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• Updated: Land Rover Snow Ploughs

Whilst these phrases strike fear into the hearts of the typical motorist, every Land Rover and Range Rover owner in the country let's out a cheeky smile. For them it means weeks of fun, playing the hero and just generally being awesome. So with that in mind, we thought we'd double the fun. We've put together a break down of some of the snow ploughs available, specifically designed for use with Landys.

eBay

When researching products and parts, eBay is usually one of the first places you should stop. There are several custom made snow ploughs (though you may have to search for the american-english snow plow, notice the spelling!) that have been designed to fit 4x4's, if not specifically Land Rovers. They look to be very high quality, usually finished in a fluorescent yellow for safety reasons, but the designs vary from supplier to supplier.

Monty007cat

Monty007cat builds some seriously high quality snow ploughs for Land Rovers. They manufacture 2 different types, a manually operated model, or a plough that can be adjusted via a winch.

Manual

The design of the montycat stuff is excellent. It's elegantly simple and looks brilliant. The manually operated plough mounts to adapters that literally bolt straight onto the Defender's chassis. This design should fit any 90, 110, 130 and Series 1, 2 & 3 models. The only slight caveat is Defenders with Air-con fitted will require the A-Bar modifying slightly due to the grill which is placed further out on these models.

The plough itself is made of sturdy 4mm steel, which is obviously very strong and rugged. You needn't worry about accidentally scooping up rocks. With 5 different positions for the blade, this plow is extremely flexible and will suit most surfaces and ground undulations. The blade is locked in place using a removable pin. The best part of this design is that it uses 2 tow balls mounted to the A-Bar brackets, allowing the whole thing to pivot up and down, as well as 'floating' with the surface it is ploughing. Using tow balls means removal of the entire blade takes less than a minute, but the fixing remains in place for a quick re-fit. The two caster like wheels are attached to adjustable hacks, again given more flexibility for the area being cleared. Along the lower edge of the plough sits a rubber strip (that is removable and replaceable). This strip flexes along with the ground, creating a snug fit and peeling snow up to the cutting edge of the actual plough. These strips should be viewed as consumables due to contact with the ground.

Driving with a plough on the front of a Defender is quite tough, as the edges could be obscured when the plough is lowered, so each end has a marker for the driver (and other motorists) to clearly see the sides of the blade.  Adjusting the up and down position of the manual blade is done via ratchet strap, though a small winch could be fitted to this model for remote adjusting (for example, from the cab). The whole unit is finished in a high-vis yellow coating for protection, as well as to help keep the plow surface clear of snow.

Winch-Operated

There are numerous advantages to the winch powered Snow Plough. Firstly, you can raise the blade remotely. This makes the blade much easier (and warmer) to operate. Secondly, the winch model fits to a Terrafirma winch bumper, and as such, should couple to the Discovery version of the bumper too. Thirdly, it means you won't have to remove any winches currently fitted to bolt on the plough. Montycat are able to supply the bumper in question separately, should your own winch bumper not be compatible. It appears to be the very same plough design as the manually operated model, with slight variations due to the winch bumper mounting.

As before, the plough mounts using two tow balls and can be adjusted to five different positions. It has the same adjustable wheel jacks and side markers, as well as the leading edge rubber strip. The only difference is the a-bar has gone, replaced with an a-shaped yoke on top of the blade which the winch hook attaches to. The blade is then able to raise and lower with the power of the winch, whilst removal will be no more complicated or lengthy. A great design and 2 excellent looking products!

Bunce Snow Ploughs

Bunce (Ashbury) Ltd are Britain's oldest manufacturer of snow clearing equipment. Founded in 1896, Bunce are now offering a lightweight 4x4 snow plough for clearing 'light snow'. This lightweight plough will suit only Defenders as the suspension fitted to standard Discoveries and Freelancers is not robust enough.

The Bunce blade is actually made of a lightweight polymer skin, bolted to a steel skeleton that keeps the blade light but very strong. The leading edge is fitted with 4 sprung wearing squeegees. The plough has a hydraulic lifting arm and stabilizer bar, for remote operation, and the unit can be manually angled left or right using a hand pump. To keep the whole plough moving, behind the blade sit a pair of heigh adjustable castor wheels. The Bunce literature however states this is only ideal for light snow. A number of optional extras are available, such as rubber squeegees, a safety guard and an electro-hydraulic power pack to replace the hand pump

Jake Wright Snow Plough

Jake Wright Land Rovers sell their own 2 metre wide snow plough. There's not a great deal of information on the site, but it appears to include an a-bar for fitting to the bumper and the plough can be made to raise or lower with an optional hydraulic extra.

Here's some Land Rovers fitted with ploughs:

FunRover reader Bill from 4x4 Scotland sent us this shot

Bill's using Snow Way 22 Series ploughs which look fantastic!

Update: Snow Plough Legalities

We couldn't find any specific legal information on the use of snow ploughs. Nothing about side markers, using amber lights e.t.c or atleast nothing specific. So one of our team sent an email off to the the Department of Transport in the UK.

Here's the reply we received:

Thank you for your email of 10 November regarding the use of a snow plough fitted to the front of your vehicle.

Although the regulations in the Construction and Use Regulations 1986 (as amended) do not explicitly specify a ban on a detachable snow ploughs, there is a regulation (No 100) that prohibits anything which might be dangerous. Regulation 100 states:

(1) A motor vehicle, every trailer drawn thereby and all parts and accessories of such vehicle and trailer shall at all times be in such condition, and the number of passengers carried by such vehicle or trailer, the manner in which any passengers are carried in or on such vehicle or trailer, and the weight, distribution, packing and adjustment of the load of such vehicle or trailer shall at all times be such, that no danger is caused or is likely to be caused to any person in or on the vehicle or trailer or on a road.
(2) The load carried by a motor vehicle or trailer shall at all times be so secured, if necessary by physical restraint other than its own weight, and be in such a position, that neither danger nor nuisance is likely to be caused to any person or property by reason of the load or any part thereof falling or being blown from the vehicle or by reason of any other movement of the load or any part thereof in relation to the vehicle.
(3) No motor vehicle or trailer shall be used for any purpose for which it is so unsuitable as to cause or be likely to cause danger or nuisance to any person in or on the vehicle or trailer or on a road.

In our opinion, a detachable snow plough for the front of a Land Rover Defender is unlikely to be considered a danger. However, this is our view of the regulations and it should be treated purely as advice since it is ultimately for the courts to determine whether or not the legislation has been breached. Enforcement of these regulations is a matter for the Police and/or VOSA. If you remain unsure of your compliance with the law we recommend you seek independent expert (perhaps legal) advice to assist you.

So, fundamentally, a plough should be fine. Just make sure to take pre-cautions i.e. make sure any plough or make or purchase is high-vis yellow, has proper side markers and if you are travelling at slow speeds, consider using amber beacons if local legislation allows.

In part 2 of this post, we'll look at salt gritters, and then in part 3, we'll design our own plough that could be built with some simple DIY tools.

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