# Best plow trucks??????



## ConnerM

So im im minnesota and winter is over so now im looking for a plow or just a truck to throw a plow on thinking it will be cheaper now to get the truck and plow exspecailly with the horrible winter we had with no snow. So now im wondering what is the best truck to plow with and last the longest without a bunch of mechanical problems? all the plowing companies ive worked for have chevy 2500 and couple f250 but ive been told to get a older ford 7.3L turbo diesel. keep im mind i have a 10k budget. Do plow companies just not get the diesel trucks because they are so expensive new and the 2500 are cheaper new and better for summer work?


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## justme-

Diesel trucks cost a significant amount more, and with the cost of diesel fuel up where it is it takes several years to recoup the investment in the diesel. Couple that with the fact that the latest generation of diesel engines is less reliable, and less efficient with the emission controls now required, and it really makes you have to think twice before going diesel. 
Ford fans will tell you buy a Ford, Chevy guys will tout Chevy, Dodge guys... well there are too few of us.
Each has it's selling points. I really like what I have heard about Chevy 6L gas engines, but personally I dislike torsion front ends especially for a plow truck. Not sure about many newer gas engines - I have been out of that circle for over a decade. I still love my 96 Dodge diesel - rebuild/beef the auto and you have a damn fine work truck that'll push or pull anything. Same goes for the 02 7.3L F350 I'm driving now (not plow truck). So, I kind of lean toward a pre-emissions diesel on that budget, but a older 7.3 is going to cost you 10 grand without a plow...It also depends on how long you plan on keeping it. Short term, buy newer so it retains value when you want to sell.
Remember, commercial buyers (like landscapers and tow companies, and contractors) buy based on many things - cost to own, commercial up fitting ease (Ford has that sewn up), reputation (If Ford or Chevy is plastering the TV with ads saying they are the number 1 selling commercial truck every year in your market, people will believe it even if it's a lie!), and brand prevalence - how many trucks of that make being seen around in the same line of work.


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## Banksy

It's going to be a long summer.


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## XxChevy-HDxX

My Chevy Silverado 2500HD has been a great plow/work truck. I have 285's on the truck with just a few turns on the torsions bars and absolutely no complaints


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## grandview

Everyone knows that the best plow truck is a Ford F250 with a Boss v plow.


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## peteo1

No the best plow truck is the one you don't have to keep sinking money into!!!
I've plowed with all three manufacturers and each has its pluses and minuses. Personally I plow with a dodge. No complaints. I've used a lot of chevys and they seem to do the job fine but the upkeep is more costly imo. Fords are capable as well. The only thing I don't like about them is they aren't very comfortable. For me my dodge has what I like/require so I guess I'm biased in that sense. Right now I would say stay away from diesel, its too costly to buy and run. Besides, you'll lose traction long before you will ever need that much power to push snow. My hemi has over 300hp and I can't ever recall needing all of it to plow snow. Buy what suits your needs first since you can put a plow on any truck.


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## grandview

peteo1;1472527 said:


> No the best plow truck is the one you don't have to keep sinking money into!!!
> .


In that case ,plow for someone else!


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## justme-

peteo1;1472527 said:


> ...Right now I would say stay away from diesel, its too costly to buy and run. Besides, you'll lose traction long before you will ever need that much power to push snow. My hemi has over 300hp and I can't ever recall needing all of it to plow snow.


 It's not the HP that counts for a truck,it's torque. My CTD has 280hp. HP only comes into effect at rpm... it's the torque off idle and at working rpm. I will admit I do spin wheels a lot if I go against a bank from idle, and it took some time to get used to having 480lbs-ft available from idle but let me tell you, there has yet to be a pile of snow in front of the blade that got too big to push. A good friend of mine with a GMC gasser has open diffs and never spins his wheels doing drives I would have trouble in because of the weight balance and extra torque, but a limited slip solves 90% of that.


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## cold_and_tired

I've plowed with a Chevy - required a front end rebuild.

I've plowed with a Dodge - required a front end rebuild.

I've plowed with a Ford - required a front end rebuild.

I drive a Ford because I liked the interior and I couldn't get a true crew cab with a dodge. I have never owned a Chevy because I have never been a fan of IFS.

Pick whichever truck you like. They all push snow pretty good and all will require maintenance and repairs.


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## 95HDRam

My 95 Dodge 2500 HD has 80K on it and has never failed me. To each their own but Dodge is my truck. You take care of a truck any truck with regular maintenance it will last you a long time.


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## CGM Inc.

cold_and_tired;1472615 said:


> I've plowed with a Chevy - required a front end rebuild.
> 
> I've plowed with a Dodge - required a front end rebuild.
> 
> I've plowed with a Ford - required a front end rebuild.
> 
> I drive a Ford because I liked the interior and I couldn't get a true crew cab with a dodge. I have never owned a Chevy because I have never been a fan of IFS.
> 
> Pick whichever truck you like. They all push snow pretty good and all will require maintenance and repairs.


X2 
I drive a Dodge because I like the cab and stiffe ride. Have 3 Dodges and 10 GM's maintenance is key in having a reliable truck as well as good drivers.


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## R.G.PEEL

I prefer ford superduty diesel, or chevy diesel (even though I break chevy dieharder's balls). As mentioned though any truck will make you money if kept in good order. 

I'm concerned about your budget of $10 000 to outfit though. Please take this constructively, and not the wrong way. I think it would be very hard to gear up properly under that budget, especially for your primary rig. It is hard to find a 4x4 diesel in really good condition for that much. A lot of plows cost close to that as well. To have both together and be under $10k is cutting it close. Keep in mind, if this is your first plow truck, you need it to be reliable. 

Also, I feel I'm going to draw fire here, but be careful going old diesel or gas. Gas engine vehicles typically have far lighter duty parts throughout the drivetrain. I'm not saying they can't plow, I'm saying that it works them very hard. Diesels don't even get into their powerbands most of the time while plowing. Nor do they need it. There are a million people on this site that say the 7.3 is the holy grail of trucks........ They were, in their day, before they were improved on. There's nothing wrong with the engine, but you won't find one less than 10 years old. This is suitable if you stick to the $10k budget but not ideal for a 'reliable truck'. Also any truck that carried a 7.3 has a significantly lighter duty truck carrying it. 

I suggest saving more or looking at a longer term investment and going with the technology, reliability, power, and parts availability of the newer trucks. Just my .02


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## tjctransport

yea, the Ford 7.3 diesel is not a reliable engine.








my 88 only has 493,000 miles on it and the only thing it needs is to be run some more.
my 02 only has 186,000 miles on it.
the 35 that we had on the other job all had over 300,000 miles on them without any major work, and still ran like new when the company went under.


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## Mackman

tjctransport;1474737 said:


> yea, the Ford 7.3 diesel is not a reliable engine.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> my 88 only has 493,000 miles on it and the only thing it needs is to be run some more.
> my 02 only has 186,000 miles on it.
> the 35 that we had on the other job all had over 300,000 miles on them without any major work, and still ran like new when the company went under.


I dont think he was talking about the 7.3L or any older diesel. He was talking about all the new ones.


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## tjctransport

Mackman;1476069 said:


> I dont think he was talking about the 7.3L or any older diesel. He was talking about all the new ones.


this is the quote i was responding to.

There are a million people on this site that say the 7.3 is the holy grail of trucks........ They were, in their day, before they were improved on. There's nothing wrong with the engine, but you won't find one less than 10 years old. This is suitable if you stick to the $10k budget but not ideal for a 'reliable truck'. Also any truck that carried a 7.3 has a significantly lighter duty truck carrying it.


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## vintage steel

I cast my vote for a K5 Blazer with a 1 ton axle swap, Vortech V8, 4 speed "granny gear" or TH400 Transmission and an NP205 transfer case. Simple, heavy duty, cheap to build and a short wheel base.
...But I'm sure you want something shiny with A/C and cup holders. I just want my plow truck to be built like a tank, and it is.


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## Banksy

vintage steel;1480866 said:


> I cast my vote for a K5 Blazer with a 1 ton axle swap, Vortech V8, 4 speed "granny gear" or TH400 Transmission and an NP205 transfer case. Simple, heavy duty, cheap to build and a short wheel base.
> ...But I'm sure you want something shiny with A/C and cup holders. I just want my plow truck to be built like a tank, and it is.


Sounds good with the TH400 or 4 speed for home owner use. Manuals suck for any real plowing...I would know.


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## rtreads

I would think how the truck has been treated by the PO and yourself will make more difference than make. Some one who trashes and beats on the "best" truck will have more issues than they guy who takes great care in his "worst" truck. ....just my .02


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## RLM

Look for an "old mans truck", I just had to pass on one I xame across due to lack of snow last winter & drought this summer cash is tight. It was a '94 chevy ext cab dually 4x4, 454, auto, no plow had a gooseneck hitch that must not have been used much because it has had a cap on it as long as I've seen it (8+ yrs), winters it was in Florida, no rust at all, I believe about 120k miles, Sold it in 2 days in front of his house, so I'm sure it was priced right.


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## Chrisxl64

Any of the 88-2000 K2500/K3500 chevy's are absolute gems of reliability and simplicity, great trucks that if even decently maintained will last forever. Fluid changes and Grease. They are getting hard to find in good shape but if you can pick one up in good shape, gusset the frame and you'll have a venerable plow truck for a long time to come, and parts are cheap as hell.


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## Glenn Lawn Care

Ford powerstroke with a western in front of it. ussmileyflag


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## Jim74

Im a 7.3 fan myself but the price of diesel compared to gas doesnt always matter, I have a 96 F350 dump 4x4, 9 foot fisher and a 2 yard flink sander in the back(not loaded with sand) and while plowing a Shaws strip mall and another strip mall across the street with 2 friends of mine who own a 02 chevy 2500 and a chevy blazer both with curtis plows they were filling up almost 3 times to my once on fuel. They might have been going a little faster because of backing up with the sander and what not but it was definately atleast 2 fill ups to my one.


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## Flawless440

Never seen a gas engine with 500k-1.5k miles on it......

You cant buy a transmission for a gas engine that holds a 500k mile warranty....

When you buy a diesel, it's a commitment, it's going to be with you for life..

My powerstroke is 500+ horsepower
My Duramax has watched many gas plow trucks come and go thoughout the fleet 
Had a cummins Mega Cab, Best truck i ever owned, it was totaled..


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## Rat_Power_78

For your budget, I would look at a K5 Blazer. If you dont mind a non-turboed diesel, look into the military ones. They are very plain but the come with dual batteries, heavier suspension (3 leaf front not the usual 2 leaf) posi rear, etc. The maneuverability is unbeatable and the mileage is double a similar gas truck. There are a few minor preventive things to take care of when you get them but if you do your homework and dont mind a very basic interior, they are a great value.


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## ConnerM

*new truck*

well i didnt get a plow truck over the summer like i wanted because i expect them to be cheaper in the summer and i had someyone in the buisness who was gonna come with me to check some out but that never worked so now im looking at some trucks before the season and ill probably post some potential buys on here later with pics


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## Ryank

you guys are mostly crazy, for 10,000 you can pick up an f350 7.3 all day long that is clean with a plow....and have the money left over to register it, buy a new snow blower and get some liability insurance and pay for the winter season at once. i bought my truck for 3500, then went back 5 months later and bought the plow for 300, then bought the head light harness the plow needed for 138 from fisher and installed it and was ready to rock and roll. and my truck is still clean for the mileage, even trucks with 100,000 less miles then mine aren't as clean. and i'm almost at 270k.....and over the summer on craigslist, i saw clean f350 powerstroke 7.3 turbo diesel 4x4 trucks with under 160,000 with fisher mm plows in good shape listed for under 4000....with everything in good working order, and needing no major work. if that's too much or not a good enough, maybe plowing isn't for you. and if chevy's are your truck those are right around the same money, dodges too. sure they aren't new trucks, but they will make you the same money, probably more when you factor in the cost of insurance plus the truck payment plus the added interest and taxes and so on.


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## fullahead

Flawless440;1487609 said:


> You cant buy a transmission for a gas engine that holds a 500k mile warranty....


Well, lets not leave out the 8.1/Allison GM, I assume that's what your talking about is the dmax/ally combo. Works perfect for my purposes.

But, for a dedicated working vehicle I'd go diesel every time.


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## bleachcola

my rant on newer diesels

if you go with a newer diesel 2007.5 and newer, you are going to have to remove all the dpfs, defs, egrs, etc so it can last even 100k without any problems. like for example when ford had the 08-10 6.4s and the dpf system cleaned itself every couple days or so, it would shut down one of the glow plugs inorder for that cylinder to get flushed with diesel to get it into the tailpipe into the dpf filter so it would clean at 1800+ degs, you didn't even want to park it when it was cleaning so u had to drive for 15mins to finish. 

it was such a awful system, that raw diesel always made its way into the engine oil, I tested my oil every oil change and my fuel in oil levels were so elevated I would never trust that motor to get anywhere near 500k, let alone 150k. (a cummins doesn't clean the dpf this way, but has a 7th injector in the exhaust itself)

only way I would trust a newer diesel motor is if you bought it new, threw away and tuned out all that emissions junk. 

Also the upkeep is religious on the newer ones, if you have too much water in your fuel from a bad gas station, you might be looking at a $12,000 bill because you ruined your entire fuel system, seen this happen half a dozen times, even at 30k miles ford would void the warranty.

also diesels like to tow and go long distances. plowing is not that fast and that newer diesel motor will not get much use and put stress on the turbo(s). a gas motor will plow just fine for most guys. Now if you need torque to haul your trailers for landscaping and need good MPG on the highway a diesel wins.

IMO, a diesel does last much longer, but the initial upfront cost, the extra maintenance of fuel filters, big $ oil changes, emission deleting etc etc, does add up to a lot and with the cost of diesel being more than gas, I don't think a diesel will be cheaper at 350k (when most people rebuild, not many make it to 500k) vs a gasser with 350k that might have had 2 engines and 2-3 transmissions.

I wouldn't mind a 7.3 ford but a 5.9 cummins is easiest to maintain and work on.


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## Stik208

Flawless440;1487609 said:


> Never seen a gas engine with 500k-1.5k miles on it......


Who needs an engine that long? I am far from made of money but damn I cant see keeping anything that long.


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## R.G.PEEL

bleachcola;1499397 said:


> my rant on newer diesels
> 
> if you go with a newer diesel 2007.5 and newer, you are going to have to remove all the dpfs, defs, egrs, etc so it can last even 100k without any problems. like for example when ford had the 08-10 6.4s and the dpf system cleaned itself every couple days or so, it would shut down one of the glow plugs inorder for that cylinder to get flushed with diesel to get it into the tailpipe into the dpf filter so it would clean at 1800+ degs, you didn't even want to park it when it was cleaning so u had to drive for 15mins to finish.
> 
> it was such a awful system, that raw diesel always made its way into the engine oil, I tested my oil every oil change and my fuel in oil levels were so elevated I would never trust that motor to get anywhere near 500k, let alone 150k. (a cummins doesn't clean the dpf this way, but has a 7th injector in the exhaust itself)
> 
> only way I would trust a newer diesel motor is if you bought it new, threw away and tuned out all that emissions junk.
> 
> Also the upkeep is religious on the newer ones, if you have too much water in your fuel from a bad gas station, you might be looking at a $12,000 bill because you ruined your entire fuel system, seen this happen half a dozen times, even at 30k miles ford would void the warranty.
> 
> also diesels like to tow and go long distances. plowing is not that fast and that newer diesel motor will not get much use and put stress on the turbo(s). a gas motor will plow just fine for most guys. Now if you need torque to haul your trailers for landscaping and need good MPG on the highway a diesel wins.
> 
> IMO, a diesel does last much longer, but the initial upfront cost, the extra maintenance of fuel filters, big $ oil changes, emission deleting etc etc, does add up to a lot and with the cost of diesel being more than gas, I don't think a diesel will be cheaper at 350k (when most people rebuild, not many make it to 500k) vs a gasser with 350k that might have had 2 engines and 2-3 transmissions.
> 
> I wouldn't mind a 7.3 ford but a 5.9 cummins is easiest to maintain and work on.


I agree with the emissions stuff being annoying. That seems to be where the industry is headed though, so aftermarket it is. The 6.4 system doesn't "turn off a glow plug." The system only runs when the engine is hot. The glowplugs do not run when the engine is hot.

I can't agree on the benefit only being realized on highways though. Snowplowing is a lot of load for a truck, and the diesels don't even notice the difference. Even powerful gas engines have to work in order to push. They simply don't make the off-idle torque that a diesel does. The initial costs, repairs, and maintainance are expensive, but I find them relative to the amount of work accomplished.


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## whatwasthat

bump

i'm in the same boat right now. looking to spend around $12k for a truck (w/o plow setup) to do some light plowing and being used as a DD.

just wondering how old vs. mileage vs. brand should i go. i'm seeing a lot of 2004/2005 f-150s with 100k+ miles for around this price. chevys/gmc are a bit higher, dodges are a little lower (if stats are the same, year/mileage).


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## CurbKilla

IMO I have a f250 6.0 diesel and I love plowing with it but hate starting it. Tons of power and traction from the extra weight up front from the heavier engine. I prefer a 6.0 to a 7.3 only due to the tranny. the torqueshift is an amazing tranny. the diesel also uses way less fuel then my dodge 5.9 gasser due to the fact that I never have to rev the engine. The bad is the ford wont turn worth a sh**. The dodge is a gas. starts fine no matter how cold, has plenty of power turns sharp, but drinks gas like crazy. I don't like chevys and that is a learned opinion. I have owned many and feel they are poorly engineered, and built cheaply which shows when you work them for a while. The ford is my favorite next one will be gas. I will also consider a dodge gas a chevy would have to be a steal and then I would try to trade up to a working mans truck.


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## haulerman

1997 f350 solid front axle 5.8 gas 281,950 miles and the old rag keeps on going , absoulty no reason to run a new truck , cause your gonna tear something up or back into ? And scratch it up , and stay away from a diesel they ain't nothing but trouble !!! IMO


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## LopatLT7495

I love my 03 cummins, bought with 31,000 now has 116,000 miles its not a whole lot but I work so much I don't drive it as much as I would like, only issue I've had with the engine have been a broke shaft in the power steering pump. Any other issues have been on the dodge side, death wobble 4 times, blown up t case ( PO never once ran 4wd in the 5yrs he owned the truck I ran it twice and bye bye t case). Some interior problems like broken blender doors and cracking dash. Overall it has been a great truck though.


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## Wyattm

i have a 2011 toyota tacoma TRD offroad and man you may say its tiny that thing can’t push 10 pounds of snow your very rong that thing pushes snow all day long


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