# plowing With A 3500 dually???????????



## ACA L&L (Jan 5, 2007)

Can you plow with a 3500 dually that does not have 4x4? I have heard both sides and thought i would post in the chevy section since well its a chevy. Any real life experience,stories, etc would be great.


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## YardMedic (Nov 29, 2006)

Well here's the deal from my perspective. I swore up & down that people were nuts to even think about it. For the longest time, I hadn't used any ballast in my trucks so they would obviously behave very poorly in 2 wheel drive (even being quite sloppy driving on the highways). I'm amazed at how nicely it drives with a yard of sand in the back. I use 4 wheel drive for almost all of my plowing, but even with 1/2 a load in the bed it performs fairly well now in 2 wheel & light snow. I wouldn't think of depending on 2 wheel drive for everything, as you'll get into a jam sometime or other, but it will probably do ok for the most part.


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## red2500 (Dec 31, 2007)

I was first introduced to plowing 5 years ago by a good friend. H has plowed for the same town for over 30 years and has had many plow trucks. Just last year he got his first 4 wheel drive truck (F-350 superduty) with a minute mount plow. He told me that over the years ho only got stuck a handful of times where he need a tug to get out. His trucks were always Ford F-350 type trucks with flatbeds or dumps as he id a mason also. He swears by these tires called "Power King", they are bias ply!?! I know this is old school, but has always made him money. I forgot to mention he would use a cube of brick, or a big slab of granite as ballast. It probably around 1000-1500 lbs of weight. We just cut up the last 2 wheel drive this summer for scrap. Although the sander truck is still a 2 wheel drive dually. So if I had a truck already, I would use the heck out of it and make some money!
On a side note I have a set of push plates for a Chevy 3500 dually (2 wheel drive, straight axle) for a minute mount available if anyone needs them.
Randy


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## Mick (May 19, 2001)

I plowed for several years (till I got my 2500 last year) with a '96 Chevy 6.5TD DRW 3500 flatbed. I had a two yard sander that was always full of salt/sand mix, so there was about 3,000 pounds of ballast. I had Cooper Disoverer M&S studded tires all around. It was good on the road and in snow up to about 2 - 3". I'd have to go to 4wd on most hills I was plowing. I only plow residential and private roads. My 3/4 ton does better in many situations than the 3500. Both are/were Silverados. One year, I took the outside tires of the duals off to see if there'd be any improvement. But a State trooper told me it was illegal. Even on public roads that had not been plowed and allowed to build up more than a couple inches, I'd have trouble with the rear end "wandering". The duals seemed to ride up on the snow instead of digging through. On the good side - for level areas it was unstoppable.


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## dieseld (Dec 30, 2005)

We have been plowing with 2x4 for 5 years now and never a problem, as long as there is weight in it, and the driver knows that he does not have 4x4. We only do commercial work though, I would not recommend it for residential. Mine is also a Chevy.


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## lawn king (Nov 21, 2004)

My primary plow truck 2003 through 2006 was my isuzu npr hd turbodiesel. (non 4wd) . As long as you run good rubber and payload weight to match the snowfall, you will be ok, granted you plow smart! If you plan to set up a non 4 wheel drive (primary) plow truck, set it up with a sno-way plow. The down pressure will save you again & again!


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## NICHOLS LANDSCA (Sep 15, 2007)

You just need alot of weight in the back we have an FL70 Freightliner that plows great with 8ton of salt in it, usually only have 3-4ton on board . The Freight will get stuck in a snowcone on the 4th of July with the plow on without weight in back.


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## ACA L&L (Jan 5, 2007)

Well we have the oppurtunity to buy a 99 chevy 3500 dually 2 wd for about 2grand 70000 miles on it 1 owner everything checks out on it, guy just doesnt need/want it. Comes with no bed so we were gonna throw a dump bed on it for our landscaping but we need another plow truck. So we cant afford two trucks but we need a dump/plow truck I guess if we can find a plow for it cheap then this would work out great! Otherwise we will just have to wait til summer to find that great deal. Thanks for the insight.


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## purpleranger519 (Jan 1, 2006)

I have a 1994 Chevy 3500HD(not 4x4) that I wasn't going to put a plow on as I was going to use it for just sanding. With this years high snowfall here I ended up putting a plow on it a month ago. It's seen 8" of snow and 4.5" of snow now with the plow on. I was unsure of how it would do, but let me tell you for the large lots we do, I don't think there is anything that will work better. As long as the sander is on the back at least 1/4 full. It don't even spin. It has a 8 for meyer with wings on it now that I picked up cheap, but once this winter is over I plan on putting a new 810 on it.


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## RMHSR (Mar 17, 2006)

I run an 86 one ton Chevy dump with a 8 foot Meyer. The key is putting weight in the bed. Even then you still have to be careful because it is easy get in trouble. If you are going flat parking lots it is great. If you have a grade and you have to start out uphill, you may have problems. I have tried to do driveways with mine and gotten stuck. The other area is if you have a lot of snow and try to push too much at a time, the snow will come off and behind the tires and then you can't get off of the pile. If you have a posi rear end you should be able to throttle out of it. Mine unfortunately is a single wheel peel so I have to really be careful. The posi topic is another thread for another time.


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## Unimount219 (Jan 9, 2008)

Ive got an 86 3500 flatbed, its 4x4 but whenever i get a chance i try to save gas and use 
2wd , but whenever im in a bind its came in handy several times to lock up those hubs , but im sure with a lil weight and sum1 who knows what there doing it could happen.


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## Detroitdan (Aug 15, 2005)

Like Dieseld said, it's not really suited for driveways, at least not the kind I end up with. But for commercial stuff you're never going to have steep hills or dirt. Parking lots are built flat and paved, you can plow for years and never need 4wd. Only time you may get stuck is when you stick the plow through the snowbank and can't back up. But really, who among us even with 4x4s hasn't needed an occasional tug? Guy on my highway dept has plowed forever with an 82 c30 dump, doesn't even put much ballast on, maybe a couple hundred pounds of sand if that, just what he shovels in to use for traction if he should get stuck. The dump box is kind of heavy anyway. But he plows any of our town roads with no problem, and there are some good hills. Only difference is most of his work is 15 mph or so, always moving except for intersections and cul-de-sacs. Stopping and backing up constantly on residentials is what gets you in trouble. Look at the bigger highway trucks, there's millions of 2wd six wheelers plowing.
It's all about having enough weight over the drive wheels, using your brain and sticking to stuff a 2wd can handle.


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## JohnsonLawn (Jul 9, 2004)

I have been plowing with my truck for 6 years now and have not once used 4WD. I plow town roads and 15 residentials with no problems. Having a yard of crushed stone in the bed is key and of course, using your head and don't get to cocky.


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## billet-boy (Dec 31, 2007)

I plowed with a 1 ton single wheel 2x4 for several years never had any issues as long as i had some weight on the back


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## Duncan90si (Feb 16, 2007)

I plow every flake in my 95 C3500. I plow a lot of large commercial plazas. I have no problems at all. I've got studded tires, an Eaton posi unit, and 4.56 gears for the heavier pushes. I have 10.5' of blade in front and I can plow 3-5" no problem with an empty spreader on the back. 

You just have to use your head. Don't put your front wheels down over a curb. Give yourself a little extra time to steer, just incase your front end pushes straight. If you use common sense you shouldn't have a problem


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