I have a large snow removal business and have been thinking of adding a plow truck to my business. I use all CAT skid steers with snow blowers right now. I came across a really good deal on plow that will fit my 96 Dodge. But I am concerned with the extra weight and wear and tear of the plow on my truck. I only have on large account. 248 Condos. I won't be driving on the road with the plow. Only using it at my snow removal account.

Is my 96 a good choice for a plow truck? Should I just spend 3k and get a older gas plow truck and not put the wear and tear on my 96?

I can get a Meyers plow with correct mount for my truck for $800.00. Plow and all parts on in excellent condition. Was a home owners plow and only used a few times. $800.00 is cheap. But will the $800.00 plow cost me BIG $$ down the rode with front end problems on my 12 valve?

 

First, I do not have a plow so I cant give you a first hand answer...

I cant see it hurting anything really but it will put more wear and tear on front end parts, ball joints, shocks, that sort of stuff from the extra weight. You will be in 4x4 constantly, going from a forward gear to reverse alot and while the plow does have springs and is made to absorb some impact from anything it might hit some of that will be transfered back to the truck. It might require more frequent services and you would want to keep an eye on everything a little better.(if you dont pay close attn already)

If you do spend the extra money to buy a gas plow truck, how long will it take you to make your money back? Plus a truck with a plow might allow you to take on more accounts now thus making more money. Put an employee in the new truck to plow and not have to worry about anything happening to your personal one. Even the gas truck will have the same wear and tear as if it was your truck so your not saving anything there, just its a work truck not your personal so you might be able to afford the truck being down for a little while waiting on repairs if money is tight....

The pros and cons are endless just have to weigh things out for what would be more beneficial/productive/cost effective... Goodluck and sorry for the long post and if i wasnt any help haha

 

Josh thanks for the reply.

Those are all valid points. And ones I was thinking of. My buddy has a 92 Dodge 4x4 truck regular cab with auto trans and V8. 80,000 Original miles with a plow ready to work for $2600.00. Seems pretty hard to beat that price.

 

I have been plowing under my own authority for 8 years now. This last fall I purchased a brand new 9' Boss straight blade.
As I speak its hooked up to my 01 3500 ram.
If I was you I would install it on your 12V. Yes you may have to swap out ball joints every few years (which most ball joints are lifetime warranty now) so the only thing it would cost you is labor or if you know how to do it yourself even better yet. Every tie rod and balljoint I have has grease zerks on them and I make it a point no matter how tired I am to pump fresh grease into them everytime Im done plowing in the truck to get water/slush/salt out of them. Im not sure if this makes a big difference but I have had good luck over the years with this practice.
I also make a point to drain transmission, t case, rear and front end fluids at the end of every year. Plus I love the grunt of my diesel to push piles and heavy windrows, and I figure I use about 1-2 gal of fuel per hour depending on how heavy the snow is. With a gasser I would have to imagine you will be at least twice that.
Also, whos to say that the older gas plow truck wont need $3000 worth of work in the next few months...??
Putting a plow on a truck like ours has VERY little affect to it, as long as its driven right and taken care of...
Its your choice man, but my vote is to hang it off the front of that 12V

 

That Meyer plow will cost you more to fix down the road than the truck will... You have more truck than that plow can handle.. Find a Western, Boss, Fisher, anything but a Curtis or Meyer... Your truck will handle a plow fine, Unless you hang a #1000 pound Blizzard plow like I have on my 99, then you will need the heavier coils.. What I do with my 99 would amaze alot of plowers...

 

I have been running a 9' plow on my 97 for years and its been ok. You will wear out front end components a little faster. But that is to be expected with 4wd work trucks. just keep an eye on your temp gauge going down the road.

 

Iv plowed pro for the last 4 years ..iv had a plow on my 93 and iv driven company plow trucks.. I WOULD NOT PUT A PLOW ON THE 96 .....iv seen really good trucks turn into POS couse of some dummy who dosent know how to plow or even fix the truck when they brake it m2c

 

All good post guys..... I won't be driving with the plow on my truck around town. I will hook it up at my account. And when I am finished I will un hook it. My account is 50 miles away from my home. So no need to drive around with plow hooked unless I get snow at my house. And my account is big and all down hill. Three entrances. 200 foot elevation difference from the upper entrance to the lower. So I will always be plowing down hill. And I will be the one driving my truck. So I won't be to concerned with someone thrashing my truck. Plus all my operators for my equipment are my good friends and take great care of my stuff. Now I just have to find a plow....!!! For cheap.... ha ha

Do you guys plow in 4 high or low?

 

4 High.
I only have had my truck in 4 low a hand full of times, and that was to pull a kenworth with a trailer on it out of a snow bank.
With my 4.11 gears and NV 5600 there hasnt been a pile a cant push in 1st gear, any lower gearing with good traction you risk bending something on the plow....

 

So with a automatic do you want to keep it in 1st gear while plowing?

 

nope put the selector in D and hit the loud petal !

 

Thanks Snow....!!!!

 

I've been plowing for about 5 years now, and as long as you take care of the rig the difference in wear and tear is not much more than not having a plow I've found. Using quality replacement parts is the key, I've got over 100k on the replacement tie rods and wheel bearings, which I swapped out after the first year of plowing.

The only problem I've had is the body rot, but it has been the one thing I haven't taken care of well either. Going to bed dirty, as they say! Rot over the rear fenders, rocker panels, front fenders, and door bottoms gets worse every year. But the frame is nice and clean, so I dunno, I think the truck had some body work done in it's previous life.

Either way, you'll love how the truck handles the snow. I've really beat on mine, hitting a heavy 18-24 inches isn't much of a problem and usually takes just a little bit of throttle to get it all moving. The cummins is also MUCH better on fuel then any gasser while plowing I've found, especially something like that 92 you're looking at. I can throw 30 or 40 bucks in at $4/gal and go for 6-8 hours if it's all local. Good luck!

 

Fisher Stainless V is the way to go. Ive plowed with straight blades and now Ive plowed with a V i will never go back to a striaght blade. I like the control of the V plow an just options to move snow. Makes it a lot quicker for lots also.

As for the truck like stated above as long as you keep up on the maintenance an when you feel like something is wrong or failing don't let it go because it ends up failing more an more parts. Plowing with a gas truck is a hog. plain an simple they are terrible on fuel and its a totally different plowing with a CTD way more power better fuel an just having the nut to push even the slushy heavy snow.
Your truck with the fisher v plow is a perfect set up

With an account like that shouldn't be too hard to squirrel away a few bucks for repairs

Just my two cents