# Plow weight on a half ton



## cliobis

Hi guys, 

What would the maximum weight of a plow be for a Ram 1500?


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## Stik208

Any of the above manufacturers have a matching system, put the info in and it tells you the answer.


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## Triton2286

Stik208;1712349 said:


> Any of the above manufacturers have a matching system, put the info in and it tells you the answer.


Can we please just let this be the only answer? Just once? lol


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## Stars & Stripes Landsca

Triton2286;1712421 said:


> Can we please just let this be the only answer? Just once? lol


If only that was the simple answer...

I go onto the Boss site for instance... click their plow selector and go through the required boxes...until I get to "Bed Length" then all it gives me is an asterisk... I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 Regular Cab 4.8 V8 w/ a short bed... apparently that's no good for a Boss Standard Duty plow?


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## Triton2286

Boss won't let me put a plow on the truck in my sig either.

But the guy probably hasn't searched at all himself, nor do we have enough info on his truck. Why should we always do the work for people?


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## 2006Sierra1500

Stars & Stripes Landscaping;1712433 said:


> If only that was the simple answer...
> 
> I go onto the Boss site for instance... click their plow selector and go through the required boxes...until I get to "Bed Length" then all it gives me is an asterisk... I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 Regular Cab 4.8 V8 w/ a short bed... apparently that's no good for a Boss Standard Duty plow?


Your truck can hold a 650 lb plow no problem. Maintenance will be more than an HD but I would not hesitate to throw a 7'6'' HD on there.


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## JustJeff

Stars & Stripes Landscaping;1712433 said:


> If only that was the simple answer...
> 
> I go onto the Boss site for instance... click their plow selector and go through the required boxes...until I get to "Bed Length" then all it gives me is an asterisk... I have a 2006 Chevy Silverado 1500 Regular Cab 4.8 V8 w/ a short bed... apparently that's no good for a Boss Standard Duty plow?


When you see those asterisks click on them, then you can move on to the next field. The asterisks mean that there is only one option. I ran your's through the plow selector for Boss and it says that you can put on a 7'-6 " V blade, and several others (including the Standard Duty that you mentioned). I'd personally go with the most plow you can put on your truck, and out of the ones that Boss suggests for your truck it would be the seven and a half foot V blade.


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## cliobis

How is it doing work for other people? And what would make you think that i havent searched myself? I have found multiple different answers in a wide range of numbers. So i figured I would ask here thinking that maybe other people would comment on the weight of what they have on theirs. There really is no need to be a dick about it


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## cliobis

2006Sierra1500;1712449 said:


> Your truck can hold a 650 lb plow no problem. Maintenance will be more than an HD but I would not hesitate to throw a 7'6'' HD on there.


Would it be a big mistake to put a 850 lb plow on it?


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## Triton2286

Well if you have done your research then you would know that telling us that you have a Ram 1500 is the same thing as saying that you have a truck and you want to put a plow on it.

We don't know what year, cab size, bed size, engine, or FGAWR.

So yea, us having to ask you these questions is us having to do the work.


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## cliobis

ok.. i was just looking for a general answer. but truck is a 2010 quad cab 6'4 bed. 5.7 hemi 4x4. has 2.5 inch level kit.


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## Triton2286

There is no general answer though. Some guys will just throw out a plow for you but if you plug all your information into the manufacturers websites they will tell you the largest plow you can put on it.

Then once you have that most guys here will tell you to go a size or two bigger since the plow manufacturers take into account the possibility of you having a fully loaded down truck.


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## cliobis

Alright thanks man. That is what I was looking for. Just because the manufacturer says one thing doesnt mean that is what the real answer is. I was looking at a bigger plow. around 850 lbs. but just dont want to make a mistake putting it on there


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## JustJeff

You could put an eight foot MD plow on there from Snowdogg, or a Snoway 26" and be within manufacturer's specs. You could also go a little heavier if you want, but 850 pounds is a whole lot of weight on a half-ton truck. I just got rid of an '07 Ram half-ton with a hemi on it for that very reason. Now I've got a three quarter ton Ram and I have it overloaded as well. I put a thousand pound plow on it and shouldn't have done it according to the manufacturer. But I feel a lot more confident doing this with a three quarter ton truck vs. a half-ton.


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## FisherVMan

*Well if you listen to the dealer maybe a cardboard plow?*

Don't want to lock horns on here with anyone that is too dealer oriented and really don't want to argue about it at all, but there is an awful lot of dribble nowadays, on the internet, about half ton trucks and how little they will carry, and that you may not even be able to plow 2" of fluffy snow with them anymore? And it has even gotten to the point, that if they keep on ,the plows would have to be either made of plastic or tinfoil, or it will collapse the whole front end in less than 50 miles , and voiding of warrantees etc, [sounding a lot like Obamacare] "do as I say"or you will pay the price !!!

Here is a picture of a half ton pickup with an 830 lb plow on it that has plowed continuesly,and commercially for four years , does it look like its sagging???
The truck has been plowing as one account; a camp road that is ONE and a HALF MILES ,of woods road ,in Northern Maine where[150"] a year of snow is common and 200" possible [2009] on DIRT roads, and 1-2ft of snow per storm not uncommon to have to plow , this is not a Walmart parking lot sorta plowing , and it works perfectly on the truck???? How could that be possible??? As the chart doesn't mention it ??and the dealer will void your warrantee?? and Obama will fine you, and back in England they would even tell you what church you had to go to 
OK.............................. well maybe but I don't think so....................
Here is a video of plowing with a little half ton ............ see what you think of this much snow infront of your truck, its pushing it and winging back the 4ft banks with the wing extension, at the same time ??


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## Hotfeet

Has anyone here ever used the extra support from something like Timbren Suspension add on. What about adding these to help the above mentioned half ton concerns. I have looked at them for years and now have added a half ton and I am really thinking about trying a set. Any experience would be helpful. Thanks


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## FisherVMan

*Here is a hint hotfeet,*

Timbrens are very common on plow trucks [3/4 tons included] and of course the first common course of action , as soon as one finds out his truck has almost "car" springs under it , is to just put the proper HD springs under it,[they are actually not that expensive] The airbags and timbrens are fine, but don't really replace being sprung correctly to begin with , In Canada the half tons were still offered with an HD package, same as they used to be here in the US , it was called a "snowplow pckg" and used to have the 7700 GVW springs [LT 3/4 ton] and had 7 lugs wheels , bigger rear ends, HD shocks , bigger axles, HD transmission , and a lot of other stuff , but the public was much more interested in power windows and cruise control so that's just what the manufactures gave them, most of this stuff is included in a Silverado or XLT sorta package, but you get the whimpy transmission and axles and everything else that goes with a standard half ton trucks, it is far from ready to plow with,

Timbrens are fine and if your just plowing your driveway they are a good compromise but certainly wont turn a half ton into a HD 3/4 ton, and for what ever its worth , we have run them for years on different trucks and I suspect that with the spring overloaded and being whacked down and bottoming out the timbren being in there seams to increase the chance of breaking a spring and I am only guessing its because the spring doesn't rebound the same as it would it the timbren wasn't there????? But not sure on that just know I have broken some springs using them and have other friends that noticed it as well , they are a good rig but remember if the whole weight of the truck is now riding on a TIMBREN that IS NOT much of a suspension anymore is it?????? Good Luck


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## SnowGuy73

cliobis;1712462 said:


> Would it be a big mistake to put a 850 lb plow on it?


Check the door label.


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## 32vld

FisherVMan;1712558 said:


> Don't want to lock horns on here with anyone that is too dealer oriented and really don't want to argue about it at all, but there is an awful lot of dribble nowadays, on the internet, about half ton trucks and how little they will carry, and that you may not even be able to plow 2" of fluffy snow with them anymore? And it has even gotten to the point, that if they keep on ,the plows would have to be either made of plastic or tinfoil, or it will collapse the whole front end in less than 50 miles , and voiding of warrantees etc, [sounding a lot like Obamacare] "do as I say"or you will pay the price !!!
> 
> Here is a picture of a half ton pickup with an 830 lb plow on it that has plowed continuesly,and commercially for four years , does it look like its sagging???
> The truck has been plowing as one account; a camp road that is ONE and a HALF MILES ,of woods road ,in Northern Maine where[150"] a year of snow is common and 200" possible [2009] on DIRT roads, and 1-2ft of snow per storm not uncommon to have to plow , this is not a Walmart parking lot sorta plowing , and it works perfectly on the truck???? How could that be possible??? As the chart doesn't mention it ??and the dealer will void your warrantee?? and Obama will fine you, and back in England they would even tell you what church you had to go to
> OK.............................. well maybe but I don't think so....................
> Here is a video of plowing with a little half ton ............ see what you think of this much snow infront of your truck, its pushing it and winging back the 4ft banks with the wing extension, at the same time ??


People forget that back in the day most pickups plowing were 1/2 tons. They never had DRW pickups. 3/4's were not as common, and you did not see 1 ton's all that often. Then add that all pickups including 1/2 tons all have had their load and towing ratings greatly increased. They were rarely 4wd and most had 6 cylinders.


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## FisherVMan

*Half ton that made it 31 years!*

There was an old Dodge half ton here in town that a fella bought new in 1977 , he plowed a dozen driveways here and all of them were just dirt ones, he used it until 1987 when he passed away , and his son in law inherited it and used it constantly to plow commercially for the next twenty years! I was looking the plow over a few years back and it was a standard 7 1/2ft Fisher and I was amazed how it had taken the test of time, the frame finally got so bad on the orginal truck that they had bought another Dodge 1990 model and wore it out and it rusted out with the same plow on it and in 2011 he bought a 2002 Dodge 3/4 ton with a Fisher 8' plow on it , but that old Fisher had gone thru TWO trucks and would have had unknown thousands of hours plowing on it. I don't know how you could ever expect anything more from an outfit than 33 years of service???? It will be interesting to see how many of the new "wonder" plows are still around in 33 years wont it???


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## MattR

32vld;1712929 said:


> People forget that back in the day most pickups plowing were 1/2 tons. They never had DRW pickups. 3/4's were not as common, and you did not see 1 ton's all that often. Then add that all pickups including 1/2 tons all have had their load and towing ratings greatly increased. They were rarely 4wd and most had 6 cylinders.


I agree with you, yet things were made to last back then too. Today they only seem to care about fuel economy and try to lighten everything up, including the frame.


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## SnoFarmer

You can't compare a new 1/2 ton to the trucks of the 70's or earlier as they lacked crumple zones and the suspension parts were beefier too.

Can you plow with a 1/2 ton, sure, will it last like a 3/4 tone no.
Will to do the same work as a 3/4 ton. no


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## m00nraker

MD75 - right about 400 or so pounds. Handles it fine with about 500lbs of ballast out back, no timbrens .. sorry no pics of the blade in the air.


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## FisherVMan

*M00nraker thats look good!*

Hey moonraker that truck looks great with that snodogg on it!!! Bet it works just fine, I get a kick outta all the stuff about how a half ton is no good and a 3/4 ton is the only thing you could possible plow anything with.
The local plow guy around here has a Dodge 3/4 1998 with an 8ft plow on it and he runs bald tires and no ballast in the rear, the truck has a big heavy engine and the truck was not an HD to begin with and the front end is sagging like a wet noodle , he has no timbrens and thinks it is the greatest truck that ever plowed snow, of course he also knows nothing about locking rear ends so really if he was going to write a book on plowing the book about what he DOESNT know would be a lot thicker than the book about what he DOES know [very thin book]
Well the other day an outterstater that owns a big fancy cabin here on a lake, called him up and asked him to plow his road open ,so a fella could get in there with a crew and shovel the camp roof off, so they went out with the BIG 3/4 ton and began to whale away at that road with about 40" of snow in it that had never been plowed all winter............. well he kept at it until the tranny began to puke out red fluid??? [He is the classic "I plow in High Range" sorta guy]And limped it home; and called the outtastater,and told em he would need to get in a front end loader.....................
So they called me and asked if I could go down with my John Deere tractor and just bucket it out? So I said well let me go take a look at it with my V plow, and we will get it for ya one way or the other. So I went down with a _LITTLE BABY HALF TON_; after the* big bad 3/4* had paunched itself down there with its "one wheel peel" and "bald tires" and "no ballast" ,until he had COOKED his transmission [he has no temp gauge and wouldn't have a clue what temp it should be anyway] 
So I threw on a little extra sand so probably had around 800lbs right out at the tailgate as I have overloads on the rear springs, and proper SNOW TIRES with a big lug tread and they are all STUDED!!!, I run a LOCKING REAR axle.[Thicker book] So I went to his big bank he left ,and Ved back ,and eased into it a few strokes in low range, to break thru the mess he left, and guess what ???About 45 mins later I was down there about 300 yds; in his camp yard!!! [He had pounded on it about an hour and made it around 60-70 yards before his meltdown] Imagine that???? A _little tenny half ton _had easily plowed what that BIG 3/4 ton billy bad a*s truck; had pushed his guts out on, and melted his transmission, [oh yea now were are makin money] and yet we never broke a sweat , never stained the truck in ANY way and my tranny was running 180-190 at its peak temp, and that Fisher V ,parted that snow about the same as the *MOSES *did the Red Sea :yow!: So I am guessing that there could be more to all this than just the three quarter part of it ?????? What do you think????


how is this for clearance ????? Those springs look they they hold things up ok???


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## yardguy28

I don't know the exact weight numbers but I'm running an 07 dodge ram 1500 quad cab 6.4 bed 5.7 liter hemi and I had an 8' boss super duty straight blade and now I have a standard duty 7'6" v blade. 

last time I ran the specs both those blades were 250 lbs heavier than what they recommend. 

I've done both commercial lots and resi driveways for 3 years now and the truck is going strong.


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## FisherVMan

*Sounds like it works just fine as well,*

I got a friend that owns the local hardware store , he bought a one ton GMC with two wheel drive to plow his big yard out it came with a Fisher Xtreame V Stainless Plow that is 8.5 ft , he drives a Chevy Silverado half ton work truck with the Eaton locker in the rear , so last year he gets the local mechanic to get in a set of push plates and a set of controls from Fisher and put them on the little half ton so if his one ton so off the air for what ever reason he would have a backup, so he gets it all riged up and his half ton is a 4x4 and everyone says "Oh my gosh you are not going to put that big huge heavy plow onto that little half ton are you" ..................... well he did and he actually TOLD the dealer as his truck is still under warrantee and they told him don't come in here with the PLOW on the TRUCK and we couldn't careless......................... so he has now been plowing with it for two years and I noticed the old one ton spends most of its life nowadays down in the back lot in the snowbank............................ imagine that an 8.5 V on a little half ton chevy.....................say it aint true,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,:yow!:


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## CAT 245ME

FisherVMan;1716486 said:


> well he did and he actually TOLD the dealer as his truck is still under warrantee and they told him don't come in here with the PLOW on the TRUCK and we couldn't careless


Why doesn't the dealer want him to come in WITH the plow on the truck?


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## NBI Lawn

cliobis;1712299 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> What would the maximum weight of a plow be for a Ram 1500?


What year?


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## Triton2286

NBI Lawn;1716563 said:


> What year?






cliobis;1712468 said:


> ok.. i was just looking for a general answer. but truck is a 2010 quad cab 6'4 bed. 5.7 hemi 4x4. has 2.5 inch level kit.


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## MajorDave

cliobis;1712299 said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> What would the maximum weight of a plow be for a Ram 1500?


I have exactly the same and have listened to this for a while - I have a BOSS Standard Duty and it will plow the hell outta stuff. it is a 1996 and is built like a tank, but that is just my 2 cents...


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## FisherVMan

*Cat/Me*

They don't want to see it with that big Fisher plow on it incase there is tranny problems, they would have to void the warrantee,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, as long as all they see is push plates , they said no problem , that's in Bangor where he bought it. 
I didn't give a sh*t as mine was outta warrantee anyway when I put the V on it, and its been four years now and have never had ANY problems with the truck or the plow, works just fine and have plowed a mountain of snow with it, pushes anything you put in front of it. My next door neighbor has a F250 HD with a 9.5 Fisher V on it and that is a sweet truck he has the advantage that when pushing back he is still way wider than I am even with my wing extersions! The 7.5 is slightly wider than a standard 8.5 with both extensions on but he is a foot wider yet, and that is nice on a dirt road where you can only put your tire over sooooooooooo far!


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## d_charters

*2000 f-150*

This is 2000 f-150 with 8 ft. hiniker about 750lbs. the big plow is hard on it. Cant turn the wheel on dry pavement if the trucks not moving. and you will go through front end parts. Just don't forget ballast.


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## FisherVMan

*Cant turn the wheel on payment?*

Well I am going to make a wild assumption here and guess that ANY plow on ANY truck is going to be hard on it..................... my friend had replaced almost everything on his old 2002 F 250 in the front end ;to include the ball joints the tie rod ends ,and the wheel bearings , his plow was a Fisher 8' that probably weighes similar to your Hiniker??? He plows all the time about 20 miles an hour in high range, and is tooo lasy to take the plow off the truck most of the winter , so it sees quite a few miles with the plow up in the air, by comparison I take mine off if I am going more than a few miles anytime I drive it, I plow at one third of the speed he does and am as careful as I can possibly be, so he has certainly had ALOT more problems than we have , but of course a lot of that is tied to the way he operates.
As far as not being able to turn the wheel if your not moving on pavement?? That is a new one, power steering belt slipping, weak pump , something doesn't sound right there...... I have another friend with a 8' Fisher HD on a half ton Dodge only a few miles away that had a 7.5 Fisher on it for years so I will ask him if he noticed that his "steering" seamed to increase when he put on the heavyer plow??? I am sure someone will chime in here and add to all this , but it is funny how for the first thirty years everyone I knew got around just fine with half tons and 7-8' plows and now they think about 3-400 lb ones.....................


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## yardguy28

yeah I don't think not turning the wheel on pavement is due to it being a half ton with a plow on it. my truck turns just fine moving or not with or without a plow on it. and as I said my plow is 250 lbs heavier than what they recommend.


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## FisherVMan

*Not sure either?*

Especially if he has a bunch of ballast in that sander to reload the rear springs there really shouldn't be a lot going on with the front end to make it hard to steer ???? That's an interesting question . I am not sure how diferent his trucks front end then mine but I know it is as I think those older Fords had torsion bars more like a Dodge system from memory???? And have no idea whats up with the power steering pump on them?? Low fluid from a leak, bad belt , improper tension, worn to deep into the pulley? Leaking seals in the pump so not getting correct preasures................... can that be tied directly to the plow on the truck???? Lots of possibilitys on this one .


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## d_charters

FisherVMan;1722472 said:


> Especially if he has a bunch of ballast in that sander to reload the rear springs there really shouldn't be a lot going on with the front end to make it hard to steer ???? That's an interesting question . I am not sure how diferent his trucks front end then mine but I know it is as I think those older Fords had torsion bars more like a Dodge system from memory???? And have no idea whats up with the power steering pump on them?? Low fluid from a leak, bad belt , improper tension, worn to deep into the pulley? Leaking seals in the pump so not getting correct preasures................... can that be tied directly to the plow on the truck???? Lots of possibilitys on this one .


Should have worded that much better! I can tell it is tougher to turn with the blade on and choose not to as it (in my opinion!) is easier on it!


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## yardguy28

still your saying it's tougher.

whether its tougher or impossible, it shouldn't be.

my 07 dodge ram 1500 turns the same moving or not moving with or without my v blade that is 250 lbs heavier than what is recommending.

so what i'm saying is, you shouldn't notice a difference with or without the blade.


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## Bigcat99

yardguy28;1723503 said:


> still your saying it's tougher.
> 
> whether its tougher or impossible, it shouldn't be.
> 
> my 07 dodge ram 1500 turns the same moving or not moving with or without my v blade that is 250 lbs heavier than what is recommending.
> 
> so what i'm saying is, you shouldn't notice a difference with or without the blade.


Im baffled as to how anyone would think that it wouldn't make a difference to try turning your front wheels while the truck is stationary - especially with a medium or heavier weight plow??? Even with proper ballast, putting plow weight on your front end strains everything on your front end, and it's something I am well aware of whenever my that plow is hanging off my front end. Personally, I would like to keep my original power steering pump as long as possible and steering is done with the truck in motion whenever I can.


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## yardguy28

I'm just speaking from my experience with my truck with my plow on it. if I sit in my driveway with the plow on and not in motion and try to turn it he wheel left or right if turns with the same ease as with the plow off. same as when in motion as well. 

it doesn't matter what I think about the matter, it's what I've experienced. sure it makes sense it would be harder to turn but that's not what I've experienced.


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## BOSS LAWN

cliobis;1712462 said:


> Would it be a big mistake to put a 850 lb plow on it?


Not if you like doing maintenance, putting a bigger blade on it will double if not triple it.


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## mercer_me

I'm looking into buying a 2014 Toyota Tundra and putting an 8' Fisher HD on it. I think with a set of Bilstein coil overs I'll be all set. I have been seeing a 2014 Tundra with a 7.5' Boss V plow and it appears to be stock and it handles the plow just fine. What have you done to your front suspension Fisher V Man?


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