New toy, what is wrong with me?

fastfredracing · 12-13-2011, 04:02 PM

1987 Ramcharger plow truck

I sold my dually in the fall , which was also my plow truck. It pushed snow awesome, but was just too big to plow my lot, and my driveway ( total pia to turn around). I did not want to put a plow on my newer truck , it beats the snot of the truck, and becomes a pain in the winter months if you need to use it for anything else. I decided to just grab up a lot truck, I paid the guy $1300.00 for it. Looks like my 930 project will get shelved for a few more weeks, the Ramcharger will need all new brake lines run, the plow only goes side side, no up down, and the actuator on the front diff is rusted off. Oh, and the floor boards are gone. My home is only 7 miles from my shop , so it will see very limited road use. I am not even going to make it inpsectable this season, I'll just drive it without a sticker. Only 33,000 orig miles, was bought brand new by a church and was used only as a lot plow/salt truck it's whole life. It had been sitting for a month, and fired right up, and sounded great. .

Walter_Middie · Walter_Middie's Garage

Nice. I assume it has a 318 V-8 and the Lean Burn ignition and carb. Which trans? 4-spd manual or auto 727?

I recently bought my step-son a 1985 Prospector with the slant six. I'm changing to an older carb and electronic ignition to get rid of the Lean Burn stuff.

I have to admit I love driving the old truck - slow as it is.

Baz · Baz's Garage

Hey Fred.....nice.....plus now you have something to place in front of your door when you don't want to be disturbed (plow facing outwards of course)!

EarlyPorsche · 12-13-2011, 04:18 PM

Thats nice! I have that in 3/4ton pickup form with a 6BT and 518a.

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

Plowed many years with a Ramcharger and a meyers plow.
Still use the meyers but it goes on my Massey-Fergusen tractor now.
The ramcharger is a pile of rusty rubble out in the back 40 now.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

you need a plow truck of your own and live NE of Spitsburg??

if you lived in the lake effect belt I could understand...

fastfredracing · 12-13-2011, 04:41 PM

Herr, Webb, they charge me $75.00 a crack to plow my lot, and had a guy nail a customers car and would not own up to it. I am about 30 minutes north of the burgh, and right at the very bottom of what they call the snow belt. We get snow here. My driveway is also 250 yards long, simply cannot hand shovel it. and using a snowblower sucks eggs This thing will pay for itself in one season.

RWebb · RWebb's Garage

got it - did not know you had a parking lot

wdfifteen · wdfifteen's Garage

A dedicated POS plow truck is the way to go. Sounds like you've got a winner. 33k miles!

onewhippedpuppy · 12-13-2011, 06:09 PM

Nice, I've always been a sucker for the '80s Ramcharger, Bronco, and full sized Blazer. I had a '85 Ram that was a total slug with the 318 but dead reliable. It was t-boned by a '78 Thunderbird on an icy day, I drove it as a one door truck for six months then sold it to a farmer.

LakeCleElum · 12-13-2011, 07:21 PM

Freddy - That's a steal of a price.......You can't got wrong, especially since you have the skills to make it right.

I've been looking at something like this to plow my 1/4 mile private rd and Cul-De-Sac.....My budget is $3-$5K and haven't found anything close to this yet.

Only observation is: 33,000 miles in a "plow only" mode is a hell of a lot of wear and tear on that poor thing. That's like pushing snow 1.3 times around the world?

Bill Douglas · 12-13-2011, 07:38 PM

Great idea. And it doesn't need to be kept terribly legal. It just needs to go. It's not like the cops are going to come around during a snow storm to check for rust around the windshield. Plus you can do friends and niegbours driveways for beer.

redstrosekNic · redstrosekNic's Garage

Nice!
I'm stuck using a 1940's ford 9n while contemplating whether or not it is worth it to put a clutch in the POS Jeep CJ5...
It gets cold with no roof, windshield, doors, or heater!!!
The 6 volt system gets old as well when it is below freezing outside...

Joeaksa · 12-14-2011, 04:52 AM

Whats a "snow plow?"

Tim Hancock · 12-14-2011, 05:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redstrosekNic

Nice!
I'm stuck using a 1940's ford 9n while contemplating whether or not it is worth it to put a clutch in the POS Jeep CJ5...
It gets cold with no roof, windshield, doors, or heater!!!
The 6 volt system gets old as well when it is below freezing outside...

I have a '41 9N with a back blade.... works good for the first snow, but once you get a set of frozen banks down each side of the drive and the snow drifts across them, the old Ford without tire chains struggles. In recent years, I have been mainly using a 4 wheel drive Polaris with a front mount blade which is a bit better than the Ford after the first snow. When large areas of drifting occurs, I usually end up getting out the old Melroe/Bobcat from the 60's and use the bucket to "shovel" the snow.

Plowing three driveways takes me under an hour, but on occasion I "day-dream" about buying an old jeep to use strickly for plowing.

speeder · speeder's Garage

That's a great deal. The plow is worth $1300 alone if it's not too expensive to fix it. It looks like an 8' Meyers. (They also make a 7.5' if not mistaken). The Ramcharger is OK for small plowing jobs like a lot or driveway, it doesn't have the wheel base I'd want to drive it all over an icy city from job to job w/ a plow hanging off the front. Just get the heat working in it and put in a cup holder and you're golden.

Tim Hancock · 12-14-2011, 08:47 AM

For guys with pickup truck plows..... Does loading the beds with 1000 or so pounds of weight make a big difference in plowing performance? If so, I am guessing I might have to switch my "dream" plow rig to an old beat up 4x4 truck like Fred did.

Rick V · 12-14-2011, 03:28 PM

I had an 86 RamCharger SE Royal with a built to the hilt 360 in it, that was unstoppable. LSD front and rear, I wish I still had it, or at least the engine and diffs.

DanielDudley · 12-14-2011, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

For guys with pickup truck plows..... Does loading the beds with 1000 or so pounds of weight make a big difference in plowing performance? If so, I am guessing I might have to switch my "dream" plow rig to an old beat up 4x4 truck like Fred did.

A lot of those big county trucks with the plow and sand rigs are rear wheel drive, if that tells you anything.

pete3799 · pete3799's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tim Hancock

For guys with pickup truck plows..... Does loading the beds with 1000 or so pounds of weight make a big difference in plowing performance? If so, I am guessing I might have to switch my "dream" plow rig to an old beat up 4x4 truck like Fred did.

A jeep will do fine. I'd rather plow with a short wheel base rig than a longer one.
Weight in the rear of a pick-up will help a lot. Chains are a necessity around here.
This is my current snow fighter