ATV snow plow opinion?

[rusty ol ranger]

I got an 01 sportsman 500 and im really wanting to get a snowplow for it. The old farmall cub does ok but its a pain in the ass to switch between the plow and belly mower when seasons change.

My question is theres two different mounting styles, theres one (most common) that mounts to the frame in the middle of the quad, and one (less common) that mounts both in the center and to (im assuming) the hitch on the back.

Im leaning toward the two point mount because plowing is stressful and i dont want to take a chance tweaking the frame, but the two points are more expensive and only work with the expensive blades.

Im wondering if anyone has an opinion on this, or am i overthinking?

 

[Curious Hound]

I’ll be as helpful as I can.


Move further south. A lot further south.

 

[Uncle Gump]

I’ll be as helpful as I can.


Move further south. A lot further south.

There is always that...

I don't think you're over thinking... sometimes it's better to spend the money up front. Then to save a few bucks and then make repairs and fix the weakness.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

There is always that...

I don't think you're over thinking... sometimes it's better to spend the money up front. Then to save a few bucks and then make repairs and fix the weakness.

Thats what i was thinking. As much money as i got into the thing already the last thing i wanna do is bend the frame plowing.

I also am up in the air about what size to get. With the wider stance ill need atleast a 50. I was thinking 50/54 but a 60 isnt much more money. I just wonder about the 500s ability to push a 60in swath of wet heavy snow.

 

[Uncle Gump]

Bigger isn't always better...

the bigger the blade... the harder it is on everything.

 

[Snoranger]

Mount style:
I have a mid frame mount on my 98 Timberwolf 230...
It doesn’t lift that high
Its a pain in the ass to install the plow
If I try to push the snow back and drive over the 4x4 that surround my driveway, when I back up the back of the push tubes get caught.
Mine mounts to the frame and peg mount... it started messing up the peg mount threads. I had to drill it out bigger and nut and bolt it.
It does push good, it’s a small, light quad with a 230 motor. The mid mount has long push tubes that allow the blade to push the snow, without being that heavy.



I have a front mount on my 2012 Grizzly 550:
It’s a bigger, more powerful quad... I’ve pushed 20+” of powdery snow and 15” of wet snow. It’s a beast compared to the Timberwolf.
The front mount is SO easy to attach the plow... 30 seconds.
Nothing hangs below the frame... nothing to get stuck.
It can lift ridiculously high, the front mount tends to ride up large piles instead of pushing them.




You want the blade to be wider then the footprint of the machine when it’s fully angled. That way your alway driving in a cleared path.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

how wide is a 60 at full angle?

 

[Curious Hound]

Depends what full angle is. If it's 30 degrees, then the 60" blade clears a 48" path. If it's 45 degrees, then the 60" blade clears a 42" path. I'm guessing full angle is probably around 30 degrees but that's a guess.

 

[Snoranger]

I’ll get you some measurements tomorrow off both of mine.

 

[Jspafford]

I have a 48" mile marker brand blade for my 99 Quadmaster. It mounts directly under the motor with nothing going to hitch. It has two simple pins to install and remove. I've pushed snow into piles it's stopped it and hit things I didn't know were there which almost tossed me over the handlebars and 20 years later it's still as good as new.

 

[Snoranger]

I have a 48" mile marker brand blade for my 99 Quadmaster. It mounts directly under the motor with nothing going to hitch. It has two simple pins to install and remove. I've pushed snow into piles it's stopped it and hit things I didn't know were there which almost tossed me over the handlebars and 20 years later it's still as good as new.

That’s a mid mount. It’s not bad to install if you leave the mounting plate on... I have to remove and reinstall the plate a few times a year or else it gets beat to sh!t on the rocks when I take the quad out riding.

 

[Jspafford]

The two mounting points as you probably know are only about 3/4" below the original skid plate. Mine also is "H" shaped so to speak where the plow attachment pins in between the "H" so it's very stout. I've run it over and slid across about anything I can think of and it's still golden. Haha. It was the cheapest part of the whole setup so I figure if I ruined it I'd know not to do it again.

 

[Snoranger]

I guess you’ve never been to The Lost Trails in PA. I dragged my mounting plate over almost every square foot of that F’in rock garden in one day... about 25 mile ride. It wore that mount down noticeably.
That quad has been retired from trail duty and only gets lightly ridden around the yard anymore and doesn’t do plowing anymore. She lives an easy life now.

 

[Will]

You can't knock the snow back far enough with an atv blade. If you get consecutive snow fall, the snow builds up where the atv can't put it anywhere. A truck is big and heavy enough to blast it back.

We don't get much snow here most of the time. But I ran into the problem when I used a garden tractor with a blade. I ended up having to get out the skid loader and pushing the snow back with that. When I had a B2 with a blade, I could go fast and blast it way back, and it had the weight and power to blast back the old snow bank as well.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

You can't knock the snow back far enough with an atv blade. If you get consecutive snow fall, the snow builds up where the atv can't put it anywhere. A truck is big and heavy enough to blast it back.

We don't get much snow here most of the time. But I ran into the problem when I used a garden tractor with a blade. I ended up having to get out the skid loader and pushing the snow back with that. When I had a B2 with a blade, I could go fast and blast it way back, and it had the weight and power to blast back the old snow bank as well.

I try to push it back far enough to give me room for future snows. Even my chained up tractor can’t move the the whole snow pile at once if we get a warm snap between storms that locks it into a big ice chunk.