Plowing with ATV's

[npsmokefan]

I am looking for some input on plowing with a ATV. I have a driveway that is about 1200ft long in the country and I have always plowed with my skid loader. But I'm thinking of selling my skid loader because that's all I use it for anymore and thinking of getting a plow for my 4 wheeler. I have a 05 Polaris Sportsman 500HO, and was looking at a 60 " plow. Do you think I will have trouble plowing a long driveway with this. I most concerned about heavy wet snow. How does a ATV plow when we get 8+inches of wet snow. My driveway does get drifted in at times if we have a snowy winter. I have talked to the Polaris dealer in Prior Lake and the guy there thinks I will have no problem because the newer ATV's like mine have so much power. But I have a friend that has a older 500 that he plow's his driveway with and he does not recommend it. What do you think? My other option is to put a plow on my truck, but I really don't want to do that if I can get by with the 4 wheeler getting the job done.

[jltimm]

My driveway is 1/4 mile long and I plow it with my Suzuki 700 and 60" plow. Being that your polaris is heavier than my suzuki with a little less engine, I still see no problem for you plowing snow with it(actually the weight will help). Use low range, and get a 60" plow, not anything less.

[Ryan_V]

if you have ditches to push the snow into along your driveway...you'll be fine. otherwise, you have to have lots of room to push, otherwise your windrows will freeze solid and you won't be able to push as far with each new snowfall. I did a post last year with the same question. I have a driveway that opens into a large yard that gets plowed. I was told that it would be no problem too, so I bought a 60" plow for my wheeler. the wheeler handles the plow, but alot of snow gets to be too much for it. I now have an old plow truck. I kept my wheeler plow to do the "trim" work, close to buildings, etc, but the majority of it will be done with the plow truck. if all you are doing is a long straight driveway, you'll be fine, as long as you have ditches, or an area to plow to, that will handle all the snow of a winter, which lately isn't a whole lot!!

[wayne556]

You may want to think about getting a county style plow and start in the middle of your drive. and don't forget the tire chains they are a great help!

[npsmokefan]

Country plow! Are you talking about a v plow. I had asked Diggers in Prior Lake about a v plow. He did not recommend it. he said they have had to many problems with them. Whats your experience?

[arcticcat400]

hello i also have a pretty long driveway in the country that also goes up a fairly steep hill towards the top and i use my sportsman 500 with a v plow and have had no problem since i have ditches on each side of the driveway the v plow makes it nice so i can just take 1 pass up and push half of it off one side then one pass down to push the other half to the other side i have had my v plow for about 3 years and have had no problems with it and my sportsman 500 pushes it along just fine

[Ryan_V]

the county plow isn't the same as the v plow. it looks just like a county or state plow, higher on one end, and tapered to the right with the top curved over.

[Gissert]

I have a Polaris 400 Sportsman with a Polaris county style blade, 56 inches wide. It works great! The snow funnels from the narrow side to the wide side, and shoots out into the ditch.

I have plowed as much as 12 inches of fresh snow with no problems. If the drifts get wind slabbed and hard, it can be more difficult.

[ChuckN]

Yes! I use my ATV to plow my driveway all year (gravel after heavy rains too), and it plows a lot of snow....heck, I even plow roads to my fishhouse, bank the house with it and remove drifted snow away from the shack all winter. I have a 60" steel plow on my Foreman.

With a skidloader you cannot go wrong, but with time an ATV definitely plows. In fact, I just received a truck load of class 5 today that I have to spread over the driveway to re-build it.

[mnmarlin]

Just make sure you have plenty of time. My driveway is maybe 100', I can snowblow it in half the time I can plow it with my Grizzly. But its more fun to use the Grizzly! Power won't be a problem, depending on snow conditions chains might be handy, but not a necessity. The biggest issue is that even with a 60" plow you can't take a very big bite if you have to push the snow any distance, the county style plow would be a plus for you.

[tripper]

You not only live in the country but on the back side od the fourty. I'm going to suggest sonting alittle differnt then everybody else and tell you to use the money from the sale of your skidster to buy a blower that will mount on the front of you atv. Just turn the discharge in the same direction the wind is blowing and god only knows how fare away from the drive the snow will end up and you have no windrow for the snow to start difting off of when the wind blows. If you do get hard drifts across you drive you just slow down a bit to give the blower time to eat through it.

Just another angle for you to look at.

[Lund4ver]

I personally have a Polaris Xplorer 400 with a 48" plow on it, and it has plowed a lot of snow since I bought it in 1999. You can get good at it and be able to "stack" snow like you see the big plows do, just takes some practice. my dad also has a 2004 Sportsman 500 with a 48 in Glacier plow by Polaris, and I have used his as well, and really like it, I personally went with the 48" blade, just to avoid the added with of the blade with weight of snow. Never had any problems plowing snow....And like one guy pointed out, It is a lot of fun.

[river-rat4]

I have a "Baby" Polaris 330 Magnum with a 60" Polaris Glacier plow.

I have plowed paths across the lake from my house to the office (Other side of the lake). I love it. Never a lack of power issue, just traction. Depending on snowfall/hard pack, traction would be the only issue.

Brandt

[woodman]

I have a 300 Xplorer Polaris with a straight blade that will pivot each way. I plow down the center of my drive way and then wing it to each side. Then I push it way back in the yard on each side to allow room for the long winter. I plow 5 driveways with it and have been doing it for 3 years now. Heck when the snow plow doesn't come out for a couple of days the neighbor and I evan plow the road. We tell the wives that we are out working, but we are reall PLAYING!!

I do not have chains because we have all tar, but I have plowed roads to the ice shanty with no problems at all. I have a handle that I raise and lower the blade with, so my arm does get sore if I plow a couple times a week.

I enjoy the fresh air and the kids like riding and WORKING with dad also. Heck last year I had the wife plowing. I should have not done that, because now she wants a plow for her 4-wheeler so she can have fun also!!

[Lund4ver]

I also have a winch on my wheeler as does my dad, makes it a lot easier than using a handle to lift the plow....and then you can "skim" the grass instead of tearing it up when you go over it the first snow fall. Works great, and also if you go that route, make sure you have the roller fairlead on the winch, or the cable will fray in no time.

[npsmokefan]

Thanks for all your input. I have decided to go with a plow for the atv and sell my skid loader. I found a 60"plow by Snow Bear on *******. It looks like a nice plow for larger scale plowing. Does anyone have one of these. If so, how does it compare to the ones Polaris offers. One other question, How does the country style plow work for plowing around buildings and such. It looks to me you can only turn the plow one direction. Thanks again for your input.

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[jltimm]

I would recommend rockymountainatv.com for a plow. They should sell it cheaper than the warn plow your looking at.I have the American Eagle county plow and it works great on everything.