Did I do OK on this Ram Charge Sno Commander?What is the story with these

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Well I picked up this 89' Ram Charger Sno Commander.
My driver took a dump & I needed a truck that I could use for a plow truck & use as a driver. Tired of paying for my drive to be plowed her in NE,Ohio every winter. I have about a 20 car lenght drive.

89' Ram Charger Sno Commander, 318, great interior, no rot and a solid bed. 4X4 works great.

Needs.
Tires, tune up, front shocks &  tail pipe,driver's tail light, and also needs a plow set up.LOL

It is pretty neat, it still has the Sno Commander decals on the bed, does not shake on the highway and feels solid.

What is the history on these?
Did they come with a factory plow you could order? Were they OK in their day?

I will post better pic's, these are the oes from the Craigs List Ad.

[BigBlackDodge]

Got this off of wikipedia.......


Sno Commander - known as the Sno-Fighter in the older D series trucks, the Sno-Commander came with 4-wheel-drive and the V8 engine as standard equipment. It included a snow plow, heavy duty cooling, a larger battery, and provisions on the engine to hook up hydraulics to work the plow as well as a cab controller. Early model Rams also had a badge on the box side. This package was discontinued after the redesign in 1994, but a similar package is offered through Chrysler called the Snow-Plow Prep package.



BBD

[Todd Wilson]

Got this off of wikipedia.......


Sno Commander - known as the Sno-Fighter in the older D series trucks, the Sno-Commander came with 4-wheel-drive and the V8 engine as standard equipment. It included a snow plow, heavy duty cooling, a larger battery, and provisions on the engine to hook up hydraulics to work the plow as well as a cab controller. Early model Rams also had a badge on the box side. This package was discontinued after the redesign in 1994, but a similar package is offered through Chrysler called the Snow-Plow Prep package.



BBD

Pretty much sums it up. Just a add on package for a snow plow and all that goes with it.


Todd

[Highbanked Hauler]

 Back about 1978 or so the Dodge dealer near me had about 5 or 6 of the snow fighters out front with Myers plows on them.  I was going to buy one but having a Myers  plow then was like having a social disease. Basically it was Chevy and Fisher plows.

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

yeah, had hookups for snow plows that were supplied by Chrysler.

Just FYI... it isn't a Ram Charger Sno Commander, just a Dodge Ram Sno-Commander.  The Ram Chargers were an SUV.

[charger_cody]

look just like a dodge ram. I have a Dodge RamCharger. It came with 2wd and a 360 727.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,66788.msg749207.html#msg749207

[BMOTOXSTAR]

yeah, had hookups for snow plows that were supplied by Chrysler.

Just FYI... it isn't a Ram Charger Sno Commander, just a Dodge Ram Sno-Commander.  The Ram Chargers were an SUV.

Ah, me a dummy. Thanks for clearing that up. I have to say that even though it is a beater I really like this truck.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

yeah, had hookups for snow plows that were supplied by Chrysler.

Just FYI... it isn't a Ram Charger Sno Commander, just a Dodge Ram Sno-Commander.  The Ram Chargers were an SUV.

How hard are those plow carriers to find? So the plow blade was not Mopar? Was the Carrier , Pump & Controls. Man, I am pissed that they took the stuff off this truck

[TheAutoArchaeologist]

Over on www.ramchargercentral.com there is a ton of information.  A friend of mine, NOTABLAZER on there and Moparts had a Sno-Commander.  I think he still has the plow too.

[Ghoste]

Just for the sake of knowing, why are the Myers plows bad and the Fisher ones good?

[Tilar]

There's nothing wrong with Myers plows. If they were not any good there wouldn't be so many of them around.  I have one on my 89 blazer and it works fine.

[stripedelete]

yeah, had hookups for snow plows that were supplied by Chrysler.

Just FYI... it isn't a Ram Charger Sno Commander, just a Dodge Ram Sno-Commander.  The Ram Chargers were an SUV.

How hard are those plow carriers to find? So the plow blade was not Mopar? Was the Carrier , Pump & Controls. Man, I am pissed that they took the stuff off this truck

We had 79 for a service truck.  Except for the rust issues of the day, I would consider it one of Chrysler's shining moments.  I won't bore you with the stories, but, IMO as a tool setup for a specific purpose it still has no equal.  In 79 they had what we referred to as "full time" four wheel drive.  No lockout hubs.  The Myers plow setup was referred to as "live power" at the time.  It was powered by a hydraulic pump right off the engine as opposed to "electric over hydraulic" which was the Western setup.  When you raised, lowered or angled the plow the lights never dimmedand and it was strong.  While it was considered superior to the electric over hydraulic, it was also more expensive.  It became even more expensive IF the hydraulic pump failed, which could be Highbankhauler's reference to a social disease. 

In the name of fuel efficiency you got lock out hubs by '89.  In the name of sticker shock they went to electric over hydraulic, which, I believe was a Western setup by '89.  I see your "vintage" plow on near scrap power wagons and ramchargers all the time.  My guess is the plow setup is probably as beat as the trucks.  You still should be able to buy one new for about $3-3.5K.  I have seen entire used setups that will fit your truck on CL.

Over the last 15 years, the winters have been lighter than those in the seventies.  Somewhere during that time your truck was probably easier to sell by downplaying the fact that it was a plow-truck.  But that's just a guess.
 

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Over on www.ramchargercentral.com there is a ton of information.  A friend of mine, NOTABLAZER on there and Moparts had a Sno-Commander.  I think he still has the plow too.

See if your dude wants to sell the setup.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

It doe snot have lockouts I do not think. Just the 4X4 shifter on the floor and & auto trans.
So when the 4 wheel is not engaged the parts for the front are moving in the housing just not engaging?

[stripedelete]

It doe snot have lockouts I do not think. Just the 4X4 shifter on the floor and & auto trans.
So when the 4 wheel is not engaged the parts for the front are moving in the housing just not engaging?

Yes, if there is nothing on the hub that yo can turn, the above statement is correct.
I fact checked myself and cannot say for sure that it was lock-out in 89.  They did go to them before the new body style, but it may not have been 89.  Either way, you have a great truck if you want to push snow.

[Highbanked Hauler]

Just for the sake of knowing, why are the Myers plows bad and the Fisher ones good?

As said there isn't any thing wrong with them.  I think it was that Fisher had a beefier plow frame at that time. That being said that was 40 years ago.