Hello, everybody I'm new here and the more I read i can't believe the knowledge this site has to offer, so I'm looking for some advice, I feel like I'm fighting a loosing battle, and along the way I lost the season plowing with my new Dmax:(

12/31/04 I went to a local GM dealer, up front I had told the sales man I plow commerically and was looking for a diesel truck that I would be able to plow with and found a truck on the lot I had liked, I took it for a ride and I loved it. One thing I had noticed from the start was that on the window sticker it didn't say anything about having a plow prep package, I brought this to the sales mans attention, his words were "your all set all of the 2500 HD's are set up for plowing" I didnt argue much about it because the two noticeable things to me for a plow prep, were there marking lights and the skid plates. The sales man got a second opinion from another employee and he said all the diesels have the heavy plow prep front suspension. I signed my life away and got the 5yr 100k warranty and traded in my daily driver a Black 2000 K1500 short bed. So I'm now the proud owner of a 2005 silverado 2500 HD CC SB LT D/A 4x4 great!!
The following week I ordered a complete Fisher MM2 set up installed it and came up with a ground clearance of 3 1/8" to push plate. I have a dirt driveway at a good incline and am unable to drive up it with the plow on, I have to back up my own drive way, :( !
soon after I called GM and they tell me I need to crank the torshion adj. bolts. This doesn't sound right so I called another GM dealer and they said under no conditions touch those bolts they are torqued to factory spec's and changing them will affect the front end allignment and tire wear. so, I am told about one ton torshion bars, but first before spending more money to confirm it having a plow prep or not. so I go back to GM look up the build sheet, only to find no plow package and am told i can not plow with it, plowing will also void my warranty, I talked to the sales man told him I bought a plow truck this isnt it, I don't want this truck, the sales man ensures me "we'll take care of it", after over a month of waiting calling and stopping in, for the arrival of these special plow prep susp. parts, so I can have a dealer installed plow package. dropped the truck off for this two hour transformation, eight hours later after breaking 3 torshion bar pullers, The dealer tells me its not going to work there must be more to it than just torshion bars. Much later I am told it is un feasable for them to do this, and I will have to trade it in on another new truck thats about were I am now except, there going to give me several thousand less for my truck than I paid, and they informed me they can only get the plow package on a quad cab and reg. so I say get me a price on a quad cab D/A with my same options, nowing the msrp is also alot less on this quad cab than my CC! they give me a price serval thousand more than I paid for the CC, great deal!! what do you think?
:help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help: :help:

Crew Cabs do not have a Plow Package........

Most guys plow with Straight Cabs and or Extended Cab Shorty's......

The plow prep is a dash mounted switch and different torsion bars........nothing more.........all the HD cooling is included with the Duramax........

Try some Timbrens up and crank the "T"-bars........

Whenever I bought a plow truck I always had the dealer supply it with the plow and they signed off on it.........if you go through them it is a Dealer Installed Item..........they sold it they need to warranty it IMHO.......going that route

GM will not help you...........I beleive you can still plow with it........

Some advice, whatever a salesman tells you is usually BS to get you to buy it..........

Sorry.

T:cool: NY

First you can't get the plow prep on a crew cab truck.

Many around here run plows on crew cab trucks. They are a bit lower then the Ford's and Dodges but you can make them work.

Don't be afraid to crank the torsion bars. Everyone does it. I'd venture to say that there are more trucks here with cranked torsion bars then stock. If you are really worried about the front end alignment, have an alignment job done once you get the height where you want it.

If that isn't enough for you another cheap easy solution is timbrens. http://www.timbren.com/

That should get you where you want to be.

****Edit: Tony beat me to it! :cool2:

):h ):h ):h

thanks guys
do you both think GM will want nothing of it, even though one of there employes lied to me up and down to sell a product? I know I should have left, when I asked if they could have the plow put on through one of there installers, and I was told I would get alot better price arranging it myself. It seemed odd for a salesman to turn business away.
regardless I bought a plow truck:rippedhan

Timbrens sound like a good way to go, but if I do plow with it I forfit my warranty, I dont think I could own a $40,000 + dollar vehicle and not have a warranty. If I do trade it in I can transfer the warranty to the new truck correct? what do you guys think a respectable price is for a 2005 quad cab silverado LT 2500 HD 4x4 sb D/A? with of course a plow prep pkg.
Any good promotions coming up?

GM won't help you out. I wouldn't waste by breathe.

Your warranty is only as good as your dealer. If you have a problem with out move to another. Unless the plow obviously caused the problem you should have nothing to worry about.

I would make the appropriate changes and not worry about it if I were you.

The plow prep is a dash mounted switch and different torsion bars........


T:cool: NY
I thought the dmax already has the heavier torsion bars.

Do u normally leave the plow on for the winter?

How much weight do u have in the bed?

Measure the height of the truck w/o the plow on then measure it w/ plow on and up, then jack up the front end and give the bars 3 turns.
Let it down and cycle the plow a couple of times and recheck the measurements.
Do this til u get it back to stock height w/ plow up.
When the plowing is done put it down to the original settings.
When the plow is up the front end is in the same alignment as stock, but when the plow is down u'll have more toe-in.

Dmax Tim, thank you The dealer already gave the bars a couple good turns after they couldn't get the other bars they ordered to work. Big difference no more exagerated toe out. I haven't played with the ballast yet, just done my own drive way. I'm just very uneasy about doing parking lots or using it on the town, I've already got three trucks with routes. I just wanted to up grade so that's why I purchased this one. But now they tell me even though the salesman lied to me I'm stuck with It. So I'm thinking about trading it in for the quad cab. I asked about the G.M. Supplier Discount Authorization# and they said they would take it. Can you help me out? thank you

USA1 - In a few months, you'll get a survey from GM about the purchase of your truck...Make sure you fill it out and let them know exactly what happened here..That's the salesman's "report card" if you will...I would bypass the salesman and talk directly to the general manager/owner of that dealership you dealt with...Explain the situation to him/her and ask their opinion....You went on the salesman's word, I would think that would be worth something...Maybe not.:(

If they are unwilling to set you up with a different truck, follow Dmax tim's instructions...There are quite a few trucks running around here without the "plow package" that have plows on them...
Good luck, and don't let the dealer take advantage of you (again)..

YES, I would be talking with the General Manager of that dealership ASAP with your salesperson in tow and courteously raise "HELL" with him/her. If they don't respond to your liking then let them know you will be filling out their report card badly as Partsguy said. Then go ahead and install the Timbrens. :exactly:

I thought the dmax already has the heavier torsion bars.

Do u normally leave the plow on for the winter?

How much weight do u have in the bed?

Measure the height of the truck w/o the plow on then measure it w/ plow on and up, then jack up the front end and give the bars 3 turns.
Let it down and cycle the plow a couple of times and recheck the measurements.
Do this til u get it back to stock height w/ plow up.
When the plowing is done put it down to the original settings.
When the plow is up the front end is in the same alignment as stock, but when the plow is down u'll have more toe-in.I am not plowing with my current truck.......gave it up when I sold my previous truck a few yeaqrs ago.......

I used to plow with a 1987 GMC-K2500 with an 7~1/2 Fisher.......

Plowed good too........IMHO the only plow truck to own is a Straight Cab 2500 or 3500/8 foot bed, AUTOMATIC........

IFS truck take a beating..........

Back on TOPIC..........:cool:

Salesmans are such liars. I had one tell my brother that if he bought the truck right then that he would pull it in the shop and have the mechanic doe a quick tune up an pull an extra 100 horses out of it. I know when I bought my duramax I knew twice as much about the truck as the salesman. Good luck getting your problem solved, that salesman probably no longer works at that dealer, they usually last a few months.

For some odd reason the salesman is still there,-:t
He called me last night wondering why I havent come down to the lot to sign a new contract. They dont have any diesels there and want me to sign a contract to buy, because they dont want to swap it onto there lot or as they told me buy it at invoice and get stuck with it, if I dont like it.
Im still waiting for a better trade in price from his boss, almost a week later now!

It stinks when I talk to the stealers and get the feeling they want to stick it too me one more time!

usa1, don't fret too much. the crew cab will handle a plow fine, and if you use good judgement in plowing, you are in good shape. ask yourself the question" how much differant is a crew cab versus ext. cab?" the main reason is that you can stuff more poeple in a crew, and with a plow will overload the front. they always figure worst case so they can cover their butts against the lawyers. also, what is the worst that could happen?, you break the front end? $3000-$5000 in repair? you MIGHT have this problem, and you MIGHT find a dealer who asks no questions. but you trade it in, and you DEFINITLY have to eat the same amount of cash. use caution, only put the plow on before, and remove after storms, and go slow, no need to hurry in a comfy plow ride, and the truck will hold up fine. pay now, or MAYBE pay later. i chose the latter as well. if it does break, it should be down the road some, and then fix it, take the plow off, trade it in, when you owe less $$. the trade in value is the worst in the first year, and it still declines, but at a much lower % in the 3-5 year span. plus you still got the plow.for what it's worth, my '04 cc d/a 265's,cap,4x4, ex cond, 28,000mi was worth $25,000 trade- i laughed.
good luck

nooner426, you raise some good points! I'm going to lose the same amount of money if I trade now or a year from now, I mine as well work her a little bit,and if something does go, I just pull all the plow stuff off push plates, isolation module, etc. and take advantage of the over priced warranty, RIGHT?

usa1, on the nose. some of us were told, or assumed that a 2500hd crew would be a good plow, or work truck, and we bought a nice one. problem is they seem to only be good for towing, and hauling poeple to the golf course,or brunch after church (according to gm). we bought them, and now have to try to utilize them until it is more practical to git rid of them. best of luck and for gods sake, DON'T USE THAT TRUCK LIKE A TRUCK!!!!;)

side note, i know some have wieghed thier trucks front ends, and was VERY curious as to if anyone has done the math, or wieghed the crew cab d/a 4x4 front end, with 6 full size humans inside, say a construction crew 230-300lb guys, 250lb avg person X 6 =1500lbs!!, just back from a big lunch, with some tools in the bed, and all with big coffee mugs(20ozeach!) , and throw in a big, gaudy front license plate, or a brush gaurd/winch!! i bet that would be very, very close to "overloading" the front end, if not over it. so would gm deny a warrenty if the truck was overloaded in this way? just some fat to chew

I JUST PURCHASED A 05 2500 D/A CC , AND THE DEALER INSTALLED MY 8.2 BOSS V-PLOW NO QUEST. ASKED , THEY ALSO INSTALLED TIMBERAN LOAD BOOSTERS , AND ILL TELL YA IT PLOWS AWSOME !!!!!! I PICKED THE TRUCK UP YESTERDAY , AND WE HAD GOTTEN 4-5 INCHES OF SNOW ... SO I DID MY ROUTE , AND ALL WAS GOOD . ANY QUESTIONS LET ME KNOW... .THE05HD:ro)

USA1
Not much of a need for snow plow here in So.Cali but I would definetly think twice before buying from that dealer again! Have you tried GM.com to build your own truck? When I was shopping I found it fairly accurate specificaly when it came to adding different options. just a thought

the05hd

I wish I was closer to your dealer! question did your truck come stock with the 265/75 's got mine with little 245/75 's :(


thanks!

bruce625

i tried gmbuypower.com didnt matter how i set up the truck couldnt get a plow prep with cc Im going to get me some timberans
and get her done!:eek:

no, it did not come with 265's ... i had them swap the tires off my 03 onto the 05 !!!!!!!! :cool:

no plow prep avail. , get the timberans...... they work great on mine !!!!
what plow are you running , and what is the est. weight ... the05hd
:ro)

Whatever you decide to do....this dealer need to be burned. I'd fire a letter off to GM telling them the whole story and ask for their help to get you in the right truck for your needs.....the one you thought you were buying. Stuff like this burns my butt and I'd bet it burns GM's too.

04.5 DMax C/C w/7.5 Fisher MM2. 6 turns on torsion bars and 800 lbs of ballast. All is good... Doesn't carry as high as my EC '02 GMC HD gasser with plow prep...but that truck had one hell of a lot less weight under the hood. You have to carry ballast in a DMax cew...period. ;)

Install the timbrens,and you'll be fine.Dont bother trading it in at this point, your dealer already told you hes warranty it as is,so let them do that if you have a problem. Crew cabs cant get the plow prep if the have the 6600 or 8100 engines.Just about any 8' straight plow exc a sno way and a driver only will put them over the front axle's maximum capacity of around 4670-4800lbs.I bet a cc/sb D/A 4x4 has 4300 easy on the front end with no plow or driver.6 150 lbs guys will put it at the max front axle weight too,no plow needed.You need a bumper pull trailer to transfer a little weight rearward to keep it legal with a few big guys in the cab.