Many of us shoveled snow as kids. It's hard on a young body, and absolute murder on an older one; my bad back couldn't handle it anymore, and it turns out that shoveling snow is also a great way to trigger a heart attack.

Here's a DIY workaround I recently learned of, if you've got a vehicle with a hitch receiver, like a Subaru wagon:

Via Easy Fix on YouTube

Via Easy Fix on YouTube

That's the Snowsport 180 Utility Plow, which doesn't require a truck nor an expensive front-end hook-up. Instead you fit a U-shaped rig into your hitch receiver, then hang the plow onto that, no tools required. (The plow itself does weigh more than 50 pounds, so you'll want to hang it one side at a time if working alone.)

Roger Garbow over at The Drive tested one out and got good results (video of it in action here). "The incredible utility here is obvious," he writes.

Roger Garbow / The Drive

"Picture the typical suburban setup, a two car garage with a long-ish, relatively flat and straight driveway leading up to it. You just reverse out of the bay, take care of business, and drive forward back into the shelter of your garage. Simple, and warm."

At $1,200 it ain't cheap, but I'm guessing back surgery or a cardiac event costs more.