# short bed reg cab question



## snowcrazy (Nov 18, 2010)

hello all, I have picked up quite a bit of work this year and a lot of the work is small lots such as banks, etc. Anyways, most of our snows in this part of southern Ohio aren't very deep. lucky we get a 4-5" snow once per season. anyways, my 4 door chevy is a bear to maneuver around these little places and with the extra work Ive picked up Im looking into something small for these spots. I was thinking 4 wheel drive s-10, maybe a Dakota, Jeep possibly but want a bed.

Anyways, I got to thinking, those Chevrolet short bed regular cab 4x4 trucks would be a little heavy duty but still compact.

Bad Idea? Good Idea? I know there are lots of folks on here that simply don't want think half tons should have plows on them but anything larger is hard to get around these little lots...... Here is a picture of what I have in mind.. Whatcha think????


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## 09dieselguy (Nov 18, 2007)

that is exactly what im looking for. i will be setting up a truck like this for next year for a small driveway route. small enough to get into most small buildings. 7.6 blade would be perfect. i will be adding a set of wings to the plow for some lots for wind rowing if needed. 


im on the lookout for the same set up as your self. id say get to it!

who ever owns that truck has a very good looking truck!


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## snowcrazy (Nov 18, 2010)

09dieselguy;1554620 said:


> that is exactly what im looking for. i will be setting up a truck like this for next year for a small driveway route. small enough to get into most small buildings. 7.6 blade would be perfect. i will be adding a set of wings to the plow for some lots for wind rowing if needed.
> 
> im on the lookout for the same set up as your self. id say get to it!
> 
> who ever owns that truck has a very good looking truck!


Yeah that truck is bad ass looking for sure. Its on craigslist right now in Zanesville ohio... Ive tried to contact them but not getting a reply. there wanting 6900 for the truck and it has a brand new snowdogg 7.5 medium duty and brand new spreader. I hate to spend that much money on a dedicated snow truck but that truck is so nice id prolly make it my run around truck also when I need to just go somewhere. Here another pic


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## RJ lindblom (Sep 21, 2006)

You need to pick equipment that works for you. With that being said, years ago Broncos and blazers were popular vehicles to hang a plow on. I'd say go for it.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

I'd run it. 7.6 with wings on the front and a back blade and go.

I ran a 98 Chevy k1500 commercially for 4 seasons. 7.6' unimount with wings (9.8ft wide), snow ex 575 and it was a good setup. For a 1/2ton it did very well. I sold it with almost 200k on it and the worst part about it was the rust.


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## WilliamOak (Feb 11, 2008)

There is a guy in my town who runs a nnbs Chevy 1/2 ton reg cab shorty and hangs a 7.5 ultra with pro wings on it. Not sure what his main clientele is because I've never seen him working however I'd imagine its tight commercial/resi and if he would put a back blade on it like mark suggests the truck would really reach its full potential.


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## 09dieselguy (Nov 18, 2007)

i had plans for a scsb with the back blade for the small city routes. since there isnt much salting done around here on residential properties i would throw a blower or 2 in the back for the side walk guys to help me out with.


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## 2COR517 (Oct 23, 2008)

Vee with wings on that truck...,.


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## Dogplow Dodge (Jan 23, 2012)

2COR517;1554662 said:


> Vee with wings on that truck...,.


Wouldn't that overload the front suspension / frame on that truck ? Seems like too much weight to be holding on the front end of a 1/2 ton truck, and you'd have nothing but parts breaking all the time.

BTW,

There's a dude on here that has a full size chevy blazer with 1 ton axles under it. Seems to be the perfect plow vehicle for what you describe.


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## snowcrazy (Nov 18, 2010)

Dogplow Dodge;1554664 said:


> Wouldn't that overload the front suspension / frame on that truck ? Seems like too much weight to be holding on the front end of a 1/2 ton truck, and you'd have nothing but parts breaking all the time.
> 
> BTW,
> 
> There's a dude on here that has a full size chevy blazer with 1 ton axles under it. Seems to be the perfect plow vehicle for what you describe.


Well with the blazer it would have no bed but yeah I know those things make good plow vehicles.

As for the overload on front suspension/frame, that's kinda why I asked about this application but I wont be pushing big lots or anything with this truck. The particular truck in the picture above has beefed up front suspension and air bags in the rear for if you did want to put a little bit of salt in the bed..........


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## Dogplow Dodge (Jan 23, 2012)

snowcrazy;1554780 said:


> Well with the blazer it would have no bed but yeah I know those things make good plow vehicles.
> 
> As for the overload on front suspension/frame, .....


Tonto say.....

_Regular plow good and little or no issue....

OTOH

VEE plow Heavy and cause wampum dambage to suspension, bearings, axles and frame._

NO ?


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## Chiputz (Dec 28, 2010)

I have been plowing with a 1/2 ton truck with a 7'6" Western pro plow for years. It works great on the tight spots that I plow. The only problem I had was the chevys with the torsion bars had a hard time carrying the weight and trashed the torsion bar bushings. I just changed trucks to a 2000 dodge ram reg cab short box and it takes the weight of the Unimount pro plow very easily.


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## potskie (Feb 9, 2011)

Dogplow Dodge;1554863 said:


> Tonto say.....
> 
> _Regular plow good and little or no issue....
> 
> ...


Depends on the plow. There are some Vees out there light enough to hang from a half ton.

Like the Meyer super V or Snowdogg VMD


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## mnglocker (Dec 24, 2008)

Grab a 2001-back Ram 1500 reg, short box and have a plowing machine. It'll carry a plow far better than the half ton IFS can or will. Not to mention a lack of cracked frames.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

2COR517;1554662 said:


> Vee with wings on that truck...,.


Good call. 7.6' V with wings would be killer.

With upgraded torsion bars and better leaf springs/airbags that truck shouldn't mind the weight.
My old truck had 1 ton torsion bars and 3/4 or 1 ton leaf packs. For a 1/2ton it didn't move much with weight added.
With a SnowEx 575, 1,000-1,500lbs of salt, an 800lb toolbox in the bed, and a 7.6' unimount pro with wings it still sat the same height as my friends stock 98 K1500. His truck would sag with 800lbs in the bed and you could definitely feel it in the steering as well.

I'm not saying it's legal to have a half ton pickup weighing 8500lbs but I did it often and with the right setup it's really not as scary as you would think. As I daily drove it even without all the snow and ice equipment it was 62-6300lbs, I was over gvwr "unloaded" and it drove/handled/looked fine.


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## mnglocker (Dec 24, 2008)

That doesn't make the brakes or bearings adequate for that much weight. Then you get into the liability of being overloaded. When you get into a fender bender or maim a person, your insurance company is going to laugh you off since you failed to operate your truck in a safe manner.

That will be their cop-out.


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## daman (Dec 26, 2012)

Should work fine i had the same set up years ago,i wouldn't hang allot of weight on a 1500 they don't like it but for clean up small lots it'll work great,pull the trigger.


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## Mark13 (Dec 3, 2006)

mnglocker;1554973 said:


> That doesn't make the brakes or bearings adequate for that much weight. Then you get into the liability of being overloaded. When you get into a fender bender or maim a person, your insurance company is going to laugh you off since you failed to operate your truck in a safe manner.
> 
> That will be their cop-out.


Should I mention I only had functional front brakes as well for the 55k miles I put on the truck? The self adjusters on the rear drums were froze up.

I said in my post above that I'm not saying it's ok or that it's legal. I was just stating that it's possible if he would like to take the risk and that if done in the right manner the truck will do just fine. It just seems that guys running a 1/2ton 500lbs overloaded get a ton of grief and criticism and then everyone else goes out and gets in their 12,000lb 3/4ton pickup with a loaded v box and 950lb blade on the front and doesn't think anything of it. Neither person is right, but we'll all continue to do it. It's the nature of the game.


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## Rick547 (Oct 9, 2009)

I run a 1999 Ford F150 Short Bed to do driveways and it does a great job. When I purchased the plow for it I looked for the lightest full feature plow I could find as front end weight can be a problem. I purchased a Snoway 26 series with down pressure.


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## White Gardens (Oct 29, 2008)

Snow Dogg does make a Vplow for 1/2ton trucks. I considered one for the F-150 we have, but went with a strait blade for all the tight residentials we do.


.....


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## snowcrazy (Nov 18, 2010)

Chiputz;1554907 said:


> I have been plowing with a 1/2 ton truck with a 7'6" Western pro plow for years. It works great on the tight spots that I plow. The only problem I had was the chevys with the torsion bars had a hard time carrying the weight and trashed the torsion bar bushings. I just changed trucks to a 2000 dodge ram reg cab short box and it takes the weight of the Unimount pro plow very easily.


Let me ask you this (because Im a chevy guy and is what Id like to have)..... As for the chevy eating torsion bar bushings and torsion bars having trouble with weight, can you use timbrens to keep this from being such an issue.

I don't know much about timbrens so sorry if this was a stupid question....... The fella that passed away that did a lot of these jobs I picked up actually used a dodge 1500 short bed reg cab. He had multiple trucks but this was his go to truck. The tranny was out every other year it seems and that is why Id like to stay away from the dodge............


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## hedhunter9 (Nov 15, 2008)

I love my 98 F150 Reg cab Short bed....!!!
7.5 Snowdogg on the front with my custom wings make it 8 foot 7 inchs wide
and I added a 6 inch riser to the top of it.. 
With a 900 lb slab of cement in the rear bed, it is a growling plowing animal !

My 2000 F150 Xtra cab short bed is ok.. works just as well, but cannot turn as
short in tight situations. So my wife uses it most of the time for the bigger open lots

You can see my picture of them in my Signature, and you can also see the upgraded
mod's I did to them in the SnowDogg forum under Taller MD75...

Been running them for many years. Works great...

Bob


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## trustyrusty (Dec 31, 2008)

That is a really clean looking half ton and I say go for it..... The only other thing I would say is that every time I see a really nice nice vehicle on Craigslist it is in such and such town and the owner is in another town far away in the military, it is packaged and ready to ship from the military warehouse, just wire the money and it will be shipped the next day, no I can't call because I am only allowed to talk during certain windows of time during the day (military regs) and therefore all communication must be via email......

Get the picture? In case you didn't catch on, if you are buying a vehicle off of Craigslist,

*BE CAREFUL!!!*


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## Chiputz (Dec 28, 2010)

snowcrazy;1555075 said:


> Let me ask you this (because Im a chevy guy and is what Id like to have)..... As for the chevy eating torsion bar bushings and torsion bars having trouble with weight, can you use timbrens to keep this from being such an issue.
> 
> I don't know much about timbrens so sorry if this was a stupid question....... The fella that passed away that did a lot of these jobs I picked up actually used a dodge 1500 short bed reg cab. He had multiple trucks but this was his go to truck. The tranny was out every other year it seems and that is why Id like to stay away from the dodge............


I had an 89 Chevy with a conventional Western Pro plow straightblade on it. I think if you went with urethane bushings you would be fine. I had to crank the torsion bars up about 5 turns to get the truck to carry the weight better. As far as ballast went, I just left the box full of snow, I know that's not really right, but it worked for what I needed. The only problem I had was the frame rotted out between the cab and box which pretty much killed the truck. Timbrens, from what i get from pics and posts on here, are basically heavy duty bump stops. Not really what I would consider worth the money. If you go for it, crank the torsion bars up 3 turns and your alignment should be fine. If you go more than 3 turns, you'll need an alignment. 
As far as the trannies go, I always use a stick for plowing so that is a little out of my area of expertise. There are a lot of factors involved in automatic transmissions and their longevity. Heat is the number one killer of automatics. If I were to run an automatic, the first thing I would do is put an external transmission cooler on the truck and get a heavy duty fan clutch. If you are horsing on any truck, you will be repairing it every time you turn around. The main thing with a Dodge automatic is get an external cooler installed and get the check valve removed from the tranny cooler line. This came direct from a buddy of mine that has been rebuilding trannys for 30 years. The truck looks great, I don't think you'll have any issues with it at all.


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## Dogplow Dodge (Jan 23, 2012)

mnglocker;1554973 said:


> That doesn't make the brakes or bearings adequate for that much weight. Then you get into the liability of being overloaded. When you get into a fender bender or maim a person, your insurance company is going to laugh you off since you failed to operate your truck in a safe manner.
> 
> That will be their cop-out.


You fail to see the point....

You overload a vehicle to the point of breaking, but then you just drive it really slow and fuggetaboutit.....

What could happen ? I was only doing 10 mph, your honor...:laughing:


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