# whats the biggest size winch i can use for atv plowing



## traildogg (Oct 18, 2009)

Hi im new to the site and this is my first post... i plan on using my 05 honda rincon 650 atv equiped with a warn 54'' cyclone plow to clear snow as a subcontractor, my question is what is the biggest winch i can run on my bike, or should i stay small, i currently ordered the quadrax 3600lb winch, is this overkill or will my quads electrical system be fine without severely draining it, thanx in advance for your response.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

It might be a little over kill, but it won't hert any thing. I have a 2500lb WARN on my 2004 Arctic Cat 500 4x4 and that's all the winch I need. When I bought it brand new that's what they were putting on moste full size ATVs. Now, moste new full size ATVs come with a 3000lb winch.


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## T&M SnowMan (Sep 29, 2008)

I would say its a little overkill, but what the hell...lol...I have a Warn 2500 on my 05 Honda Rancher 400AT 4x4...my father in law also has one on his Suzuki Eiger 400...the way ya gotta look at it as far as plowing with it goes is the winch only picks it up and drops it...there isnt a pile of snow your gonna push thats 3600lbs..lol...or 2500lbs...lol...not even close....your not gonna push anymore then the weight of your atv...I have no problem with lifting a plow...ya just have to feather the plow up because your not going to be able to push your pile to a stop and then try lift up on the blade...your A$$ end will lift up off the ground...lol...good luck this winter, you'll have to post some atv plowing pics..you have any qtv upgrades on your machine?


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## ScubaSteve728 (Jan 17, 2012)

make sure you put a synthetic rope on it before you even attach the plow because you will be snapping a lot of cables becasue that is a very powerfull winch 
i use a 2500 pound warn winch and its never had any problems


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## In&Out (Aug 6, 2012)

Our company, In & Out Maintenance Service, Inc., does Townhome Association Snow Removal for a Chciago Property Management Company and one of our sites has over 9 miles of public sidewalks. We use two ATVs to plow these walks. One with a winch and one with a manual lift arm this is all based on driver preference. You want to make sure to go with the synthetic rope vs. cable as the salt will eat the cable up in less than a season. Also our one snow removal operator finds the manual arm quicker which I like because it is much cheaper for us. He said that the winch is too slow if you have to lift up and down a bunchwhile plowing.


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## My07Brute (Feb 9, 2011)

The winch is more than enough.

Do not bother with Either a Steel cable or Synthetic, go with a flat strap and roller fairlead (think tow strap).

I had synthetic and i snapped it at the end of one season, it chafed bad on the Hawse (it was smooth, no burrs).

did some searching and such and found its a common issue and most switch over to a flat strap and all the issues go away.

This is what I use (I put a hook on the end).
http://www.rockymountainatvmc.com/p/43/53/160/1069/-/3147/Tusk-Tow-Strap/tow+strap


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## blazer2plower (Nov 19, 2011)

I have a 3500# winch on my Polaris 700efi with amsteel rope. Warn makes a fairlead roller for ATV it has a larger lower roller to help reduce wear on wire and rope. I don't plow with my bike its just for plying on the trails


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## alaska snowplow (Oct 6, 2012)

I plowed about 35 homes with a Rhino for 5 years, went through a lot of cable. The problem is that the fairlead rollers do not roll so since you are only using a few inches of cable over and over, it will rub back and both against the fairlead roller and break quickly. My fix was to to get a real high quality pulley that you can hang off the bumper so so he cable comes out of the winch up through the pulley with out using the fairlead then down to the plow. This works great and you will not break the cable any more. The rope is ok for just a home but if you nose it alot, it will break quicker than the cable.


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