[cutntrim]

My new Fisher 8'6" Vee is certainly taking a lot longer than a minute to mount. Maybe I'm just used to mounting Meyers and Snoway blades, but the Fisher has been pretty frustrating to mount. Granted, I've only put the blade on twice so far, but I've followed the instructions to the letter. Seems that if the truck isn't exactly perpendicular to the blade, then I can only get one pin to pop in. Hopefully it'll get easier with practice, and the plow will get "worked in". For now it's requiring a lot of elbow grease and many choice expletives to get it on the truck.:headwall

 

[Arc Burn]

They do "loosen" up so to speak,you will also get better at it yourself,sometimes you have to shake the headhear alittle to get the other pin to lock,sometimes pulling the blade back by hand towards the truck will also work,the best thing to do is to pull into the plow and actually move it foward abit so you know your all the way in and straight,be sure your lined up correctly before you give it a nudge though

 

[HerkFE]

Yep, I agree with Arc's technique. I pull my truck into the mount until the blade moves slightly, set the parking brake so I don't roll at all, and usually it will mount right up. Sometimes it may take a little pulling/pushing on the blade to get a pin to drop in , but more often than not it's true to it's name.

Good luck!

Pete :usa

 

[Arc Burn]

Good point on the parking brake,nothing worse than getting out only to find you rolled back 2"

 

[Mick]

I set mine on two pallets when I take them off. If it's outside, I put the jackstand on a 24" square wooden block. Then to hook up, I drive into it far enough to tip the headgear forward. This tends to line the pins up and put slack in the chain. Then all I have to do is lift the headgear.

Remember to push the triangle (lift cylinder) all the way down before shutting the truck off.

 

[cutntrim]

I think it's mostly growing pains with learning the tricks in putting on the Fisher compared to the other plow types I've used. Oddly I've been able to easily get the passenger-side pin to fully engage, but it's been the driver's side pin that's given me problems. The first time I hooked up I must have backed out and re-aligned 10x, and each time the passenger-side would pop in but not the driver's side. I hope the install wasn't slightly off-center. Don't want the aggravation each time I go to hook up.

 

[Brian Simmons]

Herkfe hit the nail on the head. Setting the parking brake is a must with most people. Most of the time the lift arm is not all the way down. Now believe me i am not trying to be sarcastic at all but i am only 145lbs soaking wet and i have no problems for the most part with hooking up any of the blades we have around here. My point is if you have to muscle it something is not right. Yes sometimes i may need to shove the blade a little to get it to align up. As all of the other stated drive up to the blade and push it a few inches beyond where it was. Look at the pins - if you turns them so they can slide and they make contact with the pushplates you are fairly close and should be able to just push back on the headgear to engage the pins. As someone else stated put a board under the jack leg to prevent it from sinking into the ground. If the headgear is to low the plate that slides up the ramp on the pushplate may not be able to slide all the way up the ramp. I know this may be hard to picture but a little practice before the snow falls will save alot of headaches. The one other thing that i do is when taking my plow off is when you pull the lever to drop the jackleg lift up on the bumper so the jack lever slides into the next slot up on the jack leg. This will help a little if the plow is outside and you pack snow under the tires and the truck is a little higher than the plow. I hope this helps.

 

[EZSnow]

I don't have/ never had a fisher, but I FEEL YOUR PAIN!!! When I started plowing, I bought a used uni-mount and had it installed on my truck. Couldn't get it hooked up to save my life- I'd spend 10-15 min wrestling that thing into place. I learned quickly that a couple of snowmobile dollys and a floor jack GREATLY shortened the process. It'll get better once you learn all the tricks- Good Luck!!

 

[FordPlow]

on my tractor I have a meyers and a fabricated bracket in the bucket. Sometimes its very hard to get both pins lined up. What I did to make much easier is lower the plow on a laid flat 2x4 thats perpindicular to the blade so I can easily rock it and get the pins to line up when the blade and tractor are not exacly on the same plane..works good for me.

dean

 

[W-n-K Landscaping]

This might not be the best way to moutn my blade, but what I have found that works best for me is to drive into the blade til I see it move, then I get out and hook up the chain, I have to go back to the truck to lift it up, but when I go back around to the front of the truck all I have to do is push down on the A-frame a bit to get the pins lined up and then pop them in. It sure beats trying to muscle the blade around, or lift it up into the frame. I have to place it on some sort of support to keep the A-frame up in the air a little, but it sure saves my back !

Especially when you have to do a late night hookup in a snow squall where you are covered in snow within 2 minutes of getting out of the truck! I may love living in the lake effect country, but it does have it's downsides!! LOL!!

Bill

 

[cutntrim]

Thanks again for the replies guys.

FordPlow: The idea of lowering the blade onto a 2"x4" sounds like a good one. I use a 2"x4" to lever the A frame up into place with my Meyers but haven't done so with the Fisher.

CNY: My buddy (the Fisher dealer) used that method with his previous truck which had a Meyers. I'm not sure if that'd work with the Fisher though.

PlowTech: Sounds like I shouldn't be having this much trouble. I'm 200lbs soaking wet and after spending close to 1hr trying to connect it the first time I was so angry I was heaving and shoving the entire plow around like it weighed 80lbs instead of 800lbs. I drove forward into the plow and pushed it half way up the driveway, and engaged the parking brake. Still no luck. Only when the truck was positioned exactly perfectly perpendicular did I have any success.

Not only did I push up slightly on the headgear - I moved the entire truck front end by rocking it so hard. I will try to lock the jack leg on the "next highest" hole position next time and see if it helps. My driveway is asphalt, and my garage floor is concrete so sinking isn't a problem.

Oh well, we'll see how it goes next time...

 

[Arc Burn]

If it makes you feel any better your in the same boat as my father,i've sat inside many a times watching him jump up and down and curse so i would walk out,get in the truck,back up,slide into her and get out and lock the pins,that made him even madder:headwall You'll get the hang of it

 

[BWhite]

Like everything else , there is a learning curve. You will get really good at it real quick

 

[Honest Mike]

LOL Arc Burn! I never hooked up a Fisher MM or MM2 by myself, but I have watched one of my friends wrestle with his RD 7.5' MM1. I did help him though the best I could. I can see how it can be a real pain in the butt, its definitely not an "easy" hookup even though it looks like it is or should be by looking at it. Its like anything else though Im sure, the more you do it, you will get good at it and learn some tricks along the way and it will be a piece of cake after that. Good luck! Mike

 

[Mick]

If it's taking an hour, something is definately wrong. Reading through this a second time, I remembered something that happened when I got my 9' Fisher. I was having a terrible time just like you're describing. The second pin would never line up right. What I finally did was actually two things. First, I let the chain out a couple of links. The problem with that is that it doesn't lift as far as I'd like and is only about three inches from the surface at full angle. The second thing I did was set the moldboard on a 6"x6" to disconnect. Outdoors, I use a couple of pallets. Now, I have plenty of slack in the chain and no more problem with pin alignment.

Don't forget to push the "triangle" all the way down.

 

[W-n-K Landscaping]

CutnTrim- I use a 7'6" Fisher MMI and so far that is the best way I have found with mine- it just allows the plow to "float" and then I can easily manuever it from there. Let us know what you find works best for you!

Good luck,
Bill

 

[BWhite]

absolutely Mick

If you dont collapse the lift cylinder , its very difficult to do

 

[cutntrim]

Guys - I always make sure the "triangle" is all the way pushed down, just like I've always pushed down the cylinder with my Meyers blade.

Yesterday I had the rubber snow foil deflectors put on and picked up the plow at the end of the day. This morning when I went to get it off the damn thing wouldn't release the driver's side pin - AGAIN!!!:headwall

My driveway's at a slight incline so I thought maybe having the blade in the garage with half of the truck still out on the driveway slope might be contributing to the problem. However, the pin still was jammed in tighter than a $#%@&**@^%!

I'm still busy with leaf cleanups and didn't have time to screw around so I called my dealer and told him I'm bringin' it over and see if he has the same problem. When I got there I was parked on level ground and with some grunting, he was able to get the pins to release. Getting them back in was not as easy. The passenger side pin popped in (as always) but I had to hop in the truck and turn the wheel hard to the right while pushing the plow forward and then he engaged the pin lever which worked to pop in the driver's side pin as well.

He kept the plow for the day 'cause he wanted to check it out and called me later. Mine was the virgin plow install (he's a new dealer) for him and he said he'd found a similar pin sticking problem on a subsequent installation - and a possible solution. Some sort of adjustment (cell phone kept cutting out) that he's gonna try tomorrow.

So see, I'm not a retarded klutz after all. Something IS screwy with the alignment. :scramble

 

[W-n-K Landscaping]

Never thought you were a retard!! A little crazy like the rest of us, but that's normal here!! I'm glad he found something, and hopefully he can make the "Adjustment" he was refering too. One thing I was thinking about was if there was anything left in the hole the pin slides into, or possibly the hole was drilled slightly at an off angle. Easy to fix if you have a die grinder, or shave a little off of the pins to give you a little extra play.

Good luck, and let us know how you make out!!

Bill

 

[gordyo]

For those of you having trouble with the pins going in and then releasing. I solved my trouble by coating the pins with Anti-Seaze lubricant. I now keep the pins on the two minute mounts and the MM2 V coated all the time. Makes life alot easier.