pickups with plows mounted

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Last weekend we got our last snow of the season (I hope) and I noticed several pickups on the interstate, with plows mounted. The one had a v-shaped plow so aside from potential cooling issues, that seemed OK, but there were several I saw with straight plows, canted to one side, while driving 75 MPH or more. What would that do aerodynamically? Would the truck want to pull to one side or the other? I would imagine the additional weight might make it handle a little funny anyway, but the off-center plow surely wouldn't help anything.
 
Were they consumer grade pickups or commercial ones? I've seen the plows on the large International trucks and it seems like those wouldn't be impacted too much given their massive size
 
About 20 years ago I helped a friend out occasionally, who owned a landscape and snow plowing business. I drove a 3/4 ton GM truck with a Western plow. You could tell it was there as far as the weight goes, but aerodynamics with the blade turned to the side on the highway, I don't think the truck could even go fast enough for the angle of the blade to make a noticeable difference.

I have a 1-ton Dually that I bought a plow for last fall, to plow my own driveway. It had the snowplow prep package which basically consists of springs with a higher spring rate. It's a much heavier truck than the old GM 3/4 ton, and isn't affected as much by the weight of the plow.
 
I dont notice my truck getting pushed left or right at highway speeds depending on which way the plow is angled.
 
Some states have laws saying the blades are supposed to be angled when being transported.Can you imagine the blade at 70 mph straight ahead? Imagine the wind resistance!!
 
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Originally Posted By: CT8
They plow through the air.


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They're front-heavy more than anything, which gives you empathy for the ball joints as you crash through the frost heaves. Don't overheat though. Though the one I drove had a belt-driven fan which could move a ton of air if motivated.
 
Some do overheat.
The last 3/4 ton GMC we had would overheat if road driven at even moderate speeds on the road with the blade up.
That truck had lots of tricks, though.
It would give you a flashing CEL if you drove it fast for very long even with the blade sitting on the concrete back at the garage. Our very competent tech had great trouble diagnosing this, although he did.
It was a 6.0 IIRC and was never a very good truck, going through two clusters as well as breaking some manifold bolts that were never touched from when it was assembled.
All in all not a great truck.
 
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