11/08/14

The Ultimate Guide to Snowplow Accessories

When purchasing a snowplow, you get much more than just the plow. There are many pieces of equipment that typically come standard with a snowplow, such as a coupler tower, a-frame, undercarriage, wiring and controller, and attachment system. With all of these components you are ready to get out there and start plowing. However, many people opt to buy additional items to supplement their snowplow, whether it be an accessory to make their plow easier to use, to add an element of safety or to protect the plow from damage. Read on to learn about some of the accessories commonly available for snow and ice equipment.


Truck Plow Accessories

BOSS DXT SnowplowBallast Retainer – A ballast retainer can be a useful accessory to keep ballast from sliding all over in the back of your truck. The purpose of ballast is to act as a counter weight to your plow, so it should be positioned behind the rear axle, taking some of the weight off the front axle. Bagged sand is the most common material used for ballast because is it easy to load and unload and doesn’t slide around as easily as other ballast options. Although sand is less prone to slide than other materials, it is still important to keep all ballast right be behind the rear axle. The ballast retainer will ensure that the ballast stays in that place. Remember to refer to your snowplow manufacturer for recommendations regarding required ballast. 

Curb Guards – Curb guards, whether attached separately or built in, are the part of the cutting edge that wraps around the outer edge of the base angle to protect it from damage that could occur from scraping against a curb. A curb guard, as well as a snow catcher, are built in standard to a formed cutting edge on BOSS DXT and VXT models. If your curb guard is not built in, you should replace it at the same time you replace your cutting edge.

Cutting Edge – This is the actual edge on the plow that touches the ground. It is removable and must be replaced as it wears away to prevent damage to the plow. Cutting edges generally come in 1080 grade steel or urethane. Here at BOSS, we offer a portion of our cutting edges made from Hardox® wear resistant steel, which has about double the wear life of 1080 grade steel or urethane. Although steel and Hardox® are very rigid, urethane has its benefits too, like being more quiet and performing best on slush and fresh snow. Which material you choose depends on several factors like the type of customer you’re servicing or the quality of ground surface you plow on. For more information to help you determine which cutting edge is best for the accounts you service, refer to this blog article. Replacing the cutting edge depends on how often you use your snow plow, the wear life of the material of your cutting edge and the condition and type of the ground surface you’re plowing. You’ll want to replace your cutting edge before the plow frame is exposed and rubbing starts to occur on the moldboard.

Dolly Wheels – Dolly wheels are removable wheels for the bottom of your plow, typically used in the off season. If you store your plow in a garage or shop, sometimes it’s not always beneficial to have your plow stuck in one spot. With wheels, you can easily move your snowplow from one area to another. BOSS offers kits for both V plows and straight blade applications.

Front Bumper Replacement – Sometimes on a truck, the front bumper is blocking where the attachment system needs to be installed. Usually you have to have the factory bumper cut to make room for the attachment system. However, for select model Chevy trucks, you can opt for a custom made, pre-cut bumper offered by BOSS through your dealer. These pre-cut bumpers give your truck a finished, factory look and greatly reduces the amount of cutting needed on the OEM bumper. Speak with your BOSS dealer to see if your Chevy is compatible with this option.

Plow Guides – Plow guides are the thin pieces of tubing that can be attached to the upper two ends of the snowplow. They extend far enough above the hood of the vehicle so the plow operator can see where the two ends of the plow are from within the cab. This is helpful so you don’t accidentally hit anything with the ends of your plow due to lack of sight.

Snow Deflector – A snow deflector is typically made of a rubber material or poly and is attached to the top edge of the plow. Its purpose is to increase visibility while plowing by reducing the amount of snow that flies up over the plow and onto the windshield. You should replace your snow deflector when you start to see major wear, like tears or rips.

Snowplow Shoes – Plow shoes are attached to the bottom of the snowplow blade. They help raise the blade up slightly to prevent a bulldozing effect and instead to float over soft surfaces such as gravel, dirt or grass. When plowing snow on more solid surfaces like concrete, you could opt to remove the snowplow shoes to prevent wear. When it comes to replacing your snowplow shoes, it all depends on how often you used them and the quality of the ground surface they are used on. Be aware of how much wear there is and how much material is left on the shoes.

Snowplow Sight System – Exclusive for BOSS plows, the sight system makes aligning and hooking up to your plow faster and easier by using a sight pin, attached to the front of the hood of the vehicle, and a sight decal, placed on the back of the plow headlight. The sight system makes aligning your truck and plow for hookup quicker and easier every time, all you have to do is align the sight pin to the sight decal. For more information and installation help, check out this technical service video.

Snowplow Wings – Additional width can be added to the plow unit by adding removable blade wing extensions. These can be easily taken on or off the blade depending on the area needing to be plowed. The wings add additional plowing width thus, cutting down on the time to clear a lot. You can replace the cutting edges on your wings the same way you and at the same time as you would on the main blade cutting edge. Take a look at this article for more details about BOSS snowplow wings and installation information.

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