My BiL has a 1990 Chevy 1-Ton (3500), RWD dually. He wants to put a snow plow on it for a 500-foot gravel driveway. I'm doing a little research for him -- when I go to several plow sites and fill in the rig info, they have nothing that'll work.
Are plow undercarriages super specialized for each truck model, in which case he'll need to track down a used one?
Also, assuming he can get the undercarriage sorted without too much trouble, Home Depot sells plows for a lot less than, say, Meyer, Boss, Fisher, et al. My assumption is, you get what you pay for, but maybe for noncommercial use, the cheap stuff is fine?
My buddy bought $1500 rusty 4x4 K5 Blazers and believed Fisher was the best. He then beat the crap out of them and he felt the short wheel base was best. He had a '73 K20 Chevrolet and didn't like the length for plowing.
I guess a single driveway only dually will work? Probably gotta make your own frame?
I'd look for one of those rusty old Jeeps instead.
I've had the same plow since 1999 and it's been on 6-8 different vehicles. Way back, we needed a plow to do the lot at our business that I had been previously doing with an ATV. At the time I had a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee which was unibody and there were no plow assemblies available. After a bunch of searching, I found a company called SnowSport and they offered a plow for my truck. It uses a front hitch receiver not a traditional frame mount. I ordered one and it came via UPS in 4 boxes. My co-workers all laughed when they saw it and nicknamed it the "Barbie plow". After assembling and installing it on the Jeep, I went out to try it. It worked OK for what it was and after getting used to just how it does function, I've been plowing with it for 25+ years. In fact it's sitting outside the garage as I'm typing this just waiting for a snowstorm.
I've had numerous friends see mine and purchase the same thing. There are normally a few listed on FBM over the winter and all that you would need to do is purchase a front receiver.
Here’s a link to the plow manufacturers site.
https://youtu.be/tlcKBVL6MFE?si=Bm8_k1NST8HwaeNF
Front receiver hitch. It says that it fits a 1990 3500 2wd.
I'm going to guess the easiest solution will be to find a rusted out plow truck thats the same generation as yours so you can move all the plow hardware to your truck.
My 1987 and 1990 K2500s had a fisher plow with a belt driver hydraulic pump, so there was additional engine hardware required to mount the v belt for the pump.
Meyers and western used electric pumps, so some wiring is required to install, but lower risk of missing brackets and hardware
The push frame for the two trucks was different since it bolted to the frame of the truck.
You could use a SnowSport on the back of the truck if it already has a hitch. If you are only going to use it a few times a year, that might be an easy option.
https://youtu.be/pz-a_TAu2tE?si=CJ01q4A6OlLnOyqJ
I think the issue is the fact that his truck is a RWD. On the gm products the frames are significantly different between 2wd and 4wd.
I agree the best/better solutions is to find a clapped out plow truck and start plowing.
or
trade someone for a 4wd truck and build your own plow truck.
I live in Colorado, if there's enough snow that needs to be plowed you probably need the 4wd to push it even with chains.
Final thought, with enough weight and chains you can probably make the 2wd dually work, but it doesn't solve the plow fitment issue.
In reply to mechanicalmeanderings :
I completely missed the RWD when reading the original post
mechanicalmeanderings said:
On the gm products the frames are significantly different between 2wd and 4wd.
Today I learned that the frames were different between 2wd and 4wd on GM's! My experience in that arena is limited, but I know my specific Ford (06 F-550) has very little difference between 2 and 4wd (4 and 6wd?) other than front axle and transfer case. Everything else is practically identical.
This isn't really an answer to your question but a diversion- looking at the Home Depot site just now they have plows for like $3k and up. If I were you just doing a single driveway on occasion I'd grab a clapped out plow truck for less than the cost of a new plow. Or that hitch mount is a good suggestion.
Keep in mind that there are a few options, too. Like do you want to get out and adjust the blade yourself, or hydraulic down
Attractive alternative is plowing with an ATV. Then you end up with a new toy for the rest of the year, too.
New Hampshire'ite here, and I've plowed with ATV's, a clapped out dodge W250 with a 9' hydraulic Meyer, and ultimately now my '19 Titan with an 8.5' Front receiver-mounted fischer electric homesteader.
- 500' is a long driveway for an ATV in a state that sees regular snow, IMHO. Once or twice a year to move 3-4", sure! But you'll be miserable plowing that multiple times a season, especially with bigger storms. And you'll freeze your butt off.
- Lots of commercial guys out this way use 2wd dually plow configs (F450/3500hd) for parking lots and flat driveways, and get away with it just fine. If the truck doesn't see public roads, just chain up the tires and send it. Or run studded snows if it does go down the road. Regardless-Keep a quality extraction kit under the seat though (Straps, snatch blocks and a heavy duty comealong).
- I definitely recommend installing a front hitch receiver and a receiver mount plow. IMHO for non-commercial residential plowing, it's the best of both worlds- less expensive, less hassle, and leaves a good finished product. It's been a game changer, because the plow goes on and off in <5 minutes, and I have a perfectly normal functioning truck when I remove it, instead of awkward and low-hanging push plates that can affect ground clearance. I'm positive you can find a front hitch mount for that truck, and if not, you could send the truck to a camper dealership and they'll install one for you either way.
I have a Fisher "minute mount" large plow with an engine-driven hydraulics system like No Time that I still use on my 2000 Chevy K2500 6.5L. There's a reason they've pretty much all switched to having the hydraulics driven by a motor mounted to the plow :) It's a bit of PITA to get hooked up and running each season and parts are hard to find.
I had to spend a decent chunk of time engineering a hydraulic pump mount and getting lines made & ran, and I'm still not happy with the brackets I made to hold the hydraulic hook ups under the bumper, but they've been good enough for the better part of a decade for the one time a year that I connect and disconnect them, so it's probably not getting better :) Running the actual cables into the cabin was a bit of a PITA as well, and the control knob mount is a definite knee-killer because I didn't have the cable length to mount it somewhere better.
Either way, I'd avoid a fully mechanical system on a big truck. Actually, I'd probably avoid a fully mechanical system.
Edit: While I was typing, GolfDuke said it all better...
Where is he/how much snow are we talking? Here in Northern, MD we really don't get much snow - typically a few small snows per year. I started plowing with an old Dodge M880 with a commercial grade plow setup. It worked well, but did have limitations in terms of tight spaces. It was also challenging to not tear up gravel driveways. About 20 years ago I purchased an old Ford 8N tractor and have been using it ever since. It doesn't move as much snow as easily as the Dodge did, but it's much easier in tight spaces, and much easier to keep gravel intact. With some shopping, he could probably get into a more modern tractor (4wd, power steering) for similar money to a plow setup. That might be a versatile addition to his yard arsenal.
I don't have any pics of the 8N in the snow handy, but here it is after fixing my neighbor's gravel driveway post storm this past summer.
I had the M880 parked in the woods to make space in the driveway and a storm came through and dropped a small tree on it. It broke the windshield and dented the roof a little. At that point, I sold it to a friend of a friend to plow his driveway. Last I heard, it was still serving that purpose. Sadly, the only pic I have of that old Dodge is a pic with the tree on top.
lotusseven7 (Forum Supporter) said:
I've had numerous friends see mine and purchase the same thing. There are normally a few listed on FBM over the winter and all that you would need to do is purchase a front receiver.
The guy who bought my old Jeep XJ (I had installed a front hitch) found a SnowSport plow on Marketplace for a couple hundred $$ five or six years ago. He's happy with it for driveway work. I saw him go by with it while I was out plowing last night so it's still working for him.
I think a 4x4 Kei truck like a Subaru Sambar with a SnowSport plow is going to be my replacement when the 2000 chevy finally dies an unrepairable death. My driveway is about 330' long, and the 8' long bed extended cab + plow is a bit of a monstrosity to plow with... But it was the right price when I needed it!
They work very well. Just took this pic. I added a $79 HF winch to mine just last year to raise and lower it. If someone buys a SnowSport, there are quite a few hacks out on the interwebs to improve them. I have a 500' driveway plus a big parking area in front of the garage and a decent size lot down at my shop that I use this on.
If it's 2wd, I'm not sure you'll find a frame carrier for a plow. There would be really no demand for it. Plowing with 2wd isn't plowing, it's spinning wheels. You're already light in the tail, you have extra rubber which keeps you floating on top of the snow, and you're adding 700 lbs to the front bumper and dragging it on the ground.
Also, be aware that every spring you'll have to rake 70% of your driveway out of the yard.
Not being a debbie downer, just counterpoint to think about.
