For those who own a 92+ truck, have you ever considered the frame horns to be an issue when using a winch?



I recently bought this 95 F150 frame to transplant my 65 cab onto. The original plan was to stuff my '65 352 FE in there and run it until it dies, then install a built 6.9.
At that point, I would add more bracing to the frame and go with different running gear to handle the power. D50 TTB/Ford 10.25 combo. I wouldn't bother going with a 60 since the F150 frame seems a bit thin to handle both a 6.9's weight AND a snow plow. Although I'd really like to do that...Maybe some extra frame plating will be enough.
What's cool? It's a short wheelbase chassis...and I only paid $100 for it...talk about sweeeet looks. Not so good as usable, since the wheelbase is too short for comfortable heavy towing, and besides the F150 frame thickness will come into play. I would say max out at 8k pound trailer load once the D50/10.25 upgrade took place. The stock rating is 6k, so another 2k should still be OK as long as the larger F250 brakes are used. The short wheelbase is what scares me.
Back to the frame issue. The rig will spend most of its time off-road on the abandoned logging roads gathering firewood. It can get nasty out there, so I'm planning a 2" receiver in the front wih a custom thick steel plate bumper....and a winch. Will a winch make this frame go like an acordion and expand? If so, I'd cut the frame just beyond the acordion area and go with some serious box tubing.
Any thoughts?

 

What the heck is that frame made like that for? Cushion in a head on wreck. I haven't ever pieced out a 1/2 ton before. New to me on the frame. My 3.4 and 1 ton frames don't have that in it. Interesting....Don't know how it would act with a load on it. I have seen plows on 1/2 tons before. Plows aren't much I guess. Of coarse I am used to 2100 lbs 12 foot plows.

 

Yes, that is correct - the frame is made like that so it "folds" in case you get into a serious head-on accident. It is a similar idea as to why the steering wheel shaft has two pieces that slide into each other - so the force of the accident does not move towards where the people are. 3/4-ton and 1-ton trucks do not have this, only 1/2-ton and Bronco trucks, and as expected I do not know why exactly that is.

 

Because if my plow frame were bolted onto a crumple zone for all these years, my truck would be 4" shorter

 

My 89 F150 frame, isn't like that at all? Looks like a normal old Ford frame.

 

well he said in the first sentence for those with a 92++ frame , i am thinking they might have changed the frame in 92, which would mean your 89 frame would be diffrent.

 

Yea I know.

Just wasn't aware they changed frame design in '92, first time I hear about it.

 

What kinda of plow would you wanna put on there? Quite a bit of difference in weight on a v plow and a regular straight blade.

Were the body and bed mounts changed in 92 to 96 from the 91s? I was planning on doing a body swap this spring on my 91 F250 7.3 4x4 ext. cab (she's rusty but runs great, and drives good). Now I'm even wondering if I can do this with a 92 or so body without messing with body mounts and everything?

-Pat

 

I am not for sure they did, but that is what i got out of BlueOvalBud's post
i may be wrong, someone please correct me if i am .

 

1/2 ton frames are not the same all 3/4 and 1 ton frames are solid all the way up the 1/2 ton was more common among the city people who bought a truck to just well.... say they drive a truck i guess and as a result were more likely to be involved in accidents due to the increased population in cities which would have gave ford a reason to make the acordian front frame to absorb shock in an accident and protect passengers on both ends of the collision. while the 3/4 and 1 ton trucks were designed for more working individuals and farmers with a different use and different way of thinking

i wouldn't put a plow on a 1/2 the frame seems to thin and components would wear out to fast i think... my brothers old 88 1/2 ton frame seemed paper thin compared to mine..... it could be done i imagine people do some crazy stuff....

YouTube - Car Pulling Trailer Smoking

 

I have seen many 1/2 tons with plows, only thing bad I hear about them is they go through alot of ball joints and tie rods. lol

I often see Plow Broncos.

 

I think my plow comment in regards to the 250/350 trucks inadvertently redirected the conversation from winches to plows lol.

My vote is you'll be just fine with a winch. The crumple zone will fold under an impact and should be just fine under the load placed on by a winch.

 

The frames on the Broncos are made haeavier than the 1/2 ton trucks. Mine is as thick as the frame on the 3/4 ton and boxed in the front same as they are. They are also taller than the 1/2 ton frames. When Ford built the bronco it was designed as an off road truck plain and simple. I know for sure about the frames because when I did the diesel conversion I spent a lot of time under both trucks (the 3/4 donor and my Bronco) taking measurements to locate the d50 and it's leaf springs. The only diference I found was that the mounting holes for the d50 and the d44 were not the same and the holes for the front and rear shackels were not there ( the bronco had the radius arms). My frame is an 88 and the donor was an 86 extended cab 4x4.

 

yea you should be ok with a winch but i would advise against a plow unless you like changing ball joints tie rods TTB bushings ect. but yea i have seen winches used sucessfully on these trucks

 

The 92" frames only saw the crumble zone as a difference. The body mounts and everything else is identical, just the crumple zone was added.

As for a plow, I wouldn't want a V-blade, just a standard straight blade would work fine for me. I'm looking at residential driveways, where a short wheelbase rig earns its weight in gold! We got our first snow of the year last night and today, saw lots of guys out there with 5 year old "trucks". Family haulers I call them, 4 door short bed trucks with a snow plow. But then you get the construction contractors who have the crew cab long bed with a plow. Takes the entire parking lot to turn the thing around...where a shorter rig will easily whip around all about.
Trust me, all my background before trucks is in our Jeep CJ7 and CJ8 Scrambler. That's what I grew up learning how to turn wenches on. I'm 20 now, now too many kids can go through middle school and help their Dad buld a Jeep Scrambler. Trust me, we're no expert mechanics. Matter of fact, we took the drivetrain from a CJ7 with a rusted frame and transplanted it into a used Scrambler frame with a new fiberglass tub. Yep, used the farm tractor from the neighbor to move the engine, and put it all together with a simple Benchtop 3/8" drive ratchet set. A CJ7 with a 6' snow plow can perform magic compared to a full-size truck. Don't expect to move a mountain, not enough weight and traction.
The 1/2 ton vs 3/4 ton and 1 ton debate. There are just as many 80-96 F150 plow trucks around town as new trucks. The older rigs just won't die. The F150 vs F250 debate can go on forever, but the F150 really does get trashed on pretty hard, it can certainly do more than people think. Ask 94F250HDXLT (or whatever his name is, I always get the trim and HD mixed up in order) He had a 90's F150 4x4 loaded to the gills with wood chips on a daily basis with F350 springs until he bought his F250. His testimony is what basically made me open my eyes, since I also used to think the same way..."oh, F150's are useless, get an F350!" Sure, an F350 will last longer, but the F150 shouldn't be under rated. Remember, stuff you read on the internet is typically biased in one way or another based on that person's experience. Does a Dana 44 HD TTB belong under a diesel F250? Well....not if your IDI has been "fine tuned" with a turbo and you like to punch the loud pedal in low range. But if you're only using it for traction in the snow...then yeah, why not? I've seen TTB's in F150's and F250's BEATEN and they're fine at the end of the day.
Kenpobuck, I'm VERY glad you read this. I've been wondering about you and your conversion. I did not realize the Bronco frame is heavier than an F150, thanks for sharing. As I recall, you picked up a plow for your rig last winter/spring right? Hooked up yet?

Also, as I've been thinking more about a 6.9 turbo in an F150...I recently read in one the threads that the '93 7.3 turbo weighs 900 pounds fully dressed. It was posted by typefour and he read it straight from the Ford manual. So weight really isn't a HUGE issue since LOTS of people have installed 460's into F150 since...like forever. 460 weighs a lot, maybe a bit less than a 6.9. But a built 460 could do just as much damage as a turbo 6.9. The difference that a has engine will bog down when under load and have some "give" so to speak. Where the diesel will NOT give, and that's when you buy new parts. I also recall starmilt put a 6.9 in his 70's F100 4x4. He had no issues with weight on the front end, he had no issues with the 9" rear, but blew the spiders in the front Dana 44 a couple times when he stood on the skinny pedal.

Back to the winch, if the acordion won't come out then I'll leave it as is.