# Plow for 97 F150 1100 foot driveway



## bcmeck (Nov 9, 2004)

Help! 

We're finishing our home in February East of Rochester, NY and we'll have a 1100 foot driveway. I won't be plowing anything other than our road. I have a 97 F-150 (4.6, auto, 4x4, short box) that I'd like to use - it does not have any hardware on the front for accepting a blade. I'd like to spend in the $1500-$2500 range (building a home is taking most of the spare cash!). I'd definitely consider a used blade. Does anyone know where I could find one? I also would have NO idea how to mount it so I'd need advice where to have that done too. Should I stay away from the lower end plows (Snowbear) or would that be adequate based on the price vs. workload ??
Thanks for your help!


----------



## The Boss (Oct 22, 2003)

Welcome to plowsite! :waving: 
I would recommend a 7.6 plow. I won't be like some people and shove a particular brand down your throat even though I have my own preference. Check ebay, they have tons of plows on there.


----------



## cet (Oct 2, 2004)

A used plow would be the way to go. Right now they are a top dollar and if you don't need one until Feb. then I would start looking in Jan. I would stick with a good name brand one. To do one driveway it should last a lifetime.


----------



## Plowbie (Oct 4, 2004)

hey there bcmeck,
we have a lot in common driving the same basic truck and looking for plows :waving: 
i have a '97 F150 4.6 4x4 long bed
your drive is quite a bit longer than mine though which is about 300 ft and paved. i'll also be doing my neighbors across the street which is about 200 ft and unpaved.

i can save you a lot of time as i've done a lot of legwork. you can forget ebay. i'm an ebay junkie and have looked extensively. our truck is not a very popular truck to put a plow on and to find one with similar mounts used and ready to go is next to impossible. most people have f250's and f350's for plowing. only the 97-99 f250 'light duty' takes a similar mount as ours. the only '97+ f150 plow i have ever seen on ebay was being sold with the truck (i think its on there now actually) for about $20k and it had the 7700 lb package which is a beefier suspension and trans cooler etc. our truck is rated for 6000 lbs. 

CJA1987 has an F150 and knows plenty about our trucks and i'm sure he will respond. note that he has the 7700 version though.

you can most certainly find a used 7.5' plow setup for a different truck. but i have found most dealers around here to be nothing but jerks about mounting a used plow and they will do absolutely everything in their power to make what you spend in the end the same if not more than the cost of a new plow. i have tried that route. if you know someone in the biz you could probably pull it off. i got a price of $3150 installed for a new Meyer. all others were above that. you will come across a Fisher Homesteader and a Western Suburbanite which are 'personal use' snow plows but they cost close to $3k as well and are not built as well as a standard plow for just a couple hundred more. personally i think they are overpriced.

Snowbear plows raise a lot of controversy on this site mostly because most people here plow commercially and have little direct experience with them. I have poured through hundreds of posts and have yet to find a single legitimate post where one actually failed someone. On the contrary, there have been a few people that have used them in extreme conditions with no problems and one guy who used one commercially for a couple years while he got started without a single problem. The vehicle mounts are also pretty cheap if you end up getting a different truck some day, something else to consider. The main drawback is they have a manual angle where you need to get out of the truck to move it but how could that be a big deal for one driveway? You would go down one way and come back the other and never even have to change it.

Note on the Snowbear that they have a little known larger model that is better suited for our truck. Its called a SB200 and its 7'4" and 26" high and weighs 300 lbs. It can be special ordered at Lowes or wherever Snowbears are sold. They cost $1299. The normal one which is too small for our truck costs $999 or so. After lots and lots of research I'm leaning towards going this route. Does the man in me want a $3,000 plow?  . But with a mortgage, family, etc my snow removal needs really don't justify it.


----------



## bcmeck (Nov 9, 2004)

Plowbie:

Thanks! You've made my life a lot easier. How difficult are the snowbears to install? The last thing I want to do is try and install a snow plow on my truck. I can see the cursing beginning already! I was looking at the Meyer 6.5 foot used in Rochester and a Curtis but they want $3495 installed and that's a bit steep with the house going up. I'd love to find something around $2000.


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

You could probley find a used 7'6" plow for under 2 grand. You may have to purchase a different mount but its not nearly as much as a new plow. Ebay always has 7'6" plows, if none are close to you, look in the classifieds, sometomes you get lucky. Also check with a bunch of local dealers, some dealers also sell used plows. Also ask some dealers if they know of any place to get used plows, there are alot of people who just sell them out of their houses. I know nothing about snowbears mounting, i can tell you that it will do alright for your driveway, but personally id try to go the used plow route for a while and see how it goes. 

As far as the truck, it should not give you too many problems if it is set up right. You need to beef up the front end with timbrens or air bags. If your truck does not have the tow pkg you need an auxillary transmission cooler and maybe a bigger alternator.


----------



## PLOWMAN45 (Jul 2, 2003)

meyers makes a plow for the ford its stl 7.5 its on there web site


----------



## Plowbie (Oct 4, 2004)

bcmeck,
the snowbears are designed to be installed by the customer (for better or worse!). i believe the mount part that stays on your truck all the time just bolts on. if you look under the front of your truck you'll see a whole bunch of holes already there which it probably uses. if we had a wierd vehicle not made for this stuff it would be one thing, but i bet the mount for ours is simple. the rest of it just slides on when you need it. you'll need to hook a power harness up but from reading other threads it just goes right to the battery, easy. there is a wired remote to control the up/down. you can either just run it into the window when you are using it or permanently wire it in through the firewall so its always there (i would do this).

you mentioned a used 6.5 ft plow. keep in mind when you angle it that size would be too small and you would actually run over the snow you are missing (or so i'm told). this is why you need something 7.5.

i'll send you a private message with my email address. feel free to email me and we can compare notes on what we figure out.

chris


----------



## Plowbie (Oct 4, 2004)

looks like you cant get private messages. you can email me here if you want:

antonellichrisj 
@yahoo.com


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

Yes you would need a 7.5, 6.5 is too small, you will be driving in snow.


----------



## haligan125 (Dec 17, 2003)

I have the same truck, same engine same box. I do have the off road package but i think thats just a skid plate. I ahve a Fisher 7'6" Minute Mount on mine i got it used (from my dad). I do some comercial plowing sub contracting. The only thing i did was crank the torsion bars up and add weight in the back or the bed. Oh yeah and i have 265/75's for tires, but otherwise you should be fine. I do suggest Fisher as thats what i grew up with, and I also am a firm believer in you get what you pay for, so good luck oh yeah and dont over commit on your driveway. take it in chunks, one thing about the small plow is that you can't push as much


----------



## Personal Plow (Nov 1, 2003)

Plowbie said:


> hey there bcmeck,
> we have a lot in common driving the same basic truck and looking for plows :waving:
> i have a '97 F150 4.6 4x4 long bed
> your drive is quite a bit longer than mine though which is about 300 ft and paved. i'll also be doing my neighbors across the street which is about 200 ft and unpaved.
> ...


I have the smaller snow bear plow on a Dodge W250 Power Ram and LOVE IT.

On your type of truck you dont want a lot of weight. There costumer service is GREAT TO.
They do have a new Polly plow with a different hook up and Switch less use  
You can remove the plow easily with its own holder.
PP

PP


----------



## finnegan (Oct 4, 2000)

pm me i can help


----------



## Tarkus (Nov 19, 2004)

bcmeck said:


> Help!
> 
> We're finishing our home in February East of Rochester, NY and we'll have a 1100 foot driveway. I won't be plowing anything other than our road. I have a 97 F-150 (4.6, auto, 4x4, short box) that I'd like to use - it does not have any hardware on the front for accepting a blade. I'd like to spend in the $1500-$2500 range (building a home is taking most of the spare cash!). I'd definitely consider a used blade. Does anyone know where I could find one? I also would have NO idea how to mount it so I'd need advice where to have that done too. Should I stay away from the lower end plows (Snowbear) or would that be adequate based on the price vs. workload ??
> Thanks for your help!


Is it a paved surface and if so what kind?


----------



## Plowbie (Oct 4, 2004)

I have to eat a little crow on my response above but in a good way.
The hard searching for a used plow has paid off. I actually found one that came directly off an '01 F150 for a great price.

I bought a Meyer ST-7.5 with the ez mount classic setup including all the mounting/wiring for my truck for $1200. It even included the optional ez-gard brush guard that slides in during the off-season (doesnt really matter to me but hey i'll take it).

I plan on putting it on myself and will probably post a play by play on the main forum to get some support there in case I get stuck.

haligan125, 
is it hard to adjust the torsion bars? 
my tires are 235's. did you put on 265's or was that what was always on there?


----------



## Personal Plow (Nov 1, 2003)

I did this last year with my snow Bear, winter wolf extreme plow on my Dodge. We had 12" of snow that storm.

PP


----------



## haligan125 (Dec 17, 2003)

i had 225's to begin with, but when it was time to get new tires i went bigger, mainly cause the 225's looked stupid. As far as the Torsion Bars, i just went to my local dealer and had them do it. They sugessted it actually instead of getting timbrens. so i dont know how easy or hard it was.


----------



## Crumm (Nov 5, 2003)

cja1987 said:


> As far as the truck, it should not give you too many problems if it is set up right. You need to beef up the front end with timbrens or air bags. If your truck does not have the tow pkg you need an auxillary transmission cooler and maybe a bigger alternator.


He is talking about plowing his own 1100 ft drive. A snowbear will do it just fine. No need for timbrens, alternators or coolers. It does not take much to make two passes down a driveway. Everyone always seems to want personal use plowers to get setup for plowing the mall parking lot after they get done plowing HomeDepot and Lowe's. All this extra is not required for personal use!


----------



## The Boss (Oct 22, 2003)

Well put Crumm!  :waving:


----------



## Tarkus (Nov 19, 2004)

Very good point. You do not need to spend 4 or 5 grand just to do your driveway but sometimes you can get some used equipment for the price of a new snow bear and have a little more beef and not have to get out to angle your plow either for what it is worth. Plus you might even pick up a few of the nieghbors driveways too with the "sturdier" used equipment without even going "commercail"


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

Crumm said:


> He is talking about plowing his own 1100 ft drive. A snowbear will do it just fine. No need for timbrens, alternators or coolers. It does not take much to make two passes down a driveway. Everyone always seems to want personal use plowers to get setup for plowing the mall parking lot after they get done plowing HomeDepot and Lowe's. All this extra is not required for personal use!


I did say that a snowbear would work in his situation. None of the mods i mentioned are bad to have. I would definately want the tranny cooler if it was my truck, even if i was only plowing an 1100 foot drive, thats still ALOT to push when its wet and heavy. I don't know what kind of alternator he has (if its 100 amp or more then forget i said it) , but i would not want him to go through batterys like nothing. Timbrens are debateable, but I think we all know how it goes: you get a plow, then grandma needs to be plowed, then the next door neighbor, the your friends call and it goes from there. Thats what happened with me, i never agressively persued work, i enjoy it now that i have lots of plowing to do though. Personally, I recommend these modifications on almost any 1/2 ton with a 7'6" full hydraulic plow. 1100' is not that small. I would hate to screw up my daily driver, however remote the possibility. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

If he wants a snowbear, great. I would still consider a tranny cooler. Just my .2.


----------



## Tarkus (Nov 19, 2004)

In todays heavy "SUV's", a aux tranny cooler is good cheap tranny insurance year round actually.


----------



## RamesesSnow23 (Jan 4, 2004)

Tarkus said:


> In todays heavy "SUV's", a aux tranny cooler is good cheap tranny insurance year round actually.


Exactly


----------



## rus (Nov 22, 2004)

I have an 02 f150 7700 . I installed the minute mount fisher 7.5 when new and have plowed two years thre yards with no issues. I have a tranny cooler on mine also.


----------



## cowboyway37 (Nov 25, 2004)

*PLowin For a good price*

If you want to build a strong plow email me...I can give you the prices on a put togeather Meyer plow for your truck for under $2000. have done it 3 times on a 97, 02, 03 F-150


----------



## Saltwater Joys (Nov 27, 2004)

*Used Plow*

You can get some good deals on used plows if you keep looking. I have been 2 years trying to find a good used plow, finally got a 7.5 Sno-Way with little use for $2800 Cdn. Had it dealer installed for $350 cdn, he was really impressed with the shape it was in.


----------

