ATV plow or not?

[AF-1984]

Hello,

I am in the market for a new snow removal toy. I currently have a pretty typical residential driveway, but plan on moving somewhere with a bigger driveway within 5 years. I already have an ATV. My question is for those who have ATV's with a plow. Do you like them? What size would you recommend for a 600? Steel or Poly? Brands? Or would I be better off just sticking with a snow-blower?

Thanks!

[arctic_scrap1]

The big thing with ATV plowing is you need enough room for all the snow. It's not like a truck where you can build big mountains of snow or plow out stuff that's already been plowed once and froze. With an ATV, wherever you leave that snow, that's where it's going to stay until spring. What kind of 600 do you have? If you have low range I'd say a 60" plow would work fine, that is what I have on my Sportsman 800 and I'm pretty sure they don't make anything bigger for ATVs. I would stay with a steel plow as they would have more weight so you get a little more downwards force for cleaning.

As far as quality, I don't think any of them are much better or worse than the others. Mainly you want to look at how easy it is to connect and disconnect and how much ground clearance you lose if you do not take the mounting brackets off in the summer.

I can get the plow on my machine in about 20 seconds and take it off just as fast, in the summer I take the mount off because it kind of acts like a low hanging bumper on the front. Also, if you're like me and have large mud tires and wheel spacers it can make maneuvering a pain.

[Ryan_V]

For a regular driveway I would stick with a blower! On a year where we have considerable snow fall you will run out of room quickly.

[Hoey]

AF,

I have a plow on my 500. Great for plowing, goes fast, until the snow you are moving/pushing is heavier than the wheeler, then it get tedious.

You can go with the ATV plow to move as much as possible, then blow it the rest of the way.... ;-)

[TV BOY]

Plowin is way more fun than blowing snow! Just remember your space management! My little 450 can make some pretty high piles! Neighbor has a skidloader which comes in handy when the pile gets too big

[mabr]

If you decide to go with the ATV plow check out C_____ list. Theres a new company based out of Eden Prairie that has the complete set up for around around $650 with free shipping. That's with a 2500 lb winch 60 inch steel plow,and everything needed to mount. The plow is made in Mn if im not mistaken and its a very heavy duty plow. I had a cycle country previously and Im way more impressed with this plow.

Customer service was great. The wrong mounting bracket was sent with mine and they had the correct one to me in 3 days. You can search Maddog products and im sure you'll find them. It was by far the best deal I found out there.

I have a 450 honda and I bought the 60" inch. Based on previous experience with my old set up which was a kawi 400 the 60 should be no issue.

Planning is important. My wife still laughs when she see's me the first of the season making sure i have room for the rest of the season. Also in my research (see am earlier post i made while looking for one) I found mid frame mount is the way to go vs front mount, much more sturdy.

[PurpleFloyd]

I bought a plow for my yammi 350 wolverine back in 97 and used it on that quad and on the sportsman 500 I replaced it with until 2003 when I bought a garden tractor and blower. I personally would never go back to a plow and quad over this but that is just my $.02

[92python]

I have a 98 Arctic Cat 300 with a 48 inch plow that has a manual lift. Absolutely no problems with this setup even during winters like 2 yrs ago. I plow back to the edges of the driveway then plow the adjacent grass areas with the plow half way down to make sure I dont have a problem with too much snow too close to the driveway. I only have a 100 ft driveway though.

[AF-1984]

Thanks for the response. I think I am convinced of getting the plow. They are cheaper than the blowers I have been looking at anyway.

What kind of 600 do you have? If you have low range I'd say a 60" plow would work fine,

[mabr]

Wow we must have checked back at the same time on this post.

As for the winch, again google them. Every review I read had HIGH praise for the winch. I think warn was the only one recommended higher. Extreme Max, Bear claw is the brand I made a mistake mine is a 2800 lb. There are quite a few very good reviews for the newer models (old weren't as good. They are made in China though. But based on reviews and warranty It was worth it for me.

Here is the warranty info they sent me

Warranty:

- Lifetime Warranty on Winch / Plow Mount

- Lifetime Warranty on Winch Solenoid / Rocker Switch

- 2 Yr. Full Warranty on Winch Motor (after 2 years if something happens all I ask is that you pay for shipping of old and new winch - or come and drop it off in Eden Prairie and pick new one up - and we will send you a new one, so it's Limited Lifetime Warranty)

- 3 Yr. Full Warranty on Push Tubes / Blade

Winch Includes: Rocker Switch, Rocker Switch Mounting Bracket, Solenoid, (2) Sets of Cables, Roller Fairlead, All Screws & Nuts & Bolts you will need, Safety Strap, Cable Hook, Snatch Block, Zip Ties for Cables, Winch

Detaching is pulling two pins underneath the mid carriage the same as my last plow then un-hooking the winch hook. Putting it back on in snowy cold weather isn't the easiest but doable I used my last wheeler with the plow mount on it year round for everything from hunting to ice fishing. 2 tabs hang down about 2 inches so its a non issue as far as I'm concerned.

[rundrave]

I have a manual lift for my quad and don't have a winch. works just fine for me.

[Dozer]

I have both a plow for my wheeler and a blower for my garden tractor. Id take the blower any day!

[Carpenter]

Blower is more efficient, plow is more fun.

If you have a popo, then get the popo glacier plow system. easy connect/disconnect. I have a 550xp and had a 500 sportsman. both used the 60" plow. I prefer my new glacier 2 plow as it doesn't leave as much below the unit with the hardware, and you can raise it higher. the other brands typically have tubes that go under the machine and you have to get on your hands and knees to hook it up, you have those bars under your machine cutting into your clearance and you cant raise the plow as high.

winch is easy, manual lever would be quicker. if you use the winch, remember to charge the battery ever few plows or get a battery tender. running that winch really wears on the battery.

[CANOPY SAM]

AF...if you haven't already done so (made your purchase), I'd have to agree with the post on going with a snow blower vs. an ATV plow.

We live on the southeast corner of a large open field. In our country the prevailing storms (and wind) come from the NW, so in deep snow years I'm fighting snow blowing into our 200 ft driveway all winter.

I just purchased a good used Arctic Cat 500 with a top of the line winch operated plow on the front end. I only intend to use this when we get enough snow that it needs to be moved, but not enough that I need to bring out the big blower.

My primary snow removal equipment is a New Holland MC28 diesel commercial mower with a 70-inch front mounted PTO driven snow blower, with hydrolic lift and chute adjust.

In our situation it's imperative that I do not create "berms" with snow. If I do, my snow removal battles only get worse, as the snow berms act as snow fence on either side of the driveway. I have to get the snow a good distance from the driveway every time I move it, and with a good snow blower this is much easier. It also creates no berm, what-so-ever, with a blower.

I have no doubt I'll find numerous uses for the ATV mounted plow, but moving lots of heavy snow away from our driveway will not be one of them. If we get 3-4 inches of light snow I'll likely move it over with the plow, and blow it away from the driveway later.

Just my , and I'm by no means the benchmark example for this sort of thing. With a long curved driveway on the downwind side of a large field we're likely the exception when it comes to snow removal. There are times when we have snow drifts across large portions of the driveway that are taller than a car! There are also times in bad winters when I'm carving thru huge drifts on our gravel road access so my neighbors can get out...cause the big snow plow trucks and cats can't get thru!!!

[Walleyehooker]

Ive been plowing my driveway for 12 years with Honda 300 4X4 with a 60 inch plow with no chains. Heavy wet snow or over a foot deep can be tough so you need common sense when to do it twice during a storm. A 48 inch plow is only good for sidewalks as it doesnt create a wide enough path for the machine. It also helps if you have places to push the snow as you want to avoid big banks. If you have a long drive and cant avoid makeing banks on the sides a snowblower would be better.

[AF-1984]

AF...if you haven't already done so (made your purchase), I'd have to agree with the post on going with a snow blower vs. an ATV plow.

As much as I want to get the plow, I have come to this realization as well. Now I get to compare blowers!