Plowing with an ATV

[chado613]

Apologies if this topic has been discussed, (I did peek and couldnt find anything) but what is the best way in your experience in plowing a large rectangularish area with an ATV?

I am also finding that once the snow has gotten so deep that my ATV is useless for plowing as it cant push the snow over the large banks anymore?

Thanks in advance from a rookie

 

[leonz]

Apologies if this topic has been discussed, (I did peek and couldnt find anything) but what is the best way in your experience in plowing a large rectangularish area with an ATV?

I am also finding that once the snow has gotten so deep that my ATV is useless for plowing as it cant push the snow over the large banks anymore?

Thanks in advance from a rookie

=================================================================================

No need to apologize my friend.

You are simply referring to what is called the
traction adhesion algebra problem.

You have a small vehicle with a plow and your vehicle has only so much weight to
provide you with traction and adhesion to push snow.

The point where the snow mass is greater in weight than the ATV has the ability to
overcome it with horsepower, torque, traction and adhesion to push the snow back is
the stalling point where the moving mass being your ATV and the plow can no longer
overcome the resistance of the snows weight which is why you cannot push the snow
banks back

SO:


Adding weight with windshield washer fluid in the tires will help along with adding
snow chains to the point where you can no longer push.

Putting a pair of pneumatic caster tires on the plow will also reduce the resistance and aid
in plowing too.

I have WWF and chains on my JDLA115 garden tractor and it was worthless with just
the chains and 2 suitcase weights without the windshield washer fluid.

IF your ATV is low horsepower or not 4WD I would just fill the rears and add chains to the rear wheels and perhaps a couple of bags of sand on the rear if you have a carry rack.

If you can afford chains buy them and add WWF to the tires as we still have lots of winter left.

The simple tire filling fill/air vent valves are not expensive from Gemplers. I used piece of garden hose and a funnel to fill my rear tires. I only wish I had 4 wheel drive.

 

[chado613]

Thanks for the info. I have actually never heard of anyone filling the tires with WWF. Simple yet effective

 

[js5020]

A well equipped ATV can push a fair amount of snow, however as explained above its limited by its lack of weight and available traction. Filling the tries, adding chains, having 4wd, and pushing back as far as possible from the start of snow season is a must for a successful and stress free season,,,,, or having access to a beast of a machine to bail you out when necessary. Remember most ATVs weight less than 1K lbs so basically your using a larger GT so your only going to be able to displace so much.

 

[chado613]

I have a Yamaha kodiak 400 w 4x4, I suppose that could be described as a mid range. But good point on pushing back as far as possible at the beggining

 

[js5020]

Yes it is a must if all you have is a blade, an ATV just doesn't have the weight/traction to displace 3' tall frozen snow banks. That 400 with 4wd is plenty big enough for removal of moderate amounts of snow as said its not really the engine displacement as you have plenty of power just no weight/traction. I have been plowing most of the season with an old GT and did not push back enough in some spots and we have had more than usual drifting so I am pretty much not able to remove the snow and will need to fire up a big boy and remedy that.

 

[nybirdman]

An ATV is a good tool to use;I plowed with one for quite a while.I now have a 7000lb.4wd tractor with an 8ft.plow and I "still" can run out of traction and power if the banks get high enough.

 

[Mowbizz]

With a 6 inch powdery, snowfall the ATV ( I have a Polaris Sportsman 800 EFI with a Warn plow) does fine and is the quickest way for me to plow my 600 ft gravel driveway...However, if the snow is wet and heavy the ATV struggles and gets pushed around...I can still use it but the better option with the heavy stuff is my Honda tracked snow blower...

 

[MoKelly]

An ATV is a good tool to use;I plowed with one for quite a while.I now have a 7000lb.4wd tractor with an 8ft.plow and I "still" can run out of traction and power if the banks get high enough.

It is also soooo much fun. At least for me.

I only have a Honda Recon 250 with a 48 inch blade. But, I also only have a 200 yard driveway to plow. Given the snow we get here it is more than good enough --- and a blast to play with in the snow.

MoKelly

 

[chado613]

I usually have fun as well unless I am in a hurry and something breaks !!!!:smiley_aafz:

 

[E3A]

I used to plow with a Polaris Sportsman 500 and found that any decent push would cause my rear end to spin out next to me. Became very frustrating. To help, I put a ball mount (without a ball) into the trailer hitch receiver and put a length of threaded rod through the hole with washers and nuts. Then I dropped a bunch of 35 pound plates from a barbell set onto the threaded rod. In other words, I made a $5 ATV ballast. It did help but wasn't ideal. Others I know say that when they switched to Grim Reaper tires it was a world of difference. I never got that far - I sold the ATV and bought a tractor

Plowing with the ATV was great fun with smaller, powdery storms . The one where we got 10" of wet slush was not.

 

[Sportsman762]

Plowing with an ATV in deep frozen snow can be a challenge. A large atv with a small blade will push through deep snow easier than a large atv with a large blade. I used a 01 Polaris Sportsman 500 with a 48" blade. The blade barely covered the width of the ATV when angled but it can push deep wet snow. The kubota BX with a 54" blade at work could push more though, only because it weighed more. The Kubota RTV's with a 72" blade could not push as deep of snow as my ATV. I often see where people will put a 60" blade on a small atv and then wonder why it cannot push deep snow. The wide blades are great for clearing a wide area, however they handle deep snow poorly. We used the RTV's on the 8' wide sidewalks, whereas the BX was used on smaller sidewalks and clearing the bus stops. The BX could push the deep snow from 2 lanes out of the pull offs for the buses, whereas the RTV's would struggle. We would also use the BX's to cut through banks where they had pushed entire parking lots up. The NH TC45SA with a 72" blade could push one heck of a snow bank. The operator got bored one day and made a 5' tall snow bank with it, he just kept packing the snow and pushing it higher.
To push back snow banks we would use the RTV's because they had a better heater and only take a partial swipe. If the banks go to bad some poor soul had to use the open cab TC40 TLB and loader all the banks back at night.
Tractors with small blades will push a lot of snow, however it will take time. Lighweight ATV's with big blades are great for light fluffy snow falls but cannot do much.

 

[jrclark]

I had an 05 Polaris Sportsman 700 with Maxxis tires all the way around and HD front springs. That's almost an 800lb machine before my heavy *** sat on it. A few years back when we set all sorts of snowfall records, I used it to plow our road and most of the neighbors driveways. You just have to be smart about how much the machine can handle. If you're getting a ton of snow, start plowing every 6" or so to make it easier on yourself.

It was a fun setup, but I'd never trade it for my tractor and rear blade. The loader makes it far easier to push piles.

 

[ericher69]

I had an 05 Polaris Sportsman 700 with Maxxis tires all the way around and HD front springs. That's almost an 800lb machine before my heavy *** sat on it. A few years back when we set all sorts of snowfall records, I used it to plow our road and most of the neighbors driveways. You just have to be smart about how much the machine can handle. If you're getting a ton of snow, start plowing every 6" or so to make it easier on yourself. It was a fun setup, but I'd never trade it for my tractor and rear blade. The loader makes it far easier to push piles.

yeah I hear you! Sorta defeats the purpose tho. Much rather wait for the storm to be over then fire up the Kubota and get it done with the blower.

Sent from my iPhone 5s 64Gb using TractorByNet

 

[JDgreen227]

I have a Honda Foreman 450 with a 50" Moose County Plow and it does fairly well in dry snow but as others mention, mine runs out of rear traction quickly. My solution was to bolt a poly toolbox specifically designed for ATV's to the rear rack and put about 250 pounds of vinyl coated barbell weights wrapped in old blankets (so they don't shift around) inside it. If you try this method, reinforce the bottom of the toolbox by using wood strips (mine are 1" oak) to run the bolts through to prevent the vinyl from cracking.

 

[check]

I use a Can Am 650 XT Max with a 60 inch plow, and it works very well up until about 8 inches or so of snow. After that, I break out the BX with the blower, and also blow out the snowbanks that I build up. The combination works great!

 

[Farmer495]

I USED to have a 5 foot blade on a quad, tire chains on all four tires and 4x4 diff lock, all 4 wheels always turned. It did good until you got more than a foot of snow, and only if you had somewhere to push. Any "real" snow fall I had to use the tractor anyways. Quad was nice for light snow, just more of a "Florida" snow removal set up not a Canada one lol.

I would not do it again, for what I spend on the blade, push frame and chains, I could have had a nice walk behind blower.

 

[JDgreen227]

I USED to have a 5 foot blade on a quad, tire chains on all four tires and 4x4 diff lock, all 4 wheels always turned. It did good until you got more than a foot of snow, and only if you had somewhere to push. Any "real" snow fall I had to use the tractor anyways. Quad was nice for light snow, just more of a "Florida" snow removal set up not a Canada one lol.

I would not do it again, for what I spend on the blade, push frame and chains, I could have had a nice walk behind blower.

My Moose plow and the winch and plow mount cost me about $550 back in 2001...yes I could have purchased a walk behind blower for that but what good is a blower when you want ride the trails in summertime?

 

[Farmer495]

My Moose plow and the winch and plow mount cost me about $550 back in 2001...yes I could have purchased a walk behind blower for that but what good is a blower when you want ride the trails in summertime?

Oh I got lots of use out of the quad, still have it, but the blade is long gone.

 

[check]

I USED to have a 5 foot blade on a quad, tire chains on all four tires and 4x4 diff lock, all 4 wheels always turned. It did good until you got more than a foot of snow, and only if you had somewhere to push. Any "real" snow fall I had to use the tractor anyways. Quad was nice for light snow, just more of a "Florida" snow removal set up not a Canada one lol.

I would not do it again, for what I spend on the blade, push frame and chains, I could have had a nice walk behind blower.

The biggest advantage of the Quad is the breakneck speed with which you can plow. I can clear so much, so fast with it, and it is definitely my "go to" toy when plowing up to 8" or so (and most of our snowfalls are at or less than that). In fact, I only use the tractor FEL and rear blower as needed for real deep stuff and/or cleanup work. It really does save a lot of time with this two-stage procedure, and it is great fun to be plowing along on the Quad at full throttle with the snow flying off the blade! I also find it quite amazing how much power and traction the Quad has - much more so than the tractor without chains. (Chains, of course are a different matter - they turn the tractor into a tank!)