If you live in an area where winter brings varying amounts of snow, you know the hassles that blowing or shoveling brings. To save time, many people opt for an easier route, which involves staying out of the cold and plowing from a pickup. But, not all trucks are created equal when it comes to driving in snow and handling the work plowing requires.

Your truck needs to handle the blade you want to install on it. The bigger and more powerful the pickup is, the more plowing it can handle. On the other end of the spectrum, there are trucks that are better for lighter snowy conditions. If you’re considering buying a used pickup to handle the job, you’ll want to know which ones to consider for your needs. Here, we take a look at a few trucks that are perfect for different types of situations.

Toyota Tacoma

The Toyota Tacoma works great for lightweight plows 300 lbs. and under. With some decent snow tires, you would have more than enough to handle light jobs, using a small width plow attachment. Try not to install a heavier plow as this light-weight truck isn’t built to handle it, and you could damage your pickup in the process.

Choose a 4×4 version, and opt for a V6, instead of the four-cylinder, to make sure there’s enough power to use the blade. Also, place sandbags in the back, so the attachment doesn’t drag the nose of the truck down.

Ford F-150

The F-150 would work great with a mid-size plow blade that’s only eight feet wide. For light to moderate jobs, this truck handles the snow well as long as you have good tires with decent traction.

As for the weight of the blade, the F-150 is strong enough to handle a 300-600 lbs attachment, provided it’s built with the right equipment to do so. The company built the newer pickups to handle snow plowing using Ford’s prep packages, while a lot of the older ones don’t have the same capabilities.

Ford F-350

The Ford F-350 is a ¾ ton truck that can handle significantly more weight attached to the front, than its mid-size F-150 sister truck. Heavy snow plowing jobs are a breeze with an 8-10 foot width blade, which only the F-350 can handle in the line of Ford F-Series trucks. These pickups will blast through snow, using a 600-1,000 lbs blade.

Chevy Silverado 2500/4500

The Chevy Silverado 2500 and the 4500 are both full-size pickups capable of handling the heaviest plow attachments on the market. The heavier axles and powerful suspensions help keep the truck from straining against both the weight of the plow and the snow they’re cutting through.

Ram 1500

The Ram 1500 is a mid-size pickup that’s good for light snow plowing on residential driveways, but not good for commercial use. The more you use the truck, with the plow attachment, the more wear and tear the front end would go through. If you just need to do your driveway, and a neighbor’s or two, this pickup is the perfect option.

Ram 3500/5500

These pickups are heavy-duty and will plow snow easily. Both can handle attachments that range from 600 lbs to 1,000 lbs and will fit blades of up to 10 feet. You’ll also find that it’s good for slush conditions and heavy snow. The only drawback is these trucks usually get low gas mileage with the extra weight and force used when plowing. Be sure to keep up with maintenance, and these Rams will be great investments for the snow in your future.

Ford, Chevy, Dodge, and Toyota have some pretty decent trucks available to handle the snowy conditions found in certain states. Some are great at handling light duties, and others are perfect for heavy use. Find the truck that works best in the scenarios you’ll be working on to get the most out of your snow plowing investment.