Do you know how to extend the life of your plow? Snow Plow News talks with several experts in the snow and ice industry to get their tips to keep snowplows in the best shape.
February 18, 2022 | Dawn Krueger
Snow Plow News met up with several industry experts to get their personal opinion based on their years of experience about what they feel are the best ways to extend the life of a snowplow. Think you know everything about maintaining your plow? Why not make sure? Keep reading to see the tips your industry peers wanted to share.
“Do the maintenance like they said every year. Change the fluid so you don’t get any water in there… get the [contanimants] out of the plow and grease the cylinders so they don’t get any rust on them and stuff when you’re not using it.”
“Regular maintenance – make sure the mounting bolts are tight to the chassis, make sure your fluid levels are up, make sure that you have no binds in the wiring harnesses that wire the plow to the chassis.”
“So storage is a big thing. A lot of people don’t clean them properly and they just stick them outside without covering them or taking care of them. If you can put it inside and you can put dielectric grease in the plugs and change the fluid, put some grease on any chrome that’s exposed in the cylinder – those things will extend the life of your plow.”
When asked what typically goes wrong with snowplows regardless of the brand, Tod Bozer of Bob’s Services in Alaska cited abuse. He thinks using plows for things they weren’t created for and traveling at too high of speeds and hitting things is the number one thing that goes wrong.
Several other experts chimed in with similar answers, encouraging a good maintenance program and changing fluids regularly. Washing off the plow after using it is key to remove corrosive materials.
Jerry Heyer from Jerry’s Service in Pennsylvania brought up a good point – “Actually pay attention to it like they do their truck.” It’s easy to ignore the plow since it has no engine in it and focus our attention on maintaining the truck that might break down and leave us stranded. But plows can break down too and cost us time and money. And if you do break your plow, get it fixed before you store it away for the next storm so it’s always ready to go!
Video on Snowplow Maintenance Tips
Check out the complete video of snowplow maintenance tips below to see what even more dealers and contractors had to say.
Want more tips and new product news for the snow and ice industry? Keep reading the Snow Plow News blog. We are your #1 source for snow and ice management news and reviews that matters most to you!