SP-575X Pro Series 12 Volt Tailgate Spreader

Bought one of these from a local provider after reading the websites excellent reviews and extensive warranty and service coverage in Boston MA.First unit came in a busted up box which had many parts missing.Second replacement unit appeared to be in a contained box, but upon opening I discovered the Motor wiring harness was under the frame during transport and had eaten through the frame.Once fixing this issue, i returned to unpacking the rest of the parts which require way more knowledge than your average person on the street to install.Finally got around to unpacking the motor controller to find it stank of burnt electronics.Attempted to find a service center in Boston who will do a warranty claim for the controller as recommended by Snowex on the phone. No service centers would process such a request.Machine never operated and was plagued with quality control issues from the start.Proceeded to get refund and now using a lawn seeder to do the spreading instead.

We purchased this to replace our prior tailgate spreader, a Buyer's Products TUGSUVPROA, which we used to maintain our parking lots (137 spaces, about 60,000 s.f.).The Buyer's Products unit was much less money (less than 1/2), but it's just not worth it. The Buyer's Products unit had several problems: the motor was exposed to the elements (and damage, which we did once); the motor was weak and would often stall; when it did run, it didn't throw the salt very far; the unit was very finicky about what we fed it; finally, power for the unit went inside the cab (fat wire). We tried to make it work. Checked the wiring, replaced the motor, added a vibrator. It just wouldn't do the job. Nothing is worse after a hard day of plowing than having to unload 250# of rock salt from the spreader that just won't work. And then having to spread it by hand.This unit uses a transmission to increase the motor torque, so nothing bogs it down. It does a great job throwing the salt just where we need it (even without having to use the blast setting). The only wire inside the cab is a control wire - the real power regulation is done in the engine bay. I have only 2 complaints. The instructions are not very good, but they are really meant for a dealer, I think. They are just not very detailed. The instructions recommend the unit be fused with a 35 amp slow-blow fuse, but that is not included. Fortunately, our local auto parts store carried 35 amp breakers. I really can't imagine hooking it up without a fuse and it seems to me that at this price, one ought to be included. But those are really minor complaints. The unit excels at doing exactly what we need and my only real regret is not buying it sooner.

Very well built. Unit came completely assembled just had to run wiring in truck. All the harnesses are pre made took only an hour start to finish. Was looking at salt dog by byers it's much cheaper but from what I've heard from friends and reviews it's crap. Used it about 5 times since 11/26/14 and no problems yet. And it's instant on. No warm up process like some other units that waste salt.

bought this for our snow trucks during the winter. Have a lot of commercial properties that need snow removal during the winter months. It works. Really good price too!