AC plow, pleasantly agitated...

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Posted by: mudfly

I put a 60" WARN plow on my '04 500i. I LOVE it! It raises like 18" off the ground. It is built VERY rugged. We had a storm at X-mas and it dumped 26" on us. I had a little problem pushing but not much. After that snow I went out and bought tires and rims. :-) Now I am waiting for the next snow so I can try 'em out. I compared my plow to the one on a buddy's wheeler and there is no comparison. His is a CycleCountry and just seems very cheaply made. I have not got my eyes on the AC plow yet so I cannot comment on it. Just thought I would toss in my 2 cents worth.

Posted by: ecorman1

MB, when I bought my AC 500i, '02, I optioned to get the winch, plow, helmet and pair of winter snowmobile gloves with it. I also got the 589's, mounted. Got a great deal and yes, the brackets for the plow does hang about three inches below frame but has never been a problem. Although, I can see where it might be a problem rock climbing or jumping logs. All of which I do when riding WV, KY or TENN. Maybe just lucky but I don't think we have to worry too much. Notice the bottom of the brackets are parellel to the frame and should ride over any obsticle. My plow is the metal frame with 60" fiberglass insert. Good thing too. The frame is really heavy duty. I did own a Cycle Country Plow, mounted on a Suzuiki Quad. The plow frame bent when I hit a corner of the sidewalk, while plowing. I called Cycle Country and they quickly sent me another frame for the plow. The Cycle Country Plow was all metal, 48" and weighed as much as this 60" AC plow. The difference is the fiberglass insert. THe 60" plow is very light up front. I think the AC plow is manufactured by Warn but I could not varify that through my dealer. If you look at the Warm site, you'll see the same plow I have.
I've had really good luck with Cycle Country, Kolpin and SuperTrapp. I wouldn't hasitate to buy any products from any of these companies. Arctic Cat's been pretty good to me also. They replaced parts well after a year of ownership.
Chuck

Posted by: ecorman1

Actually, that's a good question. I haven't seen any instructions on how to place the wear bar, above or on the ground. Here's what I did to adjust my 60 inch plow.
With the quad tires & plow all on the same slab of concrete, I placed an 1/8 inch round stock under opposite ends of the blade. Then lowered the disks to touch ground and locked the nuts in place. Whatever your plow has for shoes, they can be adjusted to height. What this does is raises your blade just enough so it won't get caught in the sidewalk cracks and still do a good job of removing the snow. Well hopefully...
Chuck

Posted by: ecorman1

True, it's difficult to backdrag the plow in five inches of snow. The poly board is light weight but the frame work for the AC plow is very heavy duty. I don't think you will have to worry about problems with any of the manufacturers you mentioned.
I'm not try to get all the snow when backdragging. Since I know the plow won't get it all, I leave some for the snow blower. That's when I get my exercise...
Chuck

Posted by: mudblaster

hey MBullism
i left my plow brackets on last winter and after going out a few times in the snow my brackets got bent and i had a hard time getting the plow back on.
i had to take them off and straiten them out befor i could use them again.
i hope you dont have that problem.

Posted by: mudblaster

sorry
my plow is a cycle contry plow.
i think the ac plow brackets are mounted a bit differant then the one i have.

Posted by: jwoodsman

Congrats Mike !!
I'm glad it didn't turn out to be another next week ,next week ,next week .
SO you coming over to clean off my driveway in the morn

Posted by: jwoodsman

What's with the 5X same posts????

Posted by: MBullism

Finally got my AC plow by UPS today, about a week and two snowstorms late. I assembled it tonight and can say that I'm pleasantly surprised at how well built it is. It really makes the hunk of tin of a plow on my craftsman tractor look ill. It's s'posed to snow tomorrow night, gotta hurry up and plow it before it melts!

A few observations: When you sell me something and say that I will have it in 5 to 7 days, don't take 14. When you sell me something and it costs a few hundred dollars, I want to end up with an extra washer and a nylon stop loss nut, or two... not short one of each. When you sell me something that's supposed to pivot, please, please don't run the bolt up so tight that I have to take a pipe wrench to it (using my foot) to break the bolt loose so that it does pivot....GGGrrrrrrrr!!!

Those minor hurdles overcome, bring on the snow!

Also sprung for a block heater, but that we'll tackle another night-

Posted by: MBullism

Thanks Joe... put the brackets on the frame tonight. Piece of cake. Not sure if i could make it to your place in the a.m., but would be glad to come plow what aint melted tomorrow night, LOL.

Posted by: MBullism

Hey, brent...

I'd rather not say here, since I already jabbed at them above, and I really don't know the reason for the delay... an extra week is not the end of the world, to be sure....

I'll try to drop you a PM-

Posted by: MBullism

I have no issue with the reduced ground clearance for cruising up and down my driveway, lol. Though I will leave the drop brackets on the frame for the winter, I can tell I'll be removing them for the spring/summer/fall so that nothing is hanging down, though they do seem pretty rugged-

SOoooo.... how do I go about getting that washer and lock nut from you? Try and PM them to me

Posted by: MBullism

Thanks, mudblaster...food for thought. Don't see myself doing anything serious just knowing those things are hanging down... waiting.

Call off the search, lownrangr, lol. I'm one of those pack rat types that don't throw away nuthin hardware related A few minutes in the workshop digging through coffee cans and I was good to go! It's the principle of the thing, kinda like buying a new car and it doesn't arrive with windshield wipers... Thanks for the effort though!

Posted by: MBullism

Quote
I wonder why they seem to hang down lower on other model ACs?

Probably to account for differences in ground clearance while utilizing the same push bar without changing the angle of it. They definately hang down and angle forward about 3 inches or so on my 500.

Posted by: MBullism

There definately is an advantage to starting out with tons of ground clearance... For a vast majority of the riding I do the brackets will not be a problem. There are a couple of places i go (mostly hunting season) that are scattered field stone overgrown with hardwood that they will be trouble, though. The brackets I got are fairly rugged, as is the plow, and I anticipate no major problems with them- The brackets won't even be there during deer season BR>
Glad to here yet someone else with a good experience... thanks for the input!

Posted by: MBullism

I've got it so the wear bar is just barely touching... course I have yet to plow any snow with it

Posted by: MBullism

I wasn't so caught up in the 5X as I was by how it seems to have dropped out of left field and landed here!

Posted by: tta583

Been thinking obout getting a plow myself. From where did you pick yours up?

Brent

Posted by: lownrangr

oops, I think I got your lock nut and washer because I ended up with one or two extra parts! I too have the AC plow and the pivot point I think was tightend the way it was is for shipping--or so I would guess. I got to use my new plow for the first time last week and it's sweet. I just have a 250 and it pushes almost a foot of snow with no problem. I do wish the plow had greater ground clearence when fully raised.

Posted by: lownrangr

well, I thought I had extra parts. It seems now that I can't find the bag they were in. If you still need them let me know, I'll continue to look for them.

Posted by: lownrangr

Quote
Originally posted by: MarylandHunter
I have the AC plow on my 250, and the brackets on mine are flush with the bottom of the frame. I can't see any way that they would catch on anything, and they hook up and disconnect real nice. I wonder why they seem to hang down lower on other model ACs?

Charlie

what year 250 do you have? I have a '03. I really like the way the brackets are out of the way on ours. I'll probably just keep them on all year. Although, I wish the blade could raise a bit more before it comes in contact with the front part of the frame on the atv.

Posted by: lownrangr

hey, how does everyone have their skid shoes adjusted? Do you have them so the wear bar is just barely off the ground or is your wear bar in contact with the ground?

Posted by: lownrangr

Quote
Originally posted by: ecorman1
Actually, that's a good question. I haven't seen any instructions on how to place the wear bar, above or on the ground. Here's what I did to adjust my 60 inch plow.
With the quad tires & plow all on the same slab of concrete, I placed an 1/8 inch round stock under opposite ends of the blade. Then lowered the disks to touch ground and locked the nuts in place. Whatever your plow has for shoes, they can be adjusted to height. What this does is raises your blade just enough so it won't get caught in the sidewalk cracks and still do a good job of removing the snow. Well hopefully...
Chuck

I like that idea. The reason I was asking is that on my plow for my truck I don't use shoes only because I plow concrete and nothing soft like dirt roads. I think I'm going to set it so the blade is a hair off the pavement. I'll see how that works tomorrow night when we're supposed to get some more snow.

Posted by: lownrangr

My plow on my truck has a lexan moldboard which makes it really light, plus I have down pressure which makes it act like a heavier one. I have the AC plow for my atv (poly moldboard) and sometimes it's tough to scrape up the real compacted tire marks on driveways and the backdragging is not like it is on our trucks either, but that's only because of the weight. Using the AC plow for sidewalks there are no problems keeping the blade on the pavement. I got my plow from my dealer (Finish Line Powersports). You can shop them HERE

Posted by: lownrangr

I think I've heard of some people welding something on the blade to hold weights to make it heavier. Maybe something on the front to hold a few 25lb dumbell weights.

Posted by: lownrangr

I dunno. Was trying to figure that out myself.

Posted by: frndinalowplace

quick question, what companies plows have poly moldboards? i think the ones from AC are, but not sure. Im a plow contractor and poly plows on trucks are great b/c of the reduced rusting, but on a quad will the blade be heavy enough? on trucks even poly plows are closing in at 800 pounds so thats no problem for scraping, but i was wondering about the pros and cons for atv plows. And i wouldnt even use the skids, never have on my trucks for years, just flip the wearbar around, its a big difference even when the plow is a hair off the ground compared to completely scraping, the weight of the snow on the plow pushes it down to help break up the packed in stuff. Oh and what are some good sites to get plows from, been looking around for a good deal.

Posted by: frndinalowplace

is there any room on the a-frame to drop and 80 pound bad of salt or something like that, i sure that will help scrape up the hard stuff while backdragging too. In this case it might be beneficial to get the heaviest plow for quads, anyone have any info on moose or cycle country plows, or even warns?? thanks for the info lownranger

Posted by: MarylandHunter

I have the AC plow on my 250, and the brackets on mine are flush with the bottom of the frame. I can't see any way that they would catch on anything, and they hook up and disconnect real nice. I wonder why they seem to hang down lower on other model ACs?

Charlie

Posted by: MarylandHunter

Lownrangr,
My 250 is an '04. I was pleased with the way that the brackets are out of the way on mine, I was a bit worried that they were going to hang down and get in the way. Sorry to hear that they are not the same on all of the other AC's.
I know what you mean about the raised height of the plow. I guess it will be alright, though. I was really impressed with the quality of the whole plow setup.

Charlie

Posted by: MarylandHunter

I set mine so that the wear bar is just touching the ground. I'm mostly plowing asphalt driveways. I used it for the first time tonight and it seems to work real well.
Charlie

Posted by: NeverSatisfied

I picked up a 60" plow about 6 weeks ago. Didn't like how the brackets hung down and forward. Drilled a couple new holes cut a little off and have them mounted up just clear of the frame. The only issue I have now is the angle of the frame is a little steep, because of that when I tilt it all the way it leaves a little snow. I'm making a set of adapters to lower the back end of the frame. Anyway it works great, none of the snow this year has been an issue and I'm very anal about how clean my driveway is.

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