Plow Truck models:

The truck-mounted Front Runner grading rake was introduced to Northern New England in the spring of 1990.  It was well received and grew in popularity, especially in New Hampshire and Maine, while its skid-steer (Bobcat, UniLoader) counterpart achieved sales across the country and around the world. Although it was well received, sales never reached a critical point where FrontRunner Corp. could become a self-sustaining company.

In 1995, a well-known New England snowplow manufacturer agreed to take on the truck-mounted FrontRunner to complement other new product lines that they were bringing on board.  At the same time, FFC, a mid-west manufacturer of skid-steer attachments, took over production of the tractor version of the FrontRunner, calling it the FFC grader/rake (below).  Unfortunately, the deal with the snowplow manufacturer fell through when they abandoned all new product lines to stay strictly with snow and ice control products.  The production of the truck mounted FrontRunner had been put on hold while the product was going through a moderate re-design to lighten it to accommodate the poor “front end reserve” (the extra weight that a truck could handle on its front springs) of trucks at that time. Not able to recover from the production pause, especially having licensed the Skid-Steer production to FFC, the truck-mounted FrontRunner ceased to be produced.  Ironically, pickup trucks started to be built as work trucks once again soon after.

There are many truck units still in use, especially in northern New England, and many parts, particularly replacement tines, are readily available from Lanoie.  See contact us below.

Tractor and skid steer loader models:

Front Runner grader / rakes for tractors and skid steer loaders are now being manufactured by FFC, a leading manufacturer of construction attachments and are being distributed through their nationwide dealer network. They are approved or accepted by most manufacturers of skid steer loaders and can also fit most compact tractors using appropriate adapters. For further information on the FFC grader / rake, including pricing, and the name of a dealer close to you please contact: https://www.paladinattachments.com/products/grader-rake