B Boss 6x6 plow setup

[ArlyA]

Great idea, why not use a roller from a boat trailer? These strap setups are commonly used on winch systems on a boat trailer.

Hummmm that's an interesting idea, but how stiff are they?? Or what material are thy made from? I'll google it shortly. This guide roller needs to be quite firm, not rubber.

 

[East30]

Hummmm that's an interesting idea, but how stiff are they?? Or what material are thy made from? I'll google it shortly. This guide roller need to be quite firm, not rubber.

They are made from a very hard rubber, they withstand a lot of abuse. I think the strap would be less apt to slide as it does on the smooth aluminum.

 

[MF RED in MT]

This is the strap sheave but it does not work, since the strap rolls out of it asap. Seems like the hook needs to be welded on making it a solid attachment. Maybe turn the sheave more making its flanges taller. What do you think?

Hi Arlya, looks like a nice set up you have there.

I helped my neighbor that has a big heavy plow on their Cam-am Commander UTV 4x4, and they were breaking their winch cable all of the time because of the almost horizontal pull to raise the blade.

I fabricated a 1/4" plate and install it on their front of their two push bars with four 1/4" "U" bolts.

And then I built a "jib" truss like extension out of 3/8" x 1-1/2" FB that bolted to the plate.

I had and used a 1/2" x 6" long eye bolt that I bolted to the to the end of the jib with the eye hanging down.

I had a 2" Harbor Freight pulley that I removed the hook off of and slid and bolted over the eye bolt, and ran their winch cable through the pulley and down to their blade.

This has solved their problem and they are very happy with the results.

Way long start:

But looking at your pulley with the hook attached to your plate (I believe this is rolling on you and causing your problems?), if it were me, I would just remove the hook and install a short length of chain with screw links top/bottom to see if this solves your problem.

Also having a few extra links of chain will give you adjustment of your pulley vertically.

I try to adjust for problems using the K.I.S.S. method.

I hope this help you.

KC

 

[ArlyA]

Thanks for the suggestions KC. Could you post a photo of this lift setup that you built? Late this week, hopefully we'll get back into the shop and we plan to turn the sheave down so its diameter is less at its center, like its bowl shaped. I'm a strong believer in the KISS system as well :thumbsup:

 

[MF RED in MT]

Thanks for the suggestions KC. Could you post a photo of this lift setup that you built? Late this week, hopefully we'll get back into the shop and we plan to turn the sheave down so its diameter is less at its center, like its bowl shaped. I'm a strong believer in the KISS system as well :thumbsup:

Sorry it took so long to reply, but I had to go take some pictures to post here.

You might be thinking of this already, but if it were me I'd try the chain first before turning down your pulley drum.

Taking these pictures jogged my memory a little, the first jib extension I built for this Cam-am did not have the diagonal piece welded in to form a triangle reinforcement.

My neighbor has finger/hand issues that does not allow for quick action to the winch toggle switch, therefore the first jib extension piece came back to me looking like a fishing pole does when it has a lunker of a fish on, and the 1/2" eye bolt was reshaped like a crescent moon.

So I fabricated a new jib with the gusset welded in, and straightened out the eye bolt.

This neighbor has since changed out his cable to a Cam-am approved winch rope and complained that his rope is fraying, and upon looking at the system again I have told him he needed a rescue type rope pulley ($10-20) for the rope (still has the Harbor Freight pulley that's too narrow for the rope).

From the start, I intended to fabricate a modification in such a way that he was able to see the cable from the drivers seat, and I told him to tag the cable (red material tied around the rope) so he'd see when the blade was raised to almost maximum height and not any further (with the new truss extension I believe his weak link is now his winch rope).

I know you'd fix your problem and glad to offer some information here.

B.T.W. I really like those tri-tracks you have.

KC

 

[Trails2004]

Sorry it took so long to reply, but I had to go take some pictures to post here.

You might be thinking of this already, but if it were me I'd try the chain first before turning down your pulley drum.

Taking these pictures jogged my memory a little, the first jib extension I built for this Cam-am did not have the diagonal piece welded in to form a triangle reinforcement.

My neighbor has finger/hand issues that does not allow for quick action to the winch toggle switch, therefore the first jib extension piece came back to me looking like a fishing pole does when it has a lunker of a fish on, and the 1/2" eye bolt was reshaped like a crescent moon.

So I fabricated a new jib with the gusset welded in, and straightened out the eye bolt.

This neighbor has since changed out his cable to a Cam-am approved winch rope and complained that his rope is fraying, and upon looking at the system again I have told him he needed a rescue type rope pulley ($10-20) for the rope (still has the Harbor Freight pulley that's too narrow for the rope).

From the start, I intended to fabricate a modification in such a way that he was able to see the cable from the drivers seat, and I told him to tag the cable (red material tied around the rope) so he'd see when the blade was raised to almost maximum height and not any further (with the new truss extension I believe his weak link is now his winch rope).

I know you'd fix your problem and glad to offer some information here.

B.T.W. I really like those tri-tracks you have.

KC

View attachment 634926 View attachment 634927 View attachment 634928 View attachment 634929

The rope could be fraying due to a buggered up fairlead from wire cable use.

As I recall with a plow setup on my Yamaha Grizzly, Warn offers a different fairlead specifically for winch plow operation. The rollers where larger in diameter. I simply would swap out fairlead’s when using the plow.

 

[ArlyA]

You didn't take long at all MF Red. The setup you did does look nice and you are correct, one needs to see the lift hook in order to not lift to far. Have you thought about adding a spring to the cable so its user has a softer ending point??

For my plow with a flat strap, this will require a little different setup than a round rope or cable.

I just got in from pushing snow with the Boss and I took some photos, so maybe a few are good enough to post. We have lots of flat light here....

Sorry it took so long to reply, but I had to go take some pictures to post here.

You might be thinking of this already, but if it were me I'd try the chain first before turning down your pulley drum.

Taking these pictures jogged my memory a little, the first jib extension I built for this Cam-am did not have the diagonal piece welded in to form a triangle reinforcement.

My neighbor has finger/hand issues that does not allow for quick action to the winch toggle switch, therefore the first jib extension piece came back to me looking like a fishing pole does when it has a lunker of a fish on, and the 1/2" eye bolt was reshaped like a crescent moon.

So I fabricated a new jib with the gusset welded in, and straightened out the eye bolt.

This neighbor has since changed out his cable to a Cam-am approved winch rope and complained that his rope is fraying, and upon looking at the system again I have told him he needed a rescue type rope pulley ($10-20) for the rope (still has the Harbor Freight pulley that's too narrow for the rope).

From the start, I intended to fabricate a modification in such a way that he was able to see the cable from the drivers seat, and I told him to tag the cable (red material tied around the rope) so he'd see when the blade was raised to almost maximum height and not any further (with the new truss extension I believe his weak link is now his winch rope).

I know you'd fix your problem and glad to offer some information here.

B.T.W. I really like those tri-tracks you have.

KC

 

[ArlyA]

Pushing snow today. Thought you folks might like to see them but the wifie dearest was at work, so I had to take them all. Barring my lift system is not right, this setup is exceeding my expectations. And yes, I did push right up those snow piles :thumbsup:

 

[MF RED in MT]

The rope could be fraying due to a buggered up fairlead from wire cable use.

As I recall with a plow setup on my Yamaha Grizzly, Warn offers a different fairlead specifically for winch plow operation. The rollers where larger in diameter. I simply would swap out fairlead’s when using the plow.

The rope that my neighbor purchased (from his Cam-am vendor) is about 3/8" diameter and the Harbor Freight pulley is for maximum diameter of 1/4".

The roller type fairlead still has smooth surfaces, the rusted areas are from his first year plowing with the OEM hook up to the plow, which he broke the winch cable about 30 times.

I do not know how the rusted area on the fairlead happened?



I showed him how to cut the cable and install the 3/16" thimble and Crosby clamps for the repair (including the "don't saddle a dead horse" phrase).

Bolt cutters: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/tools/hand-tools/bolt-cutters/2195477

Wire rope repair kit: https://www.acehardware.com/departments/hardware/chain-and-rope/rope-and-chain-accessories/5048053



I told him to purchase 75 feet of rope, 8mm PMI accessory cord, (strength = about 3200 lbs. versus the wire cable strength = 2640 obs.) from REI, and also a rescue pulley that would take up to 1/2" diameter rope.

Rope: https://www.rei.com/product/716227/pmi-accessory-cord-8mm

Pulley: https://www.rei.com/product/855700/smc-crx-crevasse-rescue-pulley

KC

B.T.W. Cam-am has a 2" wide (I think) by 8 foot long webbing kit for their snowplow blades, maybe because of their POOR mechanical advantage design?

 

[MF RED in MT]

You didn't take long at all MF Red. The setup you did does look nice and you are correct, one needs to see the lift hook in order to not lift to far. Have you thought about adding a spring to the cable so its user has a softer ending point??

For my plow with a flat strap, this will require a little different setup than a round rope or cable.

I just got in from pushing snow with the Boss and I took some photos, so maybe a few are good enough to post. We have lots of flat light here....

If I look outside tomorrow and we get another foot of snow, I'm switching the Dozer Blade out to the Snowblower, and I bet that's a nice ride plowing snow using those tracks.

I declined the spring option because I kind of figured it would end up uncurled and going through the pulley (at least part of it), and (using the 3/8" x 1 1/2" flat bar with out a gusset) on the first design I thought my neighbor would be able to see the end of the flat bar twitching (like a fish bite shows up on the fishing pole) and let go of the winch toggle switch.

That didn't happen and he wanted it "stronger", so I built another one and added the gusset.

Now the weak link is the winch rope or his brush guard that is not very thick tubing.

KC

 

[MF RED in MT]

Pushing snow today. Thought you folks might like to see them but the wifie dearest was at work, so I had to take them all. Barring my lift system is not right, this setup is exceeding my expectations. And yes, I did push right up those snow piles :thumbsup:

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

On this picture of yours (the bottom left hand picture), I can see you have a similar problem that my neighbor had, "POOR mechanical advantage to raise the blade":

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...577836735t-b-boss-6x6-plow-setup-p1100308-jpg

If you have a fairly strong rope maybe you could tie your pulley to the anchor point up high and work with it to find your "sweet spot".

If the pulley wants to travel back to your 4 x 6, you could take another piece of rope from the pulley to the top of both plow springs in a "Y" configuration.

Just a thought and I'll be back next year.

Happy New Year,

KC

 

[oosik]

Looks like you are piling it up pretty good there, Arlyn. The four inches we got yesterday morning is down to one inch now. It will be all gone by morning. It's...... 41F and raining right now.

 

[ArlyA]

This pictured shows the setup I'm striving for which is quite similar to what you did on the commander. This machine is a 6x6, just like a normal ATV but with an extra drive axle added.

Great pictures, thanks for sharing.

On this picture of yours (the bottom left hand picture), I can see you have a similar problem that my neighbor had, "POOR mechanical advantage to raise the blade":

If you have a fairly strong rope maybe you could tie your pulley to the anchor point up high and work with it to find your "sweet spot".

If the pulley wants to travel back to your 4 x 6, you could take another piece of rope from the pulley to the top of both plow springs in a "Y" configuration.

KC

 

[MF RED in MT]

This pictured shows the setup I'm striving for which is quite similar to what you did on the commander. This machine is a 6x6, just like a normal ATV but with an extra drive axle added.

Yes ArlyA, I understand your goal of raising the flat strap to create a much better mechanical advantage to lift the blade with the winch.

The picture I was referring to was in your post yesterday, #28 (the lower row to the far left showing the winch hooked up to the blade without the pulley), is similar to my neighbors Cam-am blade (winch cable almost horizontal with very little mechanical advantage) that he started with:

https://www.tractorbynet.com/forums...1577836735-b-boss-6x6-plow-setup-p1100308-jpg

Sorry I confused your problem, yesterday.

Upon me getting some needed rest last night, "you do have a very good suggestion" about the spring that would be connected to the blade and the top of the spring being connected to the winch rope hook.

I will let my neighbor know and I believe it would give him a larger window of time to get his finger off of the toggle switch.

KC

F.Y.I. Last night we only got about 6" of new snow and this morning it's way above our normal at 26 degrees F, and IT'S RAINNING, oh rats, I do hate freezing rain because the trees get so loaded down that they start to bend at the tops (2 winters ago we had a similar condition and I lost over 50 large Fir/Spruce trees).

 

[ArlyA]

I've got the same problem your neighbor does, that is I can't see the lift strap/rope when the strap is in the sheave and its reeled in all the way. What to do, what to do........ Right now, I just go by the sound of the winch. Or maybe your neighbor can see the rope, just slow to getting off the button.

Yes ArlyA, I understand your goal of raising the flat strap to create a much better mechanical advantage to lift the blade with the winch.

Sorry I confused your problem, yesterday.

Upon me getting some needed rest last night, "you do have a very good suggestion" about the spring that would be connected to the blade and the top of the spring being connected to the winch rope hook.

I will let my neighbor know and I believe it would give him a larger window of time to get his finger off of the toggle switch..

 

[MF RED in MT]

I've got the same problem your neighbor does, that is I can't see the lift strap/rope when the strap is in the sheave and its reeled in all the way. What to do, what to do........ Right now, I just go by the sound of the winch. Or maybe your neighbor can see the rope, just slow to getting off the button.

Hey ArlyA,

I have been known to say "the solution for a problem is nothing but the very next problem", hence I also work on my projects in alphabetical order starting with plan A, then plan B, and so on...

Also I have been thinking way too much about my neighbors issues when I have plenty of projects to accomplish in my garage.

I think I'll talk to my neighbor about this idea, by installing an additional pulley #2 at the connection point on the plow blade and then running the winch rope through pulley #2 and back up to connect the winch hook in the area of pulley #1.

Having a moving pulley in the winching system slows the winch line speed by 50%, and also almost doubles the pulling power, thus should help him have more time and more control.

With regard to your issue of not seeing the operation, here are a few ideas I'll throw out there.

There are a few manufacturers that make limit switches for UTV plow blade systems in order to stop the winching process by overriding the toggle switch, don't know much about them though.

You could also add a second pulley like I described above.

I have noticed during my research, some connect the winch line directly to the plow blade with a pulley and then run the winch line up to an anchor point, again don't know how good this will work.

And last, you could fabricate a good strong bracket to rise above your original anchor point where you had originally installed the pulley.

And maybe others will have some better ideas for you.

KC

 

[ArlyA]

I got my flat belt sheave to the shop today so my buddy can turn it down again and make it concave.

I know just what you mean KC, it looks easy, just build it. Then you find tons of problems building that simple ideal yourself.

 

[Trails2004]

What if you use this type of setup?

Note pulley is mounted to the blade:

 

[MF RED in MT]

What if you use this type of setup?

Note pulley is mounted to the blade:

View attachment 635360

Yes, that gives 2:1 mechanical advantage (been trying to get my neighbor to buy rope rescue pulleys @ $20 each and add a pulley at the plow blade).

Your rope looks new or have you used the rope for a while, and what brand is it.

If that's a HF pulley, the ones I purchased are only good for 1/4" diameter cable/rope and over time with any heavy loads they fray the rope (at least on my neighbors rig).

I also see Warn has come out with a larger diameter roller fairlead to help with all of the pressure on the rope (don't know how much this would help).

You have a nice setup there.

KC

 

[ArlyA]

That's the system I started out with and trying to improve on. As the blade goes up, the winch starts to pull it straight back.

What if you use this type of setup?

Note pulley is mounted to the blade:

View attachment 635360