I bought my 2003 1500, 4.7 4X4 from my father-in-law. One of the reasons he sold it was that he was upgrading and said he couldn't put a plow on it. I was ok with this at first, but now my dad is getting back surgery. I'd really like to get a plow so that I can go over there and keep their driveway clean. More selfishly, this winter has just began and I'm already sick of snow-blowing and shoveling my own driveway.

So I ask, is there a good reason that I can't put a plow on this truck?

Hey side question, since I had a thread open already. This is my first four wheel drive. I have, in the past, used my dad's truck that has push button FWD, but this truck has a manual transfer box. I read the manual first and tried to use FWD last night. My manual says (I'm paraphrasing) "To use 4 wheel low, you should be moving between 2 and 5 MPH to engage it" and "To use 4 wheel high, you can engage it at any time". So last night I tried to put it into low for my steep driveway. Well the shifter wouldn't budge. So I stopped. Put it in park, and hey now it engages!
So it would seem that I have to be in park. My manual says everything to the contrary. Is there anything I should know about putting it in FWD?

 

i dont see y u couldnt put a plow on it call some plow dealers and find out. As for the 4x4 prob 4high u can switch it out all the way up to like 55mph or close to that speed but 4low stop and put the truck in netrual to switch back and fourth

 

The two main reason that you should put a plow on a 1500 is this.

Newer trucks have thinner frames then they did 20 years ago. Plowing puts a lot of force on the frame. It's pretty much hitting a wall at 5mph multiple times. It is very easy to bend and break a frame. A 3/4 was designed for this and is a lot stronger.

Also a half ton has a pretty weak suspension. You hang a 6ft steel plow on it you'll be doing steering/ball joints/and hubs every year. They just cant handle that much weight on them.

If you watch people that plow its almost always a older 3/4 or SRW 1 ton ford or dodge. Most of the guys here their trucks are early 2000 models. Plowing is a hard life for a truck, but if you're hellbent on doing it I would find a small light weight plow and not ram the snow hard.

 

As far as I remember RAM 1500 is not ready for plow by default. I read in the manual that even bull guard is not recommended on 1500 because of airbags that means that in case of accident it is possible that they will not work - don't beat me, that what I read :-)

 

If it's ONLY your own driveway you plan on doing, you'll be fine. If you plan on doing anything else, buy a 2500.
1500's can plow, but are not reccomended for the reasons stated above. Go putting a plow on any brand new 1500 and the dealer will void any and all warranties associated with the effects of plowing.
Even in your own driveway, I would reccomend a lightweight fiberglass plow and def don't try pushing mounds of snow. It's very easy to go beating up your ride by trying to push even a small pile of heavy compact snow. You need to keep moving with the weight as the initial impact is what does the damage.

 

how big of a driveway? why do you need a truck to plow like 4 yards of snow?

 

I think you'll be fine for plowing a few driveways, not highway use or monster parking lots, plowing for hours on end. and just be sure to take the plow off when not in use, don't be one of those guys who think they look cool with a plow strapped to the front of the truck from november til april. I have plowed driveways for years with a 94 dakota, and while I wasn't wreckless, I didn't baby it either. Maybe I got a little less life out of front end components, but that would be expected with any plow vehicle. So I'll be getting a plow for my newly acquired 02 ram 1500 in the future and I'm sure you'll be fine too

 

i know a few guys that plow with 1500s and they do just fine. it puts a beating on your truck no matter what kind it is. ive seen just as many 1/2ton trucks and 3/4ton trucks with bent frames from plowing. its not the truck its the driver. if you hit a curb or fire-hydrant under acceleration your probably going to damage your truck no matter what it is. get yourself some nice all terrain tires and stick to your neighborhood. check your front end out beforehand make sure one of your tires isnt about to fall off and make sure the power-steering rack is in good shape.

 

Wow, mixed bag. Thanks for the responses. I'm not looking for big and bad, just enough for my driveway and my parent's. There's isn't very big, but it's about the time. I can't run home after work when there's been snow and get both done in a reasonable time frame. I'd bet that I could get their driveway done with a snow blower in 30 minutes. My driveway takes about 2 hours to snow blow. And while it's all blacktop, it's very old, rough, and uneven blacktop.

So weight is a big factor. That means that the cheap old plows on craigslist, are out of the question. I'll look into a smaller fiberglass one. If it starts getting too expensive, I know I can get an old 3/4 or 1 ton pick up around here for $1500. Sometimes with a plow.

 

Mine is as well and while it's tough to handle the snowblower because it grabs every high spot, I fear a plow would do lots of damage to it, so that is why I paid $1400 for a snowblower vs buying a used plow and on top of that, my neighbor and brother-in-law both offered to do my driveway for free. I'll stick to the snowblower, beside's it'll do a better job of cleaning compared to a 7.5' wide blade that will miss alot of dipped/highspotted areas.