Friday, January 13, 2012

Truck-Mounted Snow Blowers

!±8± Truck-Mounted Snow Blowers

Truck-mounted snow blowers affix to the front of a pickup or sport utility vehicle. Drawing power from the vehicle engine, a truck-mounted snow blower can eat a path 7 feet wide and 3 feet tall, throwing the snow 40 feet in any non-backwards direction. With its 2-cylinder, 4-cycle, 27-horsepower gas engine, a truck-mounted snow blower carries the same amount of power and force of six full-size push units. It's no wonder people have been using them religiously in mountainous and rural areas since 1980.

The snow blower manufacturer Hanson is credited for first introducing pickup truck-mounted snow blowers; Hanson continues to be the only manufacturer actively marketing them. Based on a long tradition of tractor-mounted snow blowers, Hanson truck-mounted snow blowers are powerful, solid, and efficient.

If you're thinking about buying a truck-mounted snow blower, there are some things you should consider first.

A truck-mounted snow blower weighs 800 pounds. Your truck or SUV must weigh at least half a ton, preferably ¾ or a full ton, to support its weight.

Your vehicle must be a 4-wheel drive and have automatic transmission because at low speeds, operating a manual transmission and the snow blower simultaneously can be very difficult.

Truck-mounted snow blowers are compatible with most plow mounts, including Meyers, Western, Fisher, and other common brands. Before buying a truck-mounted snow blower, contact Hanson and tell them what kind of a plow mount you're working with, just to be safe.

Truck-mounted snow blowers take their power from the vehicle engine. All the controls are wired into the truck cab, including the electric key start, choke, throttle, discharge chute rotation and deflection, and hydraulic snow blower lift. Imagine the power of having all these controls in the cab with you as you heroically clear all the snow from your neighborhood roads. They are also great for small road contracting businesses.

Three alternatives to truck mounted snow blowers are:

Truck mounted snowplows: If you live in a more densely populated area, you don't want to be launching tons of road snow onto your neighbors' walkways, driveways, vehicles, and pets. It's usually better to get a plow, which merely pushes the snow off the road.

Tractor-mounted snow blowers: If you live in a rural area, a tractor-mounted unit is best. Chances are you have a lot of area to clear, so you'll need the snow moving power of a tractor.

ATV-mounted snow blowers: The Snow Hogg (not to be confused with Snow Hog, a maker of snow tires) is a big snow blower that attaches to your all-terrain vehicle, making for one hungry-looking snow chomper. Smaller than a truck-mounted unit, but still more powerful than most push units, the Snow Hogg can clear a path 42" wide and almost two feet deep, with a chute rotation range of 210. The Snow Hogg weighs almost 400 pounds, but thanks to a built-in suspension and traction system, the machine only puts about 10 to 15 pounds of stress on your ATV frame.


Truck-Mounted Snow Blowers

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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

How to choose a bicycle Car Rack

!±8± How to choose a bicycle Car Rack

There are several types of bike racks for cars. Trunk mount, Roof mount, Spare Tire mount or Receiver Hitch mount. Trunk mount bike racks for cars are the most common.

Advantages To Trunk Mount bike Car Rack

Trunk Mount are ordinarily cheaper than other types of racks.
Simple installation. Easy to store when not in use.
Often they are great for hauling one or sometimes two bikes.

Disadvantages to trunk mount bike racks

If your car is dirty and you put a trunk mount on, the dirt under the rack feet will act like sandpaper and ruin the paint.

Some Trunk Racks do not get the bike far adequate from the car so the bike can rub on the car.
You cannot attach the upper rack straps to a glass window. If your car's back window opens and there is not an attachment point above that that is metal you cannot attach a trunk rack. Some of the older Camaros, Firebirds, Toyota 4 Runner have this question so you either need to use a receiver hitch rack or a roof rack.

If your exhaust pipe points directly at the tires on your bike it can overheat the tire and ruin it.
Many racks do not separate the bikes well and the bikes will rub the paint off of each other.
You cannot access the back of the car when you have bicycles on the rack.

Advantages to Roof Racks

The bikes are well separated so they do not rub on each other or the car.
You can pull a trailer and the bikes will not be in the way.
The roof racks protect the finish on your car unquestionably well.
Often there are a lot of other accessories to carry canoes, skis, snowboards etc. To fit the roof rack.

Disadvantages to Roof Racks

People have been known to forget the bikes are on the roof and run into the garage. This is unquestionably hard on the car, bike and sometimes the garage.
Usually Roof Racks are quite expensive. Often it will cost over 0 for a two bike roof rack.
Putting the bike on the roof can be a chore sometimes.
The extra wind drag from the bikes above the car will significantly sway your gas mileage.
Installing a roof rack can be a chore.

Putting your bike on a roof rack can be difficult.

Advantages to Spare Tire Racks

Sometimes they are the only rack that will fit the vehicle.

Disadvantages to Spare tire racks

They do not fit many cars.

Advantages to Receiver Hitch Racks

Easy to install.
Less wind drag than Roof Racks.
The bikes are kept away from the car so they do not rub on the paint of the car.
The rack only touches the car by slipping into the Receiver and either bolted or pinned to the receiver.

Receiver racks are easy to move from car to car as long as the car has the right size receiver. Check out my Receiver Hitch Tips page.

Disadvantages to Receiver Hitch Racks

If your car does not have a receiver it ordinarily costs around 0 or more to have a receiver put on.

You cannot haul a trailer when your rack is on your car.

Like the Trunk rack and the Spare Tire Rack when your bikes are on the rack it is often hard to get into the back of the car.


How to choose a bicycle Car Rack

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