Promod117

Hello everyone! I'm curious if anyone can tell me how much notching of the lower fascia under the bumper is required when installing a plow. Any pictures? I'm also trying to decide whether to buy a truck side kit for my existing Western or to put a new Snow Dogg on. The Western is 140 pounds heavier but plan on installing a set of front Timbrens. I've looked at the Sno-Way also but can not justify the extra $2000. Thanks for your input!

smokeywren

Hi, Promod117, and welcome to F150Forum.


Ford publishes a paper that explains the limits of installing and using a snowplow on their trucks. It's in the "Supplemental Reference of the Body Builder's Layout Book". I know the F-250 4x4 with the optional snowplow prep pkg is in there, but I don't remember if the F-150 is even in there. If it's in there, then the F-150 is limited to only the very smallest and lightest snowplows available. You should go to your Ford dealer and request that information before you mount a snowplow on your F-150.


I suspect an older Western plow will be a lot heavier than the max allowable on an F-150. If you mount it anyway, then your warranty on the truck goes out the window.

dcarr

I have a boss sport duty on my truck. there is a fair amount of trimming to be done. mostly anything between the tow hooks gets cut out. different brackets need different amounts cut though. the issue with putting a plow on our truck isn't the weight as much as the electrical systems. I only had an issue a couple times where the radio would shut off and the heater fan would die. it was only for a few seconds till the alternator caught back up. I put an optima battery in and haven't had an issue since

Promod117

Thanks for taking the time to read my post and provide your input. I had the Western on a 2003 for 6 seasons and it did the same thing, on occasion, in regard to the radio cutting out. Any reason you went with a battery instead of a bigger alternator?

2011f150

Sno- ways with down pressure are best suited for your truck! There electronics are the best suited for epas.

Promod117

I'm not sure what you're basing that on. The down pressure has nothing to do with the vehicle it's attached to. Very beneficial for back-dragging. As for the electronics and EPAS, the problem, as I understand it, is when you try and steer the vehicle and operate the hydraulics on the plow at the same time. Ironically, most of the plows are using the same starter motor to operate the pump. Yes, the Sno-Way has some nice features on the lighting side and the wireless, but not worth the extra 2 grand to me.

2011f150

Hello again: I'm basing my reply on experience. 27 years with Gravity plows and now 5 years with sno-way down pressure plows. These plows are superior . Better scraping , less salting , very well built, no chain slap, wireless remote. If and when I ever need another plow it would be a down pressure sno-way! They have a legal patent on down pressure. Now in my 32 year in snow removal. No PLOW break downs with 6000 lots cleared. Please remember different strokes for different folks

dcarr

the sno ways work better for our trucks because of the way the electronics are set up. it uses less draw to operate the movement of the plow. I went with a battery because mine was getting weak. I had killed mine a couple times from leaving my aftermarket heated seats on overnight. so I just went with an optima. a bigger alternator would help with the recovery after the draw but I think with our system in the truck its more of a power storage being needed now over being used over a span. if that makes any sense.

Paul White

Boss created the down pressure system for plows and according to the US patent office filed the first patent for a down pressure system, they are also a more established company than sno-way. Personally, I have a Meyer plow on my F-150 FX4, it works well for what I need it for.

Ricktwuhk

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