4 Wheel Hi or Lo?

[RB]

Is it always necessary to plow in 4 wheel Lo? This is my first year out. I bought a new Chev. 2500 w/Meyer 7.5. The salesperson said I need to be in 4 Wheel Lo at all times when I'm plowing. all my lots with a few exception are flat. I think I can plow in 4 Wheel Hi. Any help?

 

[plowking35]

Our gas trucks with autos plow in 4 low 95% of the time. that is why the 205 t case is nice, it ha a higher gear ration, so reverse isnt so slow. All standards can use 4 hi.
All diesels plow 4 hi, the low range causes to many rpms, and I dont like revving the diesels all night.
Dino

 

[OBRYANMAINT]

i plow in 4 high and two wheel depending on amount of snow

 

[TLS]

I only plow in Low Range when the snow is heavy and deep. Other than that, its 4 HI. I think Low range is dangerous for me because I run 2500+ lbs of salt and a spreader in the back and if I blip the big block, I may just twist an axle or something. There is just too much torque multiplication in 4LO. Just be careful if you have traction. What rear gears do you have? I like 4HI because I can shift to 2HI when turning around in a dry street or whatever. And on a parking lot, reverse is too slow in 4LO.

I'm wondering just how slow a new Allison is in reverse 4LO? They have a real low first gear and a lower reverse. On these Allisons, Low Range is just about useless unless your climbing a rocky cliff!

[Edited by dixie1 on 11-29-2000 at 02:11 PM]

 

[yardsmith]

Same as others here-
Most snowfalls here in Ohio (outside the snow belt) aren't super heavy; We plow in 4 HI most of the time, cuz you don't have to give hardly any gas to push the snow. If it gets warmer & slush-laden heavy type, then drop 'er down into LO range, or if it gets 3"+ at one time. Anytime you have to make the truck work to push the snow, use 4 LO. If in doubt, use it to be on the safe side.

 

[Ben W]

With my 5 speed I always plow in 4 hi. My friends with automatics will plow in 4 low. Good luck.

 

[RB]

Thanx for the help. I guess I'll be using 4hi most of the time. Here is Pgh. I'll probably be pushing 2 or 3 inches at any one time. Any more than that and I'll use lo. Thanx again!

 

[Doug406]

That is a good example of why not to beleive everything a car saleman says. They don't have half the answers. I have a freind that sells dodge trucks and he says he really keeps his mouth shut most of the time about giving advice on these types of questions because it is embarrasing to him when the customer knows the vehicle more than he does.

 

[jimsmowin]

TRUCKS ALL HAVE 4:10 GEARS, PLOW IN 4 WHEEL HI 98% OF TIME - 4 WHEEL LO ONLY ON STEEP GRADES OR HARD PULLS, PUSH 10-12" IN HI UNLESS WET SNOW. USE TRANS COOLERS AND SYNTECH OIL- AMSOIL

 

[John DiMartino]

I always plow in 4 hi,unless its real heavy or im in a tight spot on steep hills.The extra shifting the auto does in 4 lo makes more heat than the added load of 4 hi most of the time,I tried it both ways with my trans temp guage,the temp was within 5 degrees in 4 hi.Another thing on gm;s the governor gear is real easy to break off when using low range,since the output shaft is spinning so fast and comes to an abrupt stop quickly,i have seen several stripped gears on the governor s,then the truck has only 1st and reverse.My trucks all have the TH 700R4 or the 4L60E,which have a low 3.06 to 1 1st gear,so with 3.73 rears this is plenty of multiplication to snow moving.My old Suburban has a TH350,2.52 1 st gear,and 3.08 gears with 31" tires,I used low range in that truck all the time,since it would do about 55 mph in 1 st gear,it was way overgeared for plowing.