10 Reasons You Should Start Plowing with a Tractor
Created November 11, 2022
Tractors are becoming more and more popular as additional attachments are introduced to the market, including snowplows. Contractors are finding a ton of benefits to using tractors for snow removal and are even switching over generous portions of their fleet from truck to tractor use.
Why Should You Take Advantage of Using a Tractor Plow
It’s no secret that tractors are ideal for plowing and can stand up to the wear and tear that is required. Here’s another ten reasons why snow and ice contractors prefer tractor plows.
#1 – It’s Fun to Drive
Work hard, play harder with a tractor plow. Haven’t you always wanted to jump into a big tractor to move some snow around? Driving a tractor almost feels like driving a toy, it’s way more fun than driving a truck. It takes you outside of your norm and makes it feel way less like work.
#2 – Easy to Operate
A tractor is incredibly easy to learn how to operate, tons of beginners start on a tractor. Since there are less buttons and controls, you just need to know how to move forward and backward along with raising and lowering the plow.
#3 – Proven Efficiency
Making the switch to a tractor can drastically improve your efficiency. A single tractor—depending on size—has capabilities that can replace the amount of work done by 3-4 trucks combined. Tractors are also more fuel efficient and have more fuel tank capacity, so you’ll make less trips to the gas station and be able to complete more jobs and save valuable time.
#4 – Increased Visibility
All around your visibility is going to be better with a tractor. You sit higher and have giant windows, in comparison to a truck. You can see all your surroundings, including each blade edge and any obstacles that may be in the way.
#5 – Stacking Capabilities
A tractor is higher off the ground than a truck with a much better vantage point, this gives you more options when stacking snow. You can pile higher, take up less room, and avoid having to relocate snow during the season. This will save you time and allow you to become more efficient.
Note: Skid-steers, like the STORM BOXX™ pusher plow have incredible stacking abilities too, allowing you to put a skid-steer to work in many different situations.
#6 – Versatile Attachments & Applications
There are endless possibilities to a tractor. This is a piece of equipment that you will be able to utilize all year round with different attachments. Haul, mow, and clear land in the summer, and then add a plow to remove snow in the winter.
You can also push, pile, and lift snow in a variety of different ways, the incredible turn radius can even get around curbs and hard to reach obstacles. “Crab” steering or “quad” steering is a tractor feature that allows you to easily back away from curbs, all four tires can turn away, unlike a truck that can be harder to maneuver out of tight spaces.
Tractors are also fantastic for gravel surfaces and will create less ruts when turning compared to a skid-steer. The float ability reduces the chance of scraping too heavy or damaging surfaces.
Note: Tractor attachments are typically less expensive than skid-steer attachments.
#7 – Availability & Cost to Acquire a Tractor
Trucks are becoming increasingly difficult to find, however acquiring a tractor is a bit easier. There are many different sizes of tractors out there, you can choose the best fit for you and the work at hand.
Compact tractors can be great for sidewalk work and parking lots where drivers need to get around corners and hard to reach obstacles frequently. Big, specialty tractors are intended to push and haul large amounts of snow with minimal passes. While utility tractors are the perfect middle ground for anything in-between. Each type of tractor has intended plows to fit that application.
Note: Skid-steers are another great option when looking outside of work truck equipment, they have very similar benefits to plowing with a tractor. If you do not want to commit to owning a skid-steer and tractor, leasing options are available.
#8 – Easy Installation for Snow & Ice Equipment
Once you have acquired the desired vehicle, you will need to mount your snow and ice equipment.
Easily install the FISHER® tractor mount kits onto a wide range of tractor models. The universal tractor mount is compatible with FISHER straight blades (TRAILBLAZER™ Heavy-Duty, HD2™ and HDX™), v-plows (TRAILBLAZER™ Heavy-Duty, XtremeV™ and XV2™), winged plows (XLS™), or pusher plows (STORM BOXX™ with TRACE™ Edge Technology) Because of the high vantage point you get from a tractor cab it is extremely easy to drive into the mount and attach your plow.
Will it fit my tractor?
Use eMatch to find which FISHER plow will fit your vehicles unique specifications.
#9 – Dependable & Reliable
A tractors sole purpose is to push, haul, and lift and are built to withstand brute force. Trucks are made to drive, transport, and haul with limitations on the amount of snow and weight it can handle. Which makes plowing with a tractor a no-brainer. It’s the type of work it was designed for. The lifespan of a tractor is going to be longer than a truck with less repairs and maintenance required due to minimal gears and components. In addition, when tractors are used year-round, they are always ready to go without needing to take it in and out of storage.
#10 – Lighting & Nighttime Use
Due to The Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations, trucks are limited on what they can and cannot do with their vehicle lighting because it is intended to drive on roadways and must be “street legal”. On the other hand, tractors are not held to the same limitations. With a FISHER lighting harness kit, you will have the ability to add additional lighting. Plus, the vantage point in a tractor literally lights up the entire work area. Your nighttime visibility is going to be incredible. It will be like daylight out there!
Buying Decisions to Consider
You can choose to buy, lease, or rent tractors—it just comes down to what makes the most sense for your business and what is available. Most contractors choose to leave the larger tractors on site and service nearby locations, otherwise you can haul it in between job sites, especially if it’s a smaller, compact tractor.
Think a tractor may be the next addition to your fleet? Visit the FISHER Dealer Locator to check availability and pricing on tractor plows near you.
Interested in learning more about box plows or skid-steers plows? Check out these articles: