I am new to snowplowing. I am planning on to operate my own small plowing business for residental area. The brand of plow that I want to use is 6.5' Meyer snow plow. It is because it weigh 125 pounds less than Fisher 6'9" plow. I have a small pickup truck so that is why I am being careful with the weight of the plow. I am not sure whether to chose steel or poly. I know that the advantage of poly plow is that the snow does not stick to it and that it wont rust and don't need painting. But I noticed that many people stick to steel plow. I wonder why. Is there a disadvantage of poly plow? Which kind of plow, steel or poly, is stronger? Which one last longer? Which one would you suggest?
Hi wxmn6 - welcome to Lawnsite! A very helpful tool for finding information here is the "Search" feature, click on the word "search" in the top right corner of the screen, then enter the keyword(s) you wish to look for.
Does Fisher make a poly plow? I took a look at a Fisher brochure and didn't see any poly plows listed. Probably because I'm a welder by trade, I'm inclined to say a steel plow is my preference.
The term "poly plow" only applies to the moldboard surface itself, the moldboard frame and rest of the plow is still steel and therefore will require painting.
IMO, the biggest advantage of a steel plow over a poly one is ease of repair - read "welding"! Granted, when used properly (not abused) your plow shouldn't require much in the way of welding repairs, especially if you buy new.
Poly plows generally weigh as much as, or even slightly more than, their steel counterparts. This is because on a steel plow, the moldboard surface forms part of the structure (in essence, "unibody") while the poly plow moldboard frame has to be strong enough to carry all the load itself, therefore it's built heavier.
I don't want to start a brand war here, but the reason the Fisher plow is heavier than the corresponding Meyer is because the Fisher is a more robust plow overall - better suited for commercial ("business") use.
Another important factor in deciding which brand to buy is dealer support - especially after the sale. You want to be sure that your dealer will be there to help you "keep pushing" when the snow is falling. Downtime is costly.
There's a lot of good people with good info that post here - and while you're waiting for replies give the "Search" feature a try too!
What type of truck are you going to put it on? How many accounts of what size do you expect to have? That's going to make a lot of difference in the advise you get. You might want to do more research this summer before you decide definitely what type of equipment to use - especially if you'll be doing some plowing as a business. That's not to endorse any brand - just make sure what you get will fit your needs.
Luck,
Mick
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if it ain't broke, don't fix it
I have a 1989 Toyota Pickup 4WD truck with 22RE engine. This is a down-sized truck. I plan on to plow for about 10 to 15 customers. A Fisher plow would be nice, but the specification for Fisher Light Duty 6'9" steel plow weigh 525#. Thats sound a bit too heavy for my truck and would put alot of stress on my truck, would it? So that's why I thought about Meyer 6.5' plow since it weigh less. I know that it is good idea to buy a snow plow during spring and summer since the price is lower, and it give snowplowers the time to plan and get all questions answered before the arrival of winter. What kind of plow do you think is suitable for me?
No matter what plow you put on the truck it will stress it, it does to all trucks. Toyota makes a good little truck though, I had a '82 4x4, had to get rid of it- to much rot(it was 15+yrs old)still ran perfect though. My advise go with a Fisher, much better plow, go look at both, look at the difference in amount of steel in A-frame alone. Also with that truck make sure to put weight in it and run narrow tires.
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Mike Fronczak
Rochester Landscape Mgmt. Inc.
Welcome. I don't run them, but for your situation with only one truck and one attachment, I too would look at a Snow-Way first. Particularly for residential work where back blading will be done often. Pump stays with the blade, making your year-round weight less.
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John - Forestry feeds my family.
I ran a fisher on my old toyota and just purchase another. The Toyota will hold up to a fisher with normal mantainence. That plow is perfect for the size and power of the toyota. Excellent truck for small driveways. One of the reasons I am going back to one even though I have large fords for commercial accounts.
I ran one of those Meyer 6.5 footers for a couple of years awhile back on a S10 and it was a good set up for me as it was 4 cylinder. Nothing heavy duty by any stretch. You have to plow about 95% of the time going forward though as it weighs so little that when backplowing it goes about 1 foot and then rides up so you have about a 2" smooth packed mess to break up, usually by turning around and getting behind it and pushing to the street. It was great for 6' sidewalks though as you just angle it all the way and make one pass. In the right environment it can't be beat, but for residential service with lots of backplowing you may want to plow the very end first to have room to turn around and start pushing to the street.
I noticed that Fisher 6'9" plow do not have shoes on bottom of the plow. Meyer does have cast runners on bottom of the plow. Several of driveways that I would be plowing are gravel, so I guess it is important to have something on the bottom of plow to support it, right?
Hello again - looking at the Fisher brochure I see the 6' 9" LD series plow listed as being equipped with a polymer cutting edge (Dino - how does that compare to the urethane ones, or is it the same thing?) which I think will tend not to dig into gravel as much as a steel edge. Plus it states that a bolt-on shoe kit is available.
However, I think you'll find the majority of people don't run with shoes on their plows - even on gravel. (I know I don't!) Until the gravel driveway freezes up to provide a good base, the shoes will tend to dig in. Plus, the shoes work best on a smooth, level surface - something not found very often in the "real world"!
One trick that helps with gravel/dirt driveways and lots is keeping the blade just above the surface when plowing if it isn't frozen (use the "Hold" rather than "Float" position for this)
Again, a search under "shoes" here in the snowplowing forum will turn up some good info in previous threads.
If the polymer edge wear out fast, what do you suggest? Should I replace it with a steel cutting edge? Exactly what do no tripping ability mean? Does it mean that with the polymer edge, the edge is not likely to trip if it hit an object, correct?
Email me off forum, or call me at 860-859-0739 and I will go over the details of urethane vs polymer or steel. No I wouldnt install a steel edge either.
It just that this topic has been covered alot in the past and I dont want to waste more space with it here again.
Thanks
Dino
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Artic Groomer edges and spinners
We are the cutting edge of snow removal.
To say a polymer edge does not trip is misleading. The plow is set-up like all Fisher plows. Just has a piece of fast wearing plastic attached to it. Easiest fix is to have the local steel shop punch an edge to fit the hole pattern (mine cost $60 I think). This will allow for ability to cut through heavy snow as well as not wearing as fast. Most people I have seen make this modification.
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