Hey fellas,
I've been up here before inquiring for information on this 95 F150 chassis I plan to build my 65 on top of. I'm wondering if anyone has pictures handy of the snow plow frame that bolts underneath the bumper to the truck frame. I'm not so much interested in the lift assembly, just the push frame.
I have the original '65 wrecker front bumper I'd like to incorporate into the re-build, so the lift assembly will be custom. Just wondering if I should just buiuld my own push assembly as well, or use the stock setup. I'll be using a standard 7.5' plow blade, so nothing serious. Although the truck will be diesel powered (6.9 IDI) with a lot of torque...Don't worry, I've got plans to take the abuse (wink wink)
If I do go with a stock frame, then I know it must be from and F150 or Bronco because of the coil springs where the F250/F350's run leaf springs. But does it have to be from a 92-96 truck due to these acordion frame horns?



Does anyone have pictures? Thanks fellas!

 

well with all the other custom work you will be doing you will need to build the mount your self ! Whats wrong with a F250 frame with leaf springs , they are a little tougher and you will need a custom mount any ways !

 

Well, this is a shortbed chassis and I'd love to build a shortbed pickup. I've considered using an F250 or F350 chassis, but running coils up front.
Basically, I've flip-flopped between ideas about a zillion times and I haven't dedicated myself to anything yet...but a nice soft ride is a must for when we take a road trip for vacation. Bear with me here until I get to another computer to edit this post, the enter key isn't working on this keyboard and I'm typing as I think, Dangerous!
I'm 20 years old, with a start-up landscaping business over the past 6 years. The F350 hauls all my equipment and such, I'm looking to build a nice maneuverable pickup for residential plowing. My Dad and I are casual Jeepers (no lifts or anything, just enjoy riding with the top off). We have a complete 6' power angle Meyers snow plow, but I'd rather have a pickup for tossing a snowblower in the back of.
I'm still considering an F250 or F350 frame, moving the rear axle forward and chopping off the back of the frame...but this shortbed F150 frame practically fell in my lap, $100!! It's in EXCELLENT condition, the frame came with a steering box, driveshaft, limited slip 3.55-geared 8.8 rear, dual fuel tanks, and the front end has "like new" tie rods and sway bar, and DOES have a brand new plate that the sway bar bolts to.
I plan to plate the frame in the same fashion as my 85 F350 is plated stock from the factory.



I figure the arch of the frame behind the cab is the weak point according to this Youtube video.

YouTube - Land Rover Discovery Destroys Tow Truck (short)

Amazingly, the stock axles weren't the weak link. So I'll plate it top, side, and bottom with 5/16" or 3/8" plate...bolted, not welded. The F350 plates are riveted on, and bolted on where the crossmembers bolt to the frame.
My 85 cab and chassis dually F350 frame is .27" thick and the plates are .26" thick. Each about 1/4" thick. 1/2" combined thickness plated area.
The 95 F150 frame is .17" thick with NO plates. About 3/16" thick. Add 5/16" plate and it's 1/2" thick in the plated area.
I've looked at a standard duty 84 gas-job F250 at the junkyard with a semi-float 8 lug rear end...the frame didn't look nearly as thick as my F350 frame, and not much thcker than an F150 frame. I didn't have the dial caliper with me...but an F250HD is supposedly the same as a F350 pickup frame...which would probably be similar to my F350 cab and chassis frame.

For the nice riding, I'm going with a TTB front end. Dana 44 with a 50 center section and 50 shafts for the time being (while the 8.8 is still back there, matching wheel bolt pattern) while the FE is under the hood. I would even run them under the diesel, but I have a feeling the diesel + snow plow combo will wreak havok on them...pushing the big piles with the diesel torque. Not sure on that though, as I've seen stock F150's do much more than they should. When the diesel goes in, I'll just install the 10.25 out back...with the Dana 50 beams, re-using the 50 center section and shafts I will use in the 44 TTB. I'll use the F150 suspension and possibly a longer coil. Not F350 coils, because they're stiff...so maybe a 1" or 2" lift kit F150/Bronco coil would still be soft, but compress enough to flatten out the TTB with the diesel installed. Air bags on the rear end for when I decide to haul some dirt or tow. Anything serious will be left to the F350. For snow plowing, I'll install those Air-Ride air bags that fit inside the coil springs. I'll only fill them up for plowing purposes so they should last fine.

I'm still undecided, and not committed to anything as of yet. If I went with an F250 chassis, I would go with a 2wd frame and convert over to TTB since the 2wd will already come with the col buckets on the frame. Maybe 351w coils will be a nice setup for a nice ride with the heavy diesel?

But if I went with this F150, I could use the stock push frame from a 92-96 F150 or Bronco for sure. But would an 80-91 F150/Bronco still be a candidate or is the setup different because of the frame horn designs?
If I went with the F250 or F350 chassis, is the year range still the same?

 

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/3...your-info.html

Found my coil spring answers in the tech folder sticky, fabulous info!

 

have you considered using a dana 44 straight axle from like a 77-78 F150 or bronco that had the coil sprung front end , it would be stronger than the TTB ? and if you switched to a 10.25 axle in the rear then you could also change out hubs and spindles for the same bolt pattern !

 

Most of the new style plow mounts are 2 pc. The under carriage is separate from the loop that carries the pump / lights. They also don't effect how the bumper mounts like the old style, where the bumper mounted to the plow frame. I know a Meyer Classic EZ Mount would easily work for your project. Also there are accessories like a push bar and a winch mount that slip in where the plow mount attaches to the under carriage. I'll post a pic of the set-up on my F350 4x4 Dump.

 

[quote=BlueOvalBud;9996622]I figure the arch of the frame behind the cab is the weak point according to this Youtube video.

YouTube - Land Rover Discovery Destroys Tow Truck (short)
quote]

There were some serious dynamic forces being apied to that truck, The land rover was pullin up on the middle of the frame because of tow mount and down over the axle adding rediculous amounts of traction for the ford. While the newer truck was holding the front of the ford down add gobs of torque from the ford and well... there you have it. I would love to see how the land rover was stuck, it must have been reall anchored. The ford would have been fine without the newer truck on the front.

Lessons learned: If you use your truck as a piece of chain, hook to the frame not up high. Do not use an F150 as a toe truck. If you use a toe truck dont tie the front end down.

I would have backed the ford down to lift the land rover out of the hole it was in because it sure wasnt going to get pulled out.

 

[quote=jcardwell3rd;10577894]
that guy in the ford was a total idiot !
that ford needed some seriously reinforcement to the middle of its frame !

 

first off, that ford was a single wheel F-250 pickup with a wrecker boom attached, and it was not designed for what it was being used for.
if the jackwagon in the ford had a proper truck and then used a deadman anchor point off the front like he should have, the frame would not have bent.

 

For putting a plow on a 92-97 F150 MOST of the frames lay ON TOP of the frame right behind the bumper and there are brackets that come from the bottom of the plow frame back on a 45* to the truck frame to support the forces of the plow pushing back.

Now for plating the frame like your cab-n-chassis. It is COMPLETE OVERKILL and a waste of time and money. And the plates on your cab-n-chassis have NO strength to prevent to prevent what happened in the video. Your c-n-c is plated on the top and bottom BECAUSE if you notice the c-n-c frame gets narrower behind the cab. The plates are there to give the frame side to side strength NOT verticle strength.

And for the video. That guy is an IDIOT. They dont make tow trucks out of F350/F450 and F550 because they want to. They do it because they HAVE to. The truck in the video is and F150 for crying out loud with a wrecker unit put in the bed. Do you know how much stress that puts on things? No less another idiot pulling it from the front? The chevy was pulling on a lower plane than the F150 was pulling from, and that is why the frame bent. If the F150 was hooked to the land cruiser from the trailer hitch, NOTHING WOULD OF BENT. The way they were hooked to each other, the F150 was used as a fulcrum. and NO truck is designed to have that kind of load put on it. Even if it was 550 i would no be surprised if the frame bent

 

amen brad I even replayed the video a few times and watched as the idiot in the poor F150 (sad that it had to be the blue oval) gun the engine as if it were a race truck and the chubby just meander forward with its AWD, where the F150 should of at least MINIMUM had AWD and should of been using it period, second the chubby owner should of hooked to his trucks D rings and the F150 should of had a few D rings bolted to the frame also....DUH!!! i mean that is just common logic, use D rings when towing, and they shouldn't been using a SINGLE chain seriously (least I hope that was at least a chain not a rope) they should of used two from chubby to F150 then two from F150 to land rover (which looked like it was buried well) and that is NOT counting the tow rig chain/lines from the tow body arm, so in all the F150 should of had three lines from its self to the Land Rover...geez what idiots...would of been more hilarious if the chubby was the one bent....but in all reality it was just shear stupidity of the operator of the 150 to try and tow as he did....geez...im leaving this thread due to the amount of stupidity displayed on the video....

 

Would you like pics of the Boss ? I can try and get them for you. A lot of the parts are obscured by the bumper and stuff.