The winter season brings with it a sense of magic with snowfall, trees covered with fluffy, white snow, cozy evenings in front of the fireplace with your loved ones and fun time playing in the snow for kids. But as an adult, winter also brings a sense of dread because snowfall means snow clearance responsibilities that can take away winter’s joy.
While there are various ways to remove snow, in this article, we brings you one of the more efficient ones so that you don’t have to spend a lot of your precious time clearing the snow. Read on to learn everything you need to know about snow plows.
What is Snow plow?
A snowplow is a piece of equipment or a device that is mounted on a vehicle to remove snow and ice from outdoor surfaces like driveways, roads, sidewalks, etc. Sometimes, the term ‘snowplow’ is also used to include the vehicles to which they are attached, but it is important to note that the snowplow is just the attachment to a winter service vehicle like a pickup truck.
Snowplows are attached to the front of the vehicles so that snow can be pushed to clear a path as the vehicle moves forward. They are one of the most efficient methods for homeowners and businesses alike to safely and quickly remove snow from their properties.
What are the Types of Snowplow?
Snowplows are manufactured in a varied manner to meet different requirements according to the location where they will be used. For example, a narrow driveway would need a smaller snowplow instead of a wider one. Whether you are planning to buy a snowplow for residential purposes or to start a service professionally, you need to know the various types of snowplows available and the purpose of each so that you can choose the right one according to your requirement.
The following are the five types of snowplows:
Front-end Plows: As the name suggests, front-end plows are mounted on the front of the vehicle to push the snow forward to clear the snow. They are the most common type of snowplows.
Rear-end Plows: Rear-end plows or tow plows are mounted on the back of the vehicle, and they push the snow in the same direction as the front-end plow to remove snow more efficiently.
Rotary Plows: Rotary plows are similar to snow blowers in that they blow the snow piled on the side of the roads to make a wider path. They are used in regions that receive extremely heavy snowfall.
Wing Plows: Wing plows are attached to the side of the vehicle, and they work in combination with the front end plow to clear the snow on the sides of the path. They are generally used by government snow removal services as they have to clear snow from a large area in a short amount of time.
Underbody Plows: Underbody plows are attached underneath a winter service vehicle to scrape snow that has become compact on the roads. They can be used either in combination with a front-end plow or on their own.
What is the Usage of Snowplow?
Snowplows are typically used to remove snow in regions that receive high average annual snowfall or where large amounts of snow need to be removed quickly.
Airports, parking lots, highways, sidewalks are areas that are too long or large to use a snowblower for snow removal. Snowplows are the best options to use in such locations where they can quickly push all the snow to the perimeter when they are attached to a vehicle.
People with physical limitations also use a snowplow for snow removal as it allows them to remain seated and operate the machinery to complete the task.
