Ok, so I may get my head chewed off for this one, so I apolagize up front to those I offend. I love my westerns, especially the ultramount. But I do like the blizzard idea of the retractable wings. My concern with the blizzard is all of the mount issues and Im not a fan of chainless systems. So Im curious if anyone has any idea if a blizzard blade (minus the a frame) could be mounted and plummed to a western a frame with the truck mount? This would allow me to swap it among my other trucks, too. Some honest opinions would be great. Thanks, Chad.
Blizzard Plow with Western Mount?
irlandscaper
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Ok, so I may get my head chewed off for this one, so I apolagize up front to those I offend. I love my westerns, especially the ultramount. But I do like the blizzard idea of the retractable wings. My concern with the blizzard is all of the mount issues and Im not a fan of chainless systems. So Im curious if anyone has any idea if a blizzard blade (minus the a frame) could be mounted and plummed to a western a frame with the truck mount? This would allow me to swap it among my other trucks, too. Some honest opinions would be great. Thanks, Chad.
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4,010 Posts
Really ???? Do you have some info to back this up ? Seams silly to me to compete with yourself. They paid good money for Blizzard, set up, and tooled a factory to produce Blizzard products. Now there gonna change the product, and paint it red ? Why ? I under stand buying the competetion (when there kicking your ass) but why would you dissolve it after tooling up a factory ?
T
T
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3,402 Posts
Well the fax we got today says that they are going to have blizzard, western and fisher's with expandable wings next year. Guess we'll have to compete on all of the other levels of quality that white brings to the table from now on. Funny my straight blade sales are 20-1 blizzard vs west/fisher.
Jerre
Jerre
all i know is they have been developing it since they bought blizzard, and that i live too far south for a demo model. My dealer has put in my order and should have it in sept. oct. time frame.
they have taken like 40-60 lbs off of it and run it on a pro plus chassis...
they have taken like 40-60 lbs off of it and run it on a pro plus chassis...
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7,997 Posts
Sal
Congrats on owning the first one only thing that bothers me is shaving anymore weight off hopefully it wasnt out on the wings/. I can honestly see this has being a profitable venture for DD has many contractors are loyal to what ever they have used for years. I know that a western guy usally stays that way.
Here iam a minority with the Blizzards even though i have watched contractors watch us running them from parking lots across from us. In the coffee shop here there VooDoo to many moving parts and stuff to go wrong.
Interesting enough the same guys i have coffee and talk Voodoo ask why we run fewer trucks :huh . Any way paint them Red or Yellow and slap some stickers on them and they will sell i dont doubt that.
My biggest concerns will be like the Tornado are they gonna have time to field test this unit before sending it out the door with lighter wieght attached to a Ultra chassis. But probley the big question will be will they build replacement parts that will be on the shelf and ready to ship if something fails monarch comes to mind now that i think about it.
Congrats on owning the first one only thing that bothers me is shaving anymore weight off hopefully it wasnt out on the wings/. I can honestly see this has being a profitable venture for DD has many contractors are loyal to what ever they have used for years. I know that a western guy usally stays that way.
Here iam a minority with the Blizzards even though i have watched contractors watch us running them from parking lots across from us. In the coffee shop here there VooDoo to many moving parts and stuff to go wrong.
Interesting enough the same guys i have coffee and talk Voodoo ask why we run fewer trucks :huh . Any way paint them Red or Yellow and slap some stickers on them and they will sell i dont doubt that.
My biggest concerns will be like the Tornado are they gonna have time to field test this unit before sending it out the door with lighter wieght attached to a Ultra chassis. But probley the big question will be will they build replacement parts that will be on the shelf and ready to ship if something fails monarch comes to mind now that i think about it.
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8,604 Posts
Check with Mowerpan, he had some great ideas on Blizzard style mounts. :greenange
Seriously, I don't see why it couldn't be done, although it would take some work=money. As someone much older and a little wiser than me stated, "With Plasma (and cash) anything is possible." :grinz
We used to have Meyers with Western hookups back when I was young. I know, they had the same lifting mechanism.
Seriously, I don't see why it couldn't be done, although it would take some work=money. As someone much older and a little wiser than me stated, "With Plasma (and cash) anything is possible." :grinz
We used to have Meyers with Western hookups back when I was young. I know, they had the same lifting mechanism.
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68 Posts
Well now Im excited!! A western 810! Now what truck could I put that on... hmmm... Ill find an excuse to buy one, you can bet on that.
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3,670 Posts
I am not at all happy,the last thing I wanted was give DD a single red cent of my money after the amount of plows I bought,and the treatment there dealers give you.Its like being excited that Wal mart is going to start selling plows to me.......thats the last place i want my money going.irlandscaper said:Well now Im excited!! A western 810! Now what truck could I put that on... hmmm... Ill find an excuse to buy one, you can bet on that.
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5,878 Posts
Well I am currently in the market for a blade and it looks like the pool of choices just keeps growing as long as I wait another few months...
And at the same time that article Alan Greene posted had a blurb about DD cutting jobs at the main Fisher plant in Maine...
Jay
And at the same time that article Alan Greene posted had a blurb about DD cutting jobs at the main Fisher plant in Maine...
Jay
:feedback What ????salopez said:
Nope, not me. bounce, bounce. Cut the chain. There going to make the plow lighter? They better add DP like SnowWay does then. Don't want a light weight plow any more. Not after the Ice storm we just went through. Blizzard moved more ice than any other plow I've seen.90plow said:
Those greedy bastards at DD... You either buy a blizzard or a pro plus, both good plows. Now a Pro Plus power plow? They're trying to tap into those that wont buy a plow just cuz it's white? Or because it doesn't have a chain to lift it? Or because the pump is on the A-frame? Sheesh... I understand Western is trying to profit from the power plow concept, but I think they're going about it the wrong way. They couldn't make their own before because Blizzard held the patent, and they felt stupid because they didn't think of powered wings first. So, they buy the competition, create a copy cat power plow using their existing ultramount frame, lift tower, etc. There is no doubt in my mind that Blizzard Power Plows will be non-existant within 2 years, because they're just figuring everyone that was buying a white plow will just buy a red one instead. This sucks. If they were smart, they'd improve on an already good product and continue to profit off of it's success. Blizzard plows are just really starting to catch on. You see more and more guys switching to blizzards every year, and you see more and more on the road as the secret gets out. All the complaints about Blizzards weight, pump on the a-frame, etc are hogwash, I wouldn't have it any other way.
I hope the western power plows are a dud so the comptetion wont buy them. Knowing DD, they're not putting much time into their Western Power Plow and will rush it into production. The wings will be weak, the plow wont have the weight benefits of a blizzard, it wont have the awesome overhang/rolling ability of the blizzard, etc. Of course they'll be trying to pull the world over the customers eyes by telling them their power plow is the best, and joe blow plow buyer will be none-the-wiser until he's stranded with a busted plow. The tornado leaves no doubt in my wind the Western Power Plow will be junk.
I wonder how long rock-it's non-compete agreement will be in force, I'll be patiently awaiting further innovative ideas in hopes that they have something in my hands before the lopro is worn out. This is also motivation to keep your pre-DD blizzards in good shape, because power plows as we know them wont be around much longer... I hate to be all gloom and doom, but I see no good that can come out of this...
I hope the western power plows are a dud so the comptetion wont buy them. Knowing DD, they're not putting much time into their Western Power Plow and will rush it into production. The wings will be weak, the plow wont have the weight benefits of a blizzard, it wont have the awesome overhang/rolling ability of the blizzard, etc. Of course they'll be trying to pull the world over the customers eyes by telling them their power plow is the best, and joe blow plow buyer will be none-the-wiser until he's stranded with a busted plow. The tornado leaves no doubt in my wind the Western Power Plow will be junk.
I wonder how long rock-it's non-compete agreement will be in force, I'll be patiently awaiting further innovative ideas in hopes that they have something in my hands before the lopro is worn out. This is also motivation to keep your pre-DD blizzards in good shape, because power plows as we know them wont be around much longer... I hate to be all gloom and doom, but I see no good that can come out of this...
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2,662 Posts
DD just seems to be looking at the business side of things.
First, you have a loyal following of the Blizzard PP, an innovative product that is gaining more market share all the time. You have already made the investment in purchasing the product line - if anything, they will want to reduce manufacturing costs by sharing input costs from other product lines. This will increase the profitablility on Blizzard products even more, all the while the market popularity of the product increases. So far no problems, from their perspective.
But now look at the potential - they already have two lines of straight and v-plows, with the largest market share in North America. They also have the rights to this innovative product - why not paint it red, and distribute it through their already vast dealer network. The ability for end-users to interchange all Western products will allow them to sell that many more - seems like a winning situation, with minimal investment. All the while, little if nothing has been done to further the development of the product, because the market as a whole isn't demanding it - they will sell plenty just on the basis that it is new (to many who haven't heard of Blizzard) and it's a Western.
What they are missing is: make a great product better, continue to innovate, continue to increase market awareness, and let the Blizzard name gain recognition. Let Western be Western, Fisher be Fisher, and Blizzard be Blizzard. What we're going to end up with is the "GM-ification" of the entire DD line - a Buick is a Pontiac is a Chevy, just with a different grill. GM has finally started to see the light that this doesn't work, as at the end of the day, you still need innovative, new, and exciting products.
Let's hope Rock-It picks up on this opportunity once their able to - third time's a charm anyway, right?
First, you have a loyal following of the Blizzard PP, an innovative product that is gaining more market share all the time. You have already made the investment in purchasing the product line - if anything, they will want to reduce manufacturing costs by sharing input costs from other product lines. This will increase the profitablility on Blizzard products even more, all the while the market popularity of the product increases. So far no problems, from their perspective.
But now look at the potential - they already have two lines of straight and v-plows, with the largest market share in North America. They also have the rights to this innovative product - why not paint it red, and distribute it through their already vast dealer network. The ability for end-users to interchange all Western products will allow them to sell that many more - seems like a winning situation, with minimal investment. All the while, little if nothing has been done to further the development of the product, because the market as a whole isn't demanding it - they will sell plenty just on the basis that it is new (to many who haven't heard of Blizzard) and it's a Western.
What they are missing is: make a great product better, continue to innovate, continue to increase market awareness, and let the Blizzard name gain recognition. Let Western be Western, Fisher be Fisher, and Blizzard be Blizzard. What we're going to end up with is the "GM-ification" of the entire DD line - a Buick is a Pontiac is a Chevy, just with a different grill. GM has finally started to see the light that this doesn't work, as at the end of the day, you still need innovative, new, and exciting products.
Let's hope Rock-It picks up on this opportunity once their able to - third time's a charm anyway, right?
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8,604 Posts
Everybody is assuming (unless Jerre or DD has stated differently) that the Western\Fisher are going to be chain lifts\pumps mounted on the headlight bracket\interchangeable with the rest of the respective plow line. Is this fact or is this an unknown? It would take a fair amount of engineering to make the Blizzard style frame\mount work this way, not impossible, just a lot of work. Are they going to do this?
I know, or was told, that the headlights will be part of the lift frame next year, so maybe this is all part of the new lift style, change of pump etc.
Other than that, Dave's correct and I agree with his assessment. Gotta say between the Fishstick issues and the Tornado, I am thoroughly unimpressed with R&D and actual real world testing being performed by DD right now, can't imagine what this potential new style will bring.
PS What would this mean for us guys who have the old style mount if the new is completely reconfigured? Are we SOL and no longer be able to interchange plows between trucks?
I know, or was told, that the headlights will be part of the lift frame next year, so maybe this is all part of the new lift style, change of pump etc.
Other than that, Dave's correct and I agree with his assessment. Gotta say between the Fishstick issues and the Tornado, I am thoroughly unimpressed with R&D and actual real world testing being performed by DD right now, can't imagine what this potential new style will bring.
PS What would this mean for us guys who have the old style mount if the new is completely reconfigured? Are we SOL and no longer be able to interchange plows between trucks?
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8,604 Posts
BTW, Kent and Brendan, nice to see some other guys 'get it' regarding the weight issues. Yes, it creates more wear and tear on the truck, but when that makes you able to perform your service better, it is all worth it IMO.
So DD if you're reading this, DON'T LIGHTEN UP MY PLOWS. If you want a light plow, buy a SpeedWing or straight blade, don't 'dumb' mine down so every idiot that has a half ton and wants a PP can install one on their truck. You don't like the weight, then buy the right truck for the job. The old saying still runs true: If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.
So DD if you're reading this, DON'T LIGHTEN UP MY PLOWS. If you want a light plow, buy a SpeedWing or straight blade, don't 'dumb' mine down so every idiot that has a half ton and wants a PP can install one on their truck. You don't like the weight, then buy the right truck for the job. The old saying still runs true: If you can't run with the big dogs, stay on the porch.
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