What trucks are you plowing with?

[Quality SR]

I need some ideas. I am looking to buy a new truck. Either a 2007 F250 PSD or a GMC 2500HD. I know some of you guys have many trucks, and have had many different trucks. I am looking for the best on you have (had) with the truck itself and the service. and why Thanks

[Rocket]

What are we plowing? What do we have now? What can we afford? Where are we? What plow are we getting? Which dealers are close to us and which provide good service? In short, what if any limits are there?

[Quality SR]

What are we plowing? What do we have now? What can we afford? Where are we? What plow are we getting? Which dealers are close to us and which provide good service? In short, what if any limits are there?


I Plowing snow commercial, ????, I know that these trucks are in the $50,000 area (diesel, loaded) so i guess around $50,000, NY, 8' 6" Western V Plow, They are all near by ( Western and Meyer too)

[Quality SR]

Sorry i posted that too early..
Commercial snow plowing , ????, I know that these trucks are in the $50,000 area (diesel, loaded) so i guess around $50,000, NY, 8' 6" Western V Plow, They are all near by ( Western and Meyer too). There is really no limits all these trucks seem to cost around the same. I know the diesels cost alot more but if it is worth it then ill invest the money. These are the things i am looking for.

[cat320]

I use mine for plowing and pulling my trailer I like the power/torque and fuel economy you get with a diesel. would i get it if iwas to just plow a few lots probably not because of the price tag and lifespan that you have to figure out how long you will keep it to recoup your money. Most disel upgrade today new unless you get a left over some where are no close to $7K . ontop of the std. gas.

[Markford14]

I use my truck for towing an enclosed trailer, dump trailer, plowing and whatever I need it for. I grew up on a diesel I know the power it brings that why I have one. Mine is load and over the $50K mark but I like truck for its power. Recently I made a trip towing my dump trailer loaded and know that a gasser would never have been able to maintain the speeds that my diesel did. Yes a diesel is costly option but if are going to use it its well worth it. I do not drive many miles each year (8000 approx) but when I need the power I have it at my foot.

[Quality SR]

I will be using my truck as an everyday driver, snow plowing (of course) and sometimes towing. I have heard alot of pros and cons with gas and diesel trucks. How is the gas mileage with the diesel? ( everyday driving)

[cat320]

If your putting alot of miles on a day then diesel is the way to go .

[RibbleConstruction]

Diesel Is the way to go. Duramax and Cummins beat the ford powerstrokes hands down in reliability and longevity. I have owned all three. The cummins in the dodges were great. But they put um in a tin can. I had an 05 and an 06. And I was not impressed with the fit and finish of them. Plus they rode like crap. My wife has a 06 ford gas. Its a nice truck but not for me.

I like my chevy. I pull my camper regurlarly with it. Plus many other trailers. The economy is great the ride is better. So It really boils down to preference. But I would stay away from the powestroke. Although Diesel power magazine has a good comparision of the diesel to the v10. You will see comparable numbers with all the stock diesels righ now anyway. So you might want to read that for some great comparison info.

[Quality SR]

Diesel Is the way to go. Duramax and Cummins beat the ford powerstrokes hands down in reliability and longevity. I have owned all three. The cummins in the dodges were great. But they put um in a tin can. I had an 05 and an 06. And I was not impressed with the fit and finish of them. Plus they rode like crap. My wife has a 06 ford gas. Its a nice truck but not for me.

I like my chevy. I pull my camper regurlarly with it. Plus many other trailers. The economy is great the ride is better. So It really boils down to preference. But I would stay away from the powestroke. Although Diesel power magazine has a good comparision of the diesel to the v10. You will see comparable numbers with all the stock diesels righ now anyway. So you might want to read that for some great comparison info.


Thank you that was the kind of info i am looking for. With the dmax what is the difference between the LB7 and the LBZ? thanks

[William B.]

Check out www.dieselplace.com You can read up on different generations of the DMax. Very informative website.

[Quality SR]

Check out www.dieselplace.com You can read up on different generations of the DMax. Very informative website.

Thanks Will. I am checking that out now. There is so many choices you know. This time around I want to go all out. And I want the diesel. But I never owned one. I was trying to see who uses them for an everyday driver along with work (towing and plowing). It seems to me that the Fords are more heavy duty. I went on the Western website last night and checked out what plows I can put on a 2007 F 250 PSD and I can put anything from a 7' 6" Midweight to the new Wideout. The site says a 2007 GMC 2500HD diesel my options are a 7'6" midweight steel or poly, that's it. I wanted to put a 8'6" MVP Plus plow on the truck. But this is not even an option for the GMC/Chevy 2500HD. I probably could put this plow on that truck, but I don't want to beat the hell out of it. I want the truck to last a while (over 5 years). But when I think of Ford I think about the problems that people have had, and there not minor problems.

[atgreene]

I run the following diesels:
'82 GMC diesel 1/2 ton
'86 GMC Topkick C7000
'98 Chevy 2500 6.5t
and soon a 2005 GMC 5500 dmax (getting it monday).

I plowed with gas jobs and diesels and always liked the diesels better. I keep my trucks for a long time (obviously:rolleyes: ) and appreciate the longevity of the dinosaur burners.

[GMC Driver]

I wanted to put a 8'6" MVP Plus plow on the truck. But this is not even an option for the GMC/Chevy 2500HD. I probably could put this plow on that truck, but I don't want to beat the hell out of it.

Quality,

We've been running 8'6" Boss V's on the 2500HDs for years, with no extenuating problems. Just the regular idler arms and pitman arm problems that these trucks are known for. Run an 810 on a 3500 SRW - now at 55K miles, 2 seasons, original ball joints, tie-rods, just replaced first idler arm.

There are other running 810's on 2500HDs -timbrens and t-bar adjustment are a must. However, there have been frame issues mentioned here - not a problem to date for me.

[T-Zab]

I run a Dodge 2500 HD Cummins every day. Just turned 50K with 2 seasons of plowing with an 810 Erie Special. Last season racked up the hours of drop time, we pushed alot of snow for North East IL. All commercial balls to the wall plowing and salting with 2 yards of wet salt in a 500# Salt Dogg spreader. My route covers alot of pavement for one truck, my other truck does half of what I do in the same time. The Dodge has handled both routes when needed.

So far the truck has been to the stealer for new weather stripping on the doors. It wasnt bad, just happened across a tsb on one of the diesel sites so I got it done before the 36K bumper to bumper was up. Some how it needed an altenator belt too, took it to the dealer thinking the alt was going out. They said the after market belt (I put on was bad :mad: ) I never replaced that belt. They put a new one on, it was fine. It also threw a code for a bad wastegate solinoid, they replaced that. Thats it for dealer work.
The injectors have been ticking a lil lately as well, added Power service again ( I run it in every tank all winter long) and she quited right up.

I dont think the Dodge wins any of the magazines best of anything "contests". Ford wins the drag races, and GM gets the ride award.
I will say this, (knock on wood) she never let me down once. It handles everything I throw at it and gets it done. I use this truck every day for my carpentry business as well and she loves to work. I swear when that truck was loaded to the gills with plow and wet salt she loved every minute of it. The harder that Cummins worked the better it ran. Not once last winter did I ever worry about that truck not getting it done, trust me that was a God send in some of the storms we had.
To date besides oil and other maint. I have about $125.00 dollars wraped up in her for parts replaced besides consumables. Thats for the brake job.
I follow the maint. schedule b to a T, so It is on the severe duty schedule.
I did add Kore HD leveling spring kit to handle the 810. It does great. The front end is still tight no issues yet. Ask Jerre what trucks handle the weight the best in the front :wink
I cant complain about my "lowley" Dodge she loves to work, and it does fine for play toy towing tooooooo.

[jbone]

I would love to own a diesel truck, wether it be a duramax or cummins. However I dont have the kind of money for it so im sticking with my gasser. I have an 02' GMC sierra with the 8.1 and allison. It likes to drink gas but I find that if I take it easy on the truck I get better mileage than the guys w/ the 6.0:D The truck has never let me down. I absolutely love it!!!! If you have the money then get a diesel, if you dont have the money big blocks are they way to go. They may eat gas and oil, however the power they make is worth it.

[Ford fan]

As many might have said, I like the Ford's. One, I like the look, second, I like the solid front axle and weight carrying capacity. I will admit I think the 5.4L gasser is lacking in some power from idle to 2-3RPM. One other thing I was disappointed in on my Ford was the payload, it carried a good amount of weight but it sagged quite a bit if you had more than 1500-2000lbs in the back. I ended up installing 2 extra leafs per side in the main pack and a 4 pack of helper springs per side compared to the whimpy single it came with. I have a dump bed insert in it and with that and 2 tons of salt it barley moves 2 inches and still rides nice! I would just stick with a gasser for plowing, especially when the diesels are only getting low teens for mileage and diesel fuel at almost 4 bucks a gallon. I'm averaging 11-13 mpg with my 5.4L and it doesnt matter if I'm pulling my 16ft trailer or plowing, mpg seems to stay the same.

[P&DDennis]

I owned a 99 Dodge quad cab diesel loaded with a Fisher Ez Vee. Had it for 3 years and loved it. When I was going into a larger payload truck Dodge was ruled out( they only had the 3500) I went with a Ford F550 cab and a half Lariat. It has the 7.3 stroker and found it has all the power I need. Running 488 gears and the empty weight is 11,200. Going out in a storm I can be as heavy as 25,000. A little overweight but need the salt load. Still need to go back and reload once but it is better that reloading twice. 99% I plow in 2 wheel loaded or empty. The truck doesnt like to turn well in 4 hi. I plan on replacing the truck this year and will probably look to a F750 for salting and a 450 or 550 for plowing with a flatbed. Also the warrenty is better on the 750 than the 550 I believe.Also have a 97 F250 that needs to be upgraded with something newer.

[Dfrenzy]

I like ford for there solid axel but i do believe that chevy has the best tranny and dodge has the best diesel. So I'll just stay in the middle with my fords. I don't care for the ford 6.0 so i'm gonna stick it out a while with my 7.3 until we see how the new 6.4 does or whatever ford has just came out with this year. My othe 250 has a 5.4 as to wich don't impress me much. Maybee i have just had a diesel too long now!

[ducatirider944]

125k+ on my f-350 dually with 6.0 powerstroke. I had to change the ball joints and other than that it has just been filters, oil the standard stuff. I have heard of people having problems with the 6.0 but I have had none. It is bone stock other than exhaust and pulls harder than my 7.3 ever thought about that had a cold air kit, exhaust, and a 100hp chip. I've heard good things about the duramax, and the cummins has always been a very reliable motor, it has just been under sized and down on power. I think you cant go wrong with any of the big 3 diesels.