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Hi Guys,
My son and I are in the snow plowing business here in Minnesota, with about 30 accounts. They are all residential hobby farms with long driveways plus often close quarters near garages and barns.
With my 86 W250 down for too long and my life bouncing from minor daily crisis to crisis, I began the plowing season driving my son's Ford F350 short box crew cab 2002 Powerstroke truck with a straight 8 ft Hiniker blade. Nice truck and really a nice ride!! But I just could not plow with it (OK, I did plow with it, but it sure wasn't a good plow truck). I compare it to my many years of plowing with my 86 Dodge W 250 with Meyers C-8 blade and the Snow Fighter package.
I could not see to back the Ford up. Extended cabs just do not work when the windows get foggy. I was always depending on the mirrors to back up, and sometimes missed seeing something on the right rear. I was paranoid of bending up the truck and doing property damage, so it ended up being real slow. He had a tonneau cover and tailgate in place, but I could not have seen anything with that long cab anyhow.
The Hiniker controller is a joy stick that sits in your lap and of course moves around from where you have put it. And when you do grab it, the joy stick is probably 45 degrees to the truck's orientation. Every time you get out or get in the cab, you've got to move the joy stick out of the way or you sit on it. Nice system, but I am not impressed. Just give me the controls on the lower left side of the dash where they are out of the way and are fixed in place so when the going gets rough I can count on the controls being in the same place. And the windshield wiper switch being just an inch or so away from your control fingers.
The crew cab means a longer truck, and that is a problem when making a plowed corner or being close to something low like concrete flower pots. The center of the truck is likely to get buggered up as it hangs over the unplowed curve. The longer truck is just a pain when trying to work close quarters. It is just less agile.
To the credit of the F350, it is a better ride, has good power, has excellent weight, the automatic locking hubs are really nice, and the transfer case shift is an electric switch control on the dashboard. The hubs did put up with the abuse and the tranny and transfer case never faulted. It does have a heavy frame and will probably last a long time.
But I was relieved to be back in the old Dodge. I could really work it (beat on it!!), see where I was going and backing (tail gate off), feeling OK about throwing tow chains and dirty tools on the right side floor. It was built as a work truck, and now 25 years later still does a good job. I wish I could buy a much newer one built with the same straight forward technology (no excessive electrical and computer stuff to fail at -20 F at 3 a.m. with the wind howling). My truck has serious rust problems, but will live to plow next year's snow too.
Just my observations!!
Paul in MN
My son and I are in the snow plowing business here in Minnesota, with about 30 accounts. They are all residential hobby farms with long driveways plus often close quarters near garages and barns.
With my 86 W250 down for too long and my life bouncing from minor daily crisis to crisis, I began the plowing season driving my son's Ford F350 short box crew cab 2002 Powerstroke truck with a straight 8 ft Hiniker blade. Nice truck and really a nice ride!! But I just could not plow with it (OK, I did plow with it, but it sure wasn't a good plow truck). I compare it to my many years of plowing with my 86 Dodge W 250 with Meyers C-8 blade and the Snow Fighter package.
I could not see to back the Ford up. Extended cabs just do not work when the windows get foggy. I was always depending on the mirrors to back up, and sometimes missed seeing something on the right rear. I was paranoid of bending up the truck and doing property damage, so it ended up being real slow. He had a tonneau cover and tailgate in place, but I could not have seen anything with that long cab anyhow.
The Hiniker controller is a joy stick that sits in your lap and of course moves around from where you have put it. And when you do grab it, the joy stick is probably 45 degrees to the truck's orientation. Every time you get out or get in the cab, you've got to move the joy stick out of the way or you sit on it. Nice system, but I am not impressed. Just give me the controls on the lower left side of the dash where they are out of the way and are fixed in place so when the going gets rough I can count on the controls being in the same place. And the windshield wiper switch being just an inch or so away from your control fingers.
The crew cab means a longer truck, and that is a problem when making a plowed corner or being close to something low like concrete flower pots. The center of the truck is likely to get buggered up as it hangs over the unplowed curve. The longer truck is just a pain when trying to work close quarters. It is just less agile.
To the credit of the F350, it is a better ride, has good power, has excellent weight, the automatic locking hubs are really nice, and the transfer case shift is an electric switch control on the dashboard. The hubs did put up with the abuse and the tranny and transfer case never faulted. It does have a heavy frame and will probably last a long time.
But I was relieved to be back in the old Dodge. I could really work it (beat on it!!), see where I was going and backing (tail gate off), feeling OK about throwing tow chains and dirty tools on the right side floor. It was built as a work truck, and now 25 years later still does a good job. I wish I could buy a much newer one built with the same straight forward technology (no excessive electrical and computer stuff to fail at -20 F at 3 a.m. with the wind howling). My truck has serious rust problems, but will live to plow next year's snow too.
Just my observations!!
Paul in MN
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