Snow Plow Actuator in Action

Get your truck ready for winter with a snowplow actuator!

With the arrival of the winter season comes that pesky winter weather, most notably heavy snowfall. Snow can cause a great deal of frustration and stress when it comes to large amounts, blocking off roads and driveways for people everywhere. When situations like this arise, there is one piece of machinery that most of us turn to the snowplow. Guess what powers most of those snowplows? The answer is linear actuators.


Before linear actuators, operating snow plows was a much more difficult process then it is today. In order to properly handle a snowplow, the plow must be turned and aimed consistently, so it can redirect and plow the snow efficiently. You could see how this could cause difficulties as both your hands are required to drive the vehicle safely. Luckily now we have liner actuators that are able to control the direction of the plow with the press of a button. All you need is one of our heavy-duty linear actuators and a rocker switch to go with it.

When choosing an actuator for a snowplow, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. You need to determine how much stroke is needed to give your plow a full range of motion. You are also going to need a power source, but luckily most tractors run on a 12-volt battery, which is exactly what almost all of our actuators run on.

The amount of snow going to be plowed something that must be taken into account as well. As stated earlier, one of our heavy-duty actuators, the PA-17 model, would probably be the best bet as they are capable of producing at least 800 pounds of force. If that much force isn’t needed, then one of our PA-03 models would be the next best choice, which produces 200-600 pounds of force. Finally, a rubber boot for the actuator is highly recommended since it’s going to be outside in the harsh weather for long periods of time. This will help extend the life of the actuator and protect it.

But why to stop the automation there; nowadays there are snowplows that you can control via the remote’s so you don’t even need to get in the vehicle. All you have to do is sit back and let the plow do the work for you. It’s as easy as playing with a remote control car. Heck, you could even stay inside the comfort of your own home and control the plow from there. Linear actuators work the same way as stated above in these remote-controlled robots, controlling the angle and tilt of the snowplow, as well as engaging it in the first place.