Pulling from front of frame -- clevis/shackle mount

s219 · Jan 16, 2012

Has anyone mounted a clevis/shackle on the front of the frame and pulled with it? I'd like to put a D-ring there, but it looks like I will need to get a custom mount plate welded up. I'd bolt to the front of the frame (there are 6 holes there on my B2920).

The main reason I want this is that I think it would be good to have another pulling point in the front. I have a brush grubber and will be using it to clear out some saplings on a trail in a couple weeks. In some cases, I will be nosing my way in, so having a front pulling point will be good. But I think a D-ring on the front would also be good as a transport tie-down.

PHILIP8N · Jan 17, 2012

I use this. I do not have a close up, so you may have to zoom in. Flat bar with hole that protrudes out is welded both sides. Philip.

s219 · Jan 17, 2012

PHILIP8N said:
I use this. I do not have a close up, so you may have to zoom in. Flat bar with hole that protrudes out is welded both sides. Philip.

Thanks, that looks almost exactly like I was thinking except I was going to orient the mounting loop vertically, so the D-ring can swing down when not in use.

I am really surprised you can't buy a mounting plate like that commercially. The closest thing I have found are mounts for truck bumpers, but they are much smaller.

PHILIP8N · Jan 22, 2012

Got some close ups this weekend of my front bracket. I currently have my grill guard on, so I have this front bracket off. The mounting plate is 1/2" thick. The square hole was made with plasma cutter, then trued to size with die grinder for a nice tight fit. The front side was then beveled for welding. The shackle mount is made from 1" x 2" bar stock. The back side was beveled for welding. When assembled on a flat welding table, both sides had beveled edges for good weld penetration and both sides were lightly tacked so all remained true. Once the final welding was done and cool, the back side weld was ground flat. Philip.

s219 · Jan 22, 2012

Very nice -- thanks for the closeup shots.

I have a plate designed up using 3/8" plate and 1"x2" bar stock, and will order the metal soon and bring down to my local welding shop once I have all the pieces drilled and shaped. Stuff like this fits within their minimum $20 charge and they do it on the spot. One of these days I need to invest in my own welding equipment and relearn how to weld.

Upon closer examination, the front frame plate on my B2920 is not attached very strongly -- there are two tack welds on the inside of each corner, and then a fillet bead down the outside of each corner. The front plate is about 1/4" narrower than the outside width of the frame rails, so the fillet welds fill the small (approx 1/8") corner joint on each end.

It all looks designed to be nothing more than a light duty bracket, perhaps an auxilliary mount point for a plow kit, not meant to carry a big load. There is another bracket on the bottom of the front frame that obviously means business (thicker with beefier welds), and some holes on the stouter frame side rails that make up a stronger arrangement as well (a couple of them are used for the grill guard).

Before I finalize the design, I want to see if I can make a shackle bracket for the bottom of the frame, where the structure looks stronger. That might make more sense in the case of the B2920. The B2920 front plate just doesn't look that strong to me -- my bracket would be stronger than the structure!