I'm a noob so I apologize if this has been asked before...
Can I take a Smart Hitch II - RT3 mount off of a F-350 and put it on a Dodge 3500 if I'd do some clever manipulation of the brackets? I'm very handy with a welder and I think I could easily retrofit everything so that it would bolt right on but I'd like to hear from someone else before I start cutting the mount apart.
Thanks.
You might be able to trade for the right mount. Try posting it in equipment for sale forum.
Try used plow dealers too in your state. You may be able to get her done a lot easier.Try junk yards too, trucks that have died this winter should be hitting there soon. I was on a. EMS call this weekend where a Chevy truck died with a nice Boss Mount on the front. ( It was rear--> ended at 55 by a full size van. )
man you must have way to much time compared to money! you would loose about 75 percent of the mount you would have a job on your hands trying to fab this from scratch.definitely look for a used or offer a trade!!!!:salute:
Like we say in the E.M.S. / Fire Service Work Smarter Not Harder!
The Mount is out there, find it. The season's pretty much over. Someone out there will need what you have and might give you almost what you need money wise to buy what you need. The links above for parts have new truck side mounts available.
( Central Parts Warehouse ) If all else fails write it off on your taxes. Fabbing the mount may be a problem because you may not have it right and it causes damage or bends the frame or mounts for other stuff.
Last year I bought a boss plow off a Dodge. I cleaned it up. Painted it. Put it on ebay and sold it for $140. A week later on ebay I bought a undercarrige for my F250 for $129+shipping. The only problem is it was during the winter months when everyone is thinking of snow. Right now there are not many on.
What year Ford did it come off of ? There is one on ebay for a Dodge Iam looking for a ford so get back with me.

I just installed a used western 7.5 unimount on a 99 dodge ram 2500. The parking lights & turn signals work fine. (truck and plow). No beams on plow at all (high or low). Truck low beams DO go off when plow is connected. I hear the relays clicking when I connect the plow.
Is it possible I have the wrong wiring harness? Everything pluged in OK (headlights, turn signals). I believe my dodge sends 12v to the common, and grounds the appropriate beam (low or high). Anyone have experience with this setup? There are 2 relays - 1 for low and 1 for high beams.
All connections are good.
Do you know what truck the harness came off of?
Check you relays, its a common problem with the westerns.
You have the wrong harness, you should have 4 relays with a power harness to the relays.
What headlights do you have, HB1 or HB5?

What do you folks consider a good expectation for the life of your plow truck before having problems?
I have a 2005 Dodge (bought new) with 19K on it. I am having nothing but rust and corrosion problems, mostly with the wiring.
I went to use the truck this morning, and the plug at the back of the starter had corroded off. Just had the trailer plugs replaced due to corrosion, and the instrument cluster was replaced due to intermittent trouble with the gauges.
I keep the truck in an unheated barn with a concrete floor, and it gets washed every 3 weeks or so if needed.
I guess I am just venting, I had an 01 Ford and had the same type of problems. On the other hand I had an 88 Ford until I bought the 01, never had the trouble until the very end when it was 13 yrs old.
Guess it is just the metal they make them out of now.
Don
Don, first problem is you bought a Dodge!!! LOL, just kidding!!:D But you should wash your truck much more frequently than every 3 weeks. That is ALOT of your problems there. I wash my truck after EVERY event, and make sure to flush out the inner fenders, under the cab, and under the truck bed. I bought my Chevy back in Dec. 06 and hae not one problem with it. It has been a plow truck since it rolled out of the dealer back in 00' and it has 91k on it, and it is fine. Some guys trade in their trucks every two years. I would say trade it in for a new truck, cause those electrical problems could lead to a damaging fire down the road!!! Lets hope not, but it could happen. I have read horror stories on here about guys that had electrical problems and the truck caught fire!!! You truck's life expectancy will be as long as you take good care of it!!!!
My oldest truck is a 1978 F250 and it is still going and ben plowing sence new.. I suspose it all depends on how you take care of your equipment as to how long it will run. Now run cost efectively (sp) is another story.
My truck gets washed after every event...spreading or plowing. Waxed about once a month. I touch the spreader and plow up with rust-oleum when surface rust appears and all my equipment looks brand new and rust-free! And it's not just because of Dodge either! ;) :D
I had a problem with the electrical hook up for the trailer, the plug (back side) got full of salt and shorted out, killing the battery. When I put a charger on it and took the plug apart, it was smoking, but never blew a fuse...
I wish I could wash after each event, the closest car wash is 10-15 miles away. By the time I get back home, the truck is as dirty as when I left. I should have put heat and water in my barn when I built it!!!
Oh well, maybe this summer.....
Don
No matter how much grease you put in the trailer plug. If you have a spreader there is a 90% chance you will be replacing your trailer plug or in my case catching the wiring on fire. Everyyear.
My truck's been a plow truck it's entire life ( 1989 ).
Stuff rusts out and connections need attention.
It's a fact of life with plow trucks.
They are worked hard and put away wet.
part of the problem is ODOT's use of LIQUID CALCUIM- this stuff gets into places that plain old salt NEVER got into, their so called"pre treatment " for the highways in ohio- just comes with living in northern ohio - btw odot in tuscarawas county loves to throw this stuff on THICK... 'Rude Dog
I agree with washing the truck often, but the last problem I had was with the wiring harness at the back of the starter. I don't think anything less than a spray up under the truck would have cleaned this area due to where under the truck it is located. For me it was hard to get my hands up there, and I can't imagine a 10-15 sec. spray cleaning this area very well.
I wonder why the folks that never wash their vehicles never seem to have these problems. I drove a company truck for 8 years, and I'll bet it wasn't washed but 3 times, never had these problems with it......
Don
The best thing you could do is undercoat the truck if you plan on buying a new one, get the full package with the rustproofing and the tar underneath,I to have a dodge its an 01 and I got the package and the truck still looks brand new.
My truck had some rust when i bought it on the undercarriage (body is rust free). I wash it at least once a week when it is nice, waxed sometimes once a month with two coats of wax everytime i do that, interior is vacuumed, and everything is armor alled and the underside is compltely coated in fluid film :) I love my truck!
here in MAINE SALT & CHEMICALS are the Main problem! & in looking over others Equipment after a couple of yrs! YOU can SEE! Who really takes CARE of their Equipment! as the Guys that DON*T Trade real Often! & here theres One GUY that would Destroy an Anvil in a Saw Dust Plie in One Season! Thus! His Equipment Don*t last very LONG! His youngr Brother is just the Opposite--as both are local Contractors--WE Joke the older ones Equip is worth 0,03 cents a LB the Younger GOLD! the younger has an Ole White Mustang Dump single Axle--& People Order Gravel just to See It!--Beautiful just like NEW! a 59? I think?? & it works every DAY! the Younger when Asked? Says every things been Re-placed Except the Roof! & Laughs!--its never been Painted!--all His Equip looks New! a two man operation Father & Son! both very Fusy Guys!--what a Differance in People! --OleTower--
I agree, washing and waxing the vehicle is very important, but how do you clean the underside? I take mine to a car wash with a chassis bath. Don't know what more I can do at this point. New truck right now is out of the question, and this one was not undercoated, per the dealers advice.
Also, would undercoating have protected the wiring harness where it plugs into the back of the starter???? There was so much corrosion , the plugs broke off the starter. Looks like the way it was designed, snow sits on top of the connections. If the connections were turned 90 degrees, the water would run off, not down into the plug.
Oh well, nothing to do now but keep it as clean as possible and repair as we go.....
Don
Thats kinda weird, my 1 ton looks almost like yours. Same color & everything. I haven't had any problems like yours. As far as I'm aware all our municipalities around here use plain 'ol treated salt.
I wash mine every couple of weeks in winter and try to get the underbody flush. I prefer a carwash w/ brushes to get the film off. Some people don't like them and call them "grinders".
I use electrical grease often. my truck is an '04 w/ 60K miles and runs excelent although I was walking around it the other and did count 8 "dings" that its gotten over the years.
The most important thing that I have found is doing an undercarriage wash very often. Not just a car wash one, but actually getting the hose out and spraying under neath the truck. I do it everytime it snows. If there is snow on the road i wash the undercarriage when I get home. It's cold and takes a while, but a few minutes a day and some cold hands are well worth keeping a truck working well. With a plow truck, it should be done after everytime you plow. Clean the plow really well and get to the truck undercarraige. There are a lot of places for sand and salt to collect under there.
I take the truck to a wash that does the "chassis wash" but that didn't do me any good. Hand spraying with a hose would not get to where the problem was unless you were to crawl under the truck and spray directly up at the starter. Just seemed to me that this was a particularly hard place to reach with wash water.....
Maybe I need to drive the truck more, especially when it rains out, take it on the freeway and let the rain road spray wash off the undercarriage.
Don
My way 2700 psi press washer, 30deg tip, rain suit and wet back. Water, water, water it sucks but the only way to get the salt off is to flush it often......
Wash it more often. Try a lawn sprinkler for underneath.
As my HazMat instructor always said, dilution is the solution to pollution.
The only reason CaCl would cause more problems is because it is more corrosive than NaCl, not because it gets into areas that salt won't.
I have a '94 Dodge, '95 Jeep, and a '96 Dodge (plus a few others) that have seen a lot of salt. Have had a few of these problems over the years, but nothing like that with so few miles on it.
What do you folks consider a good expectation for the life of your plow truck before having problems?
I have a 2005 Dodge (bought new) with 19K on it. I am having nothing but rust and corrosion problems, mostly with the wiring.
.
Don Was this vehicle in a flood?

O.k guys heres a question for you. I have recently bought a dump lift that makes your pick up into a dumper. Today I to a good look at the pick up box on my 1995 F-350, and its not in good condtion. Last year I made a flat-bed for my old 1986 F-250, but I junked the truck and kept the flat-bed.And I could put the flat-bed on my curruent truck and put the dump lift into. And I can get free rack body sides too. I want to know what you guys think I should do.
what kind of work do you use your truck for?
JET- My truck gets used anything from welding, landscaping, snow plowing the list goes on and on. I want the flat-bed because I can up larger items in my truck with out fighting with the wheel wells and I also like being able to dump stuff when I'm doing landscaping.
Sounds like the falt bed body will work well for your application of doing many things! Good Luck!
The poll results say it!!!!!!! whatever you do....get pics!!!!
yea the flat bed is a good choice.. i voted that lol
I put a flatbed on my 79 Ford. Good investment. Mine doesn't get near enough use though.
I'd go with the flatbed too. It'd be much more versatile for you judging by your description of the type of use the truck see's.
Well spent yesterday afternoon tearing the pick up bed off the truck. It wasn't that hard once you unhook the tail lights and wireing harness. I used my grinder and ground down the 6 bolts that hold it down to the frame. Once it was unbolted I used 2 floor jacks on the passenger side to lift the box up pretty high. When it was almost falling off I pushed it over on its side. Then I thru a set of tail lights on it and my licsens plate, so that way I can get around for awhile. I have pics of the deconstruction I will post those later today. Today I will drop the rear gas tank and start fixing the rear shackle problem, and I might put in the dump lift surpport beam. I will keep you guys posted. :drinkup: :waving: :drinkup: :salute:
O.K guys I have pics to post but how do I resize them. Its saying my pics are to big to post. Any help form anyone one would be great. THANKS
http://imageshack.us/
The first two of my truck are in the test section, I can't move them and It won't let me post them again. Heres another
Another one
A few more for ya.
Found out that I have a few holes in my spring hangers and spring schackels
Replace those shackels. My friend had his F-250 drop on him while he was driving two shackels let go and the springs were resting on the bed. I'd say you got quite a bit of use out of that bed.
-Eric
You should be able to get the shackles and mount pods from FORD. Bolt them back on with grade 8 bolts and nuts. You can buy them a lot cheaper at Industrial Fastener places.
If you are changing the rubber bushings. An easy way to get them out is use a 1/4 drill bit and drill motor. Drill down between the spring eye and the bushing. When it bottoms out the bit will start spinning rotating around the bushing,when it does just pull up,it will walk the bushing right out.
Sorry guys I have been hard a work and haven't posted anything new lately. But anyways here you guys go. The first 3 pics are the dump supporrt beam, and the dump lift, and pump.
The next 3 are the driver side spring shackle and spring hanger repair. I got these from my buddy that works at Bay State Spring. It only cost me a 100$$ for all the parts.