Atv for plowing snow

[mistaredone]

Looking to buy my first atv to plow my property. Any suggestions on makes, plow blades, tires etc would be great. My budget is between 3-$4000

 

Thanks

[Dabluz]

Looking to buy my first atv to plow my property. Any suggestions on makes, plow blades, tires etc would be great. My budget is between 3-$4000

 

Thanks

 

 

The first thing I would look for is how easily you can go from a forward gear to a reverse gear. My old Yamaha Big Bear 350cc would quickly go from any forward gear right into a reverse gear without having to go to neutral. I have seen some ATVs where you have to put them in neutral gear before being able to go into reverse. This slows up operation considerably.

[tb4me]

Dont go with anything smaller then a 400 and 4x4 is a must. If you live where there is a ton of snow I would want a 500 to 600 for pushing snow..

[4x4bassin]

I use a suzuki 300 to push snow around and we get alot here and it does the job well,It is of course 4x4 and has a locking diff. which helps but like tb4me said I would go with something a little bigger ,say a 400-500 just so you have some more power to get through those drifts !

O ya do you have some where to put the snow when you plow it off your driveway because you will run out of room in a hurry if we get alot of snow, also an understanding town plow driver always helps because I put alot of snow down the side of the road and he takes it away !

Good luck

[ch312]

with that budget, id be looking at probably an 02-06 450-500cc machine with low mileage. definitely make sure it has 4x4 and leave room in your budget for a winch and FRONT MOUNT plow. it's plain and simple...under mount plows suck as you lose clearance and cant keep it on all year. warn makes a good one, but you can easily convert an undermount to front mount with a grinder and welder.

 

make sure the blade is wider than your tires when the blade is angled as far as it can go.

 

the sharp angle the winch cable will be on is VERY hard on steel cable and results in lots of fraying. use synthetic winch cable or a short length of rope in place of your winch cable. running the cable from your winch to a pulley mounted on the plow and then attaching the hook on your front rack will save your steel cable and put less strain on your winch.

 

use chains if you have stock style tires, but they're useless on aggressive tires as the chains just fall between the lugs. i have mud lite xtr's on my grizzly 700 and havent lost traction even while pushing huge piles. you'll spend days researching tires

 

you may also need spring stiffeners up front if you get excessive sag when lifting up the plow.

 

lastly, after ramming into the pile, ALWAYS back up a few inches before lifting your blade. it puts a lot of strain on your winch trying to lift the blade through the snow you just plowed into the pile. broken cables and fried winches are rather common if you search various forums.

 

have fun

[mistaredone]

with that budget, id be looking at probably an 02-06 450-500cc machine with low mileage. definitely make sure it has 4x4 and leave room in your budget for a winch and FRONT MOUNT plow. it's plain and simple...under mount plows suck as you lose clearance and cant keep it on all year. warn makes a good one, but you can easily convert an undermount to front mount with a grinder and welder.

 

make sure the blade is wider than your tires when the blade is angled as far as it can go.

 

the sharp angle the winch cable will be on is VERY hard on steel cable and results in lots of fraying. use synthetic winch cable or a short length of rope in place of your winch cable. running the cable from your winch to a pulley mounted on the plow and then attaching the hook on your front rack will save your steel cable and put less strain on your winch.

 

use chains if you have stock style tires, but they're useless on aggressive tires as the chains just fall between the lugs. i have mud lite xtr's on my grizzly 700 and havent lost traction even while pushing huge piles. you'll spend days researching tires

 

you may also need spring stiffeners up front if you get excessive sag when lifting up the plow.

 

lastly, after ramming into the pile, ALWAYS back up a few inches before lifting your blade. it puts a lot of strain on your winch trying to lift the blade through the snow you just plowed into the pile. broken cables and fried winches are rather common if you search various forums.

 

have fun

 

 

Some great info there. Thank you.

 

 

I know Honda, Polaris and Atric cats are top brands but how about the rest? Suzukie, Baja etc

[K_F]

i own a suzuki eiger 400 -and i love it - ive got a 5' blade for it. it was the closest thing i could find to a honda without the price tag - solid read axle -

 

mine was a repo out of the states - youll find a couple places that deal with these and the prices are good

 

http://www.powersportsnetwork.com/

 

i used this website when researching my buy - it had reviews that told me what i could expect from the machine i bought - and for me i was looking for low maintenance

 

those american brands you mentioned do not have a good reputation for reliability (IN MY OPINION), but every bike and rider are different

 

honda is king, but my suzuki is good enough for me

[taper]

I just bought an 07 Eiger for the same reason. Suzuki makes a decent bike.I have a good friend that owns an ATV shop and he told me his most common repair in the door is by far Polaris.In my opinion Artic Cat and Polaris are OK but there is a reason they are the lowest priced of the big manufacturers, you get what you pay for. As for plowing you need at least a 54" blade so when angled the blade still clears the path for your tires. You can plan on spending an extra $900 plus if the machine you buy does not have a winch and plow. Those are new prices, used plows are tough to come by at this time of year. Personally I would not recommend the manual lift plows. Hope all this helps.

[Rattletrap2]

I use Polaris 500 with a 60" blade. The tires are stock and I replaced the winch cable with a much shorter rope. You only use about 4' of cable anyways.

I have 4 x 4 and have had no trouble moving the snow yet! Like already mentioned, make sure you have a place to push it to and start piling it off in the distance to start the season. The space will close in fast if we get a lot of snow and minimal melts. By early March, I only push it a short ways and keep my fingers crossed! LOL

 

I would like to do some modifications to my blade though to add end caps to the blade (one end anyways)and maybe a rubber flap on the top edge. The blade at BPS on their Arctic Cats looks like a good design. Mine is better quality, but very basic in design.

Oh, and your budget seems on the low side unless you are looking for an older model used.

Edited November 24, 2011 by Rattletrap2

[ch312]

Some great info there. Thank you.

 

 

I know Honda, Polaris and Atric cats are top brands but how about the rest? Suzukie, Baja etc

 

np...anything to save another guy some headaches

 

2 others have already mentioned this, but polaris and artic cat are NOT top brands as far as reliability goes. ive logged about 3000 kms on my machine in the last 1.5 years riding beside everything from cheap canadian tire atv's to the newest big bores that cost as much as a car and can tell you first hand that polaris and AC have reliability issues. for putting around the house they're fine, but if you plan on using it for even mildly aggressive riding id stay away.

 

yamaha, kawi, suzuki, and honda are the only machines id every consider. after seeing so many popo's and AC's with significant problems, i'd honestly give up riding before lowering myself to either one of those brands as id spend more time in the garage than riding.

 

 

 

 

rattletrap has the right idea about drift cutters on each end of the plow and the rubber flapper on top. when plowing powder type snow it doesnt take long for the snow to cake your winch, headlights, rad, your face, etc. the rubber flap should prevent most of this and the drift cutters will help you go straight through deep snow without veering off to one side. i think i'll add them to mine this weekend...

[dave524]

No advice on your purchase but let me congratulate you on selling a 4000 dollar atv with a plow to the significant other in the snow capital of Mississauga while I sit here with a stupid snowblower that won't haul ice fishing or hunting gear or get into the back country when it is not needed for the 6-8 times it actually snows enough to use it

 

A gold star for your mancard

 

Edited November 25, 2011 by dave524

[mistaredone]

No advice on your purchase but let me congratulate you on selling a 4000 dollar atv with a plow to the significant other in the snow capital of Mississauga while I sit here with a stupid snowblower that won't haul ice fishing or hunting gear or get into the back country when it is not needed for the 6-8 times it actually snows enough to use it

 

A gold star for your mancard

 

 

 

I think I earned my man card last year when I srcapped the snowblower and shoveled my 30 space car park and horseshoe driveway that has an aditional 10 car spaces by hand for the entire season. |Saved alot of time and stress. Now I have a little cash I can cut down my time by about 5 hours and clear the first snow with a rock glass of scotch in one hand.

 

Going to check out a 04, 450 Yamaha kodiak this weekend!!

[Skipper D]

I have an 06 400 eiger i bought new and used for one year then put away in the back of the shop where its been since , Iam thinking about letting it go or trade it in on a new prowler in Febuary but not until then .

[phatpelkey]

i have a 2009 yamaha grizzly with a 48 inch plow, and i love it, i also use it for my many trips ice fishing every year, not one issue yet, i would definetly buy one again if i would ever wanna sell mine

[Sinker]

Although a blade on the bike is a little more fun, I find the blower does a nicer job, and takes less time. You also don't run out of room to pile it with the blower. You can pick one up for the same $ as a blade on the bike!

 

S.

[mistaredone]

Blowers are great when the snow is dry and if your only doing a driveway. When clearing a wider space you end up blowing the same snow 3,4 times.

[Skipper D]

Blowers are great when the snow is dry and if your only doing a driveway. When clearing a wider space you end up blowing the same snow 3,4 times.

 

 

A little advice if i may ... ....we blow snow here for a living in the winter , having a problem like having to blow snow 3,4 times to get rid of it ...... says theres not enough horse power behind the blower , sorry , just had to add my two cents .

[mistaredone]

Fair enough, my blower sucked.

[Sinker]

I can park at least 12 cars in my driveway, and my toro will blow it from the middle of the driveway, over the fence on the other side LOL. Its not a big machine either!

 

S.

[4x4bassin]

I'm not sure what your situation is but if you don't plan on using the atv much other than plowing

snow it won't be worth it in my opinion , i'm lucky enough to have both a blower and an atv/plow and

the blower is hands down better for getting the snow off the drive and "out of the way" I use the plow

for getting the job done quick and for under 15 cm but get the blower out for anything over 15-20 cm.

Something to consider.

[mistaredone]

I'm not sure what your situation is but if you don't plan on using the atv much other than plowing

snow it won't be worth it in my opinion , i'm lucky enough to have both a blower and an atv/plow and

the blower is hands down better for getting the snow off the drive and "out of the way" I use the plow

for getting the job done quick and for under 15 cm but get the blower out for anything over 15-20 cm.

Something to consider.

 

 

Yeah I figured id stuggle with a big dump. I have access to a full size pickup with plow in an emergency. Speed is key for me, I need to be cleared by 7am so the faster I can get done = more sleep.

[mistaredone]

Seen some atvs on the web that seem under priced? Started to wonder if its possible the atv could have a lean on it? Anyone know about the legality of that or had any experience?

[danbouck]

Seen some atvs on the web that seem under priced? Started to wonder if its possible the atv could have a lean on it? Anyone know about the legality of that or had any experience?

 

Could be a scam

[DRIFTER_016]

I'm not sure what your situation is but if you don't plan on using the atv much other than plowing

snow it won't be worth it in my opinion , i'm lucky enough to have both a blower and an atv/plow and

the blower is hands down better for getting the snow off the drive and "out of the way" I use the plow

for getting the job done quick and for under 15 cm but get the blower out for anything over 15-20 cm.

Something to consider.

 

Or you could just get one of these for your ATV.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcrIx-C06Pk&feature=channel

Edited November 30, 2011 by DRIFTER_016

[ch312]

Seen some atvs on the web that seem under priced? Started to wonder if its possible the atv could have a lean on it? Anyone know about the legality of that or had any experience?

 

if it sounds to good to be true, its a scam 99% of the time. you'll see a few on kijiji that are selling for half or less of the actual value and when you email the people they'll say they're overseas, they'll ship the atv to you, they'll hold it for you if you send them a deposit, etc. scammers are scum...

 

when i was looking on kijiji i found that all of the similar atv's (same make/model) were within $500-1500 of each other so it was easy to tell which ones were scams or overpriced.