# Plow height while traveling



## LISnow

Mounted my plow today, I was wondering how high should it sit for traveling on the road fully raised... bottom distance from the road surface

10" - 12" - 14" ???

Although I'll just be making a short run between 2 houses, mine seems to be sitting a little low when in the full up position. Maybe just need to get used to it.

Thanks,
Rich


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## Bad Luck

Don't think I understand your question. Do you want to know how high to keep you blade when driving on the road and not plowing? Or how high off the ground your blade should be when fully raised?

On my truck, I keep the blade only a few inches off the ground, otherwise I get poor airflow and the temp begins to climb.


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## Hmebuildr

As low as possible without scraping the road otherwise you tend to block airflow across the radiator. I keep mine a few inches off the road


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## RadHog

same here as low as possible without scraping road.....


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## Stan MI

Rich

I think what you are looking for is, how far should the plow frame or truck frame be off the ground with the plow raised.

I think the anwser is...... It varies with what kind of truck and plow you have.

I have an 88 chevy with a 7'6" Curtis. It is LOOOOOW.


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## Ron G

*Plow Height*

Rich,

With my old 91 Ford Bronco, I had to ride with it about 2 inches off of the ground, or the engine would overheat when going 30 MPH or faster. With my newer 03 F-250 and an 8 foot Fisher HD series plow, I can cruise the highways at 60 MPH with the plow all the way up with NO problems.

If you're asking about the maximum height available, that varies with the manufacturer. I can raise my Fisher about 18 inches before the plow frame tops out against the mount frame. Shorten your chain if you can't get enough height. If you have the owner's manual, follow the chain adjusting procedure there. If I remember correctly, with my plow setup, Fisher says that the plow frame should hit the mount frame with about 10 inches of ram extension.

RON​


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## DBL

everyones got it...dont prohibit airflow or youll overheat but dont scrape anything or hit speed bumps


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## Frozen001

Mine is all the way when traveling... never measured it, but no overheating problems at all....


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## yooper.mi

I have it at any height I want doesn't affect cooling system at all.


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## Yaz

It's the only time I know my fan works! At 204 Degrees it kicks in stays on untill 195. By the way, that's on the high way going too fast.


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## AlaskaPlowin

*Good to know!*



Ron G said:


> With my newer 03 F-250 and an 8 foot Fisher HD series plow, I can cruise the highways at 60 MPH with the plow all the way up with NO problems.


That's good to know. I've been traveling with mine at the top limit and haven't had any overheating issues with my '99 SD.


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## justme-

Adjust the chain for the max lift, within the manufacturer's guides, but remember the shorter the chain the less down the blade has. In other words if you plow down hill, at the top of the hill when the blade is all the way down but before the truck has crested the hill the blade will hang in mid-air if the chain is too short. sometimes there is nothing that can be done for that, but don;t overshorten the chain.

As to overheating and carrying height- I carry all they way up all the time on both trucks- highway for the Chevy is max 45Mph or she'll run too hot- but that's simply becaus it has too small a radiator- it's only a 2 row and she should have a 4 row for plowing. the dodge doesn;t care where I carry or if angled or straight. I do tend to carry angled which keeps the temp lower, but it never overheats or even approaches the max temp line. It depends on the design of the cooling system in the truck and the shape of the moldboard of the plow.

Anyone who has temp trouble carrying should be looking into a bigger radiator out of common sense but many models have no options aside from custom builts.

If you're just going a couple miles and it's not commercial work so it's not lots of carrying don;t worry about it, as long as it clears the road you'll be fine.


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## ta3834bbl

Old dodge overheated at 30mph with the plow raised anything past 3-4 inches off ground level. New Dodge will run fine at hwy speeds with the plow all the way up.
Old dodge had good 7 blade fan, 3 core rad and shroud, gas engine.
New dodge has a diesel. Diesels run cooler as a rule of thumb.

However, I had fun with this one last night, I was driving to the mall and noticed that around 40mph the new trucks outside ambient temp was reading about 75 degrees, I was watching the eng temp and it was normal. As I lowered the plow, the outside temp dropped to about 45 degrees (actual outside temp). As I raised the plow in small increments, the outside temp would rise with it in proportion. Neat little experiment. The engine temp never showed more than 195, which is normal.

My meyer plows have never had any kind of mechanical device to hold the plow up, at least that I was ever aware of. Happy plowing. Todd


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## kingriver

Yea, I have to adjust mine all the time to allow for non-overheating problems, I also have a Western Pro Plus. When it is up it measures 15", ground to bottom of blade ! I have a 3" body lift on my truck. Wonder why Western doesn't make an (airfoil) like the one *Blizzard* sells ? Anyone know ?


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## Thebosssnowplow

*Plow height*

I love the typical plow guy, Jacked all the way up and angled to the right. They all think they have a 11' flink hiway plow and they work for the the state. Gotta love it


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## justme-

Thebosssnowplow said:


> I love the typical plow guy, Jacked all the way up and angled to the right. They all think they have a 11' flink hiway plow and they work for the the state. Gotta love it


Actually I perfer tilted left- ever get hit by somone from the front oncoming in the snow? When you do, you'll be glad the blade was angled left and not right- I blew an angle hose and rolled the edge of the blade moldboard back (small sledge would fix it but I don't care that much) last season when a Marquis slid into me coming through an intersection. The blade angle made the damage to mine a whole lot less than if it were the othereway or straight.


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## CrazyCooter

My truck (after replacing the clutch fan) runs fine at any height on the highway (that's 60-70 MPH). On side roads, I run it 3/4 if I'm going 40 or over. I have to fiddle with it to get it not to overheat if I have to travel at 30-35 MPH. It's a pisser. 

I know it's cuz of the airflow, but I'm taking it back to the dealer to make sure it taint the thermostat or the water pump. Still under warranty, might as well place the blame on them if it goes wrong  Time tp put a new battery too, if there is not enough nuts left in the battery it might not fully kick the solenoids.

-K


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## MrBigStuff

*Overheat*

I ran into this problem on my first plow truck- '88 Chevy 2500. Tilting helped but you had to adjust it based on the speed. Anything over 55 and it was going to overheat no matter what. I took the quick fix first and replaced the fan clutch with a direct connect hub. Worked great but stole so much of the horsepower the rig was a real dog. An electric fan cured the problem for good.


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## LwnmwrMan22

Thebosssnowplow said:


> I love the typical plow guy, Jacked all the way up and angled to the right. They all think they have a 11' flink hiway plow and they work for the the state. Gotta love it


With the Diamond plows I used to have, we would run them all the way up, and tilt them AWAY from which ever way the wind was blowing as you were going down the road. It sucked the air right into the radiator that way.

Now I've got a Boss V on a 2005 Dodge diesel and I just run it all the way up and "V" it back, no heating issues.

The other truck, a Boss 8' straight blade on a 2003 Dodge diesel, we just run straight across, about 4" off the road, and there's no heating issues.

However, I think the first post may have been wondering how high should his plow be when he raises it, not while driving down the road, at which point, only as high as it needs to be to clear obstacles. Which, if on the road, is hopefully no more than 1-2", or else you're not on the road anymore!!


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## Yaz

*Angling the plow on the highway*

This can be fun and a little dangerous, I know you will try this...

Angle left and right to steer the truck with you hands off the wheel at about 65 MPH.

This tell you that if you angle, you may be wearing out you tires from compensating the sail effect. This is just like driving with a front end that is not in alignment.


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## NoFearDeere

My BOSS' are way up in the air and it doesnt matter at what speed and what truck it is, they are both fine. If I angle my plow all the way right or left on the Dodge, I become the one headlighted plow truck!


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