Wicked500R

I just picked up a 95' 2500 auto tranny with 130,000 miles. It's going to be a plow truck/ everyday beater truck. When I plow...I plow hard! so I am curious to know who else plows with these what what mods have been done. Thanks!

jlipskoc

This is the best forum I've found for plowing... lots of users. Theres a dodge section.

Hope this helps.

http://www.plowsite.com/

24valvepuller

mods won't help you plowing snow, unless you put heavier springs up front. you don't want a bunch of fuel because the engine does not need it, it will just end up washing the cylinder walls. I plowed for 8-9 years with my CTD's and at the same weight the stock autos did better than my 450 hp 6 spd. If you are going to plow "hard" then save your money for the future stuff you are going to break

Crazydave

I would leave the power down for pushing snow. The more fuel you use the more it costs you and the less money you make. Make sure you have the right springs in the front and if you don't instead of buying factory ones check out skyjacker d25 leveling coils there less money and i here they work good. I plowed last year with my banks ottomind it worked good. But if i plow with the setup i have now i will unplug the ez so the petal is not so touchy and i don't have that cold start timing rattle. They have plenty of power and weight to push good stock and its not as hard on them. Save the power for the summer JMO. Good luck and lets hope for some snow!

Crimedog

I plowed with mine when it was pretty much stock (plate slid forward) and it did very well. I also plowed with it after I got the 370's, governor springs, and 10 plate. It continued to do very well aside from the stumble at 1300 RPMs that got annoying. One thing to consider is what your power requirement is for the plow(s) you're running. If you've got a Blizzard 810 and a sidewing then you might benefit from some extra juice. If you're running an 8' straight blade then I would say stock is perfect. These things are monsters on the lots and will push as much as you can keep in front, even stock.

Crimedog

also, keep in mind that the more fuel you're adding, the bigger the puff of smoke will be at the start of each maneuver. Do you're customers really want to see a black cloud every time you go from reverse to forward?

biododge1

best mod i did was add some weight in the bed-1000#. beware of the claim of "get wide tires". in snow say 12" or less a "stock or narrower tire is best. less snow the tire has to push through.

JD730

We plow with an almost stock 1st gen with a utility body, pump turned up a little bit. The utility body with all the stuff in it is the best thing, truck weighs 7800lbs. We were running sumitomo's 285-75-16's HTR's that did really well in the snow, wouldn't go with anything wider than that.

cLAYH

Any upgrade to the Valve body in the tranny would help extend the life of the tranny.

Wicked500R

Thanks for the reply's! I only plan on basic engine mods. 4" straight exhaust, a cold air intake and a few other things. My tires will be 265/75 R16 Goodyear MT/R. And my plow will be an 8' straight blade. My biggest worry is the transmission. Next is the front end parts....

bry@n

I wouldn't mod anything. I would save the cash for the tranny and front end parts that will eventually be needed. I would also save the cash and go over the truck really well. The last thing you want is a break down in the middle of the season.

Maybe save the cash and get a back up truck or plow parts.

let's talk snow is another forum regarding plowing. letstalksnow dot com.

I plow and use the truck for work. I'm completely stock and happy with it.

bry@n

Plus, mud tires will dig into the snow. You may want to have all terrains. Easier to plow with. The snow sticks in the lugs and provides traction. Mud's clean out to fast and are always digging in.

Big Blue24

My dad plows with a little dodge dakota with a 318 V8. He puts 1000# sand in the bed and that truly helped him more than anything. In fact, one day his vacume lines came loose and he unknowingly pushed a huge pile of snow up the 15% grade driveway in 2wd without spinning a tire. Lots of weight on studded narrow tires with a bunch of factory sipes = plenty of traction.

My favorite snow tire so far came from Costco, just some cheap tire with a bunch of sipes, no shoulder lug offset, and lots of studs. Five rows of square lugs about 2 inch lugs with about five factory sipes in each lug.

Crimedog

To help you're tranny survive, use 4 low when you're pushing heavy stuff. Also, you probably already know this, but bring the truck to a COMPLETE stop before shifting R to D or D to R. I used to pull the shifter all the way down to 1 when in hi range to keep the tranny from shifting. At a minumum get a trans temp gauge, and I would also recommend an auxiliary cooler. I mounted one under the bed and put an S-blade electric fan on it. No lie, it lowered my max trans temp 50* when I had the fan going. If you do that, be careful of ice buildup on the fan, it could get slush on it and freeze, and you could be plowing and smell a burning electric motor and trash a nice fan... don't ask me how I know...