Currently 44 Posted July 7, 2022 I typically don’t join forums anymore due to bickering and cliques creating a high noise to signal ratio. ‘I’ve moderated before and and have little tolerance for that anymore. After reading the contributions of @retro and @Fishfiles , I made an exception and joined. Little background on me, recently retired and still waiting on my Rubicon Deluxe with plow package that I prepaid for my retirement gift to self. ‘Should of came in mid-June, dealer telling me that his orders are starting to trickle in with Recons and Ranchers. I bought the last service manual for the 2022 TRX500-TRX520 on EBay that was mentioned on a forum post and planning to do my own maintenance. ‘Dealer is 65 miles away and I don’t like waiting weeks for repairs. Hoping to contribute as much as I received from this forum. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 7, 2022 Welcome to ATVHonda Forums !! Thanks for them kind words , wow , you sure you got the right guy , ehhh , LOL --- Recently retired !!! What field did you retire from ? --- Is this your first ATV ? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Currently 44 Posted July 7, 2022 First ATV, couple brothers been riding them for years and now that I moved back to where I was raised … they have hundreds of miles of ATV/Snowmobile trails in northern Maine. My brother who rode for 30 years recommended the Rubicon based on what my needs are. Rode street bikes for years till a bad wreck convinced me I no longer have the reflexes to handle it, add to that the texting drivers and reluctantly called it quits. Just moved up from @_Wilson_™ neck of the woods, I called on the Clarksville, Nashville, Chattanooga, Knoxville Tennessee area as a now retired industrial automation sales engineer As for your neck of the woods, them Cajuns/coonasses are distant relatives … this area here is known as the heart of Acadia and people here are right proud of it. One of the first projects I want to do is design a more robust plow system using industrial electric actuators instead of winches eliminating the broken wire/rope problems. It won’t be cheap but I want it to be reliable. I need to get through a winter so I can analyze the stresses and problem areas and then build it. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TBRider 1,411 Posted July 9, 2022 On 7/7/2022 at 10:07 AM, Currently said: One of the first projects I want to do is design a more robust plow system using industrial electric actuators instead of winches eliminating the broken wire/rope problems. It won’t be cheap but I want it to be reliable. I need to get through a winter so I can analyze the stresses and problem areas and then build it. I just use a seatbelt off a wrecked car for the cable in the winter when using my plow. Cheap to replace also, junk yard gives them for free. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Currently 44 Posted July 9, 2022 3 hours ago, TBRider said: I just use a seatbelt off a wrecked car for the cable in the winter when using my plow. Cheap to replace also, junk yard gives them for free. I like that idea. The other half of my idea is the ‘power-tilt’ angling of the plow. The problem with the Warn and Moose solutions that I can see is they are using the wrong spec equipment. Do you use a hawse fairlead or a roller fairlead for that seatbelt application? Seatbelts are thin and tough and as you say cheaply replaced. Thanks for bending my mind in another direction I didn’t consider. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 9, 2022 On 7/7/2022 at 8:07 AM, Currently said: As for your neck of the woods, them Cajuns/coonasses are distant relatives … this area here is known as the heart of Acadia and people here are right proud of it. Don't know how your post hide from me till this morning ------- you know I was thinking about mentioning the Acadian connection before you mentioned it ---- I watch a lot of them wildlife shows , I see you'll have a bunch of trails Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Fishfiles 20,147 Posted July 9, 2022 I am not a plow guy , my work background is hydraulics , could you use an electric over hydraulic pump and actuator ---- Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TBRider 1,411 Posted July 9, 2022 5 hours ago, Currently said: I like that idea. The other half of my idea is the ‘power-tilt’ angling of the plow. The problem with the Warn and Moose solutions that I can see is they are using the wrong spec equipment. Do you use a hawse fairlead or a roller fairlead for that seatbelt application? Seatbelts are thin and tough and as you say cheaply replaced. Thanks for bending my mind in another direction I didn’t consider. I just have the roller fairlead, my steel rope goes on for the summer. One belt usually lasts me the winter. Then I just toss it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Currently 44 Posted July 9, 2022 11 hours ago, Fishfiles said: I am not a plow guy , my work background is hydraulics , could you use an electric over hydraulic pump and actuator ---- Electric actuators are lighter than hydraulic systems. They also pull less amperage than a winch. The ones I found so far are a bit on the slow side. Good quality ones are IP65 wash down proof. Reason the Warn one fails is they went the cost saving route than use a more expensive sealed unit. ‘Another issue that I see in most pictures is it seems to be mounted upside down allowing water to enter the mechanism. Motor should be on top, shaft side on the bottom. Work with gravity, not against it. I’m still in the conceptual stage. Once I get the measurements, loads and locations down, I’ll order the parts. There is a good fab/welding shop not very far from me. Goal is to be able to revert back to stock if needed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TBRider 1,411 Posted July 10, 2022 What about pneumatic motion Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Currently 44 Posted July 10, 2022 (edited) 26 minutes ago, TBRider said: What about pneumatic motion Compressor/valve bank weight, spring action of air, moisture/icing control being in variable temperature and humidity outdoor environment. In a plant, compressed air is one of the most expensive sources of energy. Cheap to install, very expensive to run and maintain. So expensive that I had customers willing to pay $20,000+ for air leak detectors like this one for their preventative maintenance programs! https://www.fluke.com/en-us/learn/blog/leak-detection Add to that the fact there are significant efficiency losses every time one converts an energy source to another … for example: internal combustion engine to electrical to pneumatic or hydraulic … each stage introduces more losses in efficiency. Staying electrical eliminates one stage and improves efficiency. This is why farm tractors and heavy equipment have PTO’s and hydraulics directly connected to the engine. Edited July 10, 2022 by Currently 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
_Wilson_™ 6,593 Posted July 16, 2022 Welcome to ATVH, Currently 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
