The ideal plow truck....

[SlimJim Z71]

If you were going to buy a NEW pickup to plow and salt with, what would it be and how would you equip it? I may be getting a new truck to plow with... and basically, I need some advice, pros and cons, etc.

-Tim

 

[cat320]

Well i'm a chevy man i would get the new 2500HD which is 9,200LB gvw and equip it with a duramax diesel allison 5 spd auto reg. cab power everything put timbrean load bosters on front and rear slide in smith electric spreader with a diamond plow and I would put a whelen light bar with 10 strobe heads ally,and rear work lights.But if i was going to put a sander on it i would go with a dump for the ease of cleaning and weight it will carry.

 

[SLC1]

Cat320, I just ordered my 2500HD yesterday, they are putting the plow on the truck (8.5 Fisher Straight) tomorrow and I will be picking it up on Wed. I hope, I will let you know how it does.

 

[GeoffD]

If it had to be a pick up:

F 350
4X4 Plow Prep
7.3 Power Stroke
Auto
AUX

Swenson Spreader ( stainless or regular is up to you)
8.5' Fisher v-plow


BTW I am a Ford Man, and have several ford trucks from a ranger to an L 9000

Geoff

 

[SlimJim Z71]

I am a Chevy guy too... but my neighbor just bought a new F250 Reg. cab long bed, and had a Western 7'6" Pro plow put on it. The front end doesn't drop more than an inch when he lifts that plow up... I was impressed.

-Tim

 

[cat320]

SLC1 please let me know how you like it must be a gas engine if your getting of the lot would like to know how the new engines are,I still prefere diesel.

SlimJimZ71 the fors has a mono beam axel in the front not like the chevy tortion bar that is why it doesn't drop as much but with the timbrem load bosters it will be the same as the ford.

The new chevy truck's look great and have alot more than my '97 but the allison 5 spd will be great plus you can get a pto with it even in the pick ups.

 

[John DiMartino]

I am partial to GM,but if it were a plow truck,I would seriously consider a Dodge.Dodge will not sag at all with its best in a pickup 5200GVWR front axle,the Dana 60 is the best front end now available for plowing.Dodge also turns on a dime and gives back change,very manueverable,much better than GM or Ford.A GM 2500HD has more payload,but its in the rear,we hang plows on the front,so its still going to sag out if you have the diesel or big block.If it were your only truck Id live with the sag and buy a GM,base 6.0 is very strong.I wouldnt buy a Ford,only because they are difficult to service and havent had good luck with them,others have had great luck-I just know you should buy a 2500HD as the minimum,and get plow prep,trailer tow and aux battery if you buy one.The plow is easy-get a Fisher EZV 8.5. Strong,and easy to get parts for.Do not buy a diesel if its parked to far from power,they need to be plugged in when it gets below 0.,I plug in at 25 and below,they just start and run so much better that way.

 

[John Allin]

Dodge 3/4 ton
Boss 8'2" Vee

(from experience... don't put a 9'2" Vee on a 3/4 ton)

 

[JD PLOWER]

[*]Black [*]F-350[*]4X4[*]auto[*]Reg. cab[*]8-6"Fisher v-plow[*]2yd ss sander.[*] Diesel



[Edited by JD PLOWER on 11-26-2000 at 10:50 PM]

 

[n y snow pros]

We do only commercial work and i like Chevys,but here is my pick
Ford F-550 cab & chassis
permentenly mounted stainless low pro style 4.5 yard Down Eastern spreader
hydaulically driven no pony motors
power stroke
automatic
high intensity strobes in the flasher assemblies
9.2 Boss v-plow
and most important a qualified driver(they are hard to come by)

 

[landscaper3]

Mitsubishi Fuso with a 9foot V-Plow and dump body with a 3yard sander, these things can turn around on a dime! Diesel of course. Runner up is my 1997 Ford F-350 Powerstroke diesel with performance enhancements pulling almost 700lbs torque and boy can she move snow!!!!!

 

[landscaper3]

OOPS 603lbs I was looking at the wrong dyno chart.

 

[DaveO]

Slim,

GOT IT. '01 Dodge 2500 SB QC diesel. Like John said, turns on a dime, even with quad cab. 5200lbs front axle, with plow prep. HD everything. Now I just need that Fisher V plow.

And SLIM BTW....My OLD 83 F150 with plow prep drops 3/4" when you pick up my Fisher blade with foil. Guess they made the 1/2 tons HD back then. Your just used to those SOFT Chevies...haha. Just bustin on ya.


Dave

 

[guido]

The ideal plow truck.....

Drives and operates itself when I've been behind the wheel for 2 days straight and want to get some sleep! It also makes me hot choclate!!

but seriously...
Good luck with your decesion!

 

[Lazer]

Plow with a DODGE Diesel?

We have the 7th transmission in our 1996 right now. The warranty is about up and it is now sold.

Every time we bring it in for trans service, it seems like that transmission is on back-order.

Right now the dealership has 11 diesels (mostly plow trucks) waiting for transmissions.

It seems the guys with the V-8 gas have had good luck (all plow in low range) but there is NO WAY I'd every buy a Dodge diesel for plowing.

 

[Lazer]

Oh yeah,

Chrysler's inferior products appear to have caught up with them:

Chrysler is worth about HALF what it was a year ago.

One of the reasons for the company's demise: WARRANTY repairs radically exceeding industry standards.

The numbers don't lie: They build products inferior to their competitors.

 

[thelawnguy]

Id replace my 95 Dodge HD 3/4 with another one in a heartbeat, only get a Fisher V instead of the straight I have now.

Seven trannies in the same truck, I suspect a transfer case problem (misaligned casting in the case or input shaft) is putting undue stress on the tranny. Or someone isnt flushing the coolers when they changed the tranny. Or a leaking tans cooler is allowing coolant to enter the hydraulic system. Or a bad valve body is being swapped into a good transmission. Maybe driver error. If it was my truck, Id be highly suspect after the second failure. The trans shop on the corner (independent) told me the Dodge truck trannys dont fail any more often than any other mfr. From my experiences I would tend to believe him.

 

[Rooster]

Lazer,

I talked to a Dodge mechanic, he told me if I bought a new Dodge truck to plow with, only buy a 1ton, and always plow in low gear in 4-low. If not the transmission would be torn out from under it!

I have a 1984 3/4 ton Dodge now, being in Kansas we don't get much snow any more, just wish most of the time.

Dodge advertizing seems to work, the most new truck in this area are Dodge's (finally have a good looking exterior and interior) never have seen a Dodge diesel, just Ford diesels.

Any way thanks for the info on Dodge diesel.

 

[Alan]

Homegrown concept for a truck

I've given up on finding an "ideal" truck from the factory, so I'm going to start looking for the right pieces to build one.

If I can pull this off it just might make as close to a pefect rig as can be had.

I want to start with GM, cheap and interchangeable parts. Clip the frame to end up with a short wheelbase, as if it was a short bed.

Axles off a 1 ton single wheel setup. 350 with a few tricks to make it pull at low revs, TH 400 tranny, NP203 full time transfer case (I think that's the right numbers), 4.10 gears, posi rear.

Central hydraulics off a clutch pump, Vee plow up front, pull plow on the back, both of them with compensating downpressure like Sno-Way has. Vee box, shorter and wider than most, about 1 1/2 yd capacity, but with auger feeds rather than drag chain. The box would be split crossways into two compartments so I could load either one material in both parts or split the load, half mix, half Magic salt (we have several accoutns that are part paved, part gravel and prefer mix on the gravel portions). A selector valve would let me choose which hopper to draw material from using only the one spreader control console. The pull plow would lift high enough to let me spread with it in place.

Good seats, heated mirrors and power windows (I like to plow with my windows down, gets around that snow/water/salt film that is always on the windows). Plenty of work lights, good flasher system.

I know this will take a whole boatload of time and a couple of dinghies full of money, but I think it would make a superb snow fighter and cost way less than a new truck, as well as being easy to work on (no computers).

 

[SlimJim Z71]

I have to admit... I like all of the "Big 3". Dodge makes a great looking truck. I don't know a whole lot about their durability (other than the stuff I've "HEARD"), but I wasn't impressed when I drove one. It didn't feel very nimble, but yes it does turn very well.

Fords (Superduty's) are some serious trucks, but I've heard of numerous problems with the Powerstroke.

Now the GM's... the new HD's look to be the king of the hill, but they havn't been out very long. The Duramax/Allison combo sounds like the cat's meow, but I'm a little leary about it just cause it hasn't been out very long. Also... I've heard that the waiting list for a Duramax is longer than the Presidential election is taking.

Hmmmmm.... what to do.

-Tim