Ditto what everyone else is saying. Snowplow usage is some of the hardest work you can do on a truck. You can do snowplow work with a half ton, but the frame will most likely start cracking after awhile. You really need a 3/4 ton for plowing. The frames are beefier but can still develop stress cracks but you’ll get better service than a 1/2 ton. Can’t imagine anyone wanting to snowplow in a midsized/compact truck.
How long do work trucks last
- Thread starter avacado11
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My issue is that I don’t tow or haul frequent enough to justify driving something the size of a half ton or bigger on a daily basis.
For snow removal only I’ve been thinking of an ATV or SxS with a blower attachment, but then I would need a new trailer, which in turn ends up being a good chunk of $$ into the set up with a truck that’s maxed out. Plus having to hook up a trailer and load/unload for relatively small lots is abit excessive.
The Tacoma is a great truck but it's not built for plow duty. I'd just get a nice snowblower and save the wear and tear on the truck.
Body wise when I got my new HD I bought many cans of PB blaster Surface Shield rust preventative. Seems like great stuff , got the hose to run inside of the frames and anywhere I couldn't get a good shot at . These vehicles are to expensive to watch rust away . Plus when I sell it I will benefit I hope .
I brought my truck used and the rust had already started. Made the mistake of using undercoat on the clean parts of the frame because it seems to make rust worse. The only worrying part on the truck currently is the transmission lines. They are extremely rotted and the factory rubber lining on the lines make it nearly impossible to sand and refinish.
A timely Krown rustproofing application would've helped, and may still help what hasn't already rotted, but the layer of typical undercoating may limit the usefulness of Krown, too.
A lot of people (and companies) buy new trucks every couple of years partially because of how taxes are treated for them in running a business. On top of that, sometimes image, and reliability are factors as well. Typically companies that run older fleets will have a truck or two in reserve as spares to make up for the more frequent repairs needed on most plow rigs.
Light duty trucks just are not built for running around with hundreds of pounds hanging off the front of the truck. Not over the axle line, but well in front of everything. CV joints, ball joints, wheel bearings are common "consumables" in a truck subjected to regular snow removal duties.
The light duty/homeowner level products end up using light duty components to keep the weight down, and it become easier to assume itcan handle more than they are built for - right up until you find the breaking point.
If you are prepared to replace these types of items on a much shorter schedule, then have fun. If not, then look to another solution.
Light duty trucks just are not built for running around with hundreds of pounds hanging off the front of the truck. Not over the axle line, but well in front of everything. CV joints, ball joints, wheel bearings are common "consumables" in a truck subjected to regular snow removal duties.
The light duty/homeowner level products end up using light duty components to keep the weight down, and it become easier to assume itcan handle more than they are built for - right up until you find the breaking point.
If you are prepared to replace these types of items on a much shorter schedule, then have fun. If not, then look to another solution.
Yup the hard undercoating is about as bad as anything you can do to a vehicle .
To me, only people with money falling out of their pockets trade their HD work / plow trucks every 2-3yrs. I don't believe I've ever seen a business do this. Trucks are typically kept until they fall apart. They just get shuffled down the line until they rust to the point of no return.
That is a lot different than snow plow service though.
I have a friend who plows his driveway with a snoway plow on the front of his mid '10s Tacoma. Not commercial and not sure I'd do it commercially with such a light truck. Heck, I wouldn't even want to plow with my F-350
4WD
$50 site donor 2024
Yeah - folks that don’t know better think a Hilux can’t fail either - we run them loaded in snow/mud overseas and they go through more driveline components than our F250 PSD’s do …
Most of the non-commercial trucks with plows around here are ancient relics
Yeah, they aren't the guys trying fix the beater plow truck and/or the beater plow before the next snow fall... That meyers with the manual angling looks decent for moderate snow, far faster than the walk behind blower option for sure. I'm sure you know not to push the banks back with it and it will be fine. Also being light is good to save the front of the truck some strain too, and if you have an "oops", odds are you'll tweak something on the plow you can take off and beat straight again with a hammer...
We used a 1/2 ton suburban for parking lot plow duty and it beat it up so bad we stopped registering it and just left it hooked to a plow for almost 10 years - went straight to the junkyard..
My grandfathers lumber and plow truck was a 1954 Marmon Harrington, ton and a half, no bed left, no doors and just an air powered ebrake
5 speed granny dual range and lockers
No title no plates
Seats was an actual wooden bench
19” rims with what looked like tall skinny tractor tires
Was good through the 90’s when he gave up replacing points all the time
Had a long hard life after it was junked by the county crew driving in swamps, pulling stumps and plowing snow
