Okay, once you quit laughing at the idea... let me know if you think this would have a snowball's chance of being a temporary solution.

We're building a house with 1200' gravel driveway. The house sits on a little hill, just enough that going from the house to the street is down hill, and vice-versa isn't. We live just outside of Pittsburgh where we can expect some snow, but accumulations in excess of 6" are pretty ununusual. The house might be done in January, but maybe not until April.

I've been looking to replace our 1992 2WD F150 with a '94-'97 4WD F250 yadda-yadda, but it hasn't happened yet, so I'm contemplating a short-term solution... should the house be done in January.

If I found a plow setup that fits the F250... would it bolt on to my F150? How useless would my 300-6/5-speed/2.73 geared truck be? It does okay with snowtires, I could put chains on it, or more than the 200 lbs I normally carry for winter driving... and I would only be pushing the snow downhill. I don't have much tight maneuvering I'd have to do, so momentum could be my friend.

I like driving the truck on the street, but I could live keep it on the property if the weight of the plow and clanging of the chains limited it to 10 mph or so for a few months.

My other alternatives... buy a truck I don't want, freeze my **** off by trying to push it with a tractor, or have our Siberian Husky pull the cars up the driveway. I'm trying to find a temporary solution that gets me closer to my F250 set-up.

Thanks for thinking about snow in August for me,
Greg

 

I'm voting for the Siberian huskies myself. Otherwise, not a clue.

 

if truck has posi and chains maybe but i had trouble just driving up a gravel drive in the winter with no plow. even 6" of wet snow is a lot to plow. plus if it fits a f250 i do not think it fits f150.

 

If I were you, I'd invest in a beater truck. An early 80s F250 for a couple hundred bucks. Don't waste any serious money into it. I'm sure you could find a rust bucket with a V8 somewhere around Pittsburgh.

Something without any major mechanical problems that'll get you thru this winter. Hopefully by next winter you'll have the cash needed to pickup something a little more desirable.

 

I am pretty sure a F-250 plow frame will not fit a F-150 depends on what type plow you have. If you have nothing then I think it's a waste of time and money. Look for a beater plow truck there are some around Pa. for not allot of cash or you can pay someone to plow you out for one yaer. Yes it cost money but a plow frame is around 500 bucks maybe 200-300 used if you can find one
Good luck
Glen
05 F-350 4x4 Reg Cab PSD 6Spd

 

the suggestions to buy a winter beater sounds like the way to go.

 

Thanks for the ideas.

I thought if I could buy a plow for my next truck and adapt it to this one I wouldn't be losing any ground.

I'm hesitant to buy a beater... the one I have now is pretty well sorted out. I haven't seen anything for much under $1000 that could move on its own, let alone push a plow.

Then if I need to do belts/battery/starter/fuel pump/whatever I could be upside down in a hurry. I could probably have my b-in-law's '87, but the tranny slips so bad I don't the tires would ever even get a chance to spin!

If I can't adapt a plow to my truck I think I'm better off buying what I need instead of spending the money on something in between.

Thanks again for the ideas... if anyone can confirm that the brackets for a '94-97 F250 are different from a '92 F150, or that a 2WD F150 has a different frame than a 4WD F150 I'll put this crazy idea completely out of my mind.

Greg

 

I have plowed snow with a 2wd drive before. It was a f-350 with a sander in the back, dually and chains. With the sander full, it was almost like a 4 wheel drive. It was great for those big parking lots where you didn't have to go uphill.. So it can be done, with enough weight

 

heres an idea, Buy a snow blower! You can get them used for under $500.00. Problem solved

 

What brand plow do you have now? Let me know there is a guy in my town who deals in plow parts I will ask him if the F-250 frame could fit a F-150
I know when I got mine for my old truck 96 F-350 4x4 SRW the frame was specific to the F-250/350 or so my paper work said. That was a Fisher.
Glen

 

Hee-hee. Thanks but no thanks. First it's gravel, second it's 1200 feet long... by the time you go down and back... twice... you've gone 4800 feet. You might recall a mile is just over 5200 feet... If I'm going that far I'll stay inside the cab, thank-you!

 

Glen,

I don't have the plow yet... I was thinking of buying one for an F-250 (next truck) if I could use it on an F-150 in the meantime.

I'm really looking for a "Plan B". Plan A is find a nice truck for something less than a crazy price and buy it... 4 months into Plan A though, and I'm starting to think of alternatives! What you're saying is supporting what others have mentioned... the frames are different (personally, I'd hope they would be) and it wouldn't be a simple swap... I'm probably better of on Plan A... if only I didn't "have to have" a 460 5-speed XLT extended cab... I know I've really narrowed the field, but I think this truck will be a lifer with me so I'll keep looking.

Thanks for your help,
Greg

 

pick up a tractor with a snowblower attachment. Its part of everyday life. If you get any amount of snow, the blade will not push it. You need a heavy f250 preferably a duely with a diesel, with tranny coolers ect. All you will do with a f150 is ploy about a half an inch of snow before it plugs up the plow and you spin out. Chains will help, but you need the torque and weight to push snow. As for blowing snow 1200 feet just pay a contractor job by job to do it. No worries and you can stay warm inside your house and don't have to worry about pushing snow a mile....

 

You know- that's actually sounding like pretty reasonable thinking there.

 

Since you are fairly level and dont need to buy another temp. project truck for the meantime I say if the plow set-up works you will do fine with what you have. I have had 2 wheel F-250 for Ice fishing in alot of snow with good chains on the rear and some weight and went fine. Starting off is the worst part, once momentum is planned you will at least get the thing cleared, and no more than 6 inches no problem, that is not much snow. Good chains, mostly level ground and some planning and experence under you belt will get ya the job done for low cost.