Sno-Way is giving its 29VHD V-plow a completely different look with the limited-release Eclipse Blackout Edition. With a matte-black blade, mount, lift frame and hardware, the commercial V-plow trades traditional manufacturer colors for a sleek, stealthy appearance designed to stand out on the jobsite.
Snowplows have traditionally been designed to stand out. Bright manufacturer colors, highly visible blades and recognizable branding have helped identify plows, and their manufacturers, for decades.
Sno-Way is taking a decidedly different approach with its new Eclipse Blackout Edition.
The limited-release snowplow takes Sno-Way’s established 29VHD V-plow and gives it an almost entirely black appearance, creating one of the more distinctive factory looks currently available in the truck snowplow market.
According to Sno-Way, the Eclipse package includes a matte-black powder-coated mount and blade, blacked-out lift frame and hardware, and an integrated “stealth” appearance designed to give the entire plow a clean, uniform look.
Same 29VHD. Completely Different Personality.
Underneath the new appearance is a familiar Sno-Way commercial V-plow.
The Eclipse Blackout Edition is being offered exclusively on the Sno-Way 29VHD, rather than representing an entirely new snowplow platform.
That is significant because the 29VHD already has a long history within Sno-Way’s commercial snowplow lineup.
The standard Flared 29VHD Series 2 is available in 8’6″ and 9’6″ configurations and combines Sno-Way’s flared V-wing design with technologies including its Ground Hugger blade design and MaxAdjust leveling system. Sno-Way also uses double-acting wing cylinders intended to maintain wing position under demanding snow loads and improve back-dragging performance.
Why Appearance May Matter More Than You Think
For decades, snowplow manufacturers have relied heavily on color as part of their identity.
A contractor could often recognize the manufacturer of a plow from across a parking lot simply by looking at the blade.
The Eclipse challenges that convention.
A blacked-out plow mounted on today’s increasingly popular black, gray and monochromatic pickups creates an integrated truck-and-plow package rather than making the snowplow look like a separate piece of equipment attached to the front of the vehicle.
For owner-operators and contractors who invest heavily in the appearance of their trucks, that could have considerable appeal.
Contractors routinely spend money on custom wheels, lighting, wraps, graphics, headache racks and other truck accessories. It isn’t difficult to imagine the snowplow becoming another part of that overall vehicle presentation.
Sno-Way describes the Eclipse as helping operators “stand out above the crowd” while maintaining the technology found in its other equipment.
Ironically, they’ve accomplished that by removing much of the color.
More Than Just Cosmetics?
There is also an interesting marketing question behind the Eclipse.
Snow removal equipment has traditionally been sold primarily around specifications:
Blade width. Weight. Hydraulics. Trip systems. Cutting edges. Snow-carrying capacity.
Those things obviously remain important.
But equipment purchases aren’t always purely rational.
Truck manufacturers have understood this for decades. Appearance packages, blackout editions and special editions have become common ways of creating additional interest around an existing vehicle without redesigning the underlying platform.
Sno-Way appears to be testing whether some of that same thinking translates to the snow and ice equipment market.
If contractors respond, the Eclipse could demonstrate that personalization has a larger place in professional snow equipment than manufacturers have traditionally assumed.
Limited Availability
Sno-Way isn’t rolling the Eclipse out across its entire snowplow lineup.
The company describes the Eclipse as a limited release available only as a 29VHD model through select Sno-Way dealers, although, contractors are encouraged to inquire at their local dealer if they are interested. Sno-Way lists compatibility with Class 2, Class 3, Class 4 and Class 5 trucks.
That limited availability may actually add to its appeal.
For contractors accustomed to seeing hundreds of similarly colored plows every winter, the Eclipse offers something unusual: an opportunity for the equipment itself to become part of the truck’s identity.
SnowPlowNews Take
The most interesting thing about the Eclipse may not be the color, or lack of it.
It’s what Sno-Way is testing.
Snowplow manufacturers spend enormous amounts of engineering effort improving hydraulics, blade geometry, mounting systems, controls and snow-carrying capacity. Those improvements remain critical.
But contractors also take pride in their equipment.
Their trucks represent their businesses. They arrive at customer properties wearing company logos, graphics and carefully maintained equipment. For many operators, the truck is effectively a rolling billboard.
Why shouldn’t the snowplow be part of that presentation?
The Eclipse Blackout Edition takes an established commercial V-plow and approaches it from a different direction: don’t change what the plow does, change how the operator feels about having it on the front of the truck.
Whether blackout snowplows become a larger trend remains to be seen.
But Sno-Way has certainly created a 29VHD that won’t be mistaken for the one parked next to it.
And in an industry where snowplows have been identified by their colors for generations, taking the color away might be one of the easiest ways to get noticed.