# Plow for my '07 Ram??



## NYH1 (Jan 10, 2009)

I have a 2007 Dodge Ram 1500 Quad Cab Short Box SLT 4x4, Hemi, auto trans., 3.92 gears w/anti spin rear end, trailer tow package, 750 amp battery. It came with the 20 inch wheels and tires, the wheels looked great, however I HATED those JUNK Goodyear HP tires. They SUCKED for a 4x4 truck in Central New York! I sold them and put factory 17 inch aluminum wheels and 265/70-17 Mastercraft Courer A/T2 tires on it and had the speedo recalibrated. Now I can actually drive it in deep/heavy snow and the mud where we hunt!!

A little background on the truck. I leased it for two years when it was brand new. I liked it so much and the buyout price was 4 to 6K less then other trucks with the same equipment, and they had almost twice the mileage my truck had. So it was the best deal for me. My truck currently has a little over 29K miles on it. It's in excellent condition. The only thing I've had to do to it so far was replace the idler pulleys. One was making noise so I replaced all three of them. I change the fluids as required and use synthetic's throughout. I'm the type of driver that backs out of my driveway, comes to a complete stop, then shifts into drive. Same when I have to back into a spot, complete stop, then put it into reverse, then complete stop and into park.

I've been considering putting a plow on my truck. I'll only be plowing my driveway, my parents driveway and maybe two or three other driveways. None of them are really big. I have a 5 foot Moose Plow on my 2000 Yamaha Big Bear 400 4x4 for the last ten years and that's held up great. I wouldn't be doing to much more with my truck. I'd just like to be able to do it without getting out of my warm truck LOL!

I've been looking at four different plows. Two Fishers and two Westerns.

Fisher Plows- *7' 4" Homesteder* and *7' 6" HT Series*.

Western Plows- *7' 4" Suburbanite* and *7' 6" HTS*.

The 7' 4" Homesteder and 7' 4" Suburbanite plows weigh 270 lbs. plus the mount. The 7' 6" HT Series and 7' 6" HTS weigh 414 lbs. plus the mount and both plows requires 90 lbs. ballast weight in the rear.

I'm not worried about the weight of pushing snow, I've towed our 29 foot, 6500 lbs. camper trailer to and from our hunting camp and tow our four place ATV trailer all over. My truck has all the power I'll need for pushing snow and gets great traction with the new tires. I'm worried about the weight of the plows on the front end of my truck. My front GAWR is 3900 lbs. and my front base weight is 2220 lbs. so I'm 1680 lbs. under my max GAWR with nothing on the front end.

Would I be better off with one of the two lighter home owner plows, or one of the mid weight plows?

Thanks, NYH1!


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## mortician79 (Sep 10, 2008)

I have a Boss Sport Duty and it is great. I have pretty much the same truck and it handles it well, I added Timbrens and all is well.


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## NYH1 (Jan 10, 2009)

mortician79, the 7' 6" Boss Sport Duty Plow is in the same weight range as both the Fisher 7' 6" HT and Western 7' 6" HTS Plows. Both of them are steel though. How do steel plows compare to poly plows?

What is Timbrens? How long have you had your plow on your truck and has it caused any problems or have you broke anything because of it?

Thanks, NYH1! Thumbs Up


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## JohnMeyer (Dec 3, 2009)

I have the same truck as you have. If I were to buy a plow I would go with one of thew half ton pickup models. These trucks can handle the 500 lbs total weight on the front end. Just drive it easy.


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## Stik208 (Oct 19, 2004)

I have the HT, link to the review is in my signiture.


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## NYH1 (Jan 10, 2009)

I won't be doing anything thing until next year so I have a lot of time to figure out what I'm going to do. 

I really want to to keep the weight on the front end as light as possible. There's only a 73 lbs. difference between the HT (414 lbs.) and SD (487 lbs.) 7' 6" plows, not including the mount systems. However the HT plow requires 90 lbs. ballast and the SD requires 450 lbs. ballast. Why such a difference in ballast? 

What other upgrades should I do to the truck to put a plow on it? 

Thanks!


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## BAPTRUCKING (Dec 5, 2006)

I had a 2002 dodge ram 1500, the first year of that 07 type body style. I had a 7.6 meyer plow with a custom made classic mount. installed timbrens on front and goodyear mud 20 tires. Truck did pretty good for 2 or 3 years. you will have problems with over heating while traveling to and from with plow up in air because shovel is blocking air flow to radiator. you might have to rig up a tube or something to sit on shovel to catch air and direct it to the grill. It will look pretty stupid though. You get normal temp reading when plowing though. I recently traded that truck and removed the custom mount and its for sell FYI.


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## BAPTRUCKING (Dec 5, 2006)

FYI, traded because i also used it as a work truck hauling heavy loads and the 4.7 v8 was giving me about 10-12 mpg. ouch!


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## NYH1 (Jan 10, 2009)

BAPTRUCKING;1254594 said:


> I had a 2002 dodge ram 1500, the first year of that 07 type body style. I had a 7.6 meyer plow with a custom made classic mount. installed timbrens on front and goodyear mud 20 tires. Truck did pretty good for 2 or 3 years. you will have problems with over heating while traveling to and from with plow up in air because shovel is blocking air flow to radiator. you might have to rig up a tube or something to sit on shovel to catch air and direct it to the grill. It will look pretty stupid though. You get normal temp reading when plowing though. I recently traded that truck and removed the custom mount and its for sell FYI.


Even with the plow angled there isn't enough airflow to keep the truck at the correct operating temperature at driving speeds? Do the 2500 and 3500's have cooling problems to, they're the same body style? I've been thinking about installing a 14" or 16" (the biggest that'll fit) electric "pusher" fan in front of my external transmission cooler to keep my transmission fluid from getting to hot. Maybe installing two would be better. I'd hook it or them up to a temperature sensor of some sort to turn on and off as necessary. My truck has factory transmission and power steering coolers in front of the A/C condenser which are obviously all in front of the radiator. Pushing a little extra air though the system probably wouldn't hurt.


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## V_Scapes (Jan 1, 2011)

Yes the heavy duties can have the same over heating problem and yes it does help to angle the plow all the way to one side. ive heard of guys installing e fans on these trucks to help with cooling, i think it works pretty good but i also believe it kills your mpgs if your worried about it. if you put a plow on that truck be ready to replace the front end every couple of years.


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## My07Brute (Feb 9, 2011)

Realistically speaking you should be looking to get the lightest plow you can get to keep your front end alive *and if you plan on keeping it for a while).

Or save your $ and get a cab for the Big bear?


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## NBI Lawn (Oct 15, 2007)

I would go with a HTS style plow for sure. The Suburbanite is just to light duty of a plow in my opinion. Also, if you ever want or need to sell it an HTS will appeal to a larger group of people. I had a Western HTS this year...never ran it (bought to sell) but it looked like a great plow and well built. That one was off of an 08 Dodge too. Guy said the truck handled it great and only sold it to me because his truck was involved in an accident and he would not be plowing anymore.


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## NYH1 (Jan 10, 2009)

V_Scapes;1262593 said:


> Yes the heavy duties can have the same over heating problem and yes it does help to angle the plow all the way to one side. ive heard of guys installing e fans on these trucks to help with cooling, i think it works pretty good but i also believe it kills your mpgs if your worried about it. if you put a plow on that truck be ready to replace the front end every couple of years.


What kills your MPG's, angling the plow or installing electric fans? What type of front end parts will need to be replaced regularly?


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## NYH1 (Jan 10, 2009)

My07Brute;1263264 said:


> Realistically speaking you should be looking to get the lightest plow you can get to keep your front end alive *and if you plan on keeping it for a while).


Yeah, that's why I was considering a Homesteder or Suburbanite plow. They might be a little to light duty though. How does the Fisher 7' 6" SD Series compare to the Western 7' 6" HTS. Fisher shows it mounted on a Dakota.



My07Brute;1263264 said:


> Or save your $ and get a cab for the Big bear?


Getting or making a cab for the Big Bear would be easy. However, driving it on the road getting to and from will be a real serious issue!

Thanks guys! Thumbs Up


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## hillbillydeluxe (Mar 15, 2008)

please do not go with the homesteader... or the Surburbanite.......there like 11'' high..lol.... You'll NEED the hts or ht.....


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## Joneso8 (Feb 19, 2008)

Snoway makes a very nice and well built light duty plow for half ton trucks. Very light in weight too. I had one on a chevy 1500 and you could barely tell the plow was there. Buyers also makes a good half ton plow for cheap. Perfect for a starter plow or someone who is just doing driveways. I would recommend not driving around with the plow on at all times during the winter. That's what really kills the front end parts. Put it on when you need it and take it off when u don't. Timbrens are a must on 1500s.


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## DAFFMOBILEWASH (Dec 9, 2006)

A 26 series Snoway with a wd fan clutch. Please do a search on the clutch fan, this will fix the overheating issues with every Dodge truck for about 75 dollars. As for the SW it has down pressure too for backdragging, a definite plus for any plow. 

MPG's are killed due to the wind resistance and weight caused by the blade. Keep in mind you will be replacing some front end parts every year if you put a plow on the truck. It is just part of plowing snow. Replace every thing with moog or XRF and you will be very happy. 

I had a 26 series on the idential truck and plowed alot of snow with it. Just remember you don not want the wireless remote. Hated mine, always had a slight delay and ate batteries.


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## BlueWing (Mar 12, 2011)

I am putting a Western MidWeight Poly on my 1/2 ton Ram 2009, 4 door. I am not one that like too light of a plow. They will float more the lighter the plow. I have a MidWeight on a Chevy 1/2 ton 4 door with NO problems.


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## 07sltblack (Jul 31, 2011)

i know this is many months since uve posted this but i came across it doing some research and read into your post. since you said that it was first a lease and then a buy out i would ask if you bought it out with a warranty since you have such low miles. if you did by putting a plow on the 1500 you are voiding your whole warranty from chrysler..they do not endorse putting a plow on anything but their HD trucks. the 2500 and 3500. you know, i know, and im sure many others have told you that they are well within the capability of carrying a plow and can do the job. the problem being that over the last decade dodge has had a bad reputation for tranny problems in their trucks as well as outdated and weak suspension. now here we are in 2011 with both of these problems adressed and changed much for the better(the 09-11 even have a coil rear end now)..whether you agree this is good or not. yet unfortunately they dont want to go back to the bad reputation so there not guna step out and endorse plow packages for the 1500 series. now you stated that you are worried about the effects. when plowing you have to keep in mind your front end and your tranny, more than you do your engine..the reason i say is i saw something about high temps and that is really not because of a lack of air flow from blade. it is because the tranny is hot which inturn will actually raise your engine temp making you think your runnin the engine hot. now counter weighting doesnt hurt as i saw your comment about ballast but unless your putting an enormous strain on the front end(which you shouldnt with this truck)..i.e pushing huge piles and drifts back then your not going to dip the front end enuf to where you need that counter. but what you should do is this...you can get a kit to run cooler lines to your tranny from your existing engine cooling system(inexpensive)...as well you should upgrade the coils in the front to handle a higher load(stiffer coils)..not going to ride as fun when your coils are stiff and you have 400 lbs hangin off the front of ur truck bouncing you up and down but the key is to think about what its like to have a 400 elephant on ur back while u bend at the knees(ur coils)..and try to push a lawnmower(example for ur plow lol)..what ur pushing may not be heavy but the down pressure will be the more snow you try to push forward...the truck is going to nose down...this is why i think ur idea of ballast came up


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## 1 bad bolt (Aug 10, 2008)

i have a 08 quad cab 1500 and use a boss standard duty 7'5 blade and have no issues with it


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