I am buying a 8'6" Boss Plow for a 2000 3/4 ton Dodge (AUTO) Where do you like to mount the controls in the cab? I am just talking the standard factory switches... What do you use for a "Snow Flap" on top of plow blade? Boss wants $188.00 for a 10" wide chunk of rubber! Thanks for the info.............
Well, here's how I set up my 80 GMC. Not exactly what you have, but it gives you an idea. Everything should be easy to reach. I still to this day don't know how guys can mount the plow controls on the left side of the steering wheel. It makes no sense to me. On the right, you can reach them easily, without ever taking one hand off the steering wheel. <img src="http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/images/plowcn_1.jpg"> This is my brother's 95 Dodge Ram. You can see the yellow Meyer touchpad. Also, you can see the tailgate salter control box mounted under the dash on the right just in front of the 4wd shifter. <img src="http://www.chuckschevytruckpages.com/images/plowcntrls95ram.jpg"> I know you are going with a Boss, but I suggest finding a place on the right side somewhere. Just my preference, but if you think about it, it makes the most sense to use one hand to shift, and operate the plow. ~Chuck
Try to hook the controls up to your brain with wires and a helmut so it could read your mind. If that doesn't work, put the controls anywhere you don't have to reach for them. It will save you stress and fatigue. The automatic was a smart move. You'll appreciate having the controls as close as possible when you're plowing while talking on the cell phone and your pager is going off and the old lady sitting on 2 phone books pulls out right in front of you and you've been plowing 36 hours straight and and and
Thanks Chuck... Your brothers truck is the same as the 1995 Dodge that I traded in. I had a 8'6" Western Pro Plow on it with controls on the right. The salesmen is trying to tell me to put the new ones on the left... I agree with you that the right seems easier. That is why I asked for input... Although on the right it is difficult to control the plow,shift,run the radio, and drink coffee... As for the guy worried about a old lady hitting me, I plow in the middle of the night in Northern Wisconsin ( average 200to 300 inches year) in a town of 227 people.
I also always figured if I hit something while plowing, I would know it was my own fault, because I know I have my left hand on the wheel. If I'm shifting, I have it on the wheel. Moving the plow, and shifting into drive with my wrist, and my left is still on the wheel. With the controls on the left, plowing, and having to move the plow, and shift, or drink coffee, or answer the phone, or.... well I only have 2 hands. I suppose some of the more macho guys here may have a third member they could steer with...... A few years back I mounted a Western Pro Plow on a friend's 95 Chevy 1500, with a manual 4 speed. I put his on the right too, and he loved it. In first gear, he could reach the controls with his fingertips. ~Chuck
All of my boss controls are velcroed to the seat next to the driver,alot of guy like the dash it is just thatit seems to me that it is easier to rest your hand on the seat next to you.Also because we always have new guys I have found it easier for them if I turn the switch pad in the box so the switches for the blade halves do what the blade will do. For example when the driver pushes forward on the left switch the left wing goes forward and push on the back side of the switch the blade retracts,and the same for the right.then if you want to swivel the blade push the bottom of one and the top of the other, the up down is easy to get used to.As for the joy stick I am not fond of it but alot of my guys like it.It seems it does not respond like I would like it to,to much feed between the internal switches.
On my 95 Dodge I have the controls on the left mounted to the knee bolster. This way I can shift and steerr with right hand while working the plow with the left. Oh and the wires come thru the dash in the grommet to the left of the brake so it made it that much easier.
I guess maybe I'm just used to the controls being on the right, like in backhoes, tractors, and front end loaders. Never saw front bucket controls on the left. Just feels more natural for me to use my right hand to control the plow (bucket) with my right hand. Even the blade engage lever on the Toro Groundsmaster 72 I used to mow with was on the right, along with the deck lift lever. ~Chuck
Well the controls i always likesd on the left so i can shift with my right.You can get a piece of old conveyor belt from a junk yard that's what i put on mine and it works great keeps the snow off the truck but flexable enough to pill too.
Cat, I had to read your post three times to understand what you meant. You like the plow controls on the left, and suggest conveyor belt for the top of the blade, ok. And the conveyor belt is tough, yet flexible enough to pile snow. Whew! ~Chuck
Chuck My diamond controls feel good to me on they left because i can rest my arm on my leg as i am plowing .I have used many different plows and control set ups and found that i like it better set up this way (my own preference).As for the conveyor belt i have been using on my own truck for almost four years and had it on a toen truck before that and it works great it's about 5/8" thick and is very flexable to pile but it still can keep a little curve to keep snow of my windshield.Try it i think you will like it.
Conveyor belt is what we use on our BOSS plows and then we manufacture pieces to fit in the center gap that are steel.
i too like my controls on the right, but i once saw a guy with a boss v-plow with his controls run on a long cable and he liked to plow with his controls over his head, mounted on the visor
Well all my trucks have either the Diamond touch pad, or the fisher fish stick. So the guys hold the contolls in their hand, or they can put them where they want them. Geoff
i am a lefty controler my self bolted to dash all wires hidden set up all trucks the same so if drivers end up driving different truck for whatever reason no learning curve
The control boxes for our Sno-Ways are on a harness that is detachable from the mian harness so we unplug them when the plow is off. When we're plowing the control box sits on our left leg and we steer and shift right handed. Since we're sitting still when shifting there's no need to steer at that point anyhow. If we want to get out of the truck the control box gets set on the dash, out of the way.
When i got my BOSS plow i got the hand held controler, it seems like it would be a hell of a lot easier to have it right in your hand then on the dash....i would spend the extra $ and get the hand held if i were you.
Stop by your local gravel bank, and ask the mechanic for some old conveyor belt material. It works great. I have hand held controller so whatever feels good at the time. On standards we mount the control to the shifter. That way its always at your finger tips. On auto with cable controls we mount them to the left. Just our(read my) preference. Dino
I just got done making and installing controls in my GM 5500. Not quite the context of this thread, dealing with pickup plows, but I spent quite a lot of time getting them where they would be handy to hand. The dump lever is right beside the seat, where the driver can just drop his hand onto it, next to his hip. Plow control is is a home grown joystick, I used a PTO u-joint to get a nice solid two axis stick, all the ones I looked at were factory made junk. Since I figure that 2nd gear will the plow gear I bent the lever so it ends up just below and behind the shifter knob. Shift in to 2nd and drop your hand right on the plow control. Sander quadrant is a bit too far back (I was running out of room) to be really easy to reach, but it's not all that bad either. That is offset by the fact that I have the switch to control the clutch pump mounted on the shifter. I found that, when I had this setup in our F-350, it was easier to start and stop the pump than reach for the spreader control.
