Hunting Washington Forum

Equipment & Gear => Power Equipment & RV => Topic started by: Viking360 on December 07, 2022, 07:47:05 AM

Title: ATV snow plow
Post by: Viking360 on December 07, 2022, 07:47:05 AM: Anyone have any experience with ATV snow plows? I would like to put one on my Suzuki 400 4X4. Any tips or kits to stay away from, Amazon has a bunch of snow plow kits on there.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Quackaddict on December 07, 2022, 08:03:56 AM: I just bought a 72 inch KFI steel blade for my can-am defender. I ordered mine off amazon and everything installed without a hitch. Just make sure it fits your machine, and your setup with a wench. I bought the KFI plow lever lift to take the strain off the wench cable. so far it has been working amazing and i just order the wings for the plow to carry snow further without loosing it out the edges. I can only speak for KFI products right now and so far they have been great.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 08:13:11 AM: I have a Kawasaki Prairie 360

I put a Warn Pro-vantage system on mine. I put a 54 inch blade on mine but wish I had put the 60 on. I also used the front mounting system rather than the one that mounted to the full frame underneath. I went that route as I believe the full frame version lost me some clearance.

I bought the bucket conversion kit and essentially made the blade a front end loader. I moved a lot of gravel with that conversion!

I did need chains on the ATV when the snow got deep. Did as good a job as could be expected, but 6 feet of snow over 2 months coupled with a 220 yard driveway on a hill was too much for it. I have since moved to a tractor which is working GREAT.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: KFhunter on December 07, 2022, 08:20:27 AM: I used to remove my winch cable, and use a strip of duct tape to feed half a $20 tow strap from walmart. The yellow one with hooks on each end. 20 feet or so cut to two 10' chunks burn the ends. It tightens on itself on the drum. It's cheaper than a synthetic winch line, lasts a long time. The steel winch cables will break on you pretty quickly.

I like the moose plow setup, the mount was click on and I could use my atv better with the mount installed blade off.

The Moose also allowed me to lift the blade higher, and pile snow into a pretty high mound. The style that mounts under your atv doesn't allow for the blade to lift very high, but you do get a good push, a little bit better push than the moose high mount. Both plow snow very well though.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 08:23:42 AM: Photo of the Bucket Conversion. In Western WA, I found I used the bucket far more often than I did the plow. Well worth the money.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 08:25:54 AM: I like the tow strap idea. I found cheap synthetic rope on Amazon, and put on 10 feet or so on at a time. It would break every so often and I just re-tied it. I saved my good winch line for other purposes.

Tow strap seems like a better option.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: KFhunter on December 07, 2022, 08:29:39 AM: I went and looked at the moose mounts, it looks likes its changed quite a bit from the one I had. Bummer, I can't speak to the new stuff

Rob the tow strap lasted several seasons and I was plowing out several houses. I never did break it, if its lined up good and not getting chewed on one side it'll last a long long time
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 08:38:07 AM: Good deal
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Viking360 on December 07, 2022, 09:16:07 AM: Thanks guys this helps, Im going to start by getting a winch installed this week and maybe put that strap on before its installed. I didnt know if they would actually plow very well but this sounds like they do pretty good.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Magnum_Willys on December 07, 2022, 09:27:57 AM: Quote from: Rob on December 07, 2022, 08:23:42 AM
Photo of the Bucket Conversion. In Western WA, I found I used the bucket far more often than I did the plow. Well worth the money.

That's impressive on a Kawasaki 360 ! :tup:
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: bearhunter99 on December 07, 2022, 09:39:14 AM: One thing to look at is the plow height - some of the plows are pretty low profile and really don't push much. The plow we had on our old Rhino was low profile and it took a lot to get the snow moved. The one we have now on our new SxS is a little taller and works great.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 09:49:35 AM: Quote from: Magnum_Willys on December 07, 2022, 09:27:57 AM
Quote from: Rob on December 07, 2022, 08:23:42 AM
Photo of the Bucket Conversion. In Western WA, I found I used the bucket far more often than I did the plow. Well worth the money.

That's impressive on a Kawasaki 360 ! :tup:

well... with a heavy load of gravel it has been known to get up on the two front wheels when I step off the atv!
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Ridgeratt on December 07, 2022, 09:59:47 AM: Quote from: Rob on December 07, 2022, 09:49:35 AM

well... with a heavy load of gravel it has been known to get up on the two front wheels when I step off the atv!

Have you given any thought to filling the back tires with beet juice and can you bolt on some riding lawn mower rear tire weights?
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 10:39:24 AM: Quote from: Ridgeratt on December 07, 2022, 09:59:47 AM
Quote from: Rob on December 07, 2022, 09:49:35 AM

well... with a heavy load of gravel it has been known to get up on the two front wheels when I step off the atv!

Have you given any thought to filling the back tires with beet juice and can you bolt on some riding lawn mower rear tire weights?

I put some solidified bags of cement on the rear rack and that helped.

Now that I have a tractor it is somewhat moot - and those I did have filled with beet juice! added over 900lbs of weight!
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: HooknoseHunter on December 07, 2022, 11:26:54 AM: :tup:r
Quote from: Viking360 on December 07, 2022, 07:47:05 AM
Anyone have any experience with ATV snow plows? I would like to put one on my Suzuki 400 4X4. Any tips or kits to stay away from, Amazon has a bunch of snow plow kits on there.

I have a Kolpin Switchblade on my Yamaha Big Bear 400. I keep it on the 48” setting but I believe it can expand to 6ft. Pretty cheap plow but works very well. The factory skids are garbage and wore out after one season so bought a set of the below skids and drilled holes in the stabilizing bracket mounted to the back of the blade and installed them. They work excellent.

https://www.amazon.com/ECOTRIC-Polaris-Blade-Heavy-Shoes/dp/B0732XMB9M/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?crid=FKUL6PV8L2IU&keywords=plow+skids&qid=1670440960&sprefix=plow+skids%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVVFBNklOTFlIRjBFJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwMDMxODMxMkcyWEpSV1hUVFhNNSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwNDY0OTEyTDMyQzJJNTJVUDlVJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 01:52:10 PM: There was an ask for a couple more photos of the plow bucket conversion via PM. Posting here as I am not sure those can be sent via PM
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Rob on December 07, 2022, 01:52:29 PM: one more
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: MADMAX on December 07, 2022, 05:24:03 PM: Has anyone used a kolpin plow ?
Looking at this one for a 350 Yamaha grizzly

https://www.amazon.com/Kolpin-ATV-Switchblade-Plow-17-0000/dp/B0745HWB3N/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?adgrpid=55684922786&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIormyi-Xo-wIVQiCtBh0jSw-oEAAYASAAEgLlS_D_BwE&hvadid=583872415664&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9033469&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13495884594227849215&hvtargid=kwd-300289035536&hydadcr=19227_13388029&keywords=atv+snow+plow+kits&qid=1670460362&sr=8-4&tag=hydsma-20
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: HooknoseHunter on December 07, 2022, 08:02:51 PM: Quote from: MADMAX on December 07, 2022, 05:24:03 PM
Has anyone used a kolpin plow ?
Looking at this one for a 350 Yamaha grizzly

https://www.amazon.com/Kolpin-ATV-Switchblade-Plow-17-0000/dp/B0745HWB3N/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?adgrpid=55684922786&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIormyi-Xo-wIVQiCtBh0jSw-oEAAYASAAEgLlS_D_BwE&hvadid=583872415664&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9033469&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=13495884594227849215&hvtargid=kwd-300289035536&hydadcr=19227_13388029&keywords=atv+snow+plow+kits&qid=1670460362&sr=8-4&tag=hydsma-20

I posted about this exact plow at the bottom of the first page of this thread.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: MADMAX on December 07, 2022, 08:36:17 PM: Thank you
Good info
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: HUNTINCOUPLE on December 08, 2022, 07:54:14 AM: Been utilizing the Eagle Plow for 10 years now on the Artic Cat 700. It stacks snow and blows it off the the road great! Haven't looked at any recent models if they changed at all? It comes off and on bracket easy and the front mount is easy as well. Did add rubber flap over top of blade due ro snow blowing over the top onto me. One could always slow down while plowing but what fun is that! Lol.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: 300rum on December 09, 2022, 08:51:03 PM: I just got done plowing again this morning....

I have Warn's Provantage set up for three seasons or so.

https://www.warn.com/plow-systems#atv-front

I have a Honda Rancher 420 4x4 I went with a front mount for on/off ease and it also lifts the blade higher which I prefer when not in use. It is an easy one-man job to put the plow on and take off, this is the biggest benefit. I have had some pretty big snows and it has handled everything great. Blade angles is chaned easily and the blade sucks up tight to the atv in the up position so it doesn't jiggle and bounce around when you aren't plowing. My drive way is 250' long asphalt, I put their hard plastic edge on the blade, taking off the metal one that comes with it as I didn't want it cutting into my asphalt sealer. The hard plastic leading edge has held up excellent. I mounted everything myself, winch, mount blade, etc. and it was pretty easy, there's a lot of help on youtube. My neighbor bought the exact same atv and plow system I have after he saw me use it, he likes his too.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: Viking360 on December 18, 2022, 12:19:43 PM: I ended up with a badlands 2500 winch and a black boar plow. Seems like it's heavy duty, hopefully it works good.
Title: Re: ATV snow plow
Post by: HUNTINCOUPLE on December 18, 2022, 12:25:11 PM: Looks good!

If we dint have the Eagle Plow today would probably pick up that WARN setup. The two are very similar.