Anyone plow snow with their truck?

So I have a 2014 TRD Tundra and I am considering getting a snow plow for my truck to do my driveway and maybe a few family members to help them out. I am honestly at the point that I am tired of snow-blowing and getting too old for that crap. My only concern is the potential extra wear/tear on the truck. Has anyone else installed a plow on their truck, if so do you regret it?

 

https://www.tundras.com/threads/plowing.146671/#post-3677689

Short answer: Yes, you can do it.
Long answer: No, don't do it.

Once you start considering snow plow means the salt is gonna be a very big issue eating your truck out, no matter how good you coat/protect/wash your truck.
Some even have rust from top down, which is very unusual, but logic if you snow plow.
If you would like to keep your Tundra, and given it is a 2014, it is UN-destructible, aside from salt.
Get a old beater to snow plow.... leave the Tundra alone....

 

Thanks for the honesty. I may just look into paying someone to do it and go with that.

 

With the salt though, That's only if you put a spreader on the back. If you're only literally just plowing the snow and that's it, then the Tundra will be fine.


Or still just get a 90's silverado for $1500 and toss a plow on and have it while the Tundra stays nice.

 

Lots of Tundras around here with snow plows every gen
Touota of Acton will gladly sell you one

 

1500 for any running 4x4 that could handle a plow
At least around here

 

Depending on the area you need plowed You could potentially get quite a few years of snow removal for the price of a plow

 

I used to own a commercial plow company. Have had a variety of plow rigs including a 5th gen 4Runner and a couple Land Cruisers. I never found additional rust as a result of a plow. But I also didn't drive around all winter with plows on a daily driver. Either the plows were mounted on dedicated plow vehicles or on my daily driver I would only use the plow for my own property and leave it at home otherwise. It's interesting to see just how much rust that linked truck had presumably from the airflow pulling salt up into the engine bay. Ugh.

My suggestion to consider is that with an IFS tundra - the front spring rates are really low. Probably around 250lb/in effective rate. A wester pro plow like I would generally buy weighs around 850lbs and is cantilevered off the front. Functionally it's like adding about 1,000lbs on the front end. That means around 2 inches of squat static. You'll be on the bump stops a lot. In GM HD trucks I would put a set of Timbrens in to replace the bump stops and it worked well for that weight. I'm not sure what's available for the Tundra. If you plan to drive around town with the plow on - plan on upgrading the front suspension to handle that weight. The Tundra front coils are just not ready for it. I'd think the truck otherwise would be great. Or find a light duty plow.

Incidentally - an FJ40 handles the weight and abuse surprisingly well. Probably my favorite plow base vehicle - super short wheelbase, tight turn radius, HD upgradeable powertrain, can swap a transmission in 3 hours, add power steering, disc brakes, upgraded alternator, dual batteries, and a modern distributer and they'll plow forever. Bonus with the 3 speed on the floor - reverse and 1st gear are directly forward and back. They'll clear a small business lot almost faster than I could unload and reload and tiedown a skid steer. Unfortunately they've become collectors items. I still have 2 of them. But the prices are so crazy now you couldn't justify putting a decent one into service for snow plow duty. One of mine I drove home for $500. Times have changed...

 

Great plow vehicle. The front end is well up to the task, but as Jetboy mentions, add some Timbren bumps or heavier spring and shock up front. Several nice 1/2 ton plows out there, but it can take a heavier unit. Check my build for the current plow.

 

I bought a used Boss plow for my 2012 (4.6) and used it for about 5 winters before transferring it to my 2021. I only use it for my driveway and my parents’, which is only 10 miles away. I may leave it on and drive to/from work with it once in a while but other than that it’s off between uses.
Both trucks handled it well, and I’ve never had any front end or suspension issues as a result. It’s specifically designed for 1/2 ton trucks and weighs about 400lbs. Several manufacturers make these lighter duty plows and I think they’re great on these trucks for limited use. I would never plow commercially with a daily driver, much less a Tundra but for personal use I have no regrets. Much quicker and more comfortable than a snowblower or tractor/plow!
Just my opinion.

 

Typical residential 4-6 car driveway, sure. But a 4 wheeler or gator with a plow could handle that too.

Anything longer or where you’re getting a foot or more over night you’re better off hiring someone or getting a big boy truck.

 

I do think the front end is adequate for plowing, even commercially. As long as you use the correct springs. A Gen2 tundra is very similar to a GM HD2500 or F250 front end in size of components and strength. TREs, bearings, etc are all pretty comparable. A Tundra front wheel bearing is larger than an F250 unit bearing for example. You can put them side by side on a bench and see that. I had an F250 immediately prior to my Tundra. GM HD2500 before that. I would actually say the Tundra front end is a bit stronger than the GM HD2500. The spring rates are completely different though. Tundra is not built for hauling much weight with the soft springs. It is really nice offroad though with the softer springs.

I'd love to see some sort of front air helper spring option. Not sure how you'd engineer it. But I'd thought of a few ideas. I'd really love Lexus AHC from the LX in a Tundra. They do adjustable ride height, adjustable spring rates, and adjustable damping all indpenedent of the other. But I'd be happy with just a functional air over coil setup to adjust ride height and spring rates.

Edit with some examples:
Tundra left F250/350/450 unit bearing right.

Transfer case chain and gear sets:

 

Freerider8 don't do it. I wouldn't put a plow on a 1/2 ton truck, they just aren't built for what we just got. Pretty much nothing is. Your pal here in Girard. Dondino.

 

Worked pretty damn well for me

 

If you get over 6 inches with any regularity, do not do it. If you are in a border state and just get a couple inches now and then, go for it. Get the lightest, smallest one that will fit your truck and do the job. Otherwise, get a snowblower for your mower or tractor if you have one. Or get an older quad/utv and put a plow on that.

If you get over 6 inches and find yourself working wet heavy snow a decent amount, do not do it. Well, that's if you want to keep your truck long term. The guy who ran a business doing plowing has totally different concerns vs someone who is using their primary vehicle to do it. Especially do not do it, if you think your neighbors and friends will want a plow too now that you are equipped!

**You CAN do it, you can do almost anything you want really. But you SHOULDN'T do this if you like your truck and want it to last another 10 years.

 

I've been plowing snow with Tundra's since 2008, with 3 different trucks. Never lost a front end part ! The front end is not a problem with these trucks and I live in a snow belt in the north atlantic. I DID however ruin my 2018 Tundra by travelling on the highway with plow attached . The salt and road slop got up and into every sq inch of the engine bay . In just 80k kms the engine bay looked like this . Started with omg every bolt ,clamp and connector is ready to crumble . Then it progressed to electrical issues so I had to part ways with the truck. Now with the twin intercoolers up front and a slighter design of the front end ,,, it marks the end of plowing snow with new Tundras. I would go back and plow with any gen , but not with these new Tundra's

 

That's caused by highway driving with a plow on?

 

Ford highboy. Just sayin



If I saw this irl I'd probably get giddy like a schoolgirl on prom night

 

If you aren't having a talk to your highway department for dropping massive amounts of salt every winter, you aren't doing it right!

 

Those are cool but plowing with a manual trany sucks

 

I think the issue is that the plow changes the air flow and the mist of saltwater goes up into the engine bay a lot more than it would without the plow. Combine that with a humid environment that floats around freezing point and it's a recipe for rapid rust issues where you normally wouldn't have the same amount of road moisture getting to. It's not something I've personally ever seen. But different vehicles have different airflow paths. Not sure how you'd prevent it other than coating the engine bay with a light oil like fluid film or maybe driving with the plow fully angled one way(?) Possibly a V plow would be better for air flow?*

 

You’re not wrong ! The wind speed combined with the 7.5’ air dam in front of the truck creates a vortex of salt , sand , water and wind that funnels up inside the engine bay . Some of this could be prevented by a better engine shield. 100% of plow mounts require the shield to be removed . Obviously opening up the door to issues like this . If I were forced to travel with a plow I would suggest you spend some time working a new engine shield and wheel well skirts ! I didn’t bother because I never had this issue . Was forced to travel with plow attached so live and learn ….. and pass along your mistakes so others don’t do the same lol

 

If I had a 48 Power Wagon, I'd have a plow for sure, and a massive winch, I'd be over winched for sure. We just got 77.8" here where I live. Freerider8 lives 4 miles down the road, although I don't know him personally, so I feel his pain.

 

It's really interesting to see that. Intuitively I'd think that you'd get similar spray from the car in front of you, but obviously that's not really the case. I plowed commercially in Montana where it's typically low humidity so rust was not really an issue even with salted roads. My issues were transmission on domestic trucks, steering/suspension, and alternators most often. Transmissions were the worst problem because they're expensive and have extended downtime to replace on some trucks.

The vehicle I'm super curious about is how a Ford Lightning would plow. Things like battery life and powertrain durability. And - could they be modified to use a single forward/backward pedal like a hydrostatic drive unit? I don't even know if the Lightning spins the electric motor backwards for reverse or uses a gearset. That would be incredible for dedicated plow trucks if it did.

 

My old plowin’ rig, damn I miss this thing sometimes had some fun times in this truck!

 

Here's my ?

I have a tractor I use to blow and plow with (snow pusher, not a plow). It probably weights 4k or so all loaded up. When I get over 8-10 inches, and it's heavy snow, which looks like what you are pushing here, I can only get going 30 feet or so until I can't push it anymore. Sometimes not even that far.

So how in the 9 hells are you pushing 20inches of wet snow anywhere with that thing?!

**obviously you are, and did. I just want to hear a little more about that.

 

Quad with a plow works pretty well, easy to extract !

 

Nice!

I had a light duty plow on a 3rd gen 4R for a number of years. Worked great. I had one on my 5th gen 4Runner also. Not finding a picture quickly though. Crazy thing is that a 5th gen 4R literally weighs more than a current crew cab 4x4 F150. The weight does help pushing heavier wet snow.