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Car Forum / Dodge / Dodge Trucks / May 2005

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Snow Plow on a 05 Ram 1500 Quad Cab 4X4

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Kurt - 02 May 2005 11:35 GMT
I know the truck isn't heavy duty, but can a 8' plow be used on this truck to
plow driveways?  I'm not talking about doing big parking lots just residential
driveways.  This truck has the Hemi in it & a manual 4X4 shift lever, none of
this automatic stuff that fails.  It also has limited slip rear end & the 20"
wheels.

1997                  SFA 60920
1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003   AMA 602785
Due to E-Mail spamming bots my reply address is
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Woody - 02 May 2005 11:59 GMT
>I know the truck isn't heavy duty, but can a 8' plow be used on this truck to
>plow driveways?  I'm not talking about doing big parking lots just residential
>driveways.  This truck has the Hemi in it & a manual 4X4 shift lever, none of
>this automatic stuff that fails.  It also has limited slip rear end & the 20"
>wheels.

If you want to plow you should get a 2500 with a HD drive train.

You might be able to get a light duty 7.5 foot plow but that is
intended for very light duty homeowner use. See for example:
http://www.fisherplows.com/
under plow selection.

Your truck does not have the front GAWR for an 8" regular duty plow
and that 1500 auto trans may not like plowing. The 20" tires don't
help either.

Woody; 95FXDS
Kurt - 02 May 2005 17:56 GMT
Yup!  This is going to be ugly!  But I am not selling my truck that I just got 2 months ago, so I can buy a HD version.  I'll just have to kill what I got & use the 7 1/2 foot plow.

Thanks for the input & the Fisher plow link.

Kurt

>>I know the truck isn't heavy duty, but can a 8' plow be used on this truck to
>>plow driveways?  I'm not talking about doing big parking lots just residential
[quoted text clipped - 14 lines]
>
>Woody; 95FXDS

1997                  SFA 60920
1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003   AMA 602785
Due to E-Mail spamming bots my reply address is
incorrect. Add a "-" between mr and wizard
This is what we have to do to prevent "Spamming?"
Sucks doesn't it?
Woody - 02 May 2005 19:45 GMT
>Yup!  This is going to be ugly!  But I am not selling my truck that I just got 2 months ago, so I can buy a HD version.  I'll just have to kill what I got & use the 7 1/2 foot plow.
>
>Thanks for the input & the Fisher plow link.
>
>Kurt

BTW, I plowed my own driveway (gravel 650') for three years with a '97
Ram 1500 manual trans and a Fisher 7 1/2 regular duty plow. Fisher
guidelines said that I could only mount the light duty plow but the
composite cutting edge and lack of shoes would not do well on the
gravel.

The reg duty plow maxed out the front GAWR so I did not drive on the
road with it except to get home from the dealer the 1st time.

In three years I went through 3 sets of front axel U-joints, 4 front
stabilizers, both tie rod ends and both front axel seals. I have
upgraded to a 2500 both for plowing my driveway and for manual trans
towing capacity. (I just don't like an auto trans).

So if you plow with a 1500, expect the front end to take a beating.

Woody; 95FXDS
Denny - 02 May 2005 23:33 GMT
>>Yup!  This is going to be ugly!  But I am not selling my truck that I just
>>got 2 months ago, so I can buy a HD version.  I'll just have to kill what
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
>
> Woody; 95FXDS

My experience has been different. I have a '95 1500 automatic trans and put
a 7 1/2' Meyers on it when I got it in '98. I did put the quadcab springs
and a set of timbrens on the front end after I put on the plow. To date
(knock on wood) I've had no drivetrain breakage. I do change axle,
transmission and t-case fluids every year. The only problem with the truck
that I can blame on plowing is that I tend to cook the power steering fluid.
I even put a cooler on the return line out of the gear and it still gets
hot. Now that I think about it, I did put a track bar on it a couple of
years ago.

I plow a commercial route and it usually takes about 6-7 hrs to cover it on
an average snow. If you use a bit of common sense when plowing you'll be ok.
Just remember you got a light duty truck and not a road grader.

Denny
Kurt - 04 May 2005 10:26 GMT
Well I have a quad cab, but it is running torsion bars in the front, which is
kind of hard to beef up.  Not like adding a leaf or a different coil to it.

I never beat my other truck when I was plowing (1978 GMC 3/4 ton) & I never
broke any parts either.  I'm sure that this Ram 1500 won't be as hardy as my
old GMC was, so I am sure I better be real easy on it.

Thank-You for your info,  it has been informative!

Kurt

>My experience has been different. I have a '95 1500 automatic trans and put
>a 7 1/2' Meyers on it when I got it in '98. I did put the quadcab springs
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
>Denny

1997                  SFA 60920
1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003   AMA 602785
Due to E-Mail spamming bots my reply address is
incorrect. Add a "-" between mr and wizard
This is what we have to do to prevent "Spamming?"
Sucks doesn't it?
Denny - 04 May 2005 11:10 GMT
Well I have a quad cab, but it is running torsion bars in the front, which
is
kind of hard to beef up.  Not like adding a leaf or a different coil to it.

Check out www.timbren.com  I've got these on my truck and have put several
kits on friends trucks. They work great. You can also adjust up your torsion
bars also but when you do it will also raise the front end.

Denny
Kurt - 04 May 2005 10:17 GMT
I once had a 3/4 ton GMC pickup with a 8600 GVW now that was a sturdy truck.
I was plowing with that using a 7 1/2 foot Fisher plow (I really wanted the 8
foot plow but they wanted $300.00 more for it at the time) I never broke
anything while plowing for 4 years with that truck.

But, it sure looks like I will be with the Dodge.  If this Ram 1500 can't
handle a plow very well, then how are these little mid-sized SUV's doing the
job?

Plowing a gravel driveway is the pits!  In the Spring you would end up
re-grading it.  You must have had your work cut out for you.

Thanks for the information, this opened my eyes!

Kurt

>BTW, I plowed my own driveway (gravel 650') for three years with a '97
>Ram 1500 manual trans and a Fisher 7 1/2 regular duty plow. Fisher
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
>
>Woody; 95FXDS

1997                  SFA 60920
1998,1999,2000,2001,2002,2003   AMA 602785
Due to E-Mail spamming bots my reply address is
incorrect. Add a "-" between mr and wizard
This is what we have to do to prevent "Spamming?"
Sucks doesn't it?
 
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