2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission to plow or not to plow (plow on CTD?)

[FreeBMW]

Ok so with winter getting closer and closer i find myself thinking about getting a plow. Is it ok to mount a plow up to a Ram with a CTD engine? is there consirn with blocking the intercooler?



I am looking at a 9. 2ft TheBoss V-blade





Please share your thoughts and experiances

 

[lmills]

Some have been worried about the overall weight of the v-blade hanging on the front of these. But, a lot of guys are running them. I personally have an 8' straight blade boss plow. It was a cheap find, so I snatched it up. But as for plowing, plenty of guys are using there trucks for that. Blocking the intercooler has never been a real concern

 

[fkovalski]

I know that prices of plows vary by location. Buy, what can one expect to pay (ballpark) for a setup including installation?

 

[lmills]

I couldn't tell you how much they are new. I think I paid 1200 for mine used from a guy with another Ram. I installed it myself, pretty much straight forward. Mine is one of the rapid tach systems also.

 

[fkovalski]

Mine is one of the rapid tach systems also.

I truley am a novice when it comes to plow sytems. What do you mean when you say, "rapid tach systems?" Was the pump a straight forward install? i. e. belt routing. Aslo- if I were to buy new and get an "ideal" setup, what would I want in terms of easy on/ off of the setup, pump size or any other items one would recommend. I would be somewhat concered about the structure that hangs down affecting ground clearance as I do a fair amout of off roading in the summer. Thanx. -frank.

 

[lmills]

As for clearance, the biggest issue would be the mount. I have mine tucked up close to the air dam as seen in the picture. There is an ideal height that they have to be mounted at ion these rapidtach systems. If you are too high or too low, it will effect the angle that the plow comes down at. If you have a lifted truck then you might have issues with the mount needing to be lower. As you can see though it doesn't hang down too far.

 

[FreeBMW]

!!

Originally posted by fkovalski

I truley am a novice when it comes to plow sytems. What do you mean when you say, "rapid tach systems?" Was the pump a straight forward install? i. e. belt routing. Aslo- if I were to buy new and get an "ideal" setup, what would I want in terms of easy on/ off of the setup. -frank.

most of the newer high end plows have everything onboard the unit. all you do is hook up power and control wires and you are all set. . no hydralic pumps to mount under the hood or lines to run/leak... as for the mounts they have new systems that you drive up to the plow and put in a few pins and it even raises it self up onto the mounts and all... ... littlle less than 1min from plowless to plowing!



check out the webpage http://www.bossplow.com/smart.asp it even has a video of how quick it is

 

[lmills]

The nice thing abput the rapid disconnect plows is that the pump is usually contained in the system. The mount you see in the picture above is all that I have on the truck when the plow is taken off. The rest all stays with the plow. The pump and all is contained in the cover under the lights. If you can put the mount on the truck then the rest is a snap. The light harness is a plug in item. The plow has quick disconnects for the joystick and power feed. They are all pre wired and ready to install. I think I had mine on and operational in about 2-3 hours with basic tools in my driveway. The picture below shows the plow off of the truck. When it is off the truck the only weight on the front is the mount. To put it on the truck you drived up to it , push the light bar back, plug in your wires and drive away. Most plows are similiar nowadays, if not even simpler

 

[DirtRider]

You didn't mention if you'll be plowing for yourself or others so i'll share my experiences with ya.



I've been plowing residential and commercial with my 95 equipped with 8' Fisher Minute Mount since new. Even with the plow prep package you are putting a lot of extra weight on the front of these beast. You also be putting a lot of stress on your front suspension and steering components (You WILL wear those items out faster), and greatly speed up the rate of body rot/rust.



The roads up here in New England turn more white from the salt they use on the roads than from the snow! If they do the same in MI, be warned, that stuff gets EVERYWHERE, causes binding in linkages and screws up electrical connectors!



Also, be careful if you decide to plow. These trucks have lots of torque and you can break things real easy when plowing.



The Boss plow is a decent plow and should not interfere with the intercooler. Just don't go around with the plow on when the outside temp is up.



If I was to do it over again, I would just plow my driveway only. Then again, a decent snowblower can put snow where a plow can not.

 

[skcmcc]

I have a plow on my 98. 5 and haven't had any problems but:

1. It's very nose heavy when the plow is on, plan on carrying at least 600 lbs of weight in the bed or you'll basically be driving on two wheels.

2. If you don't need the plow at the moment, take it off. The weight does a number on the front end.

3. Plowing snow is hard on transmissions.

4. The plow doesn't cause any cooling problems, it will run warmer, but watch out for compacted snow completely blocking up the front if you get a little aggressive with the snow banks.

5. Keep the connections clean and lubed.

Unless your doing heavy commercial plowing you shouldn't have any problems, although I wouldn't mount more than an 8' blade due to the weight issue. But then again when I bought my truck the dealer had several on the lot that had plows installed by the dealer, including his personal demo which had a Fisher V-plow.



Steve

 

[ox1]

I have a 9'2" Boss V on mine.



http://www.snowest.com/fusetalk/attachments//TruckFront.jpg



As you can see, the mount does hang low. If you like to offroad in the summer, I would expect you should take the mount off.



It was $5K new installed.



I have a duelly, I don't think you would want that big'a plow with non duelly truck. I love the plow. Yes it is heavy, and depending on conditions I will put a 3000# weight box in the back to keep the back end behind the front.



Overheating and concern aboot the aftercooler would only be if going down the road a bunch at highway speeds. I lower my blade as low as I can to keep air movement, but I don't take mine down the road much. I have a 1/2 mile driveway.



This plow is nice as it has reliefe valves on each wing. If you have the wing ahead and you hit something hard, it will simply push back. I was concerned aboot bending it all up, but if you drive slowly, especially around trouble ares, you should not bust it up nearly like the old units.

 

[TSuter]

We used a 8' Western on my dad's first gen since new, because the CTD already has so much weight up front the plow was only kept on when we were expecting snow any other time it was in the driveway. As far as cooling issues run with the plow low and angled, never had any problems with over heating this way. If you do plan on doing it commercialy the best advice is to keep spares behind the seat, stuff like hoses, fluid, harness', etc. . Inevitably something will break while plowing and there isn't anyplace open at 0300.



By the way I grew up in Minneapolis, MN just a liitle more to plow then here in DE!!



Just my $. 02



Tom

 

[Jamie Attridge]

Buddy get an Arctic with the new sides you can get they rule the plowing scene here in ontario!~ I had one on my 99 for 3 years no probs.