I have the Swisher plow and bucket attachments for the "Universal" mount. As in most cases where something is "universal" it means it almost fitst most everything but really fits nothing.

After getting the mount in place on our Prairie I did not like the way it attached to the rear hitch. When the bolt was tightened it put a lot, and I mean a LOT, of strain on the quads as the axle would swing thru it's arc. I welded a couple of ears on the mount tube and built a reciever for the hitch plate that allows the mount tube to travel with the axle but not bind it up. At the front I did not like the way the spring leaves were attached solid across the quads "A" arms and built a sliding tube within a tube system to support the front of the mount tube. With these modifications I am able to remove the mount from the quad by pulling just three pins and the system works great.

I have used the plow to backfill behind a ditcher putting in 2" water pipe and have been imprtssed with the ruggedness of the Swisher plow. The bucket, as mentioned by others, has limited capacity but is very handy for many uses and is tough as nails.

One other modification I made was to the way the winch hooks to the attachments. I run the cable thru a block on the blade/bucket and back up to the winch mount. This cuts the lift speed by half and allows easier control when doing fine blading or bucket work.

 

I spent all day yesterday and about 2 hours this am placing fill dirt in my mom-in-law's yard. I went through 6 yards of dirt with the Swisher in about 2hrs, with leveling the dirt, etc. I did a total of about 15 yards of ill. The only problem with the Swisher was the tip on the lever cracked and I had to weld a couple of tacks to re-enforce it. It got the job done though!

 

One thing I found is when you are carrying a load of dirt, you don't want to go too fast across the lawn. If you hit a bump the bucket will trip and bring you to a pretty fast stop.
I use the plow in the summer to push horse **** into a pile then use the bucket to pick it up and haul it away. We love the thing.

 

Hey encorepete, tencubed, pat89 and Starky

Thanks again for all your replies and useful information. This definitely sounds like to way to go for me.
I was hoping to mount the 62" plow on my ATV. The land I have contains a ~500' driveway and the 50"
plow might be a little small. I don't want to have to be out in the snow/cold any longer than I have to.

tencubed, I have an '04 Grizzly which incorporates IRS, so I don't think I will have as much of a binding
issue as you did with a SRA. Nonetheless, if I PM you my email address would you mind sending some
pictures of your modifications to the front mount system. Easy removal would be a very nice feature.

Finally, where did everyone purchase their units? Did you find it locally or have to order it over the net?

Don

 

I got mine from Cabelas. They also carry them at Granger Mountain and Bass Pro.

 

I got mine from TSC, tractor Supply Co.

 

I got mine from Fleet Farm

 

Don

I would be happy to send pics but don't have any at hand. The quad is at the farm and I'm currently at our place in Seattle. Since we are leaving for Mexico in a few days it would be the end of this month before I have a chance to take some pics and post or mail them. Then I will have to get my son to do it cause I'm about as computer illiterate as a person can be.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img]

Bought ours thru Cabela's. Best price when shipping and all was considered.

 

get to tractor supply company and get them to match the price of someone off the internet. We got ours for 249.00. As for the 62" blade, I was told by swisher that blade was meant to be mounted on utility vehicles only like a Rhino or Mule, not an ATV. The 50" is so heavy, I doubt you would want the 62" because of the added weight. My road and driveway put together is probably 400 feet and I can plow them each in three or four passes depending on how much I want to push the snow back on the berm. At 5 MPH or even 7-9 MPH, the plow hums along, no sweat - if I wanted, it's almost as long to wait on the Honda Foreman to warm up as it is to plow that area. I just started with the blade angled one way and keep pushing all the snow that way - you never have to switch the blade back and forth. Pete

 

Hey guys,

Once again thanks for all the great replys. We have Cabela's and TSC here locally, so I will check it out.

tencubed, send me a PM when you get back and we can work on getting some pics transfered (or posted).

encorepete, thanks for relating your experience. I have contacted Swisher about the 62" plow and they told me the same thing. I have just read a number of plowing threads where people stated how happy they were going from standard 48" plows to the 60" models (like Moose or Cycle Country) that I thought it would be useful to look into it. From what you said, the 50" may work just fine. I will have to see if I can find someone locally with a plow unit I can check out next winter.

Don