!#5: Bike Rack Trunk Immediately: January 2012

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Truck-Mounted Snow Blowers

!±8± Truck-Mounted Snow Blowers

Truck-mounted snow blowers affix to the front of a pickup or sport utility vehicle. Drawing power from the vehicle engine, a truck-mounted snow blower can eat a path 7 feet wide and 3 feet tall, throwing the snow 40 feet in any non-backwards direction. With its 2-cylinder, 4-cycle, 27-horsepower gas engine, a truck-mounted snow blower carries the same amount of power and force of six full-size push units. It's no wonder people have been using them religiously in mountainous and rural areas since 1980.

The snow blower manufacturer Hanson is credited for first introducing pickup truck-mounted snow blowers; Hanson continues to be the only manufacturer actively marketing them. Based on a long tradition of tractor-mounted snow blowers, Hanson truck-mounted snow blowers are powerful, solid, and efficient.

If you're thinking about buying a truck-mounted snow blower, there are some things you should consider first.

A truck-mounted snow blower weighs 800 pounds. Your truck or SUV must weigh at least half a ton, preferably ¾ or a full ton, to support its weight.

Your vehicle must be a 4-wheel drive and have automatic transmission because at low speeds, operating a manual transmission and the snow blower simultaneously can be very difficult.

Truck-mounted snow blowers are compatible with most plow mounts, including Meyers, Western, Fisher, and other common brands. Before buying a truck-mounted snow blower, contact Hanson and tell them what kind of a plow mount you're working with, just to be safe.

Truck-mounted snow blowers take their power from the vehicle engine. All the controls are wired into the truck cab, including the electric key start, choke, throttle, discharge chute rotation and deflection, and hydraulic snow blower lift. Imagine the power of having all these controls in the cab with you as you heroically clear all the snow from your neighborhood roads. They are also great for small road contracting businesses.

Three alternatives to truck mounted snow blowers are:

Truck mounted snowplows: If you live in a more densely populated area, you don't want to be launching tons of road snow onto your neighbors' walkways, driveways, vehicles, and pets. It's usually better to get a plow, which merely pushes the snow off the road.

Tractor-mounted snow blowers: If you live in a rural area, a tractor-mounted unit is best. Chances are you have a lot of area to clear, so you'll need the snow moving power of a tractor.

ATV-mounted snow blowers: The Snow Hogg (not to be confused with Snow Hog, a maker of snow tires) is a big snow blower that attaches to your all-terrain vehicle, making for one hungry-looking snow chomper. Smaller than a truck-mounted unit, but still more powerful than most push units, the Snow Hogg can clear a path 42" wide and almost two feet deep, with a chute rotation range of 210. The Snow Hogg weighs almost 400 pounds, but thanks to a built-in suspension and traction system, the machine only puts about 10 to 15 pounds of stress on your ATV frame.