Jeeps for plowing?

I have often wondered if jeep would be any good for plowing.Has any one used them in the past or present.I know that power might be a problem but i know of kits to switch engines with V8's.If any one has any ideas on this please let me know what you think.<p>THANKS!<br>from:Adam<br>AB Lawn Care

 

I saw a ford explorer plowing once. They can do a good job in tight areas. I am trying to find like a 92 or 93 explorer the first year they came out. If i can find one of those i might try to plow the condos with that. A 2 door explorer with 6.5&quot; fisher plow, and 6' pull plow. That might do a great job at the condos. Just thinking up more and more ideas.<p>Geoff

 

Adam, power is not the biggest concern, weight is. A bigger engine will make the Jeep heavier. Using a light plow will make plowing possible. I had a Jeep with a 4 cylinder, and a Western plow up front. The plow was way too heavy for the Jeep. Dropping the plow caused the Jeep to spin out. This was a 6.5' plow. Not sure what gears were in the axles.<br>My buddy had an 85 CJ, with a 258 six cyl. and a Meyer plow. That Jeep plowed like hell. Ran circles around mine, and even in deep snow (6&quot;+), it did good. Not sure what axle gears he had either. Look for a Jeep with a 258 six, and a light plow. Check out the plow makers websites for weights. There was a thread on this topic before, in the old forum. I wonder if chuck archived it all. Wonder if it's still accessable. I had that old URL somewhere.....<p><br>~Chuck<p>----------<br>Chuck's Chevy Truck Pages - Snowplowing Central<br>http://members.aol.com/csmith669/plowcentral.html

 

My Favorite plow truck was an 81 CJ7 with a 7 1/2 foot Myers on the front. We filled the back with concrete test cylinders to keep it on the ground!!!. I bought it in 93 and sold it in 95. We used it for the two busiest winters ever. It had a 4 speed with a 258, and could turn on a dime. It would eat up large commercial sidewalks. I have a picture I will dig up to put on Chuck's Page. Definitely a good choice if you have tight spots or driveways.<p><p><p>----------<br>Phil Grande - Soundview Landscape Supply - http://members.aol.com/slsnursery<br>Ivy League Landscaping - http://members.aol.com/scagrider

 

I plow with a 1993 GMC S15Jimmy with a 6'8 Snoway plow with the down pressure system. It's got the 4.3 vortech with 200 horses and the very durable 4L60E tranny, oh yeah it's got leather too! Let me tell you that this thing plows like hell. You'll have faster wear and tear on your front end then you would with a full size, but oh well. I've been plowing for 5 years and for driveways up to medium size lots this size vehicle can't be beat. Nobody with a bigger truck plowing near me at the same time has ever finished a driveway faster than me. The turning radius is unbeievable compared to a full size truck. Wacth out for the trannys in the Explorer's and Rangers as they are known to be weak.

 

New jeeps are expensive - almost as much<br>as a truck. The manufacturer says<br>the plow is only for personal use and not<br>commercial use for the plows that fit it.<br>Sure it may do good for driveways but an<br>8' plow on a truck is only 1 1/2 ft. larger.<br>The truck at least 3/4 ton can handle<br>a professional pro plow for commercial use.<br>A jeep is not built as strong as a truck.<br>Just look at the difference between a jeep<br>and 3/4 ton. Then if you get larger jobs<br>you will wish you had the 8' ft blade.<br>Overall i think they are more of a personal<br>use vehicle then one designed to make $$$$<br>clearing snow. I priced a new jeep - around<br>22,000 without a plow. Then the only plow<br>for it is personal use plow.<br>They seem like a waste of $$$$.<br>that is the goal afterall for clearing snow<br>to make $$$$$$$. In a really deep snow I<br>doubt the truck can keep up with a truck<br>for moving alot of snow.<br>bill

 

I think that Jeeps have their place in a plowing fleet. When deciding what vehicle I wanted to plow with, I considered a Jeep. Manuveribility would be awesome, probally as good as it gets for a street legal vehicle.<p>I ended up going with a 3/4 ton pickup. A jeep is simply not suited for the salting that I have to do. There are many times that I wish I was in a Jeep. My truck has a HUGE turning radius. <p>I picked the PU because it is more versital. I can do just about anything that I need, it may take a little more time to manuver. The PU was also better suited to my summer needs.<p>In the future I would like to have a Jeep for a personal vehicle in the summer, and put it into plowing service in the winter. I would only use it fir selected sites.<p>Like anyting, the Jeeps of today are not like the ones past. Older ones are probally a little heaiver, and more suited for plowing.

 

I like the idea of using a jeep or a small 4X4 to plow. My friend has a 92(?) Explorer with a fisher minute mount plow. He plows out small commercial places like McDonalds and the explorer does the job for him. The guys that use jeeps to plow in my area use meyer or western because they aren't as heavy as fishers. I've seen these guys plowing residential driveways, and they work great.<p>Bryan<p>----------<br>The Snowplow Homepage<br>http://www.snowplow.web.com<br>

 

I am thinking about getting a ranger with a 6.9 fisher minute mount, and 6' pull plow to do those condos. I can use the truck in the summer so it might be a better choice than the skid steer. I am going to think about it, and maybe try a skid steer at the condos. I might try a skid steer with a blade and if it works well, go with that. Maybe the ranger would be better, a small truck has it's place. When i first got started i plowed with a 9' on a 1/2 ton, that can't be any worse than a 6.9 on the ranger. Oh well just something to think about.<p>Geoff

 

Why not build a 3/4 or even 1 ton jeep? Do a spring over put full width Dana 60's underneath, or GM Corporate 14 bolt rear with dana 60 front. Stuff the pigs with 4.56 gears, and Detroits. Old AMC 304's, 360's, 401's in Jeeps like the Commando were backed with TH400's which are stout. Upgrade the t-case to an Atlas II. Mount up some 33's and plow. Besides in the summer you'd have an awesome rockcrawling machine. Just dreaming a bit. I do own a 72' Commando with a spring over and a 360 sitting on 33's. Plans are for the 1 ton axles. So maybe I'll be trying out this setup somewhere in the future.

 

The toughest jeep type veicle is the Toyota FJ series of the 60's and 70's. Very tough. Out here, where it is rugged, Toys sell from $4k to 7K for a ok to very good. They are great for small areas, yet can push a 1/4mi of 6&quot; snow forever. Problems: clutches, the lack of owner maint. Not a hwy speeder. Also not high on creature comforts. If I could afford one, I'd snatch in in a minute. Finding a for sale FJ set up for plowing is almost impossible.

 

I agree with you toyota landcrusers are alot tuffer then jeeps.I would have asked about plowing with them but up here in canada 4-7 thousand for one turns into 6-17 thousand.They cost so much up here becouse they are hard to find.There where built to be used and abused off road.I was going to buy an awsome one.I will have to tell you that story tommorow becouse in 5 min I am going to have to get ready to go out and do some snow removal.By the way thanks for your input Lou.<p>from:Adam<br>AB Lawn Care

 

Geoff<br>Good luck finding a plow for a ranger. We have a 99 Ranger and I know that fisher and western dont make a plow mount kit for those trucks. We adapted one from a 95 ranger. the fisher blade that was original was junk. After 3 yrs of plowing it was toast. we retroed a meyer to it, much better.<br>Meyer may make a plow for it, I am not sure. The truck plows fine, and is very manuverable.<br>dino

 

thanks for the info, right now i am just throwing ideas around. I don't think meyer makes mounts for the ranger either. Maybe i could go with a 150. The new 150s havea gvw of 7,300, i could plow with that i bet. Only then it's too big, maybe the bobcat is the way to go.<p>Geoff

 

In 1999 Dodge started offering a light duty plow package for 1500's. Might be my next truck.

 

my cousin has a jeep grand cheoke. I like it the v8 has plenty of power but it shoul be noted I would not put anything more than a 7 foot plow. A 6foot 6 inch is a good size. we also put a salt spreader on the back this year. it seems to help balence the weigh of the plow, but we can only fill it up half of the way because of weight limits.<br>

 

I have a 89 wrangler and used it this winter to plow snow , had no problems, have a western pro plow weights 560 lbs. jeep sits low on the front and have done some commercial plowing with it! Wouldn't want to use a truck because you can't turn around, I'm done when the other guys are just getting started!!!!