High RPM on cold start!

Yes, I have a high-rise (well moderate rise anyway) cap as well with an extended cab truck. I'd much rather clean the Sonate 10 times than the truck once so the truck stays in the garage. Also, the truck at 14 years of age is still worth as much as the Sonata! :-) And I don't like the plow cylinders out in the weather as they rust pretty fast if they aren't kept greased up. I'm not impressed with the chrome that Western used on their angle cylinders. The owner's manual says to coat them with grease for storage and I found out the first year why they recommend that!

Matt

I worried about that at one time with my Fisher, because I've had other cylinders rust up when left out in the elements. My plow is a '94 and it sits outside all year long. I have no rust on any of my cylinders at all. I don't take any precautions with them to prevent rust either. I just drop the plow on some concrete blocks for the summer and let it sit there all summer long.

The issue I can deal with from time to time that you don't have to contend with, is that depending on how cold it is at night, my plow can freeze to the ground and sometimes the pump won't lift it free. I have to rock the truck to break it free. I try to keep a scrap of 2x8 under it when I think the temps will be in the ranges to cause this problem, but every now and then...

How do you like the Fisher overall? I like the Western other than the rust prone cylinders. The controls are great (I have the hand-held controller which is nice with the standard tranny) and the poly blade is nice also. If they had only used better chrome on the cylinders...

Yes, another reason to keep the plow inside. I also like having the cab somewhat warm when I climb inside otherwise the truck is just getting warm when I get done plowing!

Matt

I really like my Fisher all in all. Mine is a fully hydraulic and I really wanted an electric over hydraulic, but I took the first good used deal I came across. The electric over hydraulics are much faster than the full hydraulic models and they have refined them so that they don't just suck the alternator right down when you use them like they used to.

Mine is a minute mount and I really like the way that my truck mounts tuck up againts my truck frame a lot cleaner than some of the other plow manufacturers do. I really don't have anything that hangs beneath the front of my truck at all to speak of. My blade is steel which I really like. My plow does not have down pressure like some of the newer plows do, and you count on the weight of the blade when you are back blading away from a building. We get a lot more snow up here than you do (except for this year) and back blading is a part of plowing - inescapable.

I fire my truck up before I start to wipe the snow off, and then I usually go back inside and let the truck get nice and warm before I go plow. My driveway takes me about a half of an hour to plow (if I get meticulous about it), and I have a couple of friends that I plow also, so I'm in my truck for an hour or two when I go out to plow. That cast iron 350 takes a lot longer to warm up to the point of delivering heat than my six cylinders do.

My Western is electro-hydraulic and it moves pretty fast and doesn't really affect the alternator when in operation, but it does dim the lights a little!

Same with mine. It hangs from a chain on the lift arm so its weight is all that provides down force, but this hasn't been a problem. Mine also has the mount where everything detaches, including the power unit. All I have on the truck is a small frame under the bumper and two electrical cords in the grill.

My driveway is only 1800' long and I can plow it and my parking areas around the house in 20 minutes if the snowfall is less than a foot or

35-40 minutes for deeper snows. I have a cast iron V-6 (4.3L) and it takes a long time to warm up at idle (probably 15 minutes). Even plowing, I don't get a lot of heat for nearly 10 minutes, but once it starts heating it will roast you right out of the cab. When I drive it to work, it takes about 8 highway miles to get it fully warmed up on the temperature gauge, but then it will heat a small house. I have to turn the fan completely off if I'm at highway speeds and move the temp indicator about halfway towards cold. I wish the Sonata had even half of the heating capability of my K1500!

Matt

Keep in mind, that all cars are designed first with pollution control in mind (Oxygen sensors), not with longevity. I would not ride any engine before oil reached all the places and engine runs smoothly. Keep in mind, that most damage to your engine happens in your driveway.