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Front Receiver / Plow Mount

22K views 36 replies 12 participants last post by  HueyPilotVN 
#1 ·
This weekend I installed a front receiver for plowing.

History:
I looked into available products and came across 4xgaurd, but the owner there discouraged plow use saying it was setup for pulling, not pushing. I further found a mount from Bear Personal Plows, however this only attached to the front crossmember and didn't appear mush stronger than 4xguard's. I then found a nice mount from Western Plows that mounted between the front crossmember and engine/differential harness. This looked to be what I was looking for for strength, but no receiver mount. Next I found a 12,000lb/1,200lb tongue generic weld on receiver from Curt:
http://www.etrailer.com/Specialty-Trailer-Hitches/Curt/15902.html?feed=npn

The crosstube was 44" inches long (about the same as the front crossmember on th xk) and it was made out of 4" square tube, meaning I would be able to reach in from the ends and work with nuts and bolts.

I ordered these two parts and they formed the bases of my plan of which the details changed several times up until Saturday morning.

Work begins:
After taking off the front grill and bumper (which only took an hour thanks to the great instructions on this site that I had read before), I cut off the front crossmember of the frame about 1/2" back on the side rails. The new receiver hitch would replace the front crossmember.

I then attached the mounting brackets from the plow mount that were meant for the front crossmember to the receiver.

I used 1/8" x 2" angle iron, cut in 4" lengths to mount the receiver to the frame rails. These were cut and drilled and mounted to the receiver.

Next, the receiver was fit to the front and the rails were marked for drilling. (this is where the pictures start)

After drilling the frame rails, the mounts had to be removed from the receiver and bolted to the frame rails, as you can't get into the frame once the receiver is in place.

Now it was time to install the plow mount.
First the front of the mount was attached to the mounting brackets that had already been installed on the receiver.

Next, the mount was swung up into place on the engine/differential cross member, marked and drilled.

Once it was all bolted up, all that remained was to cutout the front bumper and reinstall.

It seems simple in the writeup, but took about 16 hours from start to completion over the weekend.

Here are some of the final pictures, I'll share more from earlier parts of the project when the camera has enough juice to transfer them......
 

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#4 ·
Very nicely done.
 
#5 ·
Good job. Can you post some pics of the plow attached?
 
#6 · (Edited)
We have a storm coming in Tuesday night, so I might be a ble to get something together in a few days. I'm hoping the plow bracket will adjust down far enough as the receiver is about 5" above where it was on the old vehicle.
 
#7 · (Edited)
That would suck if the plow wouldnt reach the ground after all your work!!

Is this mounted upside down?
What happened to the crash cans on the front of the bumper?

I like the mount and the ability to hide it behind a license plate.
Put a hinged mount on the plate bracket and get a portable winch...

Overall rating 5 of 5 I think!
 
#8 ·
That would suck if the plow wouldnt reach the ground after all your work!!
It will work.......one way or the other.......

It uses and adjustable mount that can go up or down about 4", right now it's in the center position.

Here's a generic picture:


The adjustable piece is a standard part and I'll get one with more drop (or rise if you flip it over) if need be.
 
#11 ·
good work man looks awesome!!
 
#12 ·
Can't wait to see pics. Looks as good as your mount GP.
 
#13 ·
Maybe even better than my mount. I think he has reinforcements.

Btw, that plow is much lighter duty than commercial plows and may have been fine on the 4xGuard. But I don't really know how the 4xGuard is designed and attached. I wouldn't hesitate to use my front receiver for that snow plow.

Looking forward to a video of plowing with it.
 
#14 ·
It is a fairly light duty plow and I only use it for the driveway, that said, a pile of snow can build up in front of it higher than the hood and there are times when you want to push an existing pile back another few feet.
 
#15 ·
The company that makes that plow was a sponsor a couple of years ago. I liked what I saw but I didn't want to spend that much money. Did you say where you're from? If it was near enough to me, I wouldn't mind seeing it in action.
 
#19 ·
I paid a $1000 for the plow and another $200 for the mount on the original vehicle. It's very well made for what it is, but very simple. No controls, you can set it on the top of the rack for transportation, or down for plowing. When backing up it tips out to slide over the ground. Going forward on dry (or fairly dry) pavement it bumps, grinds, pops and and squeals.

My thinking was that for the same price as a snowblower I could sit in the car and keep warm.

It is best to use it before anyone drives over the snow as the plow will tend to run on top of existing tracks.
 
#16 ·
Here are some more pics of the job in progress including:
1)xk w/o bumper
2)xk w/o front x-member
3)end caps removed from receiver for access
4)plow mount
5)rest of plow mount
 

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#17 ·
A few more pics of plow mount and receiver....
 

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#18 ·
Your mount has a lot more bracing than mine. That should be really strong. Good job.

(Mine is made from c-channel that wraps around the cross piece that you cut out and replaced with the receiver hitch. But it also has "L's" on each end that bolt to the inside of the rails.)
 
#21 ·
I think I saw picks of yours on the board a while back. It, in part, formed the inspiration for mine.

I didn't want to rely entirely on front frame rails after speaking with the owner of 4xguard because although he didn't directly say it, this seemed like the weak point. I am use to the strength of a full chassis vehicle and although the front frame rails where stronger than I was expecting (The receiver was rigid and sturdy when only mounted to the rails), I didn't want to risk buckling the rails when plowing.
 
#20 ·
In your opinion would it be able to move through 18" to 2 feet of unplowed crusted snow?

Our family has a cabin in the northern woods of Michigan and I like to go there in the winter and I have gotten stuck a couple of times.
 
#22 ·
I don't think the plow would mind. I recall a post on here somewhere where someone got a lot of snow packed into the grill and it caused problems with the radiator or fan.... not sure of the details now but it might be worth looking up.

Back when I was buying the plow they also had an angle mount for pushing the snow off to the side which maybe handy for long runs and also keep it from building up too high in front.
 
#24 ·
I plowed today with the Commander, pictures will be coming.......

Let's just say, the mount wasn't quite long enough to adjust down far enough. I put it in the lowest setting where I could still get 4 bolts into it and the bottom of the plow was just barely touching the ground..... so I decided to put it down one more notch. Now I could only get 2 bolts into it. Mind you, the bolts are grade 8 5/8", the mounting plate is 1/2" solid and and part the plow hooks to is 2" x 4" by around 3/16" box tubing. I thought it would still be quite strong.

Started to plow and all was well.... but the mound was sticking out too far into the driveway because the previous mound was in the way, so I decided to give it a little BUMP.

The 2 5/8 bolts popped (don't know where they are but I'll find them when the snow melts), the 1/2" mounting plate bent in at the bottom and the 2"x4" tube is a little dented in the middle.

I then put it all back together with the remaining 2 5/8" bolts and 2 3/8" (all grade 8) bolts I had leftover from the previous job in the lowest setting I could get 4 bolts into and finished the job.

No more problems after that. Finished the job and checked the receiver hitch/plow mount/frame rails from underneath. All looks to be in good order still. There are a couple of pings in the frame rails and I'm not sure if that's from stress today or if they were like that before. I wil continue to keep an eye on them for the next few runs.

Enjoy the snow!
 
#27 ·
#28 ·
GP, turns out it wasn't yours I had seen before though it's quite nice how that fits together. Someone else in here cut out the front crossmember parallel to the inside of the frame rails and did a custom setup. Can't remember who it was or the link...........
 
#31 · (Edited)
GP, turns out it wasn't yours I had seen before though it's quite nice how that fits together. Someone else in here cut out the front crossmember parallel to the inside of the frame rails and did a custom setup. Can't remember who it was or the link...........
Yah, I didn't have to cut the cross member, just drilled through it, and the rails.

The other project was by Yeggster. He cut out the cross rail similar to what you did and put in a receiver hitch. Here's his thread:

http://www.jeepcommander.com/forums/showthread.php?t=9782&highlight=front+receiver+hitch

Btw, your setup looks great and the plow looks to do a really good job. Thanks for posting this for the rest of us.
 
#29 ·
Here are a few picks with the plow.....

1) Lowest recommended mounting position with all 4 bolts (but it barely touched the ground so I put it down another notch and attached with 2 that later snapped)

2) Plow on top hooks for transportation

3) Plowing
 

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#30 ·
More plowing pics....

1) The pile I was pushing on when it snapped (note there is an old pile under the fresh snow that had solidified)
2) Removed plow after fininshing
3) Closeup of the mount now with 2 3/8" bolts in the bottom holes. This is where it snapped but you can't see the damage from here.
4) plow mount removed, ready to put license plate back on (have to figure out a long term solution for the plate.
 

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#33 ·
Thance, yes, that is the other quick and easy option. LOL That was why I said I was just going to use it as a trailer moving, boat landing, hitch. It is sad that you have to go to all that trouble to reinforce a JEEP! so you can plow snow. Now that you have that structure down below the frame, you could mount a Western Suburbanite on there too. If your hitch mount blade isn't meeting your needs, that is. The surburbanite is about 2 grand, but it is a lightweight, limited use, plow with fully functional live hydraulics. I love mine on my CJ.
 
#34 ·
I agree that it's a shame. I use to have that plow on the front of a full size Bronco, and all I needed was a standard front receiver... never had any issues, but as good as the xk unibody is, I wasn't going to trust it for plowing.

Is the Suburbanite the model that's made for the plow mount I used? I never looked into it that far, but it might prove useful someday, especially if I can find one used.

Thanks,

Tom
 
#35 ·
So you cant raise, lower or angle the plow while plowing with this setup can you???
 
#36 ·
I know it's been 2 years..... but somehow I never saw your post.

You can raise and lower the plow manually (it is either up on the top hooks for transportation or down for plowing. There is no in between). As far as angling left or right there is a kit you can buy for that. It is manually set as well. I do not have it.
 
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