ATV Plows? Good or Bad?

mikeexplorer · January 26

9 hours ago, jen said:

Don't stop off at the bars!

Everything was closed. It did allow the quad to charge the battery back up after heavy use of the winch. I do keep it on a battery tender in the shed.

**jen** · January 26

WE had another inch of snow last night. I have the SXS on that solar Bat charger I bought from Harbor Freight.. I mounted the solar panel inside the window on my shed. It appears to work great with the sun that shines through the window. I keep Foreman in the cottage basement where I can watch over him and keep him charged up.

WeeBee · January 26

Always "Dress" for the occasion! It's -2 here this morning! My Arctic Cat stays in the garage on the battery Tender when not being used with HEET in the gas Tank!

Edited January 26 by WeeBee

**jen** · January 26

It was 22 overnight but dropped to 15 F.. No power loss. But I feel for those who have lost power. That is bad.

WeeBee · January 26

Stay Warm & Safe! It's been below Freezing here for several Days now ! High of 9 today supposed to be -20 with the Windchill !! BRRR!

Edited January 26 by WeeBee

**Ajmboy** · January 26

17 hours ago, mikeexplorer said:

Quad and plow are going to get a workout today!

Same here! We probably got upwards of 18-20 inches in lower NY. Went out yesterday to plow and now again this morning. I still have this snowsport atv plow I use from over 15 years ago. Really wish they made them, I would get another.

**jen** · January 26

It was almost 32 F last night. I always wanted to make a snow angel in my Bikini like I see the girls at the ski lodges do. But could not lay directly in the snow. It is cold. It was a bucket list thing!...LOL

**jen** · January 26

The snow plow for my Gravely weighs 110 Lb. Is that too heavy to mount on Foreman?

WeeBee · January 26

I would say YES, it's TOO heavy !

**jen** · January 26

I saw some on line that weighed 70 Lbs 4 ft wide.

WeeBee · January 26

That should work better, I bought a used Polaris 4ft. Blade & adapted the mounts to fit the frame of the Arctic Cat by welding on some brackets ! It probably weighs close to 70 Lbs.+/-. Works Great ! I think I paid $75 for it! Hope this Helps!

mikeexplorer · January 26

8 hours ago, Ajmboy said:

Same here! We probably got upwards of 18-20 inches in lower NY. Went out yesterday to plow and now again this morning. I still have this snowsport atv plow I use from over 15 years ago. Really wish they made them, I would get another.

Scranton area got about 12 inches, More north (where I ski) got about 16 inches. My plow I bought back in 2008 and still works.

mikeexplorer · January 26

No work today and the ski area was delayed opening so I did the final round of plowing before heading out.

Guess I worked the plow a bit hard, just as I was finishing ... SNAP! broke the winch cable.

**davefrombc** · January 26

Looks like that connection was rather "tired" to start with

**jen** · January 26

Bummer! How heavy is that plow?

does your plow have a rubber wear strip?

**jen** · January 27

Have you ever thought of using an electric "linear actuator" to lift the pow instead of the wench. Linear actuators use a screw mechanism to move the load. They are limited to a short stroke ...10 inches or so. However they have a lot of lift force and down force. Security gates use 12 vdc linear actuators.

**jen** · January 27

lift the Winch...Freudian slip

lift with a winch....OMG too sleepy

**davefrombc** · January 27

2 hours ago, jen said:

Have you ever thought of using an electric "linear actuator" to lift the pow instead of the wench. Linear actuators use a screw mechanism to move the load. They are limited to a short stroke ...10 inches or so. However they have a lot of lift force and down force. Security gates use 12 vdc linear actuators.

An actuator is a rigid set up. . You want some give on the plow blade when it hits something solid embedded or a curb.. Without that give you could seriously damage your machine or yourself. That's why blades on plow trucks and graders are allowed to " float".

**jen** · January 27

Yes that make sense...Dumb idea...I have a 12 vdc linear actuator I was trying to figure out what to do with it.

mikeexplorer · January 27

22 hours ago, davefrombc said:

Looks like that connection was rather "tired" to start with

12 years old, it was due

21 hours ago, jen said:

Bummer! How heavy is that plow?

does your plow have a rubber wear strip?

No it has a metal bottom edge that can be replaced

7 hours ago, jen said:

Have you ever thought of using an electric "linear actuator" to lift the pow instead of the wench. Linear actuators use a screw mechanism to move the load. They are limited to a short stroke ...10 inches or so. However they have a lot of lift force and down force. Security gates use 12 vdc linear actuators.

I know what you are talking about but it wouldn't be practical. Most winters the plow doesn't get used much. This year looks to be an exception. The winch is older so the cable wasn't 100% to begin with.

For now I am going to spool out a foot or two and cut it, then re-attach with cable clamps. In the spring I am going to service the winch fully and will take the cable off. If it looks crappy overall, I will just replace it.

mikeexplorer · January 27

5 hours ago, davefrombc said:

An actuator is a rigid set up. . You want some give on the plow blade when it hits something solid embedded or a curb.. Without that give you could seriously damage your machine or yourself. That's why blades on plow trucks and graders are allowed to " float".

My plow has two large springs so if it hits something solid, it will fold down and skip over the bump.

**jen** · January 27

So do you use the winch (got it right this time) that came with the Arctic cat or a separate winch?

WeeBee · January 27

1 hour ago, mikeexplorer said:

My plow has two large springs so if it hits something solid, it will fold down and skip over the bump.

My Polaris plow blade has the Large Springs as well!

1 hour ago, jen said:

So do you use the winch (got it right this time) that came with the Arctic cat or a separate winch?

My Arctic Cat came with a Warn Winch which was Seized/Rusted up so I replaced it with a Badlands 2500

**jen** · January 27

My heavy gravely blade worked good in wet snow. My body weight lifts it up..LOL everything frozen now 5 F last night...last Saturday it was 34F perfect sno angel snow!

mikeexplorer · January 27

2 hours ago, jen said:

So do you use the winch (got it right this time) that came with the Arctic cat or a separate winch?

Came with the quad so it has been used for things other then plowing

1 hour ago, WeeBee said:

My Polaris plow blade has the Large Springs as well!

My Arctic Cat came with a Warn Winch which was Seized/Rusted up so I replaced it with a Badlands 2500

Those springs work, many times I could have been thrown if it wasn't for them

I have always had good luck with WARN winches. I do take them apart and service them every few years.

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