Snow Plowing Forum banner

Plowing With Chevy 3500 HD 2WD

5K views 15 replies 12 participants last post by  Lazer 
#1 ·
I am looking a buying a new, used, truck. I think I will go with a Chevy 3500 HD with a dump on the back. These are the trucks that have the solid front axel's. The trucks only come in 2WD, so how would it do for plowing snow. I have herd people say that when they plow that they hardly even use 4WD in bigger Dully's, but I was just wanting some opinions. I am from Indiana and we rarely get more than 8 inch at a time.
 
#5 ·
If your gonna do highway plowing it will be fine a freind of mine plows the state roads here and he had a 1ton 4x4 but had the 4x4 shaft diconected and he never had a problem .If your doing small lots or hills then it would not be very cost efective for plowing for you.
 
#8 ·
I doubt you'd have a problem,put 3 or 4 tons in the rear most part of the box,and do not push to far in parking lots that have drop offs-or you'll need a tow to get out.Those 3500HD's have nice 19.5's and 15K GVWR,so they are great for carrying v-boxes.
 
#9 ·
We have an F350 4x4 dump, we rarely use the 4wd, except for short pushes(25 ft or less) with alot of snow(backdraged from drives in association)in parking lots truck is fine up to about 6-8 inches depending on weight. I know the truck weighs around 8,000 lbs without plow, has diesel which add extra weight, but was a single rear wheel , I bought it with the duells & dump on it, didn't realize it was converted, but I figure the dump body weighs around 2000lbs.
Had weight in it first season, aside from slowing down truck(with weight), I can't see a difference
 
#11 ·
It's been hinted at before:

If you're plowing for short runs (lot's of shifting back/forth) then 2WD really is a comprimise.

If you're plowing for hundreds of feet at a time, it's all momentum and with enough weight, they perform comprably with a 4WD.

The biggest comprimise: You can't get the really good snow/ice tires in a 19" size: For example: our F550 (4x4, 7.3) simply CAN NOT keep up with our old style Dodge W150's. Doesn't have the tires for it.

[Edited by Lazer on 11-27-2000 at 02:24 AM]
 
#16 ·
Blizzak 16" tires are only available in the MZ-02 model. (and even those are low-profile (60) models.)

The one for plowing is the WS-15, which largest size is P235/75-15. (Old style 1/2 ton trucks only.)

The best plow tire for 16" would be the Hakkipaliitta.

For clarity: the Blizzak WS-15 is a weak, low-mileage, low-load tire. The ONLY thing they are superior at is traction.

I am sure we could buy better snow tires than what we have on the 550, but I haven't shopped them, know it isn't going to be a cheap proposition, especially if we get seasonal rims. (Most trucks have summer/winter sets now)

[Edited by Lazer on 11-27-2000 at 04:11 AM]
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top