2wd plow truck?

[KevD815]

Ok, so its time to replace my welding truck. My current chevy 2500 just cant handle the weight of my welder, tools, and ladders. Toss in torch tanks and materials and the truck is clearly overweight. Fuel milage is terrible and its a pig on the highway. I've been looking at some slighlty older F350's F450's, and Chevy 3500's with flatbeds and service bodies. The 2wd models of these trucks are significantly cheaper. I could afford a truck thats about 5 years newer if i go 2wd over 4wd. I should probably note that i have been looking at the longer wheel base trucks too.

That being said, i need to do some plowing this coming winter. Nothing too crazy, a dozen or so driveways and a medium size parking lot. Its all pretty flat but a few places get a little hilly and there are some long pushes.

So what do you veteran plow guys think? Can i get the job done with some good tires and a bunch of weight? My welder, tools, and torch weigh in at a little over 1,000 lbs. Also, would a bigger/heavier plow help keep the front tires planted or would the extra width just make it harder to push? Most of my plowing experience hase been with 1/2 to 3/4 ton trucks with smaller blades so im not quite sure what to expect with a heavyweight dually.

Thanks guys!

 

[joep]

I am not a veteran by any means but I have been plowing for about 6 years now with my uncle he has the contract for a local hospital. This past winter was the first time i was in a 2wd truck, it was a f350 with a utility body and we filled the bed with salt. What a PITA that was i would be pushing a pile at a slow but steady pace and if i came to an incline or a little ice the truck would slide or i would just start spinning the tires. So i had to get out and shovel some salt under the tires. A 12 hour shift like this was painful yes it did get the job done but if i was gonna buy my own truck for plowing 4wd would be a must even though the price is higher.

 

[PSDF350]

Yea you could get away with 2 wheel drive. But like was said any slight incline can put a real damper on things. Also wet heavy snow or you push just a bit to far and your gonna be wishing you had 4x4. Also the heavier the plow the more weight you will need to counter balance. My vote is get 4x4 you wil glad you did.

 

[CT18fireman]

Not sure where you are in CT, but I have done quite a bit of plowing and with the exception of flat lots I would not want to plow with a 2wd. Talking about 1ton type trucks and smaller only.

We get a lot of wet snow and ice mixing in and even in a 2-3" snow a long run can get very heavy.

Not sure what the solution is but I would definately look at getting a 4x4 if you need to plow.

 

[Buster F]

A very wise man once said "a 2 wheel drive truck will plow just as well as a 4 wheel drive - until you get stuck". Have you considered keeping the Chevy for a plow truck/second truck?

 

[KevD815]

Thanks guys! My current chevy is 2wd so i couldnt plow with it if i wanted to. This will be my first season plowing my own accounts. Im taking over for some family members who are retiring from the plow biz.

I think i'm going to take everyones advice and look into a 4wd truck. I stopped by the parking lot i need to do yesterday and it has some longer pushes than i remember. I might need to plow the entire back lot too if the rear building gets rented out. The back lot is gravel so traction is deffintely going to be an issue. Thanks again!