There are probably more Meyer ST Series snow plows out there than any other brand or model. One of the reasons is that they were made for 50+ years! During those 50 years there were many changes, many options, many revisions, and many options discontinued. To name a few: there was a downpressure option that utilized the rare E-48 pump, there were tie rods that you could install in place of your trip springs to do light grading of gravel and dirt, and the ST was available in sizes larger than 7.5 feet too, up to 10' according to sales literature. Here is a Meyer postcard with a Jeep on it. The Jeep has a TALL front plow, and a rear mounted plow too. The steel cab was also made by Meyer. I have met and spoken to thousands of plow owners over the years, and almost EVERY one of them owned a Meyer plow at some point, and many still do

Unfortunately, that 50 year run with little innovations in later years put Meyer in a rut of sorts. A LOT of owners moved on to other brands (though most confess they still have a Meyer or two in their fleet) because they wanted the improvements and innovations. For a long time the market was flooded with ST Series plows, often on 3/4 ton trucks. This led to a lot of failures of the ST Series.

One of the reasons is that years ago, lets talk 1960's, most work trucks were geared low. That meant plowing was done at slower speeds. Additionally, salt spreading was not nearly as common as it is today, so most trucks did not have a V Box in the bed heaped with 2 yards of salt. So you would have a 3/4 or even a 1 ton truck, with a Meyer ST on it, and the truck had a top speed of 45 mph. Plowing was done slowly, in part due to gearing, and the engines back then had a fraction of the horsepower later years and today's trucks have. So you had a heavy duty truck, that was not light, but it was plowing at slow speeds, typically with an inline 6 cylinder motor under the hood. Often the truck was in 4wd low, or was a 2wd with chains on it. The ST Series did OK in this scenario.

By the 1970's, trucks had more power, moved faster with higher gearing and larger V-8 motors, and 4wd was common. Salt was becoming more popular. So now you had strong trucks, often carrying a ton or two of salt in the back, plowing at higher speeds. The ST did not hold up well in these conditions. Meyer came out with the "Husky" line of plows (which is the C Series) in 1969. They were designed for commercial applications to be mounted on 3/4 and larger trucks. They were built much stronger than the smaller lighter ST Series. Part of the problem is they were more expensive. Old school thinking "well I had a 7.5 ST on my old truck and it worked fine" and the fact that truck upfitters worked with truck dealers to deliver a less expensive plow to the new truck lots, continued to flood the market with ST plows on trucks that should have had the heavier, stronger, more durable C Series on them. As those ST Series plows failed, then we started hearing "Meyer plows are junk". Not true in my opinion. The plow must be matched to the vehicle. Some things never change. People still call my shop to this day wanting to put a cheaper, lighter plow on their vehicle, because it was free, or they had it on another truck. Well that doesn't make it a good idea!

Now lets talk trucks. Anyone who has owned trucks over the year knows that the front end weight ratings seem to keep getting lower and lower. At least with the 1/2 ton models. Lets talk about the old reliable Jeep. For years a trusty Jeep was a prime candidate for a plow. Meyer worked with Jeep as far back as when it was owned by Willys Overland (old Kaiser Jeep Accessory Brochure). Jeeps were fitted with the ST-78 (which was a 6.5' plow). Those Jeeps had leaf springs in the front. People didn't pay as much attention to what the front end rating was, they just added a leaf to the leaf spring pack to carry the plow better. No problem. In 1996 Jeep went to a coil spring front suspension with a lower weight rating. Meyer designed a TM (Two-Meter) plow for it. The TM was already in use on the Import trucks that flooded the US in the 1980's, and it was MUCH lighter than the ST-78. The TM worked well on Jeeps with very few failures other than due to abuse. Well those same small trucks that had the TM on them made their front end ratings even lower as year went by, to still be able to mount a plow on them, the plow had to be lighter. So Meyer came out with the Drive Pro 6'8", a nice little plow, completely redesigned.

Innovation

A few years before the Drive Pro 6'8", Meyer came out with the Xpress Plow (in 2004). It is the one that mounts itself on the truck. It was a completely new design. A VERY durable plow, with MANY innovations aimed at the commercial plower. You probably don't see too many of them because those innovations came at a much higher price on the new truck lot or at the plow dealer. What innovations? Automatic raise and lower on the controller. Put the truck in gear and the plow drops by itself. Put the truck in reverse, and it raises by itself. It had a wireless controller. It has a unique design that when you raise the plow and angle it all the way to one side or the other, it angles level. The back (trailing) edge of the plow is not just an inch or two off the ground like every other snow plow. It has a Shake feature. Hit the Shake button and the plow automatically shakes for a few seconds to help knock any snow that stuck to the blade off. The Xpress is a well built, VERY durable plow that is still available today.

The Drive Pro 6'8" came out like I said, and it is a very fast, light, well built plow, perfect for the smaller trucks it is designed for. It is all steel, there are no plastic parts on it, no rubber bands for trip springs, real steel springs, steel cutting edge, and it uses the same commercial grade pump and lights the larger plows use. After a few years it was clear that it was a perfect replacement for the TM Series, so the TM Series was discontinued.

Meyer aimed at the C Series next. The Lot Pro was designed to replace the C Series. It is VERY similar to the Xpress Plow moldboard design. The design was proven with the Xpress, and the Lot Pro is a success. A very strong durable plow. It is 4" taller than the C Series was, has no hollow ribs for rust to form inside, rotting the moldboard skin from the inside out, and is built with the latest technology and tooling. After a couple of years with the Lot Pro out there, it was clear that it was time to discontinue the C Series plows.

Next was the ST Series. If you look at a Drive Pro 6'8", and you look at a Lot Pro, it is easy to see that the new Drive Pro 7'6 is the perfect in between plow. It is designed similar to both of them. It is a proven design. So the ST Series was discontinued, and replaced by the Drive Pro 7'6", which is a PERSONAL USE plow. It is not designed for commercial use. So we as Dealers are faced with the same problem as before, customers taking a plow designed for personal use, and using it for commercial plowing..

"IF you think you know Meyer, think again!"

~Chuck Smith

Skinning A Meyer ST-7.5 Plow
Re-skinning Another Meyer ST-7.5 Moldboard
A Frame Repair
Building an ST-78 for a Jeep
Two More ST Pivot Tube Repairs
Meyer A Frame & Sector Repair
Power Angle Rams
Two Meyer ST-7.5 Plows + a TM-6.5 Plow re-skinned

Skinning a Meyer C-8 plow
C Series Pivot Repair
C Series Pivot Repair 2
Power Angle Rams
A Meyer C-8 re-skin from 2014

Smith Brothers Services, LLC
3212 State Route 94
Suite 9
Franklin, NJ  07416
(973) 209-7569

(973) 209-PLOW