DIY Powered Plow Angling System

[Steelslinger]

After seeing a few posts other places about ways to repair the factory power angling system, I got thinking about building my own setup.

While I would love to have one of the full featured V-Plows from Boss or Western, I have neither the money nor the need for such setup to justify it to myself to buy. However, I am all about DIY projects that make life easier and maybe save money doing it. This will involve some metal fabrication and welding (building brackets and controller mount/box depending on how you want to operate the setup), mechanical and electrical work.

The plan: Using a 12v 8" Linear Actuator to angle the plow blade, controlled by a 4-way Joystick switch (which will also operate the winch for raise/lowering).

To Do: Create brackets to hold the actuator on blade and push tubes, fabricate a removeable arm rest to house joystick controller, add second winch solenoid to act as relay/contactor for the actuator, wire up harness that can be left in machine but disconnect at front bumper for plow removal and disconnect under seats for removal of controller arm rest when plow season is over.

Cost: Base price of $450, does not include steel for brackets or aluminum I plan to use for controller arm rest. I'm figuring about $50 or less in steel and aluminum.

I should have all of the necessary stuff by this weekend to get started. I'll post as I go.

 

[Andystoy19]

Great project keep us posted on how it goes. 

 

[Steelslinger]

The parts list:

I am using a Can-Am Promount 72" plow on my '19 Max XT Cab with the factory winch for the base plow system.

The muscle of this system is a Progressive Automation 12vdc 8" Linear Actuator with 2000lbs dynamic force/4000lbs static force. All electrical, metal worm gear with a stainless steel main shaft. It can be found on Amazon (and Progressive Automations site) for around $310 USD, I got mine on Amazon on sale for $265 USD. You could go lighter weight for cheaper, $100 USD would get you an 8" actuator with a max limit of 660lbs of static force using an aluminum piston with plastic gears. Or, you can go heavier and more cash and get an electric over hydraulic ram for $500+ USD (original route I wanted to go, but backordered for months). Edited to add, biggest draw back to the actuator I chose is the travel speed, it's 0.33" per second (24 secs to go from one full angle to the other) or about 3 seconds for 1" of travel.

All about Control. I don't like the factory winch switch for plowing, and didn't want to add another for the actuator, this is personal preference and you could make the setup easier and cheaper if you wish to go that route. would work just fine. Instead, I wanted a handheld like a truck plow setup, but too spendy and possibly difficult to adapt, so I went another route. I am using a Progressive Automation 4-way Joystick (they also have ball topped style). It uses 4 SPST naturally open switches. Center position is all switches open circuit, self centering, no diagonal movement and safe guards running winch and actuator simultaneously. Plan is obviously Up-Down wired to the factory winch solenoid for raising and lowering. Left-Right will be wired to a second winch solenoid to control angling. Warning: Reason for this is the switch is a 10amp max where as the actuator is 20amp max at max load, so you need to run relays and using the solenoid is a cleaner and faster way to do it. Cost is $35 USD from either Amazon or Progressive Automation's website. I picked up a generic UTV winch solenoid on Amazon for $26 USD.

I plan to use a 2-wire Delphi waterproof connector for the 12awg wire (with 20amp inline fuse) running to the actuator from the solenoid so I can disconnect power when removing the plow, and have all the wiring routed and installed in the machine for a clean look. For the controller, I am going to build a removeable arm rest to house the joystick and wiring (with 10amp inline fuse) will run under the floor and come up under the dash one end, and center seat at the other. A 6-pin Deutsch connector will provide disconnect and removability. If you opt for a dash switch to run the actuator, you would skip this.

 

[Steelslinger]

So I've only just started at looking at getting this going and ran into an issue.

If you use the existing holes on the push tube and blade (Can Am Promount), you will want a actuator/ram that is around 14" in length closed, with 8" of stroke.

The cheaper 8" linear actuators (lighter duty, 650 lbs or so) will fit fine. The electric over hydraulic unit I was looking at, had a closed length around 14" but a stroke of 9.5" roughly, which will work just more stroke than needed.

The actuator I bought, 8" 2000lbs model, has a closed length of 17.875" with 8" of travel. This length takes it past the factory holes on the push tube, but also puts it just past the bend in the tubes. So, I need to work out offset and alignment to prevent flexing or binding.

 

[Steelslinger]

Today I started working on the ram brackets. I used 3"x2"x3/16" Rectangular Tube as the basis of the brackets to save time and energy. I did some basic fit up and rough guestimate measurements. First blade bracket caused the stroke to be too short to get angled all the way drivers side. Had me worried for a bit until I realized my error in moving the blade side bracket too far away from the pivot thinking it would shorten the offset when closed. It works best centered on the two mounting holes.

 

[Steelslinger]

Push Tube Bracket Fit up. This is my extended bracket to accommodate the ram being longer closed than what the factory one is. If this was the Electric/Hydraulic actuator I had originally wanted, I wouldn't have had to extend it as far past the holes that exist in the tube as it is 3" shorter closed.

 

[Steelslinger]

Blade side Bracket. I made a mistake in measuring the hole location in relation to the mounting location. I set the center of the hole at 3/4" from the outside bottom of the bracket. I took this dimension when the ram was closed. The problem I had is the angle the ram shaft is at would not allow it to be pinned into the bracket as the corner of the shaft hit the bracket floor. Rather than rebuild a new bracket, I just cut the window in the bracket bottom. Better solution would be to make the hole located 1" from the outside bottom of the bracket.

 

[Steelslinger]

Here's some video of it cycling to verify full angling and demonstrate speed

https://youtu.be/NihMj_0N3IE

https://youtu.be/g0D_6PuldeU

 

[Steve]

Nice metal work Steel. You gave me some good ideas to tackle the plow on one of my machines. Thanks.

 

[Steelslinger]

Thank you!

No Problem, glad I could offer some inspiration.

Out of curiosity, what are you looking at doing with your plow?

 

[Andystoy19]

Good job and looks good, trial and error results are fine.

 

[Steve]

Steelslinger, I have a 2006 Polaris Ranger 6x6 that I have the plow on and is our workhorse here at the cabin. I save the much nice 2019 Lonestar for cruising around and trail riding and exploring the forest roads. I am looking at both a power lift and power angle setup using linear actuators. and also a power bed dump. Your brackets gave me ideas on how to attach things. 

Keep up the good work.

 

[Steelslinger]

Sounds very cool. I was thinking of a power lift for the plow, but unsure how to set a 'float' mode like truck plows. I have a fairly uneven gravel/dirt driveway with a touch of concrete. Using the winch is the closest to a float mode, but it offers no down pressure. I would like the down pressure of an actuator at times, though. I'm not sure an electric linear actuator would be able to have a float mode, seems like it would have to be a hydraulic system.

Power dump bed is definitely on the list, maybe in the spring.

 

[Steelslinger]

Finally got back to this project as it has been on the back burner due to Youth Hockey practices and games. Found some time to start figuring the wiring out. I had ordered 10ga silicon coated wire for the section of wire from the solenoid to the actuator which will have a waterproof connector to detach the blade and a 20amp fuse holder to protect it. Running 14ga wire from both the factory winch solenoid and the solenoid I got to run the actuator under the center floor channel to come up behind the center front seat. At that spot, I'll have another connector (Duetsch 6 pin connector, 2 for up and down, 2 for left right and one for switch power) with a 10amp inline fuse to protect the joystick switch controller.

Last night I was able to test wire the solenoid and switch to the joystick to verify it will operate the actuator properly. I'll get pictures tonight of the mess, I mean wire setup.

Next up is building the removeable armrest controller holder. Hopefully I'll have that fab'd up tonight.

 

[Hkb82]

Very nice post and work.  Looks fantastic and factory built.  Gonna be sweet upgrade for the white stuff. Can’t wait to see it in action. 

 

[Steelslinger]

Thanks. I was able to get it installed on the machine last week just in time for a plowable amount of snow. Its not 100% finished out, but its functional.

I didn't get the connector in the controller wires nor did I get then run under the floor yet, so I have that to do. I also have a little more refinement to the arm rest yet to do, such as cleaning up the welds, hiding the wiring, painting it, putting an upholstered padded piece on the arm, and grip/padding for the bracket that hooks over the mid wall tubes.

I mounted the second solenoid that runs the actuator on the frame under the dash and behind the passenger side lower cubby. I pulled power off the always hot post for the solenoid, and off the keyed power for the joystick switch. I ran the Up-Down wires to the winch solenoid, piggybacking on the dash switch terminals. With this setup, I feel the plow limit sensor is a must as it is easy to bump the joystick when shifting. The other two wires went to the actuator solenoid. I only had to run the two 10ga wires out the dash to the connector that connects to the actuator, I used PET mesh for the new wires that go outside, and then on advice of a friend I used some plastic spiral cable guard to protect the actuators wire from snow/ice damaging the outer insulation.

 

[Steelslinger]

Actuator brackets, actuator and plow all installed. I used nylon washers as spacers because the tube I used to make the brackets had a 1-5/8" ID vs 1" OD of the actuator shaft, I still need to add another as there is still a gap.

Also, in these pictures, you can see that I drilled a hole and put a clip in to keep the angle lock lifted up. I did this instead of removing it to keep it for a failsafe, if the actuator ever fails, I can remove it and pull the pin and go back to manual operation.

 

[Steelslinger]

I have two light weight plow events done already, functions great albeit slow. Raise and lower are as normal, but this actuator doesn't move fast at all, which I knew going in. Its not terrible (30 sec from angle lock to opposite angle lock), as you can run it while backing up or positioning, but a quicker actuator would make it better. 

The arm rest mounted joystick control is awesome for running this setup, hell even without the actuator angle, I like using it for the Up/Down over the dash mounted switch.

All told, I'm in it for about $500 give or take. I used steel drops (ie remnants) for the brackets and arm rest, but that should be cheap even at todays prices.

To me, well worth it.

 

[Steelslinger]

So, after two decent size plow events, there was a failure. In the bracket. I had figured if there was a weak point, it would be there first. Two factors contributed to this issue: first, the design of the bracket and second, the thickness of material used. Due to the length of the actuator, I had to make an offset style bracket which put the pivot hole for the actuator 6" past the last attachment hole. This created a fair amount of leverage of force anytime I was actively moving the blade angle to the passenger side or putting pushing force on the drivers side of the blade. Compounding that was the light weight thickness of the material and scant side wall metal left in the making of the bracket. Ultimately, it was that force, having the blade angled to the right and hitting the dense snow piles, coupled with the light weight construction of the bracket, that allowed the bracket to fold in half at the rear mounting hole.
Thankfully, I had the forethought to retain the manual angling stop lever by using a retaining clip to hold it out of the way instead of removing the lever all together. It allowed me to finish my plow job that night.
I rebuilt the bracket with a few changes. Same material, as it is what I have at the moment. I'll look at possibly making another bracket with thicker material when I have time to hit the steel yard and have more time to fabricate. I increased the side wall height to add support and also welded in some 1/4" x 1/2" flat bar I had to stiffen it up more. Also, drilled a hole in the bracket under the pivot hole to add another mount bolt to the push tubes if I find its moving again. Additionally, if I know I am going to be slamming into snow piles to move them back, I'll pull the pin on the positioning lever to lock in the blade.