Fisher Snowplows

What are the good aspects and the downsides of fisher snowplows? I don't know why everyone dislikes them. Personally, I like the bottom trip edge and the way it plows. I don't like when other plows trip and the whole blade trips. Why do you like or dislike fisher plows?<p>Bryan<br>http://www.snowplow.web.com- now with an &quot;equipment&quot; section. Do you have a cool picture of snow removal equipment,you trucks, etc? Email it to me at BKrois@aol.com , and I'll add it to my site.

 

Bryan,<br>I have only used Fisher's,except a<br>Pathfinder a long time ago. So I can't compare to others.<p>I like how solid they are built. The frame, moldboard, etc are very strong. This makes them a little heavy though. The hydraulics work well for me, I have seen faster electric/hydro's on other brands.<p>As far as the trip edge, the design is great, but seems to take too much to trip sometimes. This transfers a lot of the 'hit' to the truck. I think we have all seem the blade come a foot off the ground. I still can't get used to that. Also if while it is tripping there is another obstacle in front it can damage the moldboard. I would like to use other brands to compare but just about everyone around here has Fishers.

 

Fisher makes a very good plow, in fact most plows are very well made. When I first started chatting with Chuck Smith, the first thing I asked was why he liked meyer plows. We all have used plows that were poorly maintained and that is usually what contributed to failure.<br>As far as fisher plows here is what I like about them. The bottome trip design allows greater movement of hard and crusted snow, it is also heavier so it doesnt ride over the snow. The problems I have are also the same two points, the extra weight is a terror on front ends and the bottom trip shakes the hell out of the truck. If they used a split trip design on the 8 footers on up it would help with the shock transfere to the truck.<br>The angled trip edge also prevents full use of the cutting edge, fisher should also double punch the edge so the cutting edge can be lowered to use it fully. Also if you are not familiar with the trip edge design and let it wear up to far it will wear the bottom of the spring monts on the edge and cause $$$$ damage. The min/mount works well, and the new v plows are great. The 6 1/2 that we owned wasnt built very strongly, and we have replaced it with a meyer blade.Oh yeah, the fisher is terible at slushing off, and scraping packed snow, the cutting edge contacts the pavement at such an angle that it prevents the edge from cleaning very well. Also it is annoying when after the blade trips, a stone or snow gets packed in between the plow and the edge. Nothing worse than trying to pry out a stone when you have 100's of lbs of pressure holding it there. And I agree with the 1' ounce at times, very shocking.LOL <br>Chuck as a side point, the diamond plows are bottom trip design. The original makers of the diamond were fisher defectors, so they built what they new. They originally used a torsion spring, but when they were bought by meyer, they retro fitted the springs from the 6 1/2 foot light duty blade for use on the diamond plow.<br>If I think of anything else I will repost.<br>Dino<p>

 

Well it's a matter of preference for me. As Dino pointed out, the bottom trip has many drawbacks. I agree with all he said. Also, I'm wondering why you dislike top trip designs? Western's Pro Plow has the trip shock, which really smooths it out. I expect Meyer to follow, and Diamond, since Meyer owns Diamond. Western owns Fisher.<br>Funny, I think they make other brands as well, or sell the steel to other companies that make them.<br>Back to top trip. Older Meyer plows, only used 2 trip springs, which made tripping too easy. Plows would lean easily. If one spring broke while plowing, forget it until you put on a new spring.<br>Packed snow, also made them lean.<br>I'm not sure when, but Meyer added a third trip spring. This stopped leaning. It also made a huge improvement in scraping up packed snow. If you break one spring, now you can finish the storm, if you don't keep a spare handy. The only thing I see top trip design lacking, as I said before, is a shock for the rebound.<br>I welded on some angle iron, and added my own third trip spring 4 years ago. Maybe I should figure out how to mount a shock. Western uses a Gabriel. Could try one of those....<p>----------<br>Chuck's Chevy Truck Pages - Snowplowing Central<br>http://members.aol.com/csmith669/plowcentral.html

 

I,ve plowed with Fisher plows the last 10 years. Have plowed with Meyers,Western,& Arctic. I like the Fisher best. In particular the Minute Mount system. It's great not to have to carry the heavy head gear when your not plowing, and it truly only takes a minute to hook up. I now into my 3rd season with an EZ-V<br>As it was one of the frist they sold, and I did have a few problems but both the dealer and Fisher were great to deal with and they were resolved. The Insta act system is great, it,s the fastest system out there.<br>Bill

 

I have plowed for 10 years, and have used both Fisher and Diamond plows. I am a Maine resident, and around here the only thing used is Fisher or Diamond, very few Westerns or Meyer plows. Also both Fisher and Diamond, are built right in Maine. We started to change to Diamond in 95 when pull away system was released, any size Diamond blade weighs less then a Fisher or equal size. The Diamond blades have also stood up a lot better then the Fishers. Diamond features a double sided cutting edge, a deeper curved blade, a stronger a frame, and easer attachment then the Fisher Minute Mount. I currently own 2 Fisher v plows, and if you look at the a-frame and springs, they look a lot like a Diamond. I own 10 Diamond plows in total in 8, 8.5, 9 foot blades. The other big reason why we started going to Diamond in 95 was the difference in price, in Maine a 8 foot Diamond with the E 60 H pump, cost $ 2,800.00, a Fisher electric was $ 3,300.00. <p>Geoff

 

I love my Fisher 8' Minute-mount. Yes, it takes maybe a minute to hook up. Downside, if you drop the plow, then get a load of sand or something and the front end height changes, its a bear to get it lined up again to reattach.<p>Its a heavy plow, so you best have a truck that can handle it. But its the best plow for backblading. Its also bulletproof, so you dont have to worry about gluing it back together. Anything that breaks a Fisher will break the truck as well.<p>I like the trip edge design. The Meyer design will dump the whole load of snow. If you take it easy, the trip edge is a tolerable design. Stacks heavy snow easily, cant do that with a Meyer.<p>One dislike, my heavy-duty 8 foot fisher sticks out farther from the front of the truck than other plows. It also does not angle at as sharp an angle as other plows.<p>Bill

 

I really hate to beat on Fisher again. Only Fisher's weight isn't found in its blade and a-frame. It is found on its lift frame, it is bulky and two heavy. Diamond's pull away system uses a lighter lift frame, but a Diamond blade is weighs more, and backdrags better, anyways no matter what ya backdrag with it sucks. I have owned Fisher plows, and still own 2 Fisher V-Plows because the Meyer V Plow sucks, it doesn't have a trip edge, that was why I bought the Fisher. The best features of the Diamond plow, is the two piviot points, so the weight of the snow is not all on the middle of the blade. The second feature would be the deeper curve found on blade, which rolls the snow a lot better then any other snowplow for light or medium duty truck on the market. This steeper curve will throw snow further, and with a rubber deflecter keep the snow of the truck. With a Diamond and a 10&quot; rubber deflector you will not need a snowfoil, I hate snowfoils you can't stack snow as well. Anyways for highspeed plowing on long driveways the Diamond will beat any plow hands down.<p>Geoff

 

Thanks for your replies. Geoff, you don't have to beat down on Fisher. I like Fisher plows, but I wouldn't buy one. I just wanted to see what people thought because a lot of local contractors have them. I like Diamond plows, but I wouldn't buy one because it doesn't pull away in one piece. If they made a new mounting system, maybe. Anyways, thank you everyone that responded to my post.<p>Happy Holidays!<p>Bryan<br>http://www.snowplow.web.com<br>

 

Maybe i did start to beat on Fisher too much, no snow can cause people to do things like that. Anyways I have just found that the Minutemount only works on a very level surface, and I can't fit 12 plows in my shop. That what i liked about Diamond, it gave you the best of both worlds, and the price difference.<p>Happy Holidays<p>Geoff

 

Bryan, I'm curious as to what brand of plow you own. Do you plow with a Fisher? Inquiring minds want to know! ;&gt<p>~Chuck<p>----------<br>Chuck's Chevy Truck Pages - Snowplowing Central<br>http://members.aol.com/csmith669/plowcentral.html

 

Chuck,<br>I do not own any snowplows. I don't even own a truck, I will when I get my drivers licsense. I am just very interested in snow removal equipment. I only put the post up about fisher because a lot of my friends have them, and my friend, who sells them says they're junk. I just wanted to see peoples opinions about them.<p>Bryan

 

Bryan, It is hard enough for someone in sales to sell a product they believe in, so it must be a bummer trying to sell a product that he thinks is junk. What you could do is, do what I did when I was a kid, build a snow plow and put it on the front of your bicycle. If you really want to plow, get a good sized garden tractor and put a plow on it. You would be ammazed at how much snow they will push. <p>----------<br>Eric@ELM<br>http://pages.prodigy.net/eric.erickson/index.html

 

Thanks Eric, I have a landscaping business and have some snowblowers(two-stage ones) and have customers for that in the winter. I also go with my friends when they go plowing.<br>Thanks<p>Bryan

 

Hey,<p>Another thing to do is try to find an older small tractor, witha front bucket. If you have a small front bucket and a 4 to 5 foot blade you can move mountains of snow. In fact i have a small John Deer with a bucket and a 5 foot blade. It will move a ton of snow every storm, and stacks higher then a truck sometimes with the right opperator. Only make sure if you buy a older tractor, just make sure you can repair it. I paid 25,000 for my John Deer, and is why i suggest you might have to get a used one.<p>Geoff

 

I've been plowing with a fisher plow for the last 10 years and they have never let me down. My 99 F350 has an 8' Min. Mount and I've had no troubles attaching to the truck(even on uneven ground).<br>Ray

 

I almost forgot, the biggest pro of fisher/western plows are that they are corporate members and sponsors of SIMA.Not only that but they were instrumental in developing the orginization. Any company that sees a need in their industry and is willing to take a chance on promoting a trade orginization that will benifit their customers, should be praised and commended by purchasing their equipment. While meyer/diamond are not. I hope they soon will be.<p>----------<br> Professional Ice and Snow Management <br>Products:Services:Equipment Think Snow

 

Are there no BOSS@ plows users in here? I've plowed with Meyer, Western & Fisher and now our whole fleet (11 plows) is BOSS. Every plow has it's pro's and con's, But the Old Boss Straight Blade was the most bullet-proof plow you can put on a pick-up truck. The new 10' V-Blade is the most productive.

 

I'm using an 8' fisher on an 88 F350. Love everything except for 1 problem. I was plowing with the shoes all the way up and tripped the edge pretty hard. Put 2 pretty good dent in the moldboard. Things you don't think about.