Been too busy plowing to look here until tonight. We were almost 2 feet behind the yearly average to date. But had three storms last week that put us slightly ahead now.
Glad I don't live in the San Benardino Mountains !
This past Saturday's storm was when I had some pretty severe metal fatigue show up.
This is my grill guard - bumper the I use the reciever hitch to mount the lower end of the plow lift cylinder.
That's a 5x7x1/4" tube that everything up front is built on. The reciever was welded to a 3/8" plate with 4 3/4" bolts holding it to the tube. All my welding held up but after 8 years or so with the heavy 9'6" v blade bouncing up and down while traveling the roads, this is result looking at the bottom.
I'm cutting out and welding back in a piece of 1/2" plate, this time with a little bit of additional gussets.
To understand what the pictures are, this was the day before in working condition.
This is where I left off this afternoon.
It took a couple of hours just to get it off of the tractor.
It all looks so rugged who would have thought the lift cylinder mount would let go - until you think about a 9-6 V-plow bouncing along. Looks like it started a while back. Get it fixed before the snow gods see it apart.
I think I got it. Replaced the 1/4" wall of the tube with 1/2" and a couple of gussets.
I find it amazing how the 1/4" almost "ruptured" before the 4 bolts that held the receiver on failed.
You're right Gordon, there's a little rust on the front edge, not really old looking but not bright like the back side.
Wow Rustyiron, no problems when ya got fabskills like that when it breaks.......nice job. Now send me some snow, I feel like Montana winters have turned wimpy.........oh wait....I got a tractor.....never mind.
We still have plenty of winter left here.
Yesterday I pushed last weeks snow out of my little log landing. On the way out there I tidied up the road edges and broke an access hole thru the snow bank into where I am cutting. I mounted the camera on the front of the ROPS just for fun.