I am going to buy an atv for play and to clear snow from my gravel driveway which is about 300 ft up and down a hill. I'm leaning to Polaris 500 Deluxe with the Glacier 2 plow system with 48 inch blade. This seems to be the best plow configuration with the easiest hookup that I've seen.

Does anyone have insight into plowing do's and don'ts and/or comments on what I'm considering or should I consider other machines?

I'm not sure what the best atv is. I plow with my Kawasaki Prairie 360 4x4 and have a warn plow, and stock tires with no chains. I never had any problems, in regards to not enough power. I use a warn winch to raise and lower it, and would recommend that over the manual lift. My buddy has the manual one and he hates it.

I plow my driveway which can fit 10-12 cars and it is paved. I do my neighbors if it's real deep snow and his is about 30' Wide by 120' long. I never tried plowing uphill.

I know you should get a blade that is wider than the ATV tires even when the plow is angled left or right. I think the Polaris500 should be good, but I think the width of the plow your looking at should be wider than 48".

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Kawasaki Prairie 360 4x4<BR>Yamaha Raptor 80<BR>Yamaha Blaster

Thanks Scott, I hadn't thought about the plow s/b wider than the atv. I believe the Polaris is 48" wide itself.

Polaris is the easiest to plow with because they are the only ones without a safety procedure to go from forward to reverse,plus it,s true 4wd pushes harder.

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2001 SP 500 H.O

You make a good point for the Polaris with the shift pattern. Just pushing the selector forward & back without having to run it through an obsticle course. You only use L & R while plowing. That is one of my main reasons for owning a pol. Also the weight of the machine helps with plowing. You will hear some bash the weight but for plowing & pulling it sure helps. The seamless AWD activation is nice also & true 4x4 without having to hold a lever in. The ride is also top notch. You definately want the plow wide enough to clear a path for your tires, not sure if a 56" would do it but a 48 will not. Also the winch or power lift is the way to go. Had manual on my first machine and would not reccomend it (does beat shoveling though I guess). As for technique, plow it as far back as you can early in season so have plenty of room later.

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05 SP800
94 1100 Yamaha Virago
01 Yamaha dlx700
If it ain't fast enuff to scare you.. it ain't fast enuff.
Cattail ATV Club

Polaris and AC would be the best as they have a weight advantage.

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2006 650V2
Dynatek CDI
NGK Power Racing Cables
Iridium Plugs
K&N
Amsoil In Everything
26" Swamplites
Delta Chrome Steel Rims
Venom 2500XT Winch
Brushguard Front/Rear Bumpers
AC Handguards
Cargo Box
Gun Scabbard
Magellan GPS
Alarm System
Gel Grips
Baja Lights
Odyssey PC680 Battery

Sand bags will take care of any weight advantage. That being said, the machine with the lowest gearing, most power, and best tires would plow the best.

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'07 Eiger auto 4x4, Duro power grips, Powermadd guards, heated grips
'87 A.C. 340 Jag
'90 YJ- Swampers, Ford small block, Lockers, etc.

I sure want to go through the trouble of putting sand bags on my machine just to plow.

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05 SP800
94 1100 Yamaha Virago
01 Yamaha dlx700
If it ain't fast enuff to scare you.. it ain't fast enuff.
Cattail ATV Club

Agreed

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2006 650V2
Dynatek CDI
NGK Power Racing Cables
Iridium Plugs
K&N
Amsoil In Everything
26" Swamplites
Delta Chrome Steel Rims
Venom 2500XT Winch
Brushguard Front/Rear Bumpers
AC Handguards
Cargo Box
Gun Scabbard
Magellan GPS
Alarm System
Gel Grips
Baja Lights
Odyssey PC680 Battery

You're willing to go through the trouble of hooking up a plow, maybe snow chains, and gassing it up. But you aren't willing to throw a couple bags of sand on the racks? Well, in that case get the heaviest machine you can find if you don't care about anything other than plowing.

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'07 Eiger auto 4x4, Duro power grips, Powermadd guards, heated grips
'87 A.C. 340 Jag
'90 YJ- Swampers, Ford small block, Lockers, etc.

That is what he was looking for. In the winter the plow stays on mine. Have never used chains although last year once could have used them when got a heavy snow after a rain/melt/freeze cycle. Nothing short of chains or tire screws will help then but in 9 years that is the only time.

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05 SP800
94 1100 Yamaha Virago
01 Yamaha dlx700
If it ain't fast enuff to scare you.. it ain't fast enuff.
Cattail ATV Club

If I were just looking for a machine to plow with, I'd get a 4x4 tractor.

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'07 Eiger auto 4x4, Duro power grips, Powermadd guards, heated grips
'87 A.C. 340 Jag
'90 YJ- Swampers, Ford small block, Lockers, etc.

I see you're a little sore that nobody suggested an Eiger. Lol. Sorry, but Polaris has it hands down in the plowing dept. save the eiger for open fields where it belongs. Oh yeah, "lowest gearing"??????? Have you ever seen snow? I often plow in high range up and down my dirt road with a 60" blade (which is what I'd suggest to upnort but, I'm done with tractor boy brad yet) lol. Not to mention if you had to go the sandbag route you could do the same on a polaris. You add 100#......I add 100# you'll ALWAYS be behind in the plowing dept., not to mention the great comment about the shift pattern on the polaris is great for plowing......shove it ahead and pull it back, no mazes or additional buttons to push. Anyway upnort, you're on the right track just don't get anything less than 60". You'll regret it.



"lowest gearing".........LOL LOL LOL

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700 sportsman efi, 2500 lb warn winch, american eagle plow.

Previous machines:
89' mohave
89' banshee modified
92' yz 250
93' cr 250
94' zx 7r ninja
96' yz 250
99' yzf 400
99 seadoo xp limited
00' yzf 426

Polaris or Arctic Cat hands down. I like the Arctic Cat more because the shift lever is on the left side of the ATV. My right hand doesn't have to leave the throttle. A 60" blade is a must. I had one on my 400 up in Alaska and we got a good 10 feet of snow a year and that 400 never had an issue. The more snow the more fun Ground clearance is another issue. Can't remember what Polaris has but Arctic Cat has 12" which sure helps when you need to back up over unplowed area's. I had a Swisher plow on one of my ATV's in the past and HATED it because it reduced my ground clearance to 6". I got stuck A LOT. Glacier plow system works great for Polaris, if you go with an Arctic Cat their stock setup is great too. As for chains, you don't need them but they do help A LOT on ice. Good luck to you.

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The last man that was perfect was crucified.

Blaming a gun for a crime is like blaming a spoon for Rosie O'Donnell being fat.

1990 Honda Fourtrax TRX200
*2 - 21" Maxxis Front Pro's on ITP rims
*2 - 22" Mud Lite AT's on ITP rims
1998 Arctic Cat Powder Special 600 EFI

The best family in the world!

I don't care what machine he gets, it won't affect me, but he was asking for suggestions and opinions. And my opinion is that if he's buying a machine solely for plowing, an ATV is a poor investment compared to a 4x4 tractor or even a truck. If he wants an ATV that can plow in addition to trail ride, then going with the heaviest one isn't a great idea either. And yes, I've seen plenty of snow and what will move snow is torque and traction (i.e. power/gearing and weight).

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'07 Eiger auto 4x4, Duro power grips, Powermadd guards, heated grips
'87 A.C. 340 Jag
'90 YJ- Swampers, Ford small block, Lockers, etc.

That's your suggestion if he wants one to "soley plow with" huh. "I am going to buy an atv for play and to clear snow" Maybe that's your thing but I don't have much fun "playing" with my buddies on their atv's when I have a 4X4 tractor. Oh and by the way..............An 800# 500 will move more snow than a 500# 800, period. "Torque" is not an issue for atv's and plowing.

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700 sportsman efi, 2500 lb warn winch, american eagle plow.

Previous machines:
89' mohave
89' banshee modified
92' yz 250
93' cr 250
94' zx 7r ninja
96' yz 250
99' yzf 400
99 seadoo xp limited
00' yzf 426

I once read somewhere that "arguing with someone on the internet is like running in the special Olympics, even if you win, you're still retarded." So, I'm done with this conversation since you've changed it from a discussion to a childish argument.

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'07 Eiger auto 4x4, Duro power grips, Powermadd guards, heated grips
'87 A.C. 340 Jag
'90 YJ- Swampers, Ford small block, Lockers, etc.

You obviously have a problem with polaris. Then proceeded to not give an opinion on the question asked. THEN the advise you gave is incorrect. I corrected you so,........you're welcome.

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700 sportsman efi, 2500 lb warn winch, american eagle plow.

Previous machines:
89' mohave
89' banshee modified
92' yz 250
93' cr 250
94' zx 7r ninja
96' yz 250
99' yzf 400
99 seadoo xp limited
00' yzf 426