Curtis Plow Instructions? (1UTVP)

RKP in SB

Member
I just bought a new 1100C with Kubota's 72" straight plow (72" XTRA DUTY FRONT BLADE W/ELECTRO-HYDRAULIC LIFT AND ANGLE) and I wonder if anyone here could answer a few questions for me. It's painted orange, of course, but it's clearly this Curtis plow: https://curtisindustries.net/product/hydraulic-utv-plow/

The only "manual" it came with is the same one on the Curtis website, basically instructions to the dealer on how to assemble and install it. There's nothing oriented toward the end user. So I'm wondering:

1) How the heck do I put it in float mode? On my old JD X739, you'd just push past the "downforce" point on the applicable hydraulic lever, feel a click, and downforce would release, putting it in Float. Here, though, there's no release if you keep your thumb on the Down button. What am I missing?

2) When spring comes and it's time to take the plow off, is removal as simple as it appears -- just unplugging one electrical cable, removing the pin from the 2" receiver and backing away? Is the plow truly self-contained, no other connections to the vehicle?

3) Have any of you mounted that controller in a fixed position somewhere in the cab? My old Gator had a dash-mounted joystick for the "PowerTach" plow and I liked that setup better than the hand-held controller in my new 1100C. Of course, with the Gator's lack of power steering, I absolutely NEEDED two hands to crank the wheel around so the fixed joystick was essential. The Kubota's power steering is a real treat in comparison.

Thanks in advance for your guidance!~
 

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dan900

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According to the photo in the information sheet on the Curtis website, the lift linkage between the blade and the lift cylinder is a chain. That will allow the blade to always float when lowered. There is no down pressure other than the weight of the blade.
 

RKP in SB

Member
Oh, there's definitely downforce available. You can feel it lift the front end up and the little light in the center of the controller turns from green to red. Can't really plow like that, though -- it trips way too easily. There has to be a way to put it in Float... One "blip" of the Up button after you've put it all the way Down raises the plow above the surface a bit too much. I'd like to just have the weight of the plow resting on the road surface, no downforce.
 

avantiguy

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I have the Curtis plow with manual angle. The up/down is controlled by an electric arm attached to the blade with a chain. I looked at the hydraulic angle model you have and it is raised/lowered just like mine.

I don't see how the mechanism can generate downforce on the blade other than the blades weight. Can't push very hard on a chain.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HNNSG7wW4nY/hqdefault.jpg I only see chains lifting the blade if this is your assembly

IAC, I plow in the fully down mode (float?) always. That keeps full weight on the blade and it rides the irregularities in the surfaces I plow.

I plow up to 1700 running feet of drives including the neighbors and the plow works well.

I'm not sure what they now use for shoes but mine were 1/2" shafts with small discs. I've upgraded then to 5/8" shafts with larger shoes. These wear better and break less.

Good plowing
 

avantiguy

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On a second note, I see your lift uses two chains not the single like mine. I should have thought of doing that as my blade drops quite a bit when angled.

Thanks for posting your assembly, it gave me a solution. This is an old shot as mine has a full cab now.

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628pm

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Did you get the blade from your dealer, if so ask him about that. They should know how to operate the equipment they sale.
 

RKP in SB

Member
I have the Curtis plow with manual angle. The up/down is controlled by an electric arm attached to the blade with a chain. I looked at the hydraulic angle model you have and it is raised/lowered just like mine.

I don't see how the mechanism can generate downforce on the blade other than the blades weight. Can't push very hard on a chain.

https://i.ytimg.com/vi/HNNSG7wW4nY/hqdefault.jpg I only see chains lifting the blade if this is your assembly

IAC, I plow in the fully down mode (float?) always. That keeps full weight on the blade and it rides the irregularities in the surfaces I plow.

I plow up to 1700 running feet of drives including the neighbors and the plow works well.

I'm not sure what they now use for shoes but mine were 1/2" shafts with small discs. I've upgraded then to 5/8" shafts with larger shoes. These wear better and break less.

Good plowing
Thanks, avantiguy. I know if I'd just looked at my plow and had seen the chain, I'd also have guessed it didn't have any downforce, just "float". That's what I was expecting when I bought it, so I was surprised the first time I hit the "Down" button and felt the front end lift up a little bit. Now the amount of downforce I'm talking about is minimal, nothing at all like a tractor with a front-end loader being able to left the wheels off the ground.
So I made a little video to show you what I'm talking about.. Hmmm, too large a file to attach, apparently. Here's a Google Drive link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-MaU07i9ozhRHC5js9_Y165ADpazd6C_gw/view?usp=sharing

Watch the butt end of the front bumper lift up as the plow pushes down. You can see it more clearly the 2nd time I did it. Not a ton of downforce, obviously, but some.

Still have to figure out how to put in Float, though.
 

bczoom

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I don't see down force in the video. With the plow on the ground (no blade weight on RTV), take a measurement from the ground to the bottom of something like the front bumper. Then lift the blade and take another measurement. The weight of the blade probably made the front end squat an inch or so. When you set the blade back down, you'll see the front end of the RTV raise back up. It's not down force you're seeing, it's the suspension coming back up after you removed the extra weight of the blade.
 

RKP in SB

Member
I don't see down force in the video. With the plow on the ground (no blade weight on RTV), take a measurement from the ground to the bottom of something like the front bumper. Then lift the blade and take another measurement. The weight of the blade probably made the front end squat an inch or so. When you set the blade back down, you'll see the front end of the RTV raise back up. It's not down force you're seeing, it's the suspension coming back up after you removed the extra weight of the blade.
You know, bc, you might be right. The front bumper comes up about 2" when you put the plow down, but maybe that's just the suspension coming up when you remove the weight of the plow. I'd actually be happy with no downforce, "Float" is what I'm after -- or, to be more specific, to set the plow tight to the road and be able to plow snow without the blade immediately tripping.

I think I may have stumbled across the answer, though. Looks like that controller is manufactured by somebody other than Curtis and they actually have instructions (hurray!) :
https://www.storksplows.com/afterme...plow-control-sno-pro-3000-straight-blade.html

Looks like when that center light on the controller turns red, I **AM** in Float Mode. So I guess what I need to do is to see if I can adjust those springs so the blade doesn't trip so easily when I'm in Float. My old JD Gator had a "PowerTach" hydraulic plow with much beefier springs that didn't trip very easily. On the other hand, I did some real damage to that plow a couple of times when I hit ice. There must be a happy medium somewhere in between those 2 points!
 

bczoom

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You have the RTV with a cab, right? Having a cab or plow makes it required to have the heavy duty struts in the front to handle the extra weight. If you have a factory cab, it already has them from the factory. Since you added the plow, you may want to check and adjust your struts so they're at full strength to avoid your front end dipping so much when you lift the blade.
 

avantiguy

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Mine acts exactly the same as your's. When the blade hits the ground the front of the RTV will lift a fair bit. Those blades are heavy as you'll find out when you remove it.

The way my plow is mounted and it was put on by the dealer, the chain will usually have several inches of length more than necessary to stop the blade on a level surface. Or in other terms, if you drive your RTV to the edge of a ditch and lower the blade as far as it will go, the blade lower edge will be several inches below the tire bottoms. To me, that difference is the float as we can't totally disconnect the chain.

As I said previously, I plow with the chain/plow in the full down position which gives me slack in the chain or "float".

If you are on gravel or dirt, I'd suggest that you go back a few posts to the one that shows a pipe across the lower blade edge. My neighbor's SIL does his gravel driveway this way with good success.
 

bczoom

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Yes, you want that chain to have slack when the blade is down and you're on a flat surface. If no slack and you go over an incline, at the peak, if no slack, your blade is in the air and not plowing the surface on the downhill side. The chain (instead of a rigid item) also protects your RTV should you hit something and it causes the blade to lift abruptly. The chain takes the slack instead of something bending. Same is true for some tractor implements. A bush hog is a good example.
 

bczoom

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You're driveway looks fine to me, especially since you haven't posted a picture of it. :)
 

RKP in SB

Member
You're driveway looks fine to me, especially since you haven't posted a picture of it. :)
The cracks in the concrete were the #1 thing jumping out at me in the video I posted (above) of the plow going up and down.
It looks better from a distance, thank goodness.
 

RKP in SB

Member
Thought you guys might get a chuckle out of the "help" provided by Curtis Industries.

ME: "Do you have any sort of manual for the 1UTVP snowplow oriented toward the end user? I just bought a new Kubota RTV-X1100C with this plow and the only manual I received is the same one you have on your website, basically assembly and installation instructions for the dealer. I don't see how to put the plow into Float Mode??? I'm also wondering about how to remove it when spring comes -- is it just a matter of unplugging one electrical cable, removing the pin from the 2" receiver, and backing away? Thanks!"

CURTIS: "Raymond…thank you for reaching out to us. Have you contacted a Kawasaki dealer for this information. I would think that their service managers would be able to help you with these concerns. Unfortunately all Curtis offers is the install guide. "

Hmmm... Kubota = Kawasaki? And Curtis doesn't have an Operator's Manual? Maybe I should have looked at a Boss plow the way my Kubota dealer suggested.
 

bczoom

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Didn't even notice the crack. It's straight so you should just call it an expansion joint. :) There's only 2 guarantees with concrete. 1) It will get hard and 2) it will crack.
 

RKP in SB

Member
Tightened up those springs on the plow today (several turns on each side) and it really helped with the issue of the plow tripping far too easily. Somewhere in my research on this thing, it said you should be able to slide a sheet of paper in between the coils. That dealer didn't have it set it anywhere near that.

It'll still trip if I run into something immovable, which is exactly what it's supposed to do -- prevent damage. The way it was set from the dealer, though, you could barely push snow.
 
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