Looking at putting a plow on my truck
04 lariat f150

anything i should do 1st any advice on plows??

Should i upgrade front suspension???

Thanks in advance!!

 

If its a supercrew 4X4 Dont do it FMCO dont like snow plows on there 4x4 supercrews Read your manual

 

Plows are hard on any truck, and f150's are extremely vulnerable. 1/2 Tons are not designed for plowing in any way, so if you want to risk seriously damaging your truck then go ahead, but otherwise dont do it.

yes serious suspension upgrades would be needed

 

As for plows, get a light one. Snoway, Western, Meyer, Boss, they all make light wieght plows that are ment for light duty trucks, suvs, Jeeps, ect. I personally would get a Western, we have had a couple of them over the years and they have been basically flawless. The Meyer plows that we had would eat 1-2 pumps every year.

As for suspension upgrade, honestly the only thing that I would do is to put in an Auto Spring leveling kit. If you don't plan on running bigger tires, and just going to "use" it for the plow the 1.5" kit is what I would get.

I see that you are from Roch, how much snow did you guys get on saturday? And rain/freezing rain with it? It looks like both you and I are in for more tomorrow, 3-5" it sounds like.

 

Don't listen to all the naysayers. A F-150 will move snow just fine as long as you don't drive like crap and hit curbs all the time. Don't get one if you have a supercrew. A 2.5 spacer from autospring or daystar will work fine to keep the front where it needs to be. If you get a heavy plow (which I do not recommend) pick up the F-150 HD coil springs from a dealer and that will fix that.

Stick to a plow that is install weight around 500lbs. Thats what my Boss poly is and it only drops the truck about an inch. It has no noticable effects on how the truck drives that I have noticed. Make sure you got a good snow raited tire that is at least a 6 ply or better to stand up to the weight of the plow.

I would not recommend a F-150 if you are doing many big jobs, but for driveways or small lots they are just fine. Hell I used to plow with an S-10. If you want more info on plowing. www.Plowsite.com is a GREAT place to go.

 

It depends on if you like buying ball joints and uca's all the time or not

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, an F-150 (or any 1/2 ton pick up for that matter) is not a viable candidate for a plow. That doesn't say you can't plow with one, but it's just not built for any serious amount of plowing. Could you do it in "the good old days?" Ys, but things were a little more over-engineered than they are today with all of the pressure on manufacturers to cut costs. Besides, I see (on a daily basis) what plowing does to our fleet of F-350's. They're a heck of a lot tougher, but we still go through front end parts, universal joints and even transmissions pretty quick.

Oh yea, and one last point. Want to dramatically decrease your trade in value? Just let your dealer find out it's been plowed. Ford even voided the warranty on one of our F-350's because it didn't have the Snow Plow Prep Package on it - which amounts to a different Fan Clutch. So, are you feeling lucky?

 

Yeah... my Dad wanted to get a used F250 for a plow this past year... but we decided not to because if the frontend went or the 4x4 decided to shoot it's wade... we'd be left with a hunk of metal in our yard... even though I could fix it... the parts would probably be more than what we paid for the truck.

Then again we could get a new truck, and use that... but why tear up a good truck?! So my solution:

A plow on my garden tractor.

How does it work?

Equal to or if better than if I had a plow on a truck and it was really cheap.

 

the garden tractor is a good idea.... or an ATV

oaw

 

Not to hijack the thread... but take a gander at this... it might change your views:
This tractor:


Yielded these results:


Here is a link to that thread in GD if you want to post more about tractor plows...
https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=309903

I promise to update that thread tomorrow with some more pictures as the snow builds up.

 

sweet mother of mercy !!!!
i gotta get me one of those

oaw

 

Well that GT1554 will run you about $2,500 to $3,200 plus about $450 for the plow, and $50 for chains, and about $120 for wheel weights... bringing a grand total of $3,120 for the cheapest amount you could get for that tractor...

I dunno how much a Western or BOSS plow is though.. but takes a beating off your truck.

 

 

If you people all think your trucks are useless for doing real work then why did you buy them?

And trade in does not concern me. I can put up photo after photo of my truck used for serous work, towing, bed full of rocks, plowing, ect. I have had nothing more then the normal issues all of us are facing.

I'll drive my truck until the wheels fall off, may it be 5 years or 50, then I will worry about buying a bigger, stronger truck. Hell this is a huge step up from my ranger, and I treated that like crap also, and it still runs and drives fine.

 

I see a lot of F150's with plows on them every day... Just follow the instructions and you will be fine...

It is the damage caused when you don't follow the recommended plowing instructions. Basically don't try to plow things that you wouldn't use a shovel with. Like trying to plow a curb for example.... hitting a curb with the plow down, is like running the truck into a wall.