Snow Plow Woes

[doesleap]

I purchased and excellent 8' snow plow from MTL Attachments for my new Kubota MX5200 for $1800. It is a heavy, super-rugged plow. The problem is that it is too stiff and doesn't flex with the crown of the road. Mostly it is OK, but there are times that one side of the plow is digging deep while the other side is off the ground. My old plow rig had enough slop that it followed the road better. Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Fallon]

I'm in the same boat. No vertical or lateral float on my newish plow. I knew it when I bought it though. It's been on my todo list to rebuilt the mount between the SSQA & plow frame to add both, but I have yet to get to it as with most projects. The old yellow plow I built for my old tractor had plenty of both. Probably to much vertical actually as I could flip it backwards. There are a handful if threads on here about making a compact mount with float in it.

 

[nybirdman]

That is the biggest problem with factory built snow plows for tractors;no float.They work on paved surfaces but not gravel or uneven.
It will take some work but you need to add pivot points and a chain(will give you vertical float).

 

[fruitcakesa]

I bought one of these: Hydraulic Angle Snow Blade Skid Steer Attachment | Jenkins Iron & Steel. It is a beast, pretty much a Bobcat clone.
While you can't see it in the pics, nor do they mention it but all the plow components are mounted to a plate that is attached to the QA plate by a greaseable pivot that allow a few degrees of horizontal oscillation so it does follow some contours

 

[Thomas]

Maybe until you get some time on plow shoes/skids might help???

 

[Katahdin]

Attaching a 2 inch steel pipe to the cutting edge will help with the digging. This involves removing a slice of the pipe and mounting to the cutting edge with welded tabs and bolt holes. There are threads about making these if you use the the search function.

But yeah, truck plows have hinge points and the flex to follow the road contour comes from slop in the hinge points. They also don't have the loader weight bearing down on them.

 

[ray66v]

Yes, stiff doesn't work unless you want a bulldozer.

Having a hinged mounting system like they use on trucks, is the simple way to allow up and down movement. My plow isn't extremely heavy, so I put stops at the bottom of the hinges. The plow bottoms out on the stops when I pick it up, rather than having to use a chain hanging from above it, to lift it up.

You also need to have some ability for the blade to rotate a few degrees up or down on each side, to follow the pavement. The simplest way to accomplish that, is to have some slop in the pivot point which the plow turns side to side on. This can be done by enlarging the hole the bolt goes through that it pivots on.

 

[ray66v]

Attaching a 2 inch steel pipe to the cutting edge will help with the digging. This involves removing a slice of the pipe and mounting to the cutting edge with welded tabs and bolt holes. There are threads about making these if you use the the search function.

There is no need to slit a steel pipe.

Just weld the tabs on and attach it in front of the cutting edge.

 

[SGreene]

Sounds like you're needing a plow that oscillates. Most of the higher end ssqa plows have about 5 degrees of lateral oscillation but the price does go up.

 

[Egon]

Some folks use these.
[video]https://www.homedepot.ca/product/snowbear-38-inch-heavy-duty-skid-shoes-for-snowplows/1001102721?eid=PS_GOOGLE_D28%20-%20E-Comm_GGL_Shopping_PLA_EN_Outdoors_Outdoors_PLA_EN_ _PRODUCT_GROUP_pla-416433435590&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI8tHi6bCN5wIVyZ-zCh0kLwTZEAQYASABEgKJk_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds[/video]