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First what I had to do was figure out a way to put a front hitch on. There are none (that I could find on this continent) that come ready to install so I had to do some improvisation. Thankfully there is a great store for all things towing nearby and I removed my front bumper cover and went in and out of the store with a tape measure about ten times before I settled on this RV rear hitch that I thought I could apply to the front because the holes were the same distance apart: These two hole are where I thought matched the width of the hitch
What looked 5 inches apart in and out of the store was off enough to not work, so i ended up having to drill holes the exact distance apart. I broke a titanium bit (Harbor Freights Warrior brand) - and you want to spray WD 40 or PB Blast (I forgot which I used) as there will be smoke and you want to keep it lubricated. I ended up buying the Hercules black oxide bits and they worked very well.
The next issue is that this hitch is designed for a much wider or perhaps square bumper and this vehicle is taller and more narrow. So there was this gap that needed to be blocked off. I'm sure there are a number of ways you could do this with custom cut spacers, or different pieces of scrap metal. I ended up having a few pieces of T-Slotted Extrusion bars that ended up working and hopefully will last the test of time.
I'm sure not sure this was the optimal purchase but these are like 300 pounds and for some reason I thought online was the way to go. Online MAY be the way to go I'm just not sure if I should have bought from Amazon. Also where I live there are a lot of places nearby that could have probably given me a better deal and delivered but this was my first plow and I ended up throwing down the $1400.
It's a pretty great product don't get me wrong - well built, quality components and it has a remote control winch that is pretty great.
DK2 has some great videos (that make the installation look WAY easier than it is because brother in the video is going 100mph)
There are two electrical components - one that powers the winch and another that remote broadcasts to a controller that you can keep with in the cabin (and it comes in real handy because you'll want to raise and lower as you're positioning the vehicle.)
I'm not real great and doing things like this elegantly, others are way better and the previous video had some suggestions on how to zip tie stuff together. For the time being I just parked them on the battery house and zip tied one to the center battery holder and the other looped around the outer casing. There are probably way better places to get these perm or semi-perm mounted but like I said I'm not super talented in that department unlike a couple of my friends.
The wire that goes to the winch is tucked in behind the air intake box when not in use - I didn't mention it but this plow is on caster wheels so it comes on and off real easy.
And so Herman has joined Panzer Division Schneepflug! Ready for the blizzard beasts of Idaho winters.
Snow plowing is apparently something of an art and I have a bunch of youtube videos to watch to learn the wizardry.
This was a really fun project I have to say for all kinds of reasons. Mostly because I've never done anything "custom" or improvised before and just gotten really good at following established procedure. Anything that isn't plug n' play can have its own rewards when you finish. Also we all probably feel like the first gen of these vehicles doesn't get the credit it deserves due things we all know about and drops in quality during the Chrysler era - plus constantly having to explain to people "its not a cross over its a damn framed truck you weiner!" all the time. So further proof of its versatility. Hell, I've seen Mazda Miata's plow snow but still
nice writeup !... how does it attach through the bumper ? (what does the mounting look like through the bumper?)
Thanks - I pretty much just lined up the bumper cover with where the front hitch protrude and cut a big square opening in the cover with an angle grinder. It involved removing a good piece of the downward sloping part. I'll take a photo later this morning.
Sorry for the delay - I went through several iterations as believe it or not alluminum extrusion bars aren't known for their ability to withstand impacts.
I had to upgrade to steel bars on the back and steel shims up front. Not beautiful but its holding. Probably done about ten plows now and it's a lot of fun.
Here is also a photo of how it looks with the bumper on from below.
Update: DON'T DO IT THIS WAY - there is a better way.
It's not dangerous, or damaging or anything, and I probably got 10-15 plows out of it this season, but the method in which I put the "not designed for this" hitch on the "not designed for" this vehicle is flawed - and while I'm not sure such a thing exists arguably - but if it does - this would qualify as "a bit too redneck."
Namely, the receiver starts to droop down and the bolts bend and you get this flacid peness looking receiver that at one point will not pick the plow up.
I purchased a more appropriate adjustable width hitch that has a horizontal bar (the way a normal front hitch should have) - which requires drilling and bolt fishing (which is a challenge for me personally) - and I will create another thread for that. I'd suggest mods don't merge the threads because this one should be just a cautionary tale, and the other hopefully a sustainable solution.
I thought I never would need a snow plow. Then Valentine's Day 2021 arrived.
What about going to Grade 8 bolts? Most carriage bolts are Grade 2 or 5. Grade 8 bolts are about 2x as strong as Grade 2 and will not bend until they are near failure. In that service, however, they will have to be pitch dipped or inspected annually for corrosion.
You haven't seen "redneck engineering" until you've lived down here.
I thought I never would need a snow plow. Then Valentine's Day 2021 arrived.
What about going to Grade 8 bolts? Most carriage bolts are Grade 2 or 5. Grade 8 bolts are about 2x as strong as Grade 2 and will not bend until they are near failure. In that service, however, they will have to be pitch dipped or inspected annually for corrosion.
You haven't seen "redneck engineering" until you've lived down here.
Those bolts are actually designed to be above the bumper on a 4" x 4" bumper. If I were to have gone to grade 8, the tearing into the steel would have persisted. The whole application was ill-advised. Look at this flaccidity !
I found a solution to with a much more appropriate hitch, here is the new thread
12-14-2020, 07:13 PM
