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Homemade Homeplow. Sorta.


85_Ranger4x4

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My cousin in law pushes snow with his late 70's K20 truck, probably 8' blade + wings, power angle... it is a pretty nice setup. He puts a couple hundred pounds in the rear for ballast in addition to his gawdawfully overbuilt gooseneck plate, he says it makes a big difference in how the truck drives. Trucks are already light in the rear, it makes sense that hanging more weight off the front would make them lighter yet.

It isn't a totally out there concept, the back end of forklifts and skidloaders are cast iron for similar reasons.

Going the otherway with the rear mounted blade on my tractor my four 75lb weights on the front really help with steering in snow.
 


Chris_North

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I googled for a formula, but then I realized none of that matters without being able to weigh anything, haha.

My cousin in law pushes snow with his late 70's K20 truck, probably 8' blade + wings, power angle... it is a pretty nice setup. He puts a couple hundred pounds in the rear for ballast in addition to his gawdawfully overbuilt gooseneck plate, he says it makes a big difference in how the truck drives. Trucks are already light in the rear, it makes sense that hanging more weight off the front would make them lighter yet.

It isn't a totally out there concept, the back end of forklifts and skidloaders are cast iron for similar reasons.

Going the otherway with the rear mounted blade on my tractor my four 75lb weights on the front really help with steering in snow.
What's odd is that no one at work operates their truck with any weight in the back (except the dump with the spreader). I tried putting my weight in my boss's truck enlightening him to difference it made with mine, but he said he didn't like it and so I took it out.

I also pick up a scoop of packed snow with the 4WD front loader before driving into deep snow to give the front wheels steering and driving traction.



Things I learned.
But already knew anyway.

Plow with the storm.
Unfortunetely I was plowing with it 16 hours at work, and at midnight when the snow stopped and the sleet was coming down hard, all I really wanted was to go to bed.

8 inches of snow with a layer of ice on top is heavy.
I had to do exactly what I wanted to avoid to move the mix: beat the hell out of my truck and plow. She moved it though! Even better nothing fell off.

250 pounds of plow, 150 pounds of ballast, and driving with hubs locked in is bad for your MPGS.
Not having to pick up a shovel except for the walks is worth it.

When traveling: Angled plow = Good Straight plow = Bad
Oddly enough coolant temp doesn't budge, only trans. I'm guessing this is due more to aerodynamics than airflow over the rads as I was led to believe. Trans runs 30F hotter with the plow straight.

My dog loves car rides, but not when plowing. Also, I have to fix my stereo bracket.
Ramming a pile caused my tiny old dog to fly off the seat. It was funny but I felt bad. My head unit and trim usually flys out at me when I have to gun it to get out in front of traffic, I found out it also flys inward when quickly coming to a stop.

Thread cutting oil at 15F is like pancake syrup.
It still tastes like oil though.

Frustration and determination will keep me feeling warm down to 10F.
Frostbite is still apparently an issue.

Despite its size and weight, I can backdrag.
Only 4 feet though, then the plow stops scraping the snow up and just rides over it. My dad sat on the plow and his weight solved that issue, but this is not practical. I can scrape all but the most packed ice up moving forward though. I was surprised.

I really don't like cats.
Entirely unrelated from everything else.

So the truck and plow performed fantastically in it's first real use. 3 inches of snow would have been a better way to break it in and test it, but 8 inches of snow and ice could be considered a trial by fire. I was about to take everything off when the forecast was changed from snow showers to accumulating snow of up to six inches. I figured it would be best to do a full inspection of everything to ensure proper operation come next storm. I've noticed the king bolt keeps loosening up on its own. When I angle the plow, the nut spins but the bolt remains stationary, despite putting both a split lock washer and nylon stop nut. I drilled a small hole though the nut and blot for a cotter pin, essentially amking mu own castle nut/bolt setup. For some reason with the bolt fully tight the angle holes will not line up. I drilled them larger and egged them a bit to get the locking pin to fit easily.

Between doing all this, I noticed the lifting winch seemed loose. To mount it I used two full thread 3/8 bolts driven into tapped holes in the plow frame. I figured they had just worked loose, and would need to be tightened. I was wrong. The one seemed to snug up, the other (higher stressed one) snapped. It turns out they didn't really come loose, but either due to quality or just being undersized the bolts stretched. This is where the real fun began. I tried first extracting the broken bolt to no avail, eventually snapping off my extractor inside the bolt. Attempts to drill out the bolt (and extractor) dulled bits, so I opted to make an entirely new hole and tap it for 1/2". At this point it was 9:30, and I had no bolts and the hardware store was closed. Tomorrow is another day.

A couple of other problems that will need addressing is the winch rope which has somehow snapped a full thread, and the solenoid wiring which despite the electrical grease is looking to become corroded. Both should be easy enough to repair. The winch cable I will cut back and re-loop and clamp, the electrical terminals will have to be cleaned up and coated with a sealant in the garage as it will be way too cold for anything to properly cure outside for a long while. I also did a once over of all welds, both mine and the factory/previous owner's. No obvious signs of fatigue.


I will post some pictures when I have a chance.
 

Diesel_brad

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I give you props for adapting the plow to fit your truck.

The crappy part is the manual angle. Maybe you can find a meyers e47 pump to lift (and angle) your plow to make it SO MUCH easier to plow.

I found a Western 6.5' Uni-mount for a 94 ranger I adapted to my 04($500). I have about $1500 into it. That includes NEW mull board, New lights, New Harness' and metal to fab it to my truck.


After plowing with it just one season, I realized I needed a wider plow. I made some wings for it to make the plow 7.5'(extra $100)



 

Chris_North

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Thanks, that's a really nice setup you have yourself. How does the truck handle the weight? And you're right, the manual angle is getting to be a real PITA. The prices on pumps is more than I would be willing to spend right now, but maybe next season.



So I got a little carried away and discovered that Ranger with a Meyers does not a dozer make. After beating the snot out of the trucks at work moving back piles, I forgot I was driving my truck and started to ram some of the piles at home. Not a good idea. Luckily the weak spot is the mount and not the truck, hitch receiver or plow. Nothing broke, but the back angle piece was bent like a bread tie, and the tube steel was curved like a banana. This didn't prevent the plow from operating (thankfully) but did cause the plow to sit funny. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was eager to repair the damage.

The angle was fairly easy to get somewhat straight with a lot of heat and a sledgehammer. The square tube was impossible to bend at all, and so had to be cut out and replaced. While I was hammering, one of the plates for the pins cracked in half which was very strange and makes me question the quality of that steel. Surprisingly all the welds look great, with not a single visible crack even looking with a light and my glasses. In case you couldn't tell, I'm not entirely confident in my skills as a welder.

So after everything was straightened as best as possible and the hitch tube replaced and snapped tab repaired, I decided to add some additional pieces to strengthen my original design. Since the angle seems to have taken the bulk of the hit, I figured that would be a good place to start. I had a similar (but unfortunately not exactly alike) piece of angle that I welded behind the original piece to hopefully add some strength. I also decided to cut off the excess length of the first piece of angle to save weight. Originally I cut the piece as long as it was because the plow frame itself was longer and therefore wider before I opted to cut it down some, then I just left it wider in case I wanted to make a detachable mount for lights or similar but I don't think that would happen and if it does I'm not going to do it the way I was first thinking.

Since the square tube also bent, and worse could not be straightened, I made some changes to that too. I didn't have a similarly sized but thicker piece of square tube, but I was able to get a hold of a small length of of tubing that fits almost tight inside the one I already have. I drilled a few holes in the outer tube to weld to the inner tube, then filled them and ground flat. The inner tube was only long enough to extend about two inches into where the outer slides into the hitch receiver, and about the same beyond where the outer meets the angle. I would have liked it to be all the way, but unfortunately this was the only thing I could get. My local welding shop owner was nice enough to give it to me for nothing, though B) Additionally you can see where I changed the tube support pieces to something that is more attractive and probably stronger. Despite all this extra steel being added, because I removed the additional angle from either side of the plow mount tabs I think the whole thing is maybe only 10-15 pounds heavier than before.


Since the tube fits loose in the receiver, the mount had a tendency to wobble and clank. I investigated some commercial fixes, but they were too expensive or ineffective so I came up with the idea of just using a bolt to press against the side and take up slack. As it is now it just threads into the wall of the tube, which is thick enough to only pick up at best two full turns. If and when it fails I will weld a square nut on. This, in combination with the 5/8 hole drilled with a twist bit for the hitch pin as opposed to before when it was made with a 3/4 hole saw, has made a major improvement on clanking and wobbling.


As mentioned previously I've noticed the contactor terminals corroding. I didn't get around to cleaning them up but after the plow broke they got way worse. Also, the plug for the remote completely fell apart, forcing me to wire nut the connection together in the cold dark snow. I eventually decided on just moving the whole thing under the hood and having one dedicated QD plug for the motor. This makes the everything fairly permanent, and means the plow will only mount to my vehicle. This is a far cry from what I originally set out to build, but overall it's no less practical and much more reliable.


Since the winch contactor no longer took up the space where the lift chain originally went, I welded the safety/transport chain there so it no longer has to be looped through the handles. I remember saving the original chain hook piece that was welded the the frame, but when I went to find it of course it seems to have disappeared. I just welded a link directly to the plow frame, which seems strong enough. Now it's just a single loop through the driver tow hook then the chain attaches onto itself via a grab hook. I marked the link which seems to support the plow at the best height with electrical tape.

So far I've only got one storm with the new setup, but no issues as of yet. The contactor's new location makes it much louder and it makes a definite clack audible in the cab. The problem I keep having is getting the pin in to lock the angle in place. I've enlarged the holes twice, but after a little use something must bend and I have to struggle to get the pin in. I think I may try just using a 1/2 pin instead in the future. The shock absorber idea does work by the way, it's just difficult to keep the plow exactly where I want it after pushing into piles.


Yesterday would have been a great day to try everything out again, but since they predicted snow showers with minimal accumulation, not the 4 inches that we actually got, I never bothered to set up the plow. Since I had my quad ready as a backup for situations such as this, I used that to clear my driveway to get to work. I forgot how much better using the truck is. Just two passes short of being finished, the quad plow winch had an electrical problem preventing me from finishing. Already late for work I parked it and planned to finish by hand when I got home. I was almost convinced it would have been easier to just shovel the whole thing by hand, until I made it home and shoveled just that little bit. Then I remembered how much better the quad is than shoveling.
 

Diesel_brad

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It takes the weight ok. I am eventually going to do away with the plow on the ranger. I have an F350 dump truck and a 8.5 uni-mount that is going to take over the plowing duties once I get it on the road
 

Will

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It's going to hurt your truck unless you only do it a little. It's really hard work on a truck and you only use trucks you don't care about for plow trucks, unless you live in Honolulu.

In the snow blower lecture I gave earlier I described a machine that vacuums up the snow and shoots it somewhere else. When you plow, you have to use the speed of the truck to throw the snow away. Since speed, in the force equation, counts as a square, it opens your truck up to some serious mathematical possibilities for damage. Plus, the weight on the equipment and the drive force on the front axles and bearings is going to be more than that truck was designed for.

It might look good, but it isn't a good idea. I've bought 2 former plow trucks for parts--a '67 International pickup and an '87 K30 and both had died of cracked frames. Those trucks had D60 front axles--you have a whiffle axle like that in a Subaru Forester. If you are pushing snow in something without kingpins you are in a lightsabre fight with a flashlight. Your truck was designed to take itself through the snow, not drive a blade along through whatever might be hiding in there.
 

85_Ranger4x4

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It doesn't take a ton of speed to move snow, people get impatiant and rammy.

My tractor tops out at 3.75mph in second which is what I generally push snow in. Half throttle and the 50hp 4cyl sounds like it has no load on it as snow rolls off the 7' blade.

Take your time and behave yourself and it will go a lot better. Most people that do it for hire are in a hurry... hence the carnage.

But then most of the snow pushers for hire in town are switching to 88-97 K1500's. I suppose cheap to buy and fix when the monkeys that drive them tear them up...
 

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nice job on the plow

i plow with my 96 chevy K1500 with a 7.5 foot fisher blade and around 700 lb's in the bed, and I will say that even on a fullsized truck, it is very hard on it, pickup trucks were not designed to hang a 500-900 pound wing on the front end and run into snow bank's , sooner or later it's gunna be just a rusted pile of junk, that's just the life of a plow truck, that being said, I'd think you should be fine as long as you don't go into business commercially plowing, plus having a meyer blade should help, because usually they run not as stiff trip spring's as that of boss and fisher and curtis
 
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Diesel_brad

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I plow in 4low 1st gear. I think that is about 5mph at 3000rpm
 

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Thanks, that's a really nice setup you have yourself. How does the truck handle the weight? And you're right, the manual angle is getting to be a real PITA. The prices on pumps is more than I would be willing to spend right now, but maybe next season.



So I got a little carried away and discovered that Ranger with a Meyers does not a dozer make. After beating the snot out of the trucks at work moving back piles, I forgot I was driving my truck and started to ram some of the piles at home. Not a good idea. Luckily the weak spot is the mount and not the truck, hitch receiver or plow. Nothing broke, but the back angle piece was bent like a bread tie, and the tube steel was curved like a banana. This didn't prevent the plow from operating (thankfully) but did cause the plow to sit funny. I wish I had taken a picture, but I was eager to repair the damage.

The angle was fairly easy to get somewhat straight with a lot of heat and a sledgehammer. The square tube was impossible to bend at all, and so had to be cut out and replaced. While I was hammering, one of the plates for the pins cracked in half which was very strange and makes me question the quality of that steel. Surprisingly all the welds look great, with not a single visible crack even looking with a light and my glasses. In case you couldn't tell, I'm not entirely confident in my skills as a welder.

So after everything was straightened as best as possible and the hitch tube replaced and snapped tab repaired, I decided to add some additional pieces to strengthen my original design. Since the angle seems to have taken the bulk of the hit, I figured that would be a good place to start. I had a similar (but unfortunately not exactly alike) piece of angle that I welded behind the original piece to hopefully add some strength. I also decided to cut off the excess length of the first piece of angle to save weight. Originally I cut the piece as long as it was because the plow frame itself was longer and therefore wider before I opted to cut it down some, then I just left it wider in case I wanted to make a detachable mount for lights or similar but I don't think that would happen and if it does I'm not going to do it the way I was first thinking.

Since the square tube also bent, and worse could not be straightened, I made some changes to that too. I didn't have a similarly sized but thicker piece of square tube, but I was able to get a hold of a small length of of tubing that fits almost tight inside the one I already have. I drilled a few holes in the outer tube to weld to the inner tube, then filled them and ground flat. The inner tube was only long enough to extend about two inches into where the outer slides into the hitch receiver, and about the same beyond where the outer meets the angle. I would have liked it to be all the way, but unfortunately this was the only thing I could get. My local welding shop owner was nice enough to give it to me for nothing, though B) Additionally you can see where I changed the tube support pieces to something that is more attractive and probably stronger. Despite all this extra steel being added, because I removed the additional angle from either side of the plow mount tabs I think the whole thing is maybe only 10-15 pounds heavier than before.


Since the tube fits loose in the receiver, the mount had a tendency to wobble and clank. I investigated some commercial fixes, but they were too expensive or ineffective so I came up with the idea of just using a bolt to press against the side and take up slack. As it is now it just threads into the wall of the tube, which is thick enough to only pick up at best two full turns. If and when it fails I will weld a square nut on. This, in combination with the 5/8 hole drilled with a twist bit for the hitch pin as opposed to before when it was made with a 3/4 hole saw, has made a major improvement on clanking and wobbling.


As mentioned previously I've noticed the contactor terminals corroding. I didn't get around to cleaning them up but after the plow broke they got way worse. Also, the plug for the remote completely fell apart, forcing me to wire nut the connection together in the cold dark snow. I eventually decided on just moving the whole thing under the hood and having one dedicated QD plug for the motor. This makes the everything fairly permanent, and means the plow will only mount to my vehicle. This is a far cry from what I originally set out to build, but overall it's no less practical and much more reliable.


Since the winch contactor no longer took up the space where the lift chain originally went, I welded the safety/transport chain there so it no longer has to be looped through the handles. I remember saving the original chain hook piece that was welded the the frame, but when I went to find it of course it seems to have disappeared. I just welded a link directly to the plow frame, which seems strong enough. Now it's just a single loop through the driver tow hook then the chain attaches onto itself via a grab hook. I marked the link which seems to support the plow at the best height with electrical tape.

So far I've only got one storm with the new setup, but no issues as of yet. The contactor's new location makes it much louder and it makes a definite clack audible in the cab. The problem I keep having is getting the pin in to lock the angle in place. I've enlarged the holes twice, but after a little use something must bend and I have to struggle to get the pin in. I think I may try just using a 1/2 pin instead in the future. The shock absorber idea does work by the way, it's just difficult to keep the plow exactly where I want it after pushing into piles.


Yesterday would have been a great day to try everything out again, but since they predicted snow showers with minimal accumulation, not the 4 inches that we actually got, I never bothered to set up the plow. Since I had my quad ready as a backup for situations such as this, I used that to clear my driveway to get to work. I forgot how much better using the truck is. Just two passes short of being finished, the quad plow winch had an electrical problem preventing me from finishing. Already late for work I parked it and planned to finish by hand when I got home. I was almost convinced it would have been easier to just shovel the whole thing by hand, until I made it home and shoveled just that little bit. Then I remembered how much better the quad is than shoveling.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Quick-Cable-Military-Battery-Terminal-add-on-Post-clamp-lug-USA-5349N-5350P-/390706268100?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item5af7e887c4
You can clean up that wiring from future failure by adding some good crimp lugs to those wire and bolt them properly on the battery clamp. These battery clamps make it easy to add appliances.
 

Chris_North

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I neglected to check this thread for a while, haha.

I'll have to look into getting a battery terminal setup like that soon. I've read about them but didn't give it much thought until now. As you can tell I run a lot of electrical accessories and these auto store replacements are getting a little crowded.

It's going to hurt your truck unless you only do it a little. It's really hard work on a truck and you only use trucks you don't care about for plow trucks, unless you live in Honolulu.

In the snow blower lecture I gave earlier I described a machine that vacuums up the snow and shoots it somewhere else. When you plow, you have to use the speed of the truck to throw the snow away. Since speed, in the force equation, counts as a square, it opens your truck up to some serious mathematical possibilities for damage. Plus, the weight on the equipment and the drive force on the front axles and bearings is going to be more than that truck was designed for.

It might look good, but it isn't a good idea. I've bought 2 former plow trucks for parts--a '67 International pickup and an '87 K30 and both had died of cracked frames. Those trucks had D60 front axles--you have a whiffle axle like that in a Subaru Forester. If you are pushing snow in something without kingpins you are in a lightsabre fight with a flashlight. Your truck was designed to take itself through the snow, not drive a blade along through whatever might be hiding in there.
You're right and I don't disagree, but everything has its price. I know it's not best to pull 2000 pounds of firewood plus trailer through a foot of snow in the woods then down a highway at 60 MPH running 31s, nor is it smart to baja through 6 inches of mud at 30MPH, but it's what I need to do sometimes. Like I said I only do a few small driveways of my family, and rarely do a friend's to make back some money to pay for gas. I take everything easy when plowing (90% of the time, anyhow), because it's not worth rushing or beating up the truck to save time. Everything breaks eventually. I'm sure using the truck for this purpose will accelerate wear of many major parts, but when something lets loose (or hopefully before it does) I'll fix it. That's the way it is with everything else I own.

I've seen what some of the guys I work with do to their trucks and I am thoroughly impressed the trucks are in as good as shape as they're in. They lift the plow while it's pressed and buried in the snow piles, ram ice piles at 15 MPH, switch from forward to reverse and back again while the truck is still moving, hit curbs, etc. And they take their time. I couldn't imagine what professional contractors do that take care of several unfamiliar lots pressed for time.

If anything I'm worried most about the trans. I plow in 4x4 low and keep a constant eye on the trans temp gauge, but the tranny has always been weak. It's seen two engines and I'm sure pulled trailers it shouldn't have and wheeled more often than most before I even had the truck. The input shaft seal is leaking and I think the OD band is badly worn, but thus far it is holding up.
 

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So I've been busy.

kimcrwbr1 I decided to take your advice and go with the military style terminals. Adding and removing cables for accessories is a lot easier now, and the whole setup looks neater. I charred some insulation during soldering though.


I also took Diesel_brad's advice and invested in a pump.

Basic E47, unsure of manufacture year but in decent shape. Got it, plus lift arm, Slik Stik and a few switches for $230. I'm not sure how great of a deal that is, but I couldn't find anything else. Online there are rebuilt pumps for $600+, or exchange programs (you need to have a pump already) for not much less.

The pump only needed some fresh fluid and I decided to replace the leaking swivel adapters and couplers. If you recall I already had the rams, but I didn't notice that one of them had the coupler shattered and so apparently absorbed quite a bit of dirt and water. I flushed both out, but the broken coupler one I had no trouble expanding but could not get to collapse. I took it apart, cleaned all the packing and inside the cylinder, and it now seems to be flawless. Of course I had to paint them both; it just wouldn't be right otherwise haha.

Unfortunately when I mounted the plow with it's original winch setup for the supposed storm of the century we were supposed to get that actually amounted to not so much as a dusting I realized that I could not fit the pump above the bumper with the current mounting setup. Primarily for that reason, but also for ease of mounting, and for a much neater, and what I believe will also be a much stronger installation I decided to scrap the whole 2 inch receiver mount idea. Despite Curt Manufacturing's warning of never to modify their products, I decided to just weld the mounting ears directly to the hitch receiver and use the 2 inch socket to mount the pump.

Not sure that it really helps things out any but I felt better first adding a piece of 3" X 3/16" angle around the receiver to help strengthen it. Then I welded some prefabbed ears bought from Smith Plows (who's service so far I'm impressed with) to a piece of 2" by 3/4" steel, then to the angle on the receiver. What I ended up with is something that I think looks very professional, and almost like a factory installation. There is nothing behind the ear for additional bracing, but all the steel parts are thick and welds look strong to my untrained eyes at least. Only time will tell as to its durability.





To mount the plow I also bought some prefabbed plow ears (also from Smith Bros). Most classic Meyer mounts (on the truck side) hang really low and have a tendency to bottom out on anything other than pavement, sometimes even that. My thought was to attempt to build up the mounting tabs on the plow. Likewise these also have less support than I would prefer, but I think with as easy as I try to take it plowing and how little material is used on a traditional Meyer plow that it should be okay. I may put a few gussets on them over the summer anyhow.

Since the pump will now handle lifting the plow I unbolted the winch and applicable electrical components. I also welded a 5/16 chain on for lifting using the correct link.

For the pump mount I went with 1/4" wall 2" square tube, cut at a 45 and welded with a small gusset for additional strength. The tabs are 3/16 plate. Fairly simple and straightforward. The only thing to note is I tried to copy a traditional pump mount which apparently usually has the pump mounted with a significant forward pitch, but as you can see this is not how it turned out. I'm not sure exactly why, but it doesn't seem to matter.




Surprisingly I think overall weight has stayed about the same. Despite the additional weight of the pump and its required steel mounting frame, the very heavy 2" receiver mount is no longer required. In addition there was some weight lost from removing the winch. On a bathroom scale the old mounting setup weighs in at 47 pounds, the pump and mount at 55 pounds.

I'm sure it's not better for the truck that the plow sticks out slightly further than before, but it does mean reaching the pivot pins is easier. Unfortunately this does not mean easier mounting, since before as long as I could get one pin in I could use the slop of the hitch mount to get the holes to line up. Now because everything is solid, once I have one side pinned if the truck and plow are not level I need to use a jack to get the other side into place.

The Slik Stik control switch is mounted on a bracket on the kick panel left of the steering wheel. Rather than go with the traditional method of mounting the pump motor control contactor under the hood I mounted it on the pump itself. The reason for this is to use the plug and heavy wire already available from the Warn 8k winch. Ideally I would use the wiring and contactor from the previous plow winch, but inconveniently the wiring would be way undersized so with this route it is way cheaper and does not interfere with the ability to use my power plug for my jumper cables or recovery winch. To facilitate easy mounting and removal I used a 4-wire trailer plug for wiring to control the solenoids and relay.

Basically this thing is no longer anything close to what I first imagined. It's basically a regular plow, just with a homemade mount. I'm thinking most likely this will not see use this year, but maybe. Hopefully my truck will remain useable for another few years, haha. Unless I do get another significant snowfall this year, this is probably going to be my last update. The only other plans I have right now is when it warms up a bit to paint the pump and clean up and throw more paint on the plow.





 

Dangerrangers

Member
Joined
Aug 22, 2016
Messages
243
Reaction score
0
Points
16
Location
Ohio
Vehicle Year
94 and 04
Make / Model
Ford
Engine Size
4.0 s
Transmission
Automatic
My credo
Do it right the first time !!!!!!!!!!
As promised: http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g7/ChrisNorthInGer/IMG_20131124_150620_051.jpg

I was thinking it was a Meyers plow myself, but it looked like someone had repainted (and done a pretty poor job, too) so any logos including those that might have been on the hydraulics were covered. My knowledge on plows is somewhat limited, so I wasn't sure if it could be some copy. I usually just operate the John Deere with loader at work for sidewalks and moving piles.

I'd never considered cutting the moldboard for a lower profile. It probably wouldn't be too hard and take off another 40lbs. I'm happy with the weight as it is though, and I'm worried if it got much lighter it would have trouble not floating on top of the snow.

I think the paint job was just fine ,it's a tool not something for your living room. Some people will pick at anything.
 

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