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Posted by: Jack
I've been plowing snow since '94 with an atv. This is my third different plow on four different atv's. I've tried the Cycle Country, Moose and lastly the Warn plow. Everyone's plowing situation is different and requires different equipment. I need to scrape about 4800 sq.ft. of asphalt drive and parking areas as close to bare as I can with lots of areas against a fence and buildings that you can't plow against. With any angle plow this required many, many passes to get rid of the snow.
I put a pair of those plowsides on the 60" Warn plow and used a rubber from Moose on top. Boy, this really helps push it straight very nicely. I used to push off to one side but don't even have to angle plow any more. A real nice setup. You don't need or even want chains, they would do more damage than not. I would think about good tires though. Most of the stock tries are not great in snow.
I tried the Warn actuator rather than using a winch to raise and lower for the first time. It' works well, but it's a little slower than the winch. The Country is the lightest blade, the Moose the heaviest and the Warn is in between. Actually with all the stuff I've added It's about the same as the Moose now. If you want to add weight to the blade for certain contitions to keep the plow down on the surface it's relatively easy to do so although you do a lot more harm to the winch/actuator/suspension with the added weight. The moose unit was a beast to constantly lift up and down 50+ times every plowing session. The lift cable will wear out in due time.
One important thing you will definetly need is a way to beef up the front coil springs to prevent sag from the plow. This is also a factor when raising the blade with a winch or actuator since the atv wants to squat for the initial 2" before the actual raising of the blade occcurs. I'ts areal pain in the A$$. A set of front spring rubbers usually is a good cure for this. Yamaha does not make them for the Grizzly, but I have a set coming from Polaris like I used on my last SP500 . . . they should do the trick.
I have some photos of the plowsides setup at http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/jack_schultz2001/rlst
Best regards,
Trader Jack
Forgot, one last thing . . . God's gift to snow plowing . . . Moose Hot Grips, an absolute must, particularly when you get to be my age.
Posted by: Jack
I know what you mean by repairing the cable. I used to break the winch cable at least twice a year. The Warn actuator does not seem to create that type of stress on the cable that the winch used to. The actuator is slightly slower that a winch, but it's smoother. Have you done anything to the front end to prevent the springs from compressing when raising the blade?
Trader Jack
Posted by: Jack
Unfortunately, no. Although I do believe that some modifications could be made to accommodate using different plows with different mounts. The biggest difference I see is the distance between the base tube plow assembly where it mounts under the atv. they all mount about the same way, but the space between is different.
I'm sure I could modify one by cutting and welding, but I've never really tried that. If the distance is the same I would belive they would work fine, particularly with a winch or actuator lift. With a proprietary hand lift it might not work because the blade may be a bit more forward or back to accommodate the hand lifting mechanism.
Posted by: Jack
I'm running 27" rubber also. I jsut hate how these progressive springs compress when you start to raise the blade. I just tried the Polaris sprig rubbers but they won't fit in the Grizz springs. I guess I'll have to fine some of those auto coil spring spacers and see if we can get them to work.
Posted by: Chawness
patjaysam,
My rocker switch is mounted right over top of the light switch on the left side of the bars.
Posted by: Chawness
I guess that is one good thing about my 48" plow, it takes longer! Longer = more fun! First time I used it for snow was Christmas Morning
Posted by: Chawness
If it was my sidewalk, any damage would be unacceptable. I wouldn't take the chance. I've seen the damage spinning chains will do to pavement and concrete, its permanent. I'd add weight first and see how much that helps. Maybe you need to think about a v-plow if it's that deep.
Posted by: Rubidude
Quote
Originally posted by: Turfguy
Delta'
"At what point is the snow so deep and heavy that one would want to put chains. "
Unless you're in very icy conditions, I wouldn't recommend using chains. The biggest problem with riding in snow isn't traction, it's ground clearance. Once you get high centered on wet snow, even the most aggressive tread mud tire won't help you much. Those V-bar chains are great for ice, but they eat up turf, dig into asphalt, and scratch up concrete. If you are plowing in a combination of snow and ice, you can always add a couple of dozen ice studs to your tires to help with the ice.
Posted by: Rubidude
For deeper piles and drifts that don't seem to want to move, make the first pass with the blade up. This will knock it down to a more manageable depth. The more speed you can get up, the farther you will throw the snow. Adding weight to the rear rack will help too.
Posted by: mtpockets
Moose is the way to go!
i had the 60" Moose straight blade on my old '01 Sportsman500 and it was very strong and reliable. i did 70+ miles of plowing that year, pounding the hell out of it, and it never skipped a beat. great plow!
after much research, i just bought a plow for my sp700. i went with the Moose 'county blade.' 60" wide and 26" high (with rubber flap) on one side. it's supposed to throw the snow even higher than my old straight blade. unfortunately i haven't had a chance to use it yet. but christ! it looks even STRONGER than my other plow! i'm impressed to say the very least.
i read in the Polaris Forum that a guy owns a Cycle Country plow and it's cheap and flimsy and he hates it. it bent on him easily and his last post stated that he would sell it cheap to anyone interrested. i think it's light-weight to.
i say the heavier the blade the better! it never beat-up my front end.
Posted by: mtpockets
Great choice Chieftam! congrats!
the "end cap for the short end" will limit you to only rolling snow to the RIGHT. you may want to roll snow LEFT at times so you may want to skip that option in my humble opinion.
the upper black rubber snow deflector (came standard on my Moose County Blade) is a must! you will be able to stack snow higher than you could ever imagine!
Man! you are going to have SOOOOOOOOOO much fun!
remeber to use the skids and that the rubber goes under the bracket then the washers on top. (you'll understand when you see the installation directions!)
ENJOY!
Posted by: mtpockets
use the skids. it'll really extend the life of that cutting edge.
Posted by: mtpockets
Tuffguy,
have you ever heard of the term: "Strong as a Moose?"
enough said!
Posted by: mtpockets
yea, one recommendation on the Warn 2500,
be sure to get the new style 'mini' remote. it's handlebar mounted and perfect for plowing and using your left thumb.
the 'mini' comes with the Warn2500 2.5ci and 3.0ci models.
they are new.........and fantastic! great improvemement over the huge, old-style, bulky remote.
thathathat's all folks!BR>
-MT
Posted by: mtpockets
i'm guessing the "Lollipop" remote you are refering to is the one with the 10' cable remote?
if so, YES they can be combined together with the mini-rocker remote on the 2.5ci or the 3.0ci.
i'm also thinking that if the 3.0ci isn't that much more in weight and cost, on a heavy ATV it can't hurt to have a little more!BR>
-MT
Posted by: mtpockets
Chieftam,
i was plowing with my new blade in the last storm and that end-cap sure would have come in handy!
some of the 5" of fluff was falling-off the left side while i was rolling it right. you were smart ordering it with your blade!
did you have to drill holes to install it?
-MT
Posted by: mtpockets
my computer knowledge is very limited. i don't know how to post pics. nor do i have the equipment to do it. sorry.
HOWEVER, there is a picture in the installation supplement guide.
the dealer installed it for me, did a nice job too i might add, and it's mounted just above the left hand controls.
it's an easy reach for my left thumb.
over the years, i have had both rack mounted and the hand-held control, and BY FAR this is the nicest set-up yet!
(at least for my needs it is)
-MT
Posted by: mtpockets
thanks for the inf and enjoy your new plow!
you'll love it!
hope for snow!BR>
MT
Posted by: mtpockets
AMEN!
BR>BR>i used mine today to scrape the remaining slush from my driveway.
later,
-MT
Posted by: mtpockets
Rubidude, i couldn't agree more!
i had chains on my old SP500 and they scratched-up a brand-new driveway really bad! with my new 700, i haven't used chains and it pushes just fine.
i say add blocks to the rear rack if you need more pushing power.
-MT
Posted by: mtpockets
i gave up on using the skids. the plow does a much nicer job scraping w/o them.
the wear bar will wear-out faster, but they are cheap. no big deal.
"I have a very flat driveway and I am not using the skids, should I be?"--you don't have to use them if you don't want to.
-MT
Posted by: foneguy
i have a warn plow, ( got it used for 250$) plowed dirt in the fall and just did my first snow fall, no problem i think its 50 lbs or lighter, the only thing is that its straight and to throw the snow u gotta go a little fast. but it rolls it very easily when going slow.i went the less expensive route i guess. but with that said, its a good choiceimg src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif" border="0">
oh yea it is all steel and i beat it pretty hard this past fall!!!!!
Posted by: monteSS
If you are real worried about the dip in the front I put the Progressive springs on the front and I put 2 bags of salt or sand on the back to keep it from lifting that really helps keep the front end from diving as much ( at least it doesn't look like it to me) try it and see what you think.
Posted by: delta
I have my Moose 60" blade as low as it will go (both rubber spacers with one washer beneath them and all other washers on top)...My plow will still 'ride up' at times, so it can take multiple passes to 'scrape' down to the pavement...I almost always make several 'final' cleaning passes to get the last bit of snow (it may also be that I'm dissapointed that I'm already done plowing and just to play some more).. Your County plow will probably resist 'riding up' more than my straight plow will..I almost bought the County plow, but went with the straight plow instead, seemed a little more versatile...You'll be surprised how much you bang the plow around while using it so you'll be glad that you got the HD Moose..You'll also be amazed at how high you can pile snow with this setup - it's awesome!! I had a minor problem of snow sticking to my blade (only 2 storms so far - one was very wet snow) so I'm going to try spraying the blade with silicone spray and see if that improves the situation any...I'm running 25" Titan 589 MT's and I always worry about the plow catching the front tire at full angle...So far, no contact..Last year I had a problem with the winch hook constantly coming off the lifting hoop on the plow, solved that with a new hook with a spring-loaded gate closure...This setup has turned a 90-minute snowblowing job into a 20-minute playtime...And my neighbors sure look envious...
Posted by: delta
Turfguy...I bought the Moose 60" standard plow after a researching all the available stuff out there...I'm very happy with it and I'm convinced that it's the most heavy-duty setup available...I paid $350 at my AC dealer for the whole thing and it has worked extremely well...The only step up from this (IMHO) would be a 'county' blade, for REALLY deep or heavy snow, or large areas...I put my front shock preload collars on the middle setting for winter snow removal (to compensate for blade weight) but I'll move them back to the lowest setting for summer trail riding...I feel that it is very easy to bang-up a snowplow and I wanted the most durable setup available, so I went with the Moose...I'm sure that any decent plow would get the job done...
Posted by: jwkawi
chains will give more traction but will kill the pavement, particularly when u spin the tires. i have quite the hill for a driveway and no chains on my prairie. i have pushed over a foot of snow with no problem. if your going sideways when u try to push snow than you need to go faster into the snow pile!!lol. in all seriousness go faster! as far as skids, i found mine to be useless. not enough scraping action. i have set them up high enough that my blade will not get damaged if my wear blade wears down too much.
my only complaint is that, like everybody else, i wish my driveway was alot longer. man what fun!
Posted by: Chieftam
I am ready to buy a snowplow for my Prairie 650. Lots of plows out there to choose from. I have found plows from about 47 lbs. for one with a 60" plastic lined one, to 97 lbs. for a 60" county type plow. Any thoughts to how much difference the weight of the plow makes? Do you want to go for the biggest, heaviest plow you can get to scrape off the drive or will a light plow do just as well with less wear and tear on the front end? Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Posted by: Chieftam
Well, I finally made the decision and bought a plow. Don't know if it was the right decision, that will remain to be seen until I get a chance to use it a bit. I went for a heavy plow, a 60" Moose County Plow. With the plow, mount, push tubes, one end cap for the short end and tax, it cost me about $450.00. I will use my winch to lift the thing. The County plow is the one that looks like a plow that the highway department uses, it is 16inches on one side and 26 inches on the other. The weight is about 87 lbs for the blade, I believe. A local dealer had everything in stock except the mount for my Kawa P650. That will be in on Thursday. I don't believe it is going to snow until after that, so I should be OK. I hope that the heavy plow is not too hard on my front springs.
Posted by: Chieftam
The reason for getting the end cap for the small side of the plow was to allow me to push some amount of snow straight, for clean-up. For lighter snow, before I got the atv, I have been using a manual pushblade and it always left some amount of snow when pushing around obstacles that was hard to push off as it would accumulate in front of the blade and then come off the edges. Multiple pushes of shorter duration are required. The layout of my driveway and house will force me to push most of the snow to the right anyway. My garage is behind the house to the side and about 100 feet long, double wide concrete. It runs right up to the house as it goes by the house, so I will have to plow it away from the house to the right. (and make sure I don't run into the house!) When I get the thing on Thursday and mount it, I am going to look for some way to mount the end cap with some sort of a quick release to allow me to push both ways if I have to. I imagine I will have to be pushing out from the garage into the street anyway, so backing up or turning around will be necessary anyway. I also have 8-feet of hard packed landscape rock on the right side of the driveway where i park my truck, trailer, and anything else that won't fit in the 24 x 40 x 12 foot garage. I will plow snow to the right onto the rock, and then lift the blade just above the rock and push it over the edge of the retaining wall.
I plan on using the skids, but how low do you run the blade? I would like to be able to scrape completely down to my cement driveway. I would imagine that will require a close adjustment on the skids so that the blade is on the ground, but not completely resting all the weight there. Is that right?
Posted by: Chieftam
I'm not sure on the mounting of the endcap as there was a delay in the shipping on the mount for my P650, and I just got a call yesterday that it was in. I am going to pick everything up this afternoon. I will let you know when I get it on the mounting, but I believe, if I remember correctly, when I was looking on the Moose website for info on the end-cap, it said some drilling required. I am going to try to rig some mounting that instead of just bolting it on, I will use some sort of quick-release mounting that I can remove the cap quickly if I need to push snow to the left.
Posted by: Chieftam
tractoy:
glad to hear your setup works well, as that is the same set-up I have, except for a ramsey winch. I am in the process of mounting mine, as I just got it, and no snow in the forcast until at least next week. We have a 75% chance of a white Christmas here historically, but it may not happen this year. I figure if I bought the plow, and it doesn't snow, then it was money well spent!
As for the skids, I am not planning on putting mine on either. I know that they will make your wear bar last longer, but I want the plow to scrape right down to the pavement to clean it off as good as possible. If I have to replace the wear bar every so often, so be it. I have a friend who plows snow with his Suburban, and he doesn't use the skids on his big plow either, so it will scrape down to the pavement. I know others have said to use them, and with gravel, I probably would, but with my cement drive, I'm going to leave them off.
Posted by: Chieftam
tractoy, I forgot to ask, how much dip do you get on your front end with the weight of the plow attached? How much clearance do you have between the bottom of the plow and the ground when you have it lifted? Is your winch mounted behind the push bars, low in the frame, in the factory location? Is the plow easy on and off? Appreciate the info. The only thing I was worried about was the weight of the County plow on the front end, as the Prairie has fairly soft front springs. Thanks.
Posted by: Chieftam
Well, after a few delays, I finally got my 60" Moose County Plow mounted on my Prairie 650. It looks good, and only took a couple of hours to get it done. It is a bit of a pain to hook the thing up though. Only two pins, but you got to get them lined up right! The biggest pain was trying to mount the plate underneath. You take off the skid plate, and put the heavy mounting plate on with u-bolts. Got to hold that thing up and get those things lined up perfectly.
The end cap went on with no problems, although you do have to drill two holes in the blade to mount it. It comes with a template, so it was pretty easy. Because the thing bolts on with screws into a threaded hole in the end plate, there is no easy way to mount it quick release, although I guess with just too bolts, it won't be too bad to take off if I need to.
The winch works great to lift it, although I appreciate the suggestion to buy a new hook with a safety catch on it, when the blade goes all the way to the ground, the winch cable can loosen and the hook can pop off the lifting loop. I'm going to buy a new one tomorrow. Although the front end dips a bit when you lift the blade, it is not too bad (the plow IS heavy) and I still have at least 6 inches of clearance, so that shouldn't be a problem.
Now all I have to do is wait for all that Minnesota snow! Actually, we usually have a white Christmas 75% of the time, and there is snow in the forecast, so I will probably get to use the plow before I know it.
Posted by: Chieftam
I don't think there is any problem with putting on chains in the situations where you are pushing heavy packed snow, I wouldn't run them all the time, but pushing snow is a function of weight and traction, and you can only add so much weight. If you are prepared to have what you are driving on possibly get torn up a bit, I see nothing wrong with it.
Posted by: action450s
Just finished testing my newly built plow frame for my custom made 48" Plow. Works great!!! 1.5" x 5/16" wall square tubing wont bend this time!!! When I get it painted I'll post some pics.
Posted by: action450s
If you have a traction problem, chains will not help but will make it alot worse on dry pavement. Chains are great on the trail, but not on pavement, been there done that.
Add some weight over the rear wheels, sand bags or something similar.
When pushing snow up into a bank, raise the blade 2" off the ground, sit way back on the seat and hit the snow in 2nd gear (not real fast now or you'll break something!!). This will allow you to stack snow high, as the bike travels up the bank of snow creating a high pile.
As for hitting cracks and doing damage, you may have the trip springs too tight. At speed the blade should easily fold upon hitting a crack to absorb the impact while allowing you to still travel forward. They should be easier to trip the faster you go. If you don't have trip springs, sell your blade and buy one with them, or you will tear up your machine.
If your using your winch, be sure to keep a couple good quality cable clamps and wrench handy in case the cable breaks. I've had to repair mine once so far this year.
Posted by: action450s
I havent done anything to keep the suspension from dropping. Drops about 1.5 - 2", but doesnt really affect plowing, so I'm going to leave it for now. The extra ground clearance from 27" tires helps too.
Posted by: Turfguy
Delta'
Why didn't you go with the AC plow. I put twenty miles on mine the other day and was very pleased. Its a steel frame with a fiberglass face. The snow never stuck, not even in the slushy parking lots that I was doing. The skids wore off though. So I made my own. Welding is fun. Just wondering why you went with the moose.
Question for anyone
At what point is the snow so deep and heavy that one would want to put chains. I plow commercially for the first time this year and clear some pretty big areas. Just wondering if I should ask for a pair of chains for Christmas. Thanks fellas and lady's of course.
LET IT SNOW!!!!!
Posted by: Turfguy
Thanks for answering my question fellas,
I have the wife of my best friend asking what kind of plow and winch to get her husband for christmas. He has a Honda 450ES. I am going to recommend the Moose 60" straght blade and a warn 2500. I have the Warn 2500 and have been very happy so far. I think that will be a nice setup for the man. Any other suggestions welcome.
Posted by: Turfguy
Hey guys,
Thanks for the info on the chains. The only reason I asked was that I am subcontracted by a company to plow many diffrent areas. Such as very long stretches of sidewalk, peoples driveways, and small commercial lots. When pushing the bigger lots the ol wheeler will sometimes slide away from the pile i am attempting to plow. The worst time I had was on christmas day when we had an 8 inch snow. The long stretch of sidewalk I do is next to a four lane road. The heavy snow that was pushed off the road was now on the sidewalk. It was everything that I could do to get the pile moving and stay moving. The tires were spinning and I was barely moving. I would only use the chains in situations like that one. Would you all still agree that it is a bad idea still, especially if its not your concrete that your marking up. Thanks for the responses fellas. (I have made a third of my cost on the quad back already. Its only January, LET IT SNOW
Posted by: Turfguy
Thanks fellas for the info,
I know that more speed is the key to throwing snow farther but this is not the best of sidewalks. There are major cracks and diffrent things to get hung up on. Speed would really do some major damage. Like I said before I have only run into the problem on one snowfall. So i wouldn't use them all the time. Only when traction is a problem. Just so I have an idea how much damage we're talking about. Are they just little marks on the pavement or major holes that people are going to get upset with?
Posted by: feelingood
What does this safety hook look like, or where do you buy it? Also, I'm in the market for a plow to, what is the difference from the warn to the moose? As far as warn 2500 winches, I installed the ramsey wireless remote on it, and it works nice.
Posted by: feelingood
Trader Jack,
Will all three plows take the same mount underneath?
Posted by: patjaysam
mtpockets,
Do you know if you can use both the old "Lollipop" remote along with the handlebar mounted mini-rocker switch? I have the big "Lollipop" remote which in my opinion is a nice remote for winching the bike out or another bike out but I don't think it will work to great for plowing.
Posted by: patjaysam
mtpockets,
Where on your handlebars did you mount the mini-rocker switch for your winch? Could you post a pic so I can see where to mount mine when I get it?
Thanks,
patjaysam
Posted by: patjaysam
Hello Everyone,
Just wanted to let everyone know I got to try out my plow tonight. After having it for over a month we got some snow and it was a blast plowing with my SP700 and the 60" Moose Plow. I just added a new mini-rocker switch to my Warn A2500 winch and it worked awesome. I would recommend this set-up too anyone that needs to plow snow. The switch was easily reachable with my thumb so I didn't have to remove my hands from the handlebars and I was still able to hold the brake for plowing close to the ditch. I am hoping for more snow so I can plow some more.
Later
Posted by: patjaysam
Got to use the plow again today. All I can say is I wish I had a longer drive way.
Posted by: Tractoy
I just got my first ATV at Thanksgiving for work and plowing around my property. I went with the 60 County Plow and a 2500 Warn on a Prarie 650. I just this morning plowed 10 inches of Adirondack Asphalt (the wet snowball snow) down 700 feet of driveway and it handled it with no problem. I have a very flat driveway and I am not using the skids, should I be? It scrapes it right down to blacktop nicely without them. I figured the skids were just for plowing on surfaces that either would dig in or are not smooth (again I am a total newbie at this).
Posted by: Tractoy
There is a noticable dip when the plow is on. Probably drops 2" or so. I still have plenty of clearance from the bottom of the blade to the pavement, say 6" or so. The winch is set back in behind all the bars and works real nice for the plow.
As for getting it on on off, it takes less than 5 minutes and I handle it alone every time with no issues.
Good luck, you will be amazed what that thing can push!
Chris
