ATV snow plow opinion?

[91stranger]

Mine is not a 4x4 but holds it's own in the mud. 4x4 quads are nice but it's just more to break... Same for liquid cooled atv's. It's all just more stuff to break. Anything anymore with the work "new" in front of it just means "untested" and YOU will be the guinea pig complaining to the manufacture about what all has broke. I never had any issues with mine other than basic maintenance but it's an 01 so it was before they started putting electrical junk on these.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Mine is not a 4x4 but holds it's own in the mud. 4x4 quads are nice but it's just more to break... Same for liquid cooled atv's. It's all just more stuff to break. Anything anymore with the work "new" in front of it just means "untested" and YOU will be the guinea pig complaining to the manufacture about what all has broke. I never had any issues with mine other than basic maintenance but it's an 01 so it was before they started putting electrical junk on these.

The older style polaris 4wd is actually pretty simple. They got magnets that engage a roller clutch that expands inside the hub.

BUT, they can be very finnicky and tempermental. Plus the electro magnets ground thru the speedo, so if the speedo takes a dump youre on the hook for 400 bucks.

I thought about getting a 2wd but at the time i didnt realize just how capable they are in 2wd. I rarely had to use my 4wd even with my bald stock tires, only time was if i did something stupid.

 

[Snoranger]

Both of my newer Yamahas have been dead reliable. (2012 Grizzly and 2016 Wolverine.) My buddy has a 2010 Suzuki king quad... the only issue he’s had was a cracked spark plug.
From my experiences, I would stay away from a new Polaris and Can-ams are a little iffy... they’re building vehicle that are too powerful/fast for the strength of the rest of the vehicle.

 

[91stranger]

I've only had yamaha's (blaster, warrior, raptor 660r and bear tracker) and always had good luck with them. My friend swears by Honda's which I agree they are reliable and don't require much work. My little bear tracker has followed all my friends big 400cc 4x4's with no problems, actually less problems than the 4x4's because mine was much lighter and more nimble than theirs. I remember crossing a creek and hit a VERY soft spot and it went from 6" of water to 30" of mud and sand instantly and the littler bear tracker just pulled right out, exhaust bubbling under water and all. I'll probably keep it forever since I don't have hardly anything in it and it's been a damn good quad. Plus it is easy for the wife to drive so she actually likes it. Need to get my winch mounted but haven't figured out a good way to mount it.... These bear trackers have odd frames and not really a good spot to mount directly to the frame. anyone have pictures of how they mounted their winch?

 

[rusty ol ranger]

My polaris is heavy. Right around 700 lbs dry. But it rides soooo nice.

I do think if i buy another in the future though, itll be a honda.

 

[Snoranger]

I've only had yamaha's (blaster, warrior, raptor 660r and bear tracker) and always had good luck with them. My friend swears by Honda's which I agree they are reliable and don't require much work. My little bear tracker has followed all my friends big 400cc 4x4's with no problems, actually less problems than the 4x4's because mine was much lighter and more nimble than theirs. I remember crossing a creek and hit a VERY soft spot and it went from 6" of water to 30" of mud and sand instantly and the littler bear tracker just pulled right out, exhaust bubbling under water and all. I'll probably keep it forever since I don't have hardly anything in it and it's been a damn good quad. Plus it is easy for the wife to drive so she actually likes it. Need to get my winch mounted but haven't figured out a good way to mount it.... These bear trackers have odd frames and not really a good spot to mount directly to the frame. anyone have pictures of how they mounted their winch?

I came up with a great way to mount a winch on that frame... I’ll have to get you some pics. Do you have a welder?

My polaris is heavy. Right around 700 lbs dry. But it rides soooo nice.

I do think if i buy another in the future though, itll be a honda.

I wouldn’t hesitate to buy a Honda... They build a good ATV.

 

[DRanger024]

I run a 48” Polaris blade on my old ‘88 Moto 4 4x2. It’s a home brew mid-mount that uses small pieces of angle iron welded to the factory foot boards. Harbor Freight 2,500lb. winch with synthetic line mounted to the front rack. It will push 10” of wet crap with the chains clawing pretty hard at the black top. Took me 2 winters to figure out how to plow my driveway with this thing.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Heres mine, not quite done but givrs you a idea.

Before tires and lift. Ill get better pics tmw.

 

[G8orFord]

For reliability, Honda is king in my book. Polaris and Can Am are just money pits in my experience. The older Suzuki's were decent, not sure about the newer ones. I have zero experience with Yamaha ATV's, but always had good luck with their bikes.

 

[91stranger]

Yeah I have a welder. If you can send me pics of how you mounted your winch I would appreciate it. Or just upload them to this thread is fine too. I don't really check my messages that much. My winch is the old camo harbor freight 3000 lb cheapo they used to sell for $50 back in the day. I hard wired a switch since the controller stopped working for it but I can figure out a way to mount the switch, that's no big deal. Just trying to figure out how to mount the winch has been a different story. The best spot to mount it is a weak spot on the frame so I was hesitant to mount it. I thought about making a plate for the winch so I could just mount it to the 2" ball and keep it in a box on the rack and just break it out when I need it but I would love to have it mounted permanently. The plate would be nice however so that it is portable and it could literally mount to any 2" ball. I've seen these old camo winches pull a buried f150 in the mud and it was just bolted to my buddies 89 ranger front bumper. Shows how tough they used to build trucks.... Couldn't get away with that now, you would rip the plastic bumper right off lol.

 

[Snoranger]

I made a plate to mount the fair lead to the factory push bar and welded that in.

Then I made 2 plates and a spacer to clamp the winch to the frame behind the push bar.

 

[91stranger]

I like that idea. I had a similar idea but wasn't as heavy duty as your idea. I was worried about how much stress that part of the frame could handle. My quad is only 400 (600 with me on it) but first hand experience is best. Does your winch have a wireless remote or did you mount a switch somewhere?

 

[Snoranger]

I like that idea. I had a similar idea but wasn't as heavy duty as your idea. I was worried about how much stress that part of the frame could handle. My quad is only 400 (600 with me on it) but first hand experience is best. Does your winch have a wireless remote or did you mount a switch somewhere?

The frame is strong enough there. It has the 2 bars the run back right under the mount, it’s not just in the middle of unsupported tubes.
I have a big, old school rotary switch (see pic below) mounted on the left side. I’ll get you a pic tomorrow, I’m at work until midnight.

 

[MIseeker]

Where I live snowfall has been pretty erratic since the early 70's, as in some winters I've had the snowblower out almost daily for a month, and some i haven't had to move ANY snow at all. (like this year ). 12 years ago i moved out in the sticks, and my drive is 1/10th mile long. First winter was snowy, so I bought a self propelled 24 inch blower during my first snowstorm here. I thought about a blade for the 4 wheeler, but at some point its overkill with the equipment. SO..I bought a small electric for in front of the garage, and for my last ranger purchase got a 4wd SO I DONT HAVE TO CLEAN THE DRIVE. Being retired helps When i need it plowed my son does it with his yard truck from his parts yard...needed 4 times in 12 years. Last year i was plowed twice, and ran the snowblower probably 7 or 8 times. this year..none.

 

[1990RangerinSK]

Where I live snowfall has been pretty erratic since the early 70's, as in some winters I've had the snowblower out almost daily for a month, and some i haven't had to move ANY snow at all. (like this year ). 12 years ago i moved out in the sticks, and my drive is 1/10th mile long. First winter was snowy, so I bought a self propelled 24 inch blower during my first snowstorm here. I thought about a blade for the 4 wheeler, but at some point its overkill with the equipment. SO..I bought a small electric for in front of the garage, and for my last ranger purchase got a 4wd SO I DONT HAVE TO CLEAN THE DRIVE. Being retired helps When i need it plowed my son does it with his yard truck from his parts yard...needed 4 times in 12 years. Last year i was plowed twice, and ran the snowblower probably 7 or 8 times. this year..none.

I just bought a 24 inch snowblower this winter. My driveway isn't anywhere near as long as yours, but it can get pretty badly blown in. Funnily enough, last year I really needed the snowblower. This winter? I've hardly had to shovel at all.