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Posted by: Prospector
Most quads are good for plowing snow. Bigger, heavier quads can keep it moving better, and bust through drifts easier. For the deep drifts, you may need to start at one side and work your way through. Sometimes it can be difficult to go straight through a deep drift.
A winch is a lifesaver for operating the plow, but beware of the damage done to the winch cable. It will get mangled and frayed from all the short runs in and out. I prefer to use one cable for plowing and a *different* cable when I'm out 4-wheeling. But then, I guess most people don't use their winch to go vertical up rock walls, where the entire weight of the quad and rider are dangling on that thin cable! But Moab, Utah *is* fun!
Another thing to consider if you plan to use the winch to operate the plow: If you get stuck, your winch is supporting the plow. If you disconnect the cable from the plow in order to winch yourself out, then your plow is on the ground and digging in! Consider *also* installing the manual lift for the plow, or at least carry a short piece of chain and a couple of quick-links to support the plow while winching.
If your quad has a reverse rev-limiter, you will be much happier plowing if you disable the reverse limiter. It can be a real pain to try to back up from pushing snow into a ditch if you only have 2 hands to (1) apply throttle (2) raise blade and (3)hold reverse over-ride button - all at the same time.
The winch, plow, snow, etc add a lot of weight to the quad. Rubber spacers can be inserted between the coils of the front springs, but heavy duty spings are better.
There are several brands and models of snowplows available, and as far as I know they are ALL good. I chose the Cycle Country "V" blade
With your ATV properly set up for plowing, not only will it do it, but you will have so much fun plowing you won't want to stop at the end of your own driveway!
Posted by: yam8
Come on guys for plowing deep snow the King is the traxter and then the Arctic Cat, hands down.
2000 Grizzly
3800km's (Like a rock)
Posted by: robh
The prob that your gonna run into is the snow will tend to go over the plow so you will prob will have to make several passes to get the snow all moved. Just my 2 cents.
Posted by: 92LT
phipps,
Bet your glad you have that plow blade after all the snow we got here!
Nice to see someone else on this forum from the western NY area. Where do you ride?
Posted by: trailboss450
With the winter (or non -winter) that we are experiencing here in Minnesota, all I can ask is: WHAT IS A DRIFT? I would just love to get a chance to see one let alone plow it.
So in reply to the posters original question,
"Can you plow through two-three foot drifts?" NO not in Minnesota .....but if I could find one....most likely!
Sorry for whining!
Posted by: chainman
N2Mountains,
Where did you get your Warn plow and how much did it run? The ads claim to have a mounting bracket that doesn't hang down like the Cycle Country's. Looks like it might be a pretty good plow.
Posted by: Kodiac400
About 3 days ago we got some typical New Brunswick wet snow. My neighbour has a plow and had no problems at all to push the new 12 inch's of snow. He has a 400 AC and was not even spinning a tire while plowing. So to sum it all up 12 inchs of wet snow did not pose any problems at all.
Posted by: Rubidude
ANY larger ATV can handle snowplowing. They are all limited to the same issue...traction. Some folks like to use chains. I, personally, don't. I have Goodyear Mudrunners on my Rubicon which help quite a bit. The only other thing I do is add a couple of sandbags to the rear rack. As for handling drifts, it's just a matter of making a pass with the blade up to knock the drift down to a more manageable depth. What's really fun is to watch all these guys that shelled out big bucks for snow blades to fit their lawn mowers. They usually just sit and spin. Face it...4 wheel drive beats 2 wheel drive any day.
Posted by: SHAGGY500HO
The snowblower attachment also costs $2,999!!!!!
Posted by: Ride4Fun
These two pictures were taken at the end of last winter. 30 inches is the most I've done at one time. I use a foreman 400 with a 48" plow. The problem I have is the overall ground clearance of the foreman... it's a low riding quad and in deep snow it got stuck.
I put a lift on for this year and bigger more aggressive tires. My opinion on using a quad for plowing snow is this: It's not the most efficient way to remove snow, it's not the quickest way to remove snow, but it is great fun. On bigger drifts you have to take smaller amounts and make more passes. Unless your starting right in the middle of a drift 3 feet high you shouldn&39;t have a problem. Any of the 400 or up 4x4's will be quad enough to do the job.
Foreman plowing uphill
Another shot of the foreman
r4f.
Posted by: N2Mountains
Something to remember if you're going to be plowing that much snow is to get the beefiest plow you can find. You don't want to hit a drift & have the thing fall apart. I've got a 48" Warn on my Rubi & am impressed with the construction of the plow. good luck
Posted by: kevlt250r
I have a sportsman 500 and the key to the plowing thing is weight. The Polaris works well because of its weight. All of the bigger cc 4 wheelers have enough power. I have owned or ridden about all the 4 wheelers and the polaris goes the best in all conditions
Posted by: BayouGuy
Man, I'm not sure. The last time we had any decent snow down here was 1959. I was seven years old. Can't wait till next time.
BayouGuy,(Southern Louisiana)
Posted by: brianidaho
Prospector, great plowing pics-pretty impressive what you are getting through. Fortunately, that was one big drift, and not that deep down the entire length of the driveway. The problem I face around here is that my road is cut into the side of a hillside, so you are pretty limited on where to push snow. Go too far and you are either into the hillside on the uphill side, or stuck falling off the low side. The problem with any type of plow, either on a ATV, truck, or tractor for that matter, is how high you can go, along the length of a road. I currently plow with a home-built plow on an old Land Cruiser, it does pretty good but if we don't have a good warm spell in mid winter, the road gets pretty narrow, and we call in the local guy with the John Deere to punch things out. I have considered building some kind of "wing plow" to knock down the tops of the bearms and give me some where to put more, but haven't tried it yet.
I'm switching to an ATV for next year-the LC is getting tough to get parts for, and isn't that much fun for "play". It is also a pain in the tight areas around the house, a bike should be alot handier. I have about 3/8 of a mile of road to do, we'll se how it goes. Around here, snow fall is very location and elevation dependant. At my place we had about 3 foot of snow in one week, while town (maybe 8 miles away) had maybe 10 inches. We'll be moving by next winter, the new property doesn't seem to get quite as much, and the road is on a flatter patch of land, so things should be easier. Plowing, wer're facing similar concerns-is the ATV the right tool for the job. I've got some serious 'splainin to do to the wife if this doesn't work out.
As for the Polaris blower being too expensive-yeah it is out of my price range, but is no more than a new pick-up mounted plow. And lots less than a tractor! I'd like to see how one does on a gravel road-I'd be concerned about rocks binding it up and busting shear pins.
Plowing2001, I used to live across the river from you, around Wilson, NY. I had a short driveway fortunately, but it was on the east side of a N-S road, with about 1/2 mile of open field to the west. Used to drift 2-3 foot deep regularily, the whole flipping length, thankfully only 80' or so. I used an old Cub Cadet with a blower-it did OK, but I think the ATV would be alot more fun. Most land around there is fairly flat, so you don't face as much of a problem on where to put the white crap. Just plow out that driveway far wider than you think you will need at the start of the season. I bet you are seeing plenty this year. Good luck.
Bri
Posted by: brianidaho
Hey Phipps, riding the canal brings back alot of memories-I grew up around the Lockport, Gasport, Middleport area and used to ride snowmobiles there all the time. Great way to cover alot of distance in a hurry. Though 70-80mph on the towpath with that big empty ditch on one side and lots of trees, etc on the other does keep your attention. Ever get to Mr. Eds in Middleport for wings and a beer?
Anyway, how's the ATVing there? With so much of the land being private, and the poodle walkers and bicyclists in the summer I figured you'd be pretty limited.
Bri
Posted by: Pryormountainman
I think it is going to depend on the condition of the snow more than anything else. Here in Montana the snow is typically very dry and powdery. I use a polaris 350L 2-stroke with a Cycle Country 48" plow and I have never had any problems at all plowing 10" - 12" snowfalls. Although I have never plowed lots of 2' - 3' drifts, I believe an average utility type machine would have no problem pushing it if the snow were powder. If the snow was wind-packed into a hard crust or was a heavy wet snow I don't think an ATV would handle it. I think a pickup would have trouble with these kinds of snow. If you get lots of drifting snow you might want to consider a narrower type plow, like a 48". If you get lots of ice, tire chains are a big help. Don't even consider a 2-wheel drive model as they are typically not up to the task and get very squirelly feeling in the front when you plow. I know because I have tried plowing in 2-wheel mode and it's tough to do.
Hope this helps!!
1993 Polaris 350L
Warn A2500 winch
Green primary spring
K&N filter
48" CC plow with manual lift
26" Titan 589 M/T 's
Custom lockable rear storage box with light and power outlet
Posted by: phipps
I can say that I have been able to go through 3-4 feet of snow with little difficulty. Snow type played a big role in this because it was a nice powder...but I didn't have any problem pushing it out of the way. I was even able to push some pretty big piles (6 foot range) with only a couple passes. In terms of heavy, wet snow the most that I have had to push was around 2 feet and didn't have any problems with that either.
The one thing that I did notice is that momentum is your friend
Posted by: phipps
Hey 92LT-
You're right...I am glad I bought the plow...sure beats plowing with my lawn tractor!
Anyways...I have done the majority of my riding up in niagara county- right along the canal...a friend of mine lives up there. The trails are fun there- we usually ride for about 40 miles, and we still have more exploring to do so I'm sure the mileage will start rackin' up.
Posted by: SNOWPLOW
Plowing2001,
I have a Yamaha 4x4 Kodiak with any automatic trans, 400cc and a 48" plow. I live in northeast Pennsylvania, We get a fair amount of snow and a lot of the snow is heavy wet stuff and a lot of times it's mixed with sleet and freezing rain. I never had any problems plowing anything that falls. I have plowed the heavy packed snow that the road plows pile up in my driveway and haven't gotten stuck yet. You just have to get a feel for how much of a cut you can take. The hardest part is the fisrt pass. I have piled snow up to 6 or 7 feet. I have a winch to lift the plow, so you can lift it slowly while plowing to create a ramp. You can go as high as you want as long as you keep packing the snow on the ramp. Most of all it's just plain old fun. I can't wait til it snows. I love it. By the way I only have stock tires. I hope to have new Mud Runner for this winter, I'll love plowing even more!! Let it snow!!!BR>Just buy a quad, you'll love it. Good luck.
Posted by: Iwannaquad
I would recomend the honda rubicon or the honda rincon the rubi is a 500cc quad and the rincon is a 650 either of these quads would do great. If you wanted to make a great plowing machine put some realtors on and some chains and you will be able to go through anything
Posted by: explorerpolaris40097
for plowing in deep snow i would recomend a polaris sportsman 700 it is a twin cylinder four stroke and has over 45 horsepower and i have ridden one and it has power to spare and with a plow the possibilitys are unlimited
Posted by: plowing2001
Hello I'm trying to determine weather an ATV has enough power to plow my road, which is about 800 feet long and 8 feet wide. I live in southern ontario so we don't get large accumulations mayb 8- 10 inches on a good day, but we get some drifting across the farmers feild. Some of these drifts can be up to 2-3feet deep and maybe twenty feet long. Any input would help me decide weather to buy one of thes atv or not. I'm looking in 500 to 700cc range, thanks. Plowed underhr>
Posted by: dustydiesel
polaris sells a 48" 13 hp Tecumseh snowblower attachment. page 59 of there 2002 catalogue.
Posted by: Rides4Fun
I was thinking that most big bore quads would work (500 or bigger), with the old farming trick used on tracters. My idea was to get some old iron or lead weights to increase quad weight to 800 or so pounds. Then make sure your big bore has decent ground clearance (at least 10" or so, mines 13"). Make sure your tires, have a decent tread pattern (look for tracter like treads and deep treads), then 4 wheel drive (optimumly with a locked diff, but not necessary). I would say between good weight, GC, good traction, and 4 wheel drive, you should be able to blast through 3 footers no prob.
Just my .02
Posted by: Rides4Fun
PS, I grew up in Upstate New York, just so you know that I actually do know what snow looks like. Since I do live in Atlanta, GA now.
Posted by: foneguy
neighbor uses his big bear400 4x4 no prob! he plows and i snow blow the walk ways youll have no problem!!!
Posted by: foneguy
the snow blower is for those who have too much money!!!!
Posted by: SP500HOBumblebee
From just what I have which is a Sportsman 500 with the deluxe 60" plow system it works great. I used to use a tractor with a 7 foot blade and this will do the job in a 1/4 of the time. I feel any quad with 4 wheel drive and a blade would do fine you just have to plow smart. Plow Pics
