# 250 diesel, boss v xt too heavy?



## dupont24 (Oct 8, 2010)

Have 04 250 diesel. Want 8'2 boss v plow xt on it. Is this too heavy? I also want wings.


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## 6090 (Sep 15, 2003)

If it is a crew cab or a super cab, it is not a recommended application.


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## dupont24 (Oct 8, 2010)

why is it not recommended? Truck is supercab with 8 ft. bed.


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

Don't worry about it. It's a Ford, it can handle it. If it sags too much for your liking or you're hitting the bumpstops too much, add air bags, timbrens, or upgrade the springs.


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## kurtandshan (Sep 1, 2010)

The question about crew cabs/extended not being recommended is just a matter of occupants. On Boss' site you will notice when you input a crw cab for plow selection it says " limited to driver and one occupant" this is due to braking 'requirement' from the federal gov't the concern is a crew cab with five adults and a snowplow on the front will have some braking issue. It's not that the truck can't handle the plow .


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

kurtandshan;1084795 said:


> The question about crew cabs/extended not being recommended is just a matter of occupants. On Boss' site you will notice when you input a crw cab for plow selection it says " limited to driver and one occupant" this is due to braking 'requirement' from the federal gov't the concern is a crew cab with five adults and a snowplow on the front will have some braking issue. It's not that the truck can't handle the plow .


EDIT: Now doing research.


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## kurtandshan (Sep 1, 2010)

Just went on Boss' website and for the vehicle described in *notes* it said "Ford does not reccommend a plow on this vehicle" So, Pinky I think you you are right. But, when I did my vehicle-07 Crew Cab SB 5.4, notes state limit occupants to driver and one passenger. I believe this applies to my statement. When there are multipassenger vehicles with mechanically capable components I believe the added weight of Passengers is the issue.


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## cold_and_tired (Dec 18, 2008)

It is all due to GVWR and GAWR's. Extended and crew cabs are already close to both of those numbers and therefore won't accept some plows.

In fact, Ford never offered the snow plow prep package on a crew cab.

With my plow on, I am still not over my GAWR so I just run with it.


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## Tony350 (Feb 6, 2010)

I think it would handle it, just probably wouldn't be legal if the DOT had its way. Might also raise a few quetions if you were in a major accident. I don't think it would stop me from doing it. Might depend on the dealer but if it isn't recommended they may not install it for you. Not sure if you were doing it yourself or not.


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

cold_and_tired;1084978 said:


> In fact, Ford never offered the snow plow prep package on a crew cab.


Since when? This is news to me. I've seen plenty of crew cabs with plow prep packages.



Tony350;1085095 said:


> I think it would handle it, just probably wouldn't be legal if the DOT had its way.


Here we go again...  DOT don't give a rats ass about FAWR. They care about GVWR, plated weight, and tire ratings.


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

kurtandshan;1084893 said:


> Just went on Boss' website and for the vehicle described in *notes* it said "Ford does not reccommend a plow on this vehicle" So, Pinky I think you you are right. But, when I did my vehicle-07 Crew Cab SB 5.4, notes state limit occupants to driver and one passenger. I believe this applies to my statement. When there are multipassenger vehicles with mechanically capable components I believe the added weight of Passengers is the issue.


For your application passenger weight would be a factor, but I still believe on the 99-04s, they do not recommend plows on EC/D or CC/D because of the weight of the engine and the cab on the front axle, not the brakes. A 99-04 CC with a gas engine can run any plow Boss makes with the exception of the 10 fters. Remember, everything changed when coil sprung front ends came into play in 05. Highest FGAWR you could get on a 05+ 250/350 is 6k lbs, which is the same as the 99-04 550. The 05+ 550s are at 7k.


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

Pinky Demon;1085231 said:


> For your application passenger weight would be a factor, but I still believe on the 99-04s, they do not recommend plows on EC/D or CC/D because of the weight of the engine and the cab on the front axle, not the brakes. A 99-04 CC with a gas engine can run any plow Boss makes with the exception of the 10 fters. Remember, everything changed when coil sprung front ends came into play in 05. Highest FGAWR you could get on a 05+ 250/350 is 6k lbs, which is the same as the 99-04 550. The 05+ 550s are at 7k.


I disagree, the X-codes on 99-04 trucks were 6k. They only upped the front spring ratings in 05 because of the frames gaining weight by 300-500 lbs depending on configuration, as well as higher GVWR's necessitating higher capacity springs. The 7k on the F550 was the result of this as well. Plow prep has been available on Ford crew cab diesels for a long time, and is one of the reasons Ford plow trucks outnumber GM and Dodge combined by a huge margin.

Boss is likely trying to maintain a safe margin, assuming the trucks owner is stupid enough to drive around with a cab full of passengers, a big plow on the front, and no ballast. And for good reason. How many times have you seen lawn company plow trucks running around with a big plow, cab stuffed full of illegals, and nothing but shovels in the back? Exactly!


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## ajslands (Sep 3, 2009)

You can put an 8'2 v xt on your truck no problem!


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

wizardsr;1085814 said:


> I disagree, the X-codes on 99-04 trucks were 6k. They only upped the front spring ratings in 05 because of the frames gaining weight by 300-500 lbs depending on configuration, as well as higher GVWR's necessitating higher capacity springs. The 7k on the F550 was the result of this as well. Plow prep has been available on Ford crew cab diesels for a long time, and is one of the reasons Ford plow trucks outnumber GM and Dodge combined by a huge margin.
> 
> Boss is likely trying to maintain a safe margin, assuming the trucks owner is stupid enough to drive around with a cab full of passengers, a big plow on the front, and no ballast. And for good reason. How many times have you seen lawn company plow trucks running around with a big plow, cab stuffed full of illegals, and nothing but shovels in the back? Exactly!


I can agree with that. I still don't know if I would throw a plow on a 99-04 CC/D though.


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## got-h2o (Sep 26, 2008)

It'll handle the weight just fine........just be prepared to replace front end parts prematurely. SFA (especially diesel) plow trucks eat up hub bearings, ball joints, track bars, trailing arm bushings, brakes, etc... The heavier the plow, the sooner it happens.

Any Ford owner that tells you differently either isn't being 100% honest, or they don't have anything else to compare to.


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## wizardsr (Aug 8, 2006)

got-h2o;1085930 said:


> It'll handle the weight just fine........just be prepared to replace front end parts prematurely. SFA (especially diesel) plow trucks eat up hub bearings, ball joints, track bars, trailing arm bushings, brakes, etc... The heavier the plow, the sooner it happens.
> 
> Any Ford owner that tells you differently either isn't being 100% honest, or they don't have anything else to compare to.


Really can't argue with that, other than that some have better luck than others. The only hub bearings I've done were on my since-sold 2000 F350 reg cab V10 and an 01 ext cab diesel F250. And on both of those trucks it was the passenger side. The 01 7.3 has 180k and the drivers side is still fine. It's had balljoints as well, but everything else is still tight.

The best luck I've had so far on Ford front ends is my 05 F350 Crew Cab. It runs a blizzard 8611lp with deflector and carbide edges (last time I scaled it the plow alone was 1200lbs), and it's only had one lower ball joint on the drivers side, and the track bar ends on both sides. 104k on it and it's run this plow since new in 2005, I really couldn't ask for better.


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

wizardsr;1085991 said:


> Really can't argue with that, other than that some have better luck than others. The only hub bearings I've done were on my since-sold 2000 F350 reg cab V10 and an 01 ext cab diesel F250. And on both of those trucks it was the passenger side. The 01 7.3 has 180k and the drivers side is still fine. It's had balljoints as well, but everything else is still tight.
> 
> The best luck I've had so far on Ford front ends is my 05 F350 Crew Cab. It runs a blizzard 8611lp with deflector and carbide edges (last time I scaled it the plow alone was 1200lbs), and it's only had one lower ball joint on the drivers side, and the track bar ends on both sides. 104k on it and it's run this plow since new in 2005, I really couldn't ask for better.


That LP sounds like a beast? Got any pictures? Again, REALLY, REALLY wish we had a Blizzard dealer around here.


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## got-h2o (Sep 26, 2008)

I run an 8611 LP on my 04 SRW F350 PSD. A beast it is indeed.


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## cold_and_tired (Dec 18, 2008)

I guess I stand corrected on Ford offering a snow plow prep on CC/D's. 

The front end on my truck gets trashed every year. Ball joints done annually and bearings done every 2-3 years.


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

cold_and_tired;1086117 said:


> I guess I stand corrected on Ford offering a snow plow prep on CC/D's.
> 
> The front end on my truck gets trashed every year. *Ball joints done annually and bearings done every 2-3 years.*


 What the hell do you have on your front end!? How hard are you beating on this thing?


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## cold_and_tired (Dec 18, 2008)

Pinky Demon;1086158 said:


> What the hell do you have on your front end!? How hard are you beating on this thing?


I only have my Meyer hanging off the front. I think I have a black sheep from Ford. The truck has never spent a day of it's life in the shop with the exception of having ball joints and bearings done.

I am religious with maintenance but have never been able to keep the front end going strong.

I use my truck for actual work, like most on this site, but I don't think that I am doing anything that would constitute abuse.


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## MileHigh (Nov 6, 2007)

Only reason why I wouldn't put a plow on that is if it was under 100k in miles as it would mess up the warranty.

But other than that...that is a very good choice for that truck.

I have an 04' supercab SB PSD...and it is a very sweet plow truck...no issues at all with the front end yet.

Like others have said...if it sags too much for your liking, or it's affecting the plowing...get some upgrades.


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## got-h2o (Sep 26, 2008)

cold_and_tired;1086583 said:


> I only have my Meyer hanging off the front. I think I have a black sheep from Ford. The truck has never spent a day of it's life in the shop with the exception of having ball joints and bearings done.
> 
> I am religious with maintenance but have never been able to keep the front end going strong.
> 
> I use my truck for actual work, like most on this site, but I don't think that I am doing anything that would constitute abuse.


That's not out of line......I know trucks with 100-150k that are on 3rd and 4th sets of ball joints. Trucks that never get put in the air or shaken down never realize they're bad. Most people get used to the typical Ford rattles and clunks and don't even know the difference. That's the truth. Having to replace them shouldn't be the result of one breaking. They should be fixed looooonnnnng before that happens, and sadly many do not.

Those of us like yourself that are meticulous with maintenance see a problem before catastrophy happens. Milking another 10,20,30k out of a set simply isn't worth it to me.


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## Pinky Demon (Jan 6, 2010)

got-h2o;1086683 said:


> That's not out of line......I know trucks with 100-150k that are on 3rd and 4th sets of ball joints. Trucks that never get put in the air or shaken down never realize they're bad. Most people get used to the typical Ford rattles and clunks and don't even know the difference. That's the truth. Having to replace them shouldn't be the result of one breaking. They should be fixed looooonnnnng before that happens, and sadly many do not.
> 
> Those of us like yourself that are meticulous with maintenance see a problem before catastrophy happens. Milking another 10,20,30k out of a set simply isn't worth it to me.


I got over two years out of mine so far. Got to see if they are still good.


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