Curtis Plow

[SpudHauler]

Put my Curtis plow mount on a New Year's weight reducing program and this is what I came up with.
I designed it with light and easy install in mind. Plus gained a ton of ground clearance. And now lifts the plow 20" of the ground with a 10" cylinder.
With original bumper/winch/curtis plow mount and brackets removed, probably removed 200+ lbs off the front end and it now sits 1.5 to 2" higher. And the new frame is higher than the front differential skid plate, so no more getting hung up on plow mounts.
Thanks to my great welder, he did a nice job and paint this spring will make it pretty!

 

[badapplefab]

Looks good, I like it alot. Any pics of the old setup.

 

[SpudHauler]

Yes I have some old pics.

This one shows how low the curtis mount gets to the ground.

And the next some idea of the height of the new mount.

Sorry about the fuzzy picture.

 

[badapplefab]

That was problem when I started the plow install on my Mule. The geometry of the John Deere plow was too low, the pivot was way to low for my liking. If I moved it up, the plow wouldn't be at the right angle. So that is when I decided whatever mount I did had to be easly removeable so I could get the ground clearance back with the plow removed. For now it is fine, but a different plow setup may be in the future. For now my goal is figure out how to get hydraulics on the mule.

 

[HarleyEnough]

That's awesome! I've wondered how the new warn v blades for UTVs might fit up on a subcompact tractor.

 

[DIXIEDOG]

Looks great. :thumbsup:

 

[SpudHauler]

badapplefab,
That is the problem we are fixing tomorrow. First try was to bend the existing A-frame, but it still left the pivot plate at angle that was not level to the ground. You can see the flat stock we welded for reinforcing. And it pulled the plow back closer to the RTV which is not great either, because it is difficult to see the edge as the blade as it disappears when in the plow mode. And the angle lifts the front of the machine which makes it worse. Hopefully with the new setup some of this will be fixed.
Tomorrow we are going to cut the arms and weld on longer arms and set the pivot plate level. That way we still get the ground clearance when lifted.
We didn't realize the importance of a level pivot. With the existing setup the trailing edge is high by 2-3" when angled right or left. Not good. Would wear the scraper blade out pretty quick.
This fix will be the cure.

HarleyEnough,
Warn blade should fit. Just need a good welder like I have and they can adapt anything. Plus making it you get to make it fit your machine and still be light and workable. Too many mounts are made for everything or multi-use and end up being heavy/low/cumbersome.

Generally it is no problem having the a-arms low, but when the mounting system is low too, you get hung up on everything and lifting the plow puts more weight on the front and now you are hung up even worse. Having the 10" lift cylinder is a huge advantage because I get the blade up out of the way and don't have to drag it through the snow if I get stuck. And that will happen soon or later.