# Low cost plow vehicle for resdential use?



## johnshenry (Oct 7, 2015)

I have a '99 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 7 ft Meyer MM2 plow. The truck got too rusty to pass inspection a couple years ago and was relegated to a "yard truck" for plowing. I live in New England have a 70' x90 ' paved area in front of my house and shop, plus a driveway. The Ram is becoming unreliable and parts fall off of you slam the door hard. 

I would love another Ram but even the 10-15 year old high mile ones are really expensive. So I am thinking out of the box a bit. What are the trucks that no body wants that could be used for plowing? I would think that even some smaller V6 4x4s would work. Jeeps?? Would love to get something reliable and rust free (I'd travel to get the right truck) for $5k or less. My plow is in good shape, of course I would need to get a frame plate for the new vehicle.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.


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## leolkfrm (Mar 11, 2010)

watch the auctions, might find you need to spend closer to 10000, 7 ft is narrow for a full size truck, 7.5 would be better
keep an eye on craigslist
wrong time to look as winter is coming


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## FredG (Oct 15, 2012)

johnshenry said:


> I have a '99 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 7 ft Meyer MM2 plow. The truck got too rusty to pass inspection a couple years ago and was relegated to a "yard truck" for plowing. I live in New England have a 70' x90 ' paved area in front of my house and shop, plus a driveway. The Ram is becoming unreliable and parts fall off of you slam the door hard.
> 
> I would love another Ram but even the 10-15 year old high mile ones are really expensive. So I am thinking out of the box a bit. What are the trucks that no body wants that could be used for plowing? I would think that even some smaller V6 4x4s would work. Jeeps?? Would love to get something reliable and rust free (I'd travel to get the right truck) for $5k or less. My plow is in good shape, of course I would need to get a frame plate for the new vehicle.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.


https://www.auctionsinternational.com/auction/12465/item/2003-ford-f350-sd-cab-and-chassis-76215


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## FredG (Oct 15, 2012)

https://www.auctionsinternational.c...chevrolet-silverado-2500hd-pickup-truck-76050


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## johnshenry (Oct 7, 2015)

Actually have my Ram running and prepped for this winter, so I can, and probably will wait for spring to buy. But it is going to the junkyard next year...


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## Walleye Hunter (Aug 13, 2017)

I've scored myself a couple of good deals on this auction site. You can set yourself a search area and have had it. Everything is on the up and up and the whole transaction goes smooth if you do your part.
https://www.govdeals.com/index.cfm


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## ljbconst (Jun 24, 2012)

first generation dodge durango, and everybody will nay say but for a lot that size it will last for years as long as u wash salt away , my 99 is going into its 4thyear of plowing , it probably would not last with heavy commercial use but for light commercial/ residential its fine , i have the 5.9 with the larger 46RE trans and np 242 lever shifted t case , i run an old meyer st 84 ( odd ball 7 ft plow) e 47 , the problem is mounts, u can find uni mount.and meyer classic mounts ( for dakotas of same era they bolt right up) , i built my mount into an off road bumper for a cherokee fairly simple to fab, people practically give these trucks away , put 300-400 pounds in back for balast and raise the torsion bars an inch or 2 and itll be fine , ive never been stuck and never broke any thing 3 years ago i plowed 24" plus of snow for 16 hours straight truck had zero issues


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## Brettny (Jul 12, 2017)

Does it have to be a pickup? If it does then the early 90s chevy pickup are well under your $5k limit.

If it dosnt then u can get a early 2000s yukon or tahoe with less than 140k on the clock. Can find them all day for that price. There basicly the truck chassis with no bed. Even better if you can find a suburban/yukon xl 2500 for that price.


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## Arrowbrook99 (Oct 22, 2017)

I really like 97/98 Ford F-250/350 with a 7.3. If you look at the right time and place you might find one. Might be a bit more then your looking to spend but deals are out there. I had a 2001 F350 with a 7.3 and kick myself in the ass for getting rid of it. So that’s why I’d look to pick one up if I were looking for something not too expensive.


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## johnshenry (Oct 7, 2015)

I actually have a 2005 Durango also, considered plowing with it, but it is my utility winter and dog vehicle and I don't want to drive it around on public roads in the winter with a plow hanging off the front end. Love that SUV and got it dirt cheap.

I'll never own another Ford, sorry.

I'll look into the Yukon/Tahoes. I would have no problem using a bloated SUV if I could get one for cheap. That is what amazed me about the Durango I got for $4k. '05 with 110k miles. one owner. Want an '05 Ram 1500 with 110k miles? $18k.


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## Arrowbrook99 (Oct 22, 2017)

johnshenry said:


> I actually have a 2005 Durango also, considered plowing with it, but it is my utility winter and dog vehicle and I don't want to drive it around on public roads in the winter with a plow hanging off the front end. Love that SUV and got it dirt cheap.
> 
> I'll never own another Ford, sorry.
> 
> I'll look into the Yukon/Tahoes. I would have no problem using a bloated SUV if I could get one for cheap. That is what amazed me about the Durango I got for $4k. '05 with 110k miles. one owner. Want an '05 Ram 1500 with 110k miles? $18k.


If you don't mind me asking did you have a bad experience with Ford?


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## leolkfrm (Mar 11, 2010)

most plows are removable, do you get enough snow that it needs to be on full time


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## Arrowbrook99 (Oct 22, 2017)

FredG said:


> https://www.auctionsinternational.c...chevrolet-silverado-2500hd-pickup-truck-76050


I actually just looked at this link you posted. Looks like a good place to get a deal. I'm gonna keep an eye one that Chevy. Have you ever gotten anything off of this? I'm kind of an old school guy. I'd much rather go somewhere to buy something rather then online. And I really don't like the giving my credit card info on this site. But if you have used it trouble free I'll give it a try. Thanks.


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## johnshenry (Oct 7, 2015)

Yes the plow comes on and off pretty easily, but I just don't want to mess with it during the winter, I'd rather just have a purpose vehicle. As for Ford, while I have never owned a ford truck, I have owned a few other Fords and none could make it past 60-70k miles without major repair$. A Windstar van needed a $2700 tranny rebuilt at 76k miles. Sorry, no more Fords for me.

I was reading elsewhere about Dodge Dakotas and find them a fraction of the cost of a 1500, and some with similar drivetrains. Experience/comments on these for light, one property plowing???


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## ljbconst (Jun 24, 2012)

down fall of any of the midsize dodges are the transmissions , i personally dont care for the 4.7 motors reliability in my experience is questionable, the 3.9,5.2 and 5.9 magnum engines are less powerful but more reliable , i have had 2 different 3.9 v6 in 2 different dakotas both with well over 200k , my durango now has the 5.9 with 130k no major motor issues , i had a 4.7 dakota with 112k one owner truck that was nothing but problems motor and trans it was 04 so it had the computer controlled 5 speed auto it was junk, nothing but headaches, my durango needed a trans at 93k ( 4 speed early auto( but since i put a rebuilt in nothing but reliable, as long as u dont beat the snot out of them they seem to last , also the midsized trucks are definatly more maneuverable in tighter spaces, make sure u run a trans cooler on truck if it doesnt already have one, watch the frame rails on the older dakotas they like to rot on bottoms behind front suspension, the transfer cases are the same jeep uses on the earlier ones np231 and np 242 which are reliable enough for light duty , if u can find one with a posi rear end even better, i have had a number of dodges , they arent the best but far from the worst hope this helps


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## special k (Jul 29, 2013)

I use a 99 jeep grand cherokee with a 6 1/2 or 7' frontline. Its just a plain Jane 4.0 litre with good snow tires and a 2" budget lift kit and over 200000 miles. It could use stronger front springs but its not too bad. My driveway is 200?' feet long and varies between 30' wide to 15' wide at different points. I've been using it for 5 years now with no real issues with the jeep itself. I'm in southern Ontario so we do get enough snow to use it.


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## johnshenry (Oct 7, 2015)

Interesting. A quick look at ads and the Grand Cherokees are pretty affordable '05 and older. I wonder if I can get a mount plate for my existing plow for one?

Regarding Dodge, I have an '05 Durango now that I tow a 21' RV trailer with in the summer, and am aware of the tranny issues. As soon as I got it, I installed a digital trans temp (sump) to keep an eye on it. Pulled the trailer over 4k miles this summer and really amazed at the range of temps I see, and how quickly they can climb going up hills. The 4.7 is adequate for pulling, would love a 5.7 but got that truck for nearly nothing and love it otherwise. I did get the temp overheat light to come on in my '99 Ram once or twice pushing some very wet "mashed potato" snow a couple years ago. I think as long as you don't overheat the trannys, they are pretty reliable.


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## leolkfrm (Mar 11, 2010)

repairs could get pricey on a cherokee


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## johnshenry (Oct 7, 2015)

I just put a deposit on an '08 Dakota a few states away and will fly out and pick it up next week. Not a "low cost" vehicle, I decided to combine my plow vehicle and my RV tow vehicle ( A Durango). So now wondering about transferring the Meyer EZ Mount Plus plow from my '98 Ram 1500 to the Dakota. Not sure if this is the right forum or not, but does anyone know if the clevis and frame push plates will cross over, or do I need to get a Dakota specific set up? Are there better forums for this??


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## kimber750 (Sep 19, 2011)

johnshenry said:


> I just put a deposit on an '08 Dakota a few states away and will fly out and pick it up next week. Not a "low cost" vehicle, I decided to combine my plow vehicle and my RV tow vehicle ( A Durango). So now wondering about transferring the Meyer EZ Mount Plus plow from my '98 Ram 1500 to the Dakota. Not sure if this is the right forum or not, but does anyone know if the clevis and frame push plates will cross over, or do I need to get a Dakota specific set up? Are there better forums for this??


Clevis should be same but would guess plates are different. Go to Meyer site and use EZ transfer tool.


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## johnshenry (Oct 7, 2015)

Thanks, I figured it out after I posted. There is a kit that gets me all the hardware to get the clevis mounted. Interestingly, it is the same kit used with my '05 Durnago... Hmmm..


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## ConnorExum (Jan 5, 2010)

johnshenry said:


> I have a '99 Dodge Ram 1500 with a 7 ft Meyer MM2 plow. The truck got too rusty to pass inspection a couple years ago and was relegated to a "yard truck" for plowing. I live in New England have a 70' x90 ' paved area in front of my house and shop, plus a driveway. The Ram is becoming unreliable and parts fall off of you slam the door hard.
> 
> I would love another Ram but even the 10-15 year old high mile ones are really expensive. So I am thinking out of the box a bit. What are the trucks that no body wants that could be used for plowing? I would think that even some smaller V6 4x4s would work. Jeeps?? Would love to get something reliable and rust free (I'd travel to get the right truck) for $5k or less. My plow is in good shape, of course I would need to get a frame plate for the new vehicle.
> 
> Thanks in advance for any suggestions.


https://www.wantaddigest.com/view/forsale.asp?page=2&eclass=Trucks and Vans&cat=TDOD&sortby=


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