Can you plow snow with a ford ranger?

I have a ford ranger xlt, with a 2.3L DOHC I4 engine and manual transmission 4x4wd. Can I put a snow plow on the front to do driveways or is the truck not strong enough? What if I had a 4.0l v6 engine?

4 wheel drive?

Probably depends on how deep the snow is & how much the proposed plow weighs.

Yep 4wd

I’ve seen plows on Jeep Wranglers, so I’d say you can plow with a Ranger. Just buy a smaller plow blade.

You said “driveways” - as in several? I wouldn’t. If it’s just your, then I guess so, but I’d be more inclined to put the money in a snowblower instead.

I don’t know for sure, but isn’t plowing with a manual transmission a little like towing with a manual transmission? I wouldn’t want to tow or plow with a manual transmission for fear of burning out the clutch and difficulty maneuvering at slow speeds. For jobs like that, you are probably better off with an automatic.

You can, but it will be hard on the truck. Plowing beats the heck out of a drivetrain, and unless you have a heavy duty drivetrain made for that kind of abuse it’ll catch up with you.

Driveway’s…PROBABLY…But I wouldn’t try anything bigger…especially when it’s wet heavy deep snow. I’d stick to under 6".

In other words, Mike, forget about plowing that storm we had last weekend…

I have seen Rangers with plows on them, so people have done it. You will want to use a small blade, though, and don’t expect it to be able to clear deep, wet, heavy snow without struggling or failing to perform as needed. Also expect to replace the clutch and front end parts on a regular basis, as plowing is very hard on this stuff. Also consider the expense of a snow plow, as even small used ones often sell for upwards of a grand. Will you actually make money with it, or is this simply a convenience/fun thing to you?

On a different note, what year is your truck and when did Ford make a 2.3L DOHC engine for the Ranger? Every one I’ve worked on is a SOHC, the one with dual spark plugs.

Remember that the Ranger is the least capable of all the compact trucks made. It is what it is. A very good buy for minimal truck requirements and quite reliable when used that way. Having said that, you can attach a plow to anything but the low powered car based 4 will really struggle, the manual clutch will get a real work out and the vehicle will age dramatically, even carrying the plow. I see you use the plural, driveways. If you want to contract to make money, I would never hire someone who uses a Ranger for a plow truck. You need to be much more reliable then that.

Btw, I was stuck in Manchester during the storm and watched the wing on the city plow truck fall off (drop) in front of the house. We were stuck in our yard till a tractor came to raise the wing and reinstall the broken parts. What would the Ranger do with that kind of snow ? The v6 would help minimally.
When tacking snow, you need weight and power… The Ranger has little of each. Other compact trucks have little more either.

I would suggest one of the fiberglass, clear plows just to make the plow weight easier on the suspension. V6 would be better but having owned an 03 ranger 2wd same engine I think you may be pleasantly surprised. Sand bags in the rear over the axles will probably help. Regularly plow with a 94 f250 manual, but first gear is a granny gear, 1st gear only gets used when plowing as I otherwise start in second gear. I don’t think first is geared so low in your truck, but don’t ride the clutch and find the sweet spot, plow angled as much as possible. Let us know how it works!

Maybe another one of those "Can? Yes. Should ? No. " questions.

We do not know year or mileage, but if you have to take a chance I think it is a fine bet.

I wanted to buy a snow plow for our 2003 Toyota 4Runner which is my wife’s pride and joy. I thought she could earn a few extra dollars clearing driveways and parking lots. However, Mrs. Triedaq did a little research and figured out that it would put quite a bit wear on the 4Runner and nixed the idea. I think that the 4Runner would be more capable than your Ford Ranger.
The people that I know that move snow in my area have old, battered 4 wheel drive pickup trucks that are 3/4 ton. You are probably o.k. if you use the Ranger for just your own driveway, but I wouldn’t make frequent use of your Ranger for plowing snow.

It sounds like you’re planning to do this as a for-profit snow plowing business based on the plural, driveways.

I wouldn’t consider it much of a problem depending on the size of the blade but it also depends on how much plowing you’re going to do, where you live, and just how deep the snow is that you’re going to be shoving aside.

If you’re going to do a lot of snow plowing then clutch wear could be an issue depending on the locale/snow depth issue. Unless the snow is 3 feet deep I’d think the 2.3 is gutsy enough to handle it.

Whitey…Im a little surprised in your comment. I want to think i can grab a gear Towing or plowing without slipping the clutch

Mark…Truck in gear and foot off the pedal when you hit the snow to be plowed.Why would this hurt the clutch?
What am i missing??

“off the clutch pedal”

When plowing with a manual you have one of two choices moving heavier snow. You need momentum because you often don’t have enough traction to grind it out in low range…so it’s either ride the clutch somewhat, or build up speed and ram it. Without weight and traction to grind it out, there is little a Ranger or any compact truck can offer but novice attempts. I have a 4000 lbs tractor with chains and studs and it looses traction at low speeds for plowing. Nothing like a larger truck’s momentum for heavy snow and nothing like momentum to brutalize the front end.

Trust me, with something as light as a Ranger, your foot won’t spend much time off the clutch…or you will be replacing suspension parts as often as oil filters. Driveways can be much harder on transmission and clutch with constant shuttling then straight ahead road plowing. The clutch will slip even if the pedal is fully released and a 2.3 liter car based 4 ain’t that gutsy. There are several people I have seen do much plowing with a light 4 cyl. They were with Toyota’s and they were beat to a slow death and used for nothing else.