I am going back and forth abut putting a plow on my truck just because it is my baby. But I can get a damn near brand new 7.6" Boss straight blade for 1000.00 and it is really impacting my decision. The way my truck is right now will I have any problems? How does our trucks hold up to plowing? What kind of parts I am looking at replacing over time? Would I have to change anything on my truck?
Edit: How doe sthe allison hold up? Will I have to worry about trans problems in the future?

my old boss plowed with a 06 f350 with a 6 inch lift and 35's and then he bought a 08 f350 and put a 8 inch lift and 37's and plowed with that too

the allison will be fine as well

I've plowed with all of my Duramaxes. 8'6" MVPs, and 3 were crew cabs. Take care of the truck and you will have years of trouble free use. I just recently sold it, but plowed with my 04. It had a Cognito 4/6 on 20's and 35's. No comment on how the rims looked after the salt. It plowed no differently than others I've had on 245's, 265's, 285's, etc. I also currently run 315's on one of my other ones along with an MVP. Your truck is made to work. It's no different than pulling a trailer if you do it sensibly. If you don't buy that Boss for $1k, let me know and I will!! :D

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/garageimage.php?do=full&p=60742

http://www.dieselplace.com/forum/garageimage.php?do=full&p=78498

Baby your baby, and you should be fine. Resist temptation to bang forward to reverse to forward, try to shift only after you stop completely...your trans, case, u-joints etc...will be happier. A set of Timbrens or the like will save wear on the torsion bars, shocks, etc..and support the weight, making for a more controlled ride. Might want to service the fliuds in everything a bit more often if you plow a lot, as in "severe service". Make sure your alt/battery are up to the task too. Show a little love and it will hold up, beat it/neglect it and you are asking for problems. Hope that helps...

Good points Jason. I want to add too about the forward reverse thing. Not to advise doing so, but the Allison won't go right into gear if you throw it in and gas it. They do this so it's not so rough on the trans. I notice this from time to time. If I go too quick, I'll have to let off and wait for it. Especially when you're hustling. It's a split second, not like I'm jamming it in gear and flooring it by any means. Its not just this truck either, I've noticed in every one I've plowed with (5). It's the same feature that won't allow us to do neutral drops. ;)

Shocks are a big thing but the main problem I've had is ice on the trans wires.However Your truck is lifted so that shouldn't be a problem i'd say go for it and if you dont like it take it off and sell it for what you've got into it.

Everytime I am out plowing, without fail, I think to myself how happy I am that I have a plow on a 9 year old truck instead of my Duramax. My truck is my baby, and for that reason I dropped the extra couple grand and got a whole second truck with the plow.

Is it logical to drop the cash on a second insurance policy/registration/inspection, etc every year? no, but It sure is a hell of a lot nicer on the Dmax to have her sit in the driveway while I am out with the plow truck.

I plowed with 265s, 285s and 315's.. I like the 285's BFG's the best.

Everytime I am out plowing, without fail, I think to myself how happy I am that I have a plow on a 9 year old truck instead of my Duramax. My truck is my baby, and for that reason I dropped the extra couple grand and got a whole second truck with the plow.

Is it logical to drop the cash on a second insurance policy/registration/inspection, etc every year? no, but It sure is a hell of a lot nicer on the Dmax to have her sit in the driveway while I am out with the plow truck.


Why? I'd rather be sitting in my "baby" any day for countless hours at a time than anything else. And, you bought a 99/00 model year plow truck for $2k? I'll take 10 of them!!

Everytime I am out plowing, without fail, I think to myself how happy I am that I have a plow on a 9 year old truck instead of my Duramax. My truck is my baby, and for that reason I dropped the extra couple grand and got a whole second truck with the plow.

Is it logical to drop the cash on a second insurance policy/registration/inspection, etc every year? no, but It sure is a hell of a lot nicer on the Dmax to have her sit in the driveway while I am out with the plow truck.

Been there, but (atleast I) had bad luck this way. Having a second truck for a few grand to save my "good" truck sounded like a good idea, but after dealing with coming home late at night only to brush off 8" of snow, maybe jump start, warm up/defrost, maybe fill up a soft tire, THEN get to plowing....a pain. Not to mention insurance, reg, the space it takes, and maintaining yet another vehicle in my growing fleet. Easier to just drop the blade in a reliable, capable warmed up truck and get it done. Zero hassles is trully worth the price for me and my life/schedule right now. Of course, my plow truck then was a beat down '87 Chevy 1/2 ton...too old to expect 100% performance anyhow.