Snow plow

[Komato]

I’ve been looking for a snow plow for Overland diesel and everything I’ve seen online only gives options with the gas motor. Called the local western plow dealer and he said they can’t mount one with the diesel motor. Anyone had any luck finding one for the diesels and why wouldn’t they offer one for the diesel Gladiators?

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[Rusty PW]

You would be sitting on your bump stops soon as you raised the plow.

I image the gasser plow would bolt up. You would have to change the springs in the front.

 

[Komato]

You would be sitting on your bump stops soon as you raised the plow.

I image the gasser plow would bolt up. You would have to change the springs in the front.

I’ve got the mopar lift and wouldn’t be opposed to changing springs to accommodate but it’s not even an option. The western defender plow comes in at 290 pounds.

 

[IamPro2A]

Possibly cooling issues? There really isn't enough airflow for the engine as it is, a plow would only make it worse.

 

[Sank]

Possibly cooling issues? There really isn't enough airflow for the engine as it is, a plow would only make it worse.

I would be surprised if anybody overheated when the ambient temps are below freezing.

But I'm also curious who has a plow on a diesel. Subd.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I’ve got the mopar lift and wouldn’t be opposed to changing springs to accommodate but it’s not even an option. The western defender plow comes in at 290 pounds.

I have that plow and can tell you this - people who have mounted heavy winches and steel bumpers and such and have seen the front of their truck drop - put that weight and another 150-200 pounds FEET out in front of the truck and see what happens. The weight of that engine and the weight of a plow sticking waaay out there when raised - killer.
I have taller, heavier springs under my gas Overland and it drops that truck an easy 1 to 1.5" when I raise the plow.

I installed the whole thing myself - wiring, made adapters to tap into the DRL, turn, etc., modified the brackets to clear the steel bumper and so on. The local dealer said they'd never installed these on Jeeps so seeing my install was the first time they'd seen one on a Jeep.

A lift kit will be a negative - you'll need the optional brackets and not sure how much "lift" they accommodate. If you put heavier springs under it, you'll need to keep the height down and increase rate only and not lift it higher or you'll have some real stress against the frame.
You are supposed to measure from a spot on the frame down to the ground to determine the mounting kit you use. Mine worked with the stock mount. Not sure how much lift the other kit handles.
Springs -
What you'd need is a higher rate but not lift the truck higher. That 300 pounds of plow may not seem like much, but get it stuck out front as far as it is, and have brackets that hang down from the frame and you'll be punishing it.
I know they say "290" or 300 or whatever, but the wiring pieces add quite a bit of weight on top of that. There's massive wiring, 6 relays, an isolation box and more.
I put 1" springs under mine - made to lift a Rubicon 1" and all it did was bring mine up to stock height again due to the bumper, winch, etc. I have. When I raise the plow, the front drops even with these slightly heavier springs under it.

Look at the leverage that plow has over the truck sticking that far forward -

For a truck with a lift - you'll have longer drop arms bolted to the frame to hold the plow's mount bar -

2 large harnesses to run out the front to connect to the plow - one is stiff and heavy -

Possibly cooling issues? There really isn't enough airflow for the engine as it is, a plow would only make it worse.

Weight.
It's a huge issue on these light trucks - and the diesel pushes the thing over the top, is my bet. Load up 300+ pounds sticking way out in front of the truck. The rear of my truck rises and the front sinks when I lift that plow. In fact, the ass-end is so light I almost have to use 4h to get up the gravel between my shop and garage. The rear wheels want to spin.
As far as driving with the plow on front - over and over in their literature it states something like "max 45 mph" - it's a lot of weight on the STEERING axle. I notice mine hesitates when I go to turn the steering wheel. I need to see if there's something I can do to boost the steering. When I raise the plow and go to turn the wheels and move - there's drag before the PS kicks in.

A low road speed would mean you won't have cooling issues in the dead of winter anyway. That plow sits waay out front, a whole lot of space between plow and grill area.
I'm sure their 45 is for safety, and we all know no one is ever going to follow the safety hints -
LOL - Safety?
Something jump out or pull out in front of you - with 300 pounds swinging from the front of this light truck, toss "I can maneuver around it" out the door.

My guess is that it's a weight issue due to how far forward, ahead of the front axle, which is the fulcrum when you lift the plow, ends up being. That plow has leverage. You could add that 300 pounds on top of the bumper and not have the same impact that it has sticking this far forward.

 

[Gatorized]

I would be surprised if anybody overheated when the ambient temps are below freezing.

But I'm also curious who has a plow on a diesel. Subd.

You wouldn’t be surprised if you knew how much the airflow to the radiator is restricted with a plow in front… no matter how cold it is.

 

[IamPro2A]

I would be surprised if anybody overheated when the ambient temps are below freezing.

What about at highway speeds? (Yes, every plow for every truck says max 45mph. How many people drive 50-55mph or faster with one on?)
What about above freezing?
What about highway speeds, above freezing, and with max rated payload?

It might be fine if you put the plow on, did your driveway, and took the plow off.
But that's not what everyone does. It may stay on for the entire season. They may drive 50 miles down the highway to plow mom's house after they do theirs.
Heck, they might just want it on before the storm. Here's my current weather forecast:
Sunny and 40's today
Temps dropping down to 30 tonight, snow starting after midnight.
Snow all day tomorrow, into the next day. Total accumulation 10-15 inches. More for the guys at higher elevations.

You can be sure that anyone with a plow will have it on today, with temps in the mid 40s, if it wasn't on already.

They also have to CYA and consider that someone out there is going to be driving with the plow on when it's 80F out. Maybe because they just had it installed and are driving home. Maybe they are moving to a new home. Maybe they are just lazy. But it will happen. And when they cook the engine, they will be all over the internet bad-mouthing the plow for ruining their Gladiator.

 

[IamPro2A]

Weight.
It's a huge issue on these light trucks - and the diesel pushes the thing over the top, is my bet. Load up 300+ pounds sticking way out in front of the truck. The rear of my truck rises and the front sinks when I lift that plow. In fact, the ass-end is so light I almost have to use 4h to get up the gravel between my shop and garage. The rear wheels want to spin.

Not sure about your plow on our Gladiators, but generally when you get into the nitty gritty spec'ing out a plow for a vehicle, there is often a recommended ballast weight for the plow. You add weight way out front, you are supposed to add weight in the back to bring things back to the proper front-rear weight ratios.

Along these lines, it's also possibly that there is not enough payload capacity left on the diesel after installing the plow to properly ballast the bed.

https://info.bossplow.com/blog/when-and-where-to-place-ballast-when-using-a-snow-plow

 

[Rusty PW]

I know guys that have a plowing business. They put the plows on Thanksgiving and don't take them off until the first of March.

 

[IamPro2A]

I know guys that have a plowing business. They put the plows on Thanksgiving and don't take them off until the first of March.

I run a municipal maintenance dept. (for another 5 work days before I retire, whoop whoop!)

Most of our smaller plows (1.5 ton trucks and smaller) are Western UltraMount2 setups. It literally takes a minute to install or remove the plow. So those usually come off if there is no snow in the forecast for a week or more. The older Fisher minute mounts are more like 20 minute mounts, so those stay on all season. Same with the plows on the big trucks.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Not sure about your plow on our Gladiators, but generally when you get into the nitty gritty spec'ing out a plow for a vehicle, there is often a recommended ballast weight for the plow. You add weight way out front, you are supposed to add weight in the back to bring things back to the proper front-rear weight ratios.

Along these lines, it's also possibly that there is not enough payload capacity left on the diesel after installing the plow to properly ballast the bed.

https://info.bossplow.com/blog/when-and-where-to-place-ballast-when-using-a-snow-plow

For mine they say no ballast needed. I could argue that. I'm going to add ballast, perhaps sand bags secured at the very back.
With the plow standing out front, it takes some weight in the back to offset that, so you are likely close to capacity. IMO, it would be stupid to leave the plow on THESE trucks, esp at highway speeds. We are pushing their capacity to steer, maneuver, and payload, with a plow.
Payload is a killer. It's not like you add the weight over the rear axle - your weight is way out front with crazy leverage over things - it's a heck of a load on the steering axle and I can see how my tires squat unless I add air for the load - which I have done.
Due to the stress on these light trucks, I will only put the plow on if there's snow in the forecast that may need plowed. 2" screw it.

Most of our smaller plows (1.5 ton trucks and smaller) are Western UltraMount2 setups

I wish the Defender had that system, but it does not.
Still, it generally doesn't take too long to connect up or disconnect. Less than 20 minutes for sure.
The problem is that the weight of the plow drops these trucks a lot so they are never sitting quite right when it's time to hook up again. I always need to use a bar or something to get the thing at the right height to either raise or drop the single stand they have - which is on ONE side only, making it tilt a bit when disconnected. It would be better to have a centered stand, maybe like a trailer jack, as the holes in their cheap stand never are in the right place for me - the stand is either not down far enough or down so far when reconnected I can't release the stand.
That's their biggest trouble with these - these light trucks don't play well with their single cheap stand.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I know guys that have a plowing business. They put the plows on Thanksgiving and don't take them off until the first of March.

But they have capable trucks - heavier steering, heavier suspension, etc. - at least I hope.
No way in hell I'd leave a plow on a Gladiator all season! No way I'd use these for more than personal plowing.
I've had mine on and off several times - moved it around, maneuvered with it, practiced, made sure I could garage it with plow on and so on, and it's been enough to say - if you hate your truck go ahead, leave it on. But if you like your truck, and appreciate being able to steer and maneuver in traffic at speed - take the plow off.

Like I said earlier - the dealer had never put one on a Jeep - they'd never seen one of these plows installed on a Jeep. So I showed them my install.

 

[IamPro2A]

But they have capable trucks - heavier steering, heavier suspension, etc. - at least I hope.
No way in hell I'd leave a plow on a Gladiator all season! No way I'd use these for more than personal plowing.
I've had mine on and off several times - moved it around, maneuvered with it, practiced, made sure I could garage it with plow on and so on, and it's been enough to say - if you hate your truck go ahead, leave it on. But if you like your truck, and appreciate being able to steer and maneuver in traffic at speed - take the plow off.

Like I said earlier - the dealer had never put one on a Jeep - they'd never seen one of these plows installed on a Jeep. So I showed them my install.

But you are an educated man who takes care of his stuff partly because he assumes the responsibility for his stuff. You sir, are becoming a rarity.
The plow manufacturer has to assume someone is going to leave that thing on year round, drive at 75mph with it, and then lay a McDonalds hot coffee lawsuit on them when their diesel gladiator overheats and catches fire.

 

[Rahkmalla]

I'm going to add ballast, perhaps sand bags secured at the very back.

Wouldn't a hitch mounted cargo carrier be superior for this job? Use leverage to offset leverage

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