While it can be tempting to grab a cheap plow blade, especially if you are mechanically inclined, doing so can cause big problems for your plow business and cost you way more over time. 

Also known as “low-bid blades,” cheap plow blades give you exactly what you pay for.  However, in an industry that can experience freezing temperatures, extremely harsh wind chills, and long sleepless nights, blade quality is not something to skimp on. 

Here are three problems low-bid blades can cause that negatively affect your operation.

If you know Winter®, you know we’re out to educate our industry on how to make road clearing and maintenance more efficient.

Let’s get into the nuts and bolts (so to speak) of snow plow blade installation! When you’re tightening and applying pressure to your hardware, it’s formally known as torque.

Ice keeps drinks nice and cold on a hot day, but come winter, it is one of the most dangerous issues facing DOTs on our nation’s roadways.

Since the 1940s, U.S. road maintenance departments have been spreading salt on streets and highways to melt snow and ice. It’s not a new phenomenon, but the rate of use has gone up astronomically from about 0.15 metric tons (0.16 tons) per year during the 1940s to about 18 million metric tons (19.8 million tons) per year today.

A lot of factors contribute to road damage during the snow season. While some are unavoidable like time, traffic, temperature and precipitation, others are avoidable – at least to an extent.

Damage becomes worse when you use low-bid snow plow blades that are poorly made and don’t do your road surface any favors. Here are some things you can avoid in order to decrease pavement deterioration and keep your road maintenance and repairs down next spring.

There’s nothing worse than finishing a hard season of clearing roads blizzard after blizzard, only to be forced to immediately begin maintenance on those same roads. 

Road maintenance is an expensive problem that you can absolutely reduce the need for – starting by using the right tools.

Let’s be honest. Low-bid blades are the worst. In fact, that only thing that worse than low-bid blades is probably spring and summer road maintenance.

You’ve invested in a high-quality plow blade, you’re confident it will last all season, and you’re ready to fit it to your machine. But after your first trip out of the garage, it still breaks! What gives?

Sometimes you might have the right blade, but your installation process is still a little off. Here are seven common installation mistakes mechanics make and what you can do to prevent them.