is snow blowers or snow plows, Quebecers are known for building products that last in the harshest of climates. If you have the time to go through our flickr account (www.flickr.com/photos/cotech) and right click to enlarge the photos you can see the time and effort put into each product that leaves the factory.
When it comes to the difference between our two companies, the major one is price. I respect S -Houle and I will not divulge their prices here but I did give you our pricing (7-12 is about $8,000.00 + freight) and you are free to compare that yourself. A major part of the difference is the fact that we have over 200 stocking Cotech dealers that buy all sorts of attachments from us, from snow plows to stone forks. Because of that we are able to keep costs down and production running year round. The second major cost difference comes from us not willing to do business with distributors, meaning we sell to the dealer and they sell it to you. Cutting out the middle man saves you, the end user, thousands.
Bottom Line, you should buy our plow IF you want the expanding feature. Then keep it for years because you have one of the 2 best expandable plows on the continent.
I hope I answered all your questions, if not let me know
Hey Mike welcome to PS. If I may I would like to add my two cents worth. First off I think it only fair to compare this pusher to any other that has a steel cutting edge that trips and has a pullback kit.
Here in Quebec the local police the provincial police and the DOT can and will hand out hefty fines to anyone roading a machine that exceeds 9 feet. This is the number one reason why so many Quebec snow contractors have these kinds of pushers.
Now if you have multiple contracts on a given route, this is when the expandable pusher becomes very efficient. Instead of clearing snow at all these clients with a 9 foot pusher, you now can do them with a 12 foot box plow. (that's the major difference between a expandable plow verses a power wing plow) Personally I would be using a 8-13, that extra foot can make a big difference. Another added bonus is the the pull back feature, allowing you to do everything with just one plow.
The pull back is not often talked about, but wow once you have it you wonder why you did without all this time.
On larger sites where equipment is dedicated, it becomes harder to justify the extra cost. I still see some advantages, but it will take much longer to get the ROI. Collin the example you gave is great, with having to push between islands. This kind of plow will increase efficiency, but by how much I cannot say. On larger sites when you are doing daytime clearing, it is handy that you can choose what every size you need. For example you are clearing a parking lane, where the stalls are full of cars. If its a long push and you do not want to leave trails behind the cars, you start in the 8 foot position, and as the plow fills up you slowly extend it to gather more snow without leaving a trail behind the cars. Another example is if you are pushing heavy snow, you may want to push with the plow closed. After multiple pushes, you can then extend the plow to its full width and pick up two trails instead of one. These are just some examples I am thinking of right now, all I can say is you will find an increase in efficiency how much I cannot say. I only have one video that's give a small example of day time snow clearing. http://youtu.be/Y4JU87Y3jeA
Thats all the time I have right now, hope this helps.
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