# Western Plow F-350



## Tom Smith (Nov 8, 2003)

Question.... Would it be difficult to install a 8.5 Western MVP plow on a 2004 F-350 ? Dealer charges $400 ..... IF i do it myself would i have to drill any holes in the frame or are they allready there ? Has anyone installed a western on a new ford model ? Thanks


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## QMVA (Oct 9, 2003)

Now I don't know about installing the plow but 400 seems like a good deal to me. Our plow cost 700 to be installed and thats with a Hiniker straight.


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## Plow Meister (Oct 16, 2001)

Give the dealer the $400.00. A "typical" install on a Western is about 8 hours. I bang 'em out in about 6 hours. If you have never done one before it would probably take you the better part of 12 to 16 hours. What is that 12 to 16 hours worth to you?

As far as holes go... There will be a couple that will have to be drilled in the firewall to fish all the wires through. There is a lot of electrical stuff that has to be done. The biggest pain in the ass is the relay system for the headlights. There shouldn't be any holes to drill in the frame but I'm not sure on the 04's. $400.00 is cheap. I charge $550.00 to $700.00 depending on the install.


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## Crash935 (Sep 3, 2003)

You have to pick it up a notch there Meister, western give 6.5 hours for a install and im down to 4.5 hours on a V.

There are 8 holes ( 1/2") that will need to be drilled on the frame for the mount. And you have to pull the bumper and blocker beam off before you can do any part of the mount install.

Since its an 04 your wiring should be an isolation module type harness, dont let them throw a relay type harness on your truck. There is already a hole in the firewall just behind the brake booster that is usually covered by a plastic cover. Just have to pop the cover off, drill a hole in it, run the wire through it and put the cover back in place.

The worst part of the whole install when its a V plow is assembling the blade, you have to do everything in the right order or your taking half of it apart to put in one bolt that you dindt see on the instructions because the wife was talking to you. 

Unless you and a buddy what to be entertained for a day, drop it off in the morning and pay for it at the end of the day when you pick your truck back up.


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## Plow Meister (Oct 16, 2001)

Yea. It has been almost a year since I installed a plow on a Ford. I haven't seen the 04's yet. I guess I do need to step it up a bit.

Crash, I didn't know there was an isolation module harness available. I am just used to the unimount installs and Chevy's.

One more thing, Crash couldn't have said it better.."Unless you and a buddy what to be entertained for a day, drop it off in the morning and pay for it at the end of the day when you pick your truck back up." Well put.


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## Tom Smith (Nov 8, 2003)

yea i guess you guys are probally right.. just have them install it... I just hate letting other people work on my equipment.... u never know who is doing the work. You think this is a decent price ($3850 Plow + $400 Labor + Tax) for a Western MVP 8.5


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## Boast Enterpris (Oct 26, 2003)

Tom, 
Can you really buy an 8.5' Western V installed for $4250.00? How close are you to St. Louis? I think that is a good deal! I have a 2004 F250 that needs a plow and that sounds like the best price I have heard of all fall. Tom I would give them the $400.00 to do the install. I have watched my local dealer do it and it seems to be a pain in the *** plus they have a box to check all the wiring before you plug the truck to the plow. I have taken the bracket & wiring harness off before but never installed them. Good Luck & hit me with that distance from St. Louis.  
BOAST


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## Crash935 (Sep 3, 2003)

Meister, You have to try an ultra mount with the isolation module install, a heck of alot less parts in some mounts and the harness is almost a plug in system. Did 2 new dodges today and did the first one (mount and harness) in 2 hrs and did the 2nd in 2.5 (yeah, i was slacking, tried to drag it out until the end of the day). On a gm 2500HD you can slap the mount on in 20 minutes and all you have to do is remove the tow hooks.


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## 54powerwagon (Oct 16, 2004)

04 f350 6.0 took almost 6 hours have them do it for 400


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## bottlefed89 (Apr 22, 2004)

I agree, it's easier to have some one else do the work, but like others, I like to know every aspect of my vehicles. Installing the plow would make me a little more comfortable in that I would know more about it.
That said, I've never installed my own, just see both sides of the equation.


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## qualitylawncare (Jan 16, 2004)

Crash935 said:


> You have to pick it up a notch there Meister, western give 6.5 hours for a install and im down to 4.5 hours on a V.
> 
> There are 8 holes ( 1/2") that will need to be drilled on the frame for the mount. And you have to pull the bumper and blocker beam off before you can do any part of the mount install.
> 
> ...


Exactly what was done during my installation. Your pretty good to know that off the top of your head Crash!

$4,250.00 is a GREAT price! Mine was almost $4,900.00 after taxes.

If you want to see any pictures of how the mounts/electrical look; let me know and I'll get them for you. I have an 04' F-350 w/ 8.6' MVP just installed last week.


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## Crash935 (Sep 3, 2003)

Steve, are you sure you want to know what was done to your truck? 

Basically, your bumper gets pulled off along with the blocker beam (this is behind the plastic air dam below the bumper), marker/turn signal assy gets pulled out (all the wires are plug in except for the park and turn wires, which are spliced and heat shrinked), a couple of 1/2 inch holes are drilled in the blocker beam mount (which is just behind the bumper and below the frame), 2 holes in the frame above the axle after the mount is put into place. tighten everything up, pull the air dam off the bottom of the bumper and throw the bumper back on. As for the wiring, just plug it in and tie it up tight.


Oh yeah, its always nice to have a customers truck to run and get lunch with. Just kidding!!!


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## Tom Smith (Nov 8, 2003)

*install pics*

hey steve (qualitylawncare)

If u get a chance i woundn't mind seeing pics of your installation.... Then i will be able to have an idea what the job entails. Thanks Much, Tom [email protected]

My 8.5 Mvp would cost:

$3,850 Plow
$ 350 Install
$ 250 Taxes
_____________
$4,450 Grand Total

* I might install it myself... it is nice to know how its wired when u need to fix it fast .. then u have an idea what it might be


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## snowbiter (Feb 10, 2004)

Tom, 
When I had my pro plus put on last year it was the first 04 superduty my dealer installed.They seemed to have more trouble with it than the other new trucks they were doing--(chevy, dodge). They said they were going to start charging more for fords because they felt like they lost money on my installation which was around 300 bucks. The thing I remember them having the most problems with were the holes in the frame. They had to get a different set of bits because they couldn't drill throught it and they seemed to think the 04 frame was made of harder steel than the 03's---not sure if thats the case but thats what they thought. 
Goodluck!


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## sbrennan007 (Jul 27, 2003)

I did my last one (Dodge) and am planning on doing my new one ('05 Ford F250). The only pain the rear part was drilling through the frame, but that really wasn't that bad either.

Wiring is pretty much all plug and go as mentioned above.


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