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1500 reg cab plow truck

12K views 32 replies 20 participants last post by  TJ2015 
#1 ·
Does anyone have a reg cab 1500 sb that they plow with? Looking at possibly purchasing one for my residential and small commercial accts. Likes and dislikes please
 
#2 ·
yes sir.. have an 04 Dodge 1500 short bed, small 4.7L v8- All I do is a few residential drives....

SnowdogMD75 on the front. The truck is great for driveways. I have areas where a long bed or extended cab would cause me issues. As it is, I still back up into snowbanks etc...

Other than shorter and a lack of storage inside it should be the same.

With a 1500 you want to select the right plow....use the manufacturers plow selectors... That's probably your bigger concern. That and tires. I'm running 17" wheels and currently have Coopers on them. The Coopers do not bite the hardpack or ice as well as the Michelins did. I'm going to sipe them next year and that should fix that.

I went with the snowdogg- stainless moldboard and it was lighter. I added back drag and it does fine. Had it on a Merc Mountaineer before the Dodge. If I had started out with the truck it would have been an MD80. And now I would really like to put on the Meyer V. They make one for 1500 series trucks just time and money away....

Shortbeds are fine...
 
#3 ·
ran 98 Silverado with 7.6 Meyers with pro wings on it for 15 to 16 years before frame let go .I think it was from all the salting and plowing with skid of salt in it all the time .I did put keys in front end to get 2 inch left and rebuilt back leaf springs to handle the salt .it was a great plow truck .
 
#4 ·
R.J.B.;1936572 said:
Does anyone have a reg cab 1500 sb that they plow with? Looking at possibly purchasing one for my residential and small commercial accts. Likes and dislikes please
You have to be more specific about the year of the truck.

Only poblem with 1/4 tons trucks is the tranny. Might be good, might be bad. It's the weak point.

......
 
#6 ·
03 chevy 1500 RCSB 5.3 with 7'6" super duty boss love it have but 1000lbs of bag salt in the bed do 8 to 18 driveways a mile long private road a commercial lot and a Panera lot...air bags on the rear timbrens on the front torsion bars turned up
 
#7 ·
JAJA;1936813 said:
03 Chevy 1500 RCSB 5.3 with 7'6" super duty Boss love it have but 1,000lbs of bag salt in the bed do 8 to 18 driveways a mile long private road a commercial lot and a Panera lot...air bags on the rear Timbrens on the front torsion bars turned up.
I had a 7.5' SD Fisher on my 2002 Chevy 1500 regular cab long box and it was a decent truck for driveways but, I doubt it would have held up doing commercial lots and mile long roads. The 487lb plow was all my truck wanted and I wouldn't have want to put a heavy duty plow on it. It sounds to me like a 3/4 ton would be a lot better for you.
 
#8 ·
We are looking to purchase a new 2015 short bed work truck with the 5.3 and snow plow group. Boss has listed a 8 ft superduty and western has 8.5ft pro plow. They must have beefed up the front ends in these new trucks
 
#9 ·


This is our 2010 Chevy Silverado z71 short bed with a fisher 7.6 hd plow.We use this truck for short driveways and around building that our 3/4 tons can't manuver as easly.Just a set of timbrens,cranked the torsion bars a few turns and the front end does not drop.Headlights on the plow are nice and bright and it's easy to mount on the truck
 
#10 ·
chevyzrule810;1937067 said:
That thing is just cool. Thumbs Up

I have had rclb 1/2 tons but have always wanted a rcsb. I think they would be sweet. I would have no worries about hanging a 8.5' off the front. Plan on parts wearing faster. When parts do go out replace with quality parts and you'd get years of use out of it. Timbrens and a few turn, a little weight in the back...it would be fine. A 1/2ton isn't a great work truck if you plan on towing though.
 
#13 ·
chevyzrule810;1937067 said:
This is our 2010 Chevy Silverado z71 short bed with a fisher 7.6 hd plow.We use this truck for short driveways and around building that our 3/4 tons can't manuver as easly.Just a set of timbrens,cranked the torsion bars a few turns and the front end does not drop.Headlights on the plow are nice and bright and it's easy to mount on the truck
Gonna point out some discrepancies just like I always do...that isnt a Fisher HD, and that truck does not have torsion bars. And its a 2012 or newer unless the front end was replaced.
 
#22 ·
I ran my 1998 1500 5.0 liter, regular cab, long box for several years doing some residential and I was very happy with it. Had a western 7.5' unimount plow. One time a buddy asked me to help out at a large commercial lot since he had a break down, and I pushed ALOT of snow that night. Only mod I did was to turn up the torsion bars. and I always kept about 400lbs of sand in the rear of the box. I felt like I had so much traction in that thing. I ran Cooper Discoverer ATR tires, and they performed well.

The only limitation is obviously you can't carry a huge plow, and no V- blades. But if you know how to operate it, I don't think you're losing much efficiency in a driveway with a straight blade.
 
#23 ·
The frames of 1/2 tons are substa
coke813;2088134 said:
The only limitation is...
Just an augmentation, cuz' I do that sometimes.

The biggest limitation of a light truck is obviously a light plow, but more importantly, a severe limitation of the amount it can push...because the whole truck is built lighter, from the transmission to the frame to the suspension.

I have pushed 9" of wet heavy snow 400' on a straight push w/ my 2500. I have seen two trucks break on that same property. One was a 1500, the other a jeep. In my mind they should not be attempting such a property, unless the snow is light, or, if heavy, do half passes.

The frames of 1/2 tons are substantially lighter than those of 1 or 3/4 tons, and can bend far more easily on long, heavy pushes. This point is obviously moot on a drive if the snow can constantly be pushed to the side.
 
#24 ·
johnhenry1933;2088176 said:
but more importantly, a severe limitation of the amount it can push... This point is obviously moot on a drive if the snow can constantly be pushed to the side.
Yea, that's a big 10-4 John. I think anyone with experience realizes that you can't push a load of heavy wet snow for a 1/4 mile with a half-ton. but this original post was just about doing driveways. If a customer asks you to do a driveway where you have to push it all to the end- not sides, you better be smart enough to turn the job down. And I even tell them why my truck can't do it and they need to find somebody with a heavier truck.
So to the Original poster, I assume you have some experience, but if not here's some tips: keep your blade turned all the way to one side when you hit a big drift or heavy wet snow. you can push it off to the side, but only a limited amount straight ahead. If you have a good plan of attack, and take manageable "bites" you can still do it. you just have to have a realistic knowledge of your truck and how much snow you have. I have never ran into snow I couldn't move yet, we just had a 13.5" storm last week.
 
#25 ·
coke813;2088200 said:
Yea, that's a big 10-4 John. I think anyone with experience realizes that you can't push a load of heavy wet snow for a 1/4 mile with a half-ton. but this original post was just about doing driveways. If a customer asks you to do a driveway where you have to push it all to the end- not sides, you better be smart enough to turn the job down. And I even tell them why my truck can't do it and they need to find somebody with a heavier truck.
So to the Original poster, I assume you have some experience, but if not here's some tips: keep your blade turned all the way to one side when you hit a big drift or heavy wet snow. you can push it off to the side, but only a limited amount straight ahead. If you have a good plan of attack, and take manageable "bites" you can still do it. you just have to have a realistic knowledge of your truck and how much snow you have. I have never ran into snow I couldn't move yet, we just had a 13.5" storm last week.
I had some putz "help" me out last week on this property w/o my knowledge on a 9" wet heavy snowfall. He plowed in my plow (8'x5'x3' bank) plowed towards the properties and parked cars, leaving windrows there and in the middle of the lot. Also left a 10'x10'x5' bank in front of my loader and 6500. I'll post pics of the remainder if I can.

My 2500 (w/ a 5 spring 8' Western Uni) had no problem with any of this, excepting the large snowbank, on which I used the loader.

Needless to say, I strongly advised the "helper" to never do that again, lest he will receive an invoice, and perhaps charges.

Yes, Coke, experience always trumps, and know your vehicle and its limitations.
 
#26 ·
john, that really sucks. It's unfortunate when people like that get behind the wheel of a car, much less a plow truck. Everybody has to learn somehow, but sounds like this guy was way out over his skis. I know in a pinch you want any help you can get, but hopefully in the future you can find somebody worth their pay.
 
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