I want to buy a Swisher plow system (because I want their bucket too), but they don't offer an electric plow actuator to operate the plow. Will another companies actuator work (like Warn)? I don't want to use a winch because I have read on these forums that they break a lot of cables and can cause premature wear and damage to the winch.
Thanks,
Gordon

 

I never heard anything too good about the electric actuators. I would stick to winch or hand lift. I went with the manual hand lift because I need reliability.

 

as far as winch cable i got an 8 ft piece from lowes an i run that in the heart of the winter when i can't get to trails. i also have the manual lift if i need it but would be easier for me to take the winch off my other machine an put on mine. while waiting for parts.

 

You mentioned people are having a lot of problems with using winches for plows. I just got a winch/plow set up. What kind of problems are people having - what should I expect? Are the motors burning up, or just the cables wearing?

I'm wondering if I should get a manual lift to save my winch.....?

 

if ya do anything i would get an 8 foot piece of cable to use for just plowing. the constant in an out tends to weaken the cable some. after useing the winch i wouldn't waste money on manual lift you'll end up setting it aside an use the winch instead an there not cheap (manual lift)my friends drive way is about 3/4 mile an has never had any trouble with his winch. we average 115-130 inches of snow a year

 

here's what i do. i have a Warn 4.0 winch (very powerful) and moose plow (heavy). when i mount the plow, i strip the cable from the drum and install some regular old utility rope (1/4" or so, whatever fits through the hole in the drum). then i run the rope down to the plow, thru a pulley, back up to the bumper, thru another pulley, back down thru another pulley and up thru one last pulley and down to the plow where it is tied. this does two things. first it allows you to use thin rope that will break before anything gets damaged, and it slows the rate that the plow moves up and down, making it easier to stop at the top or get the right amount of lift for skimming gravel, ect...

i have never broken the rope, even tho it was well used and pretty thin when i started using it a couple years ago. i plow a couple of blocks around my house and we get quite a bit of snow here, so this system is proven.

monty

 

Great idea about using a rope or a spare cable and save the good cable. I know exactly what you mean about using the pulley's for lift reduction.

I'm going to experiment with all this stuff. I also heard using a strap works well, have you ever tried that?

Doug

 

Do you have to remove and disassemble your winch to change these ropes? That seems like alot of work if you do. Can you add an extension to the cable thats already in the winch and use it that way? I have plowed through last years heavy snow using my winch with no problem. I just recently purchased warns new Plow Roller Fair Lead which should help reduce the wear on the wire rope since it has a really big bottom fair lead.

 

You should be able to unwind the cable all the way and it it slip out of a small hole. You do not need to take anything apart. Adding an extension to the cable isn't going to help because is won't be used where it wears back and forth on the fair lead so I don't think that would help much.

 

I unspool my cable and use a rope on mine as well. It is easy to unspool the cable, and you can pick up the rope at any department store. I use a heavier poly rope that fits thru the hole on the winch spool, but I do like the sound of the pulleys MontyH uses. Either way, the big thing is that you are not overstressing your plow mount, or winch mount by topping out your lift with a winch cable that has no give to it. Also, you are not over fatiguing a small section (about 12") of pricey winch cable that is going back and forth across your roller. I looked at the Warn "Plow Roller Fairlead", and figured the rope was a better idea. Just my 2 cents!