# has anyone had problems with there winch lifting the plow?



## daveolejnik (Jan 24, 2008)

I am thinking of putting a small 6' blade on a tracker and I was thinking of setting it up like an ATV plow using a winch instead of hydraulics to lift it. Do you guys ever have any issues using a winch to raise a 6' small plow?? I have the plow already - its a small meyer. But I dont have the hydraulics. Thats why I was thinking of setting it up like an ATV. To save some money. Im just going to use it in case my truck ever breaks down to plow out my driveway. Do you think it would work? Also how small of a winch could I use? Do you think I could get away with one of those small ones that are made to pull a car on a trailer, or a boat onto a trailer. Ive seen these for like $50. What do you think? I posted this in the ATV section because it is basically a plow for an ATV that I am making.


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## 92ramcharger (Jun 29, 2007)

I have a 2000 lb winch on my ATV and it works great with a 5 ft plow, got the winch off ebay for about $50 three years ago, it gets used for playing in the mud in summer as well as for the plow in winter and have had no problems with it.


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## g.moore (Oct 10, 2006)

I don't see any problems, just remember if you use wire rope get a roller fairlead and if it's synthetic rope get an aluminum hoss fairlead. I just cut 2' off my cable because it starts to curl real bad where it runs over the fairlead and wreaks havoc when you lift, the coils get hung up on the fairlead and then when they make it past they coil again interweaving themselves into the winch cable already on the drum. Look at 
www.gorillawinch.com
I'm getting ready to order the 3K with synthetic and the 10' stub for the plow. I have a cheapo right now that's ready to die and I've heard alot of horror stories about water damage on the Warn. Bass Pro where I bought my ATV actually has migrated to selling Superwinch rather than Warn.


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## KGRlandscapeing (May 2, 2007)

when ur going with something that is for this single use. ur best bet it to go with something like a snowbear lift. a winch with a strap


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## NJ Plowman (Dec 10, 2003)

I hook my winch cable to an overhead beam in my garage and pull my entire ATV off the ground with my winch!

It makes it easier to do work/maintenance on the undercarriage!!!


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## Kris1646 (Feb 8, 2008)

Over time the cable wears and frays then brake. A couple cable ties fix the problem quick. I have synthetic rope but not the proper fairlead as of yet.

3 Atv's going full throttle for 5 years. 4hrs to salt and up to 20 yours total for push and salt.


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## snowcub (Feb 8, 2008)

The Snowbear ATV plow doesn't actually come with a winch. You would have to add one in. You use the manual handle to raise and lower the blade. There something else those ATV plows they certainly get the job done. You can get them at your local Home Depot store. Good luck in your search!!!


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## Reb (Feb 8, 2008)

I used Superwinch for the first few years on an ATV with a 60" plow. Wore out 2 and broke the third plus I had to replace 1 to 2 switches per year. Went to Warn about 4 years ago and haven't had a single problem. The Superwinches were 1000# and 1500# which was fine except they were slow. The Warn is a 2500# which is about the right speed. 

I also changed to synethic rope 3 years ago which was a really good move but I attach the rope so I have 4 lines coming off the winch drum. I found a single line didn't hold up well with my system. The way I attach the rope also doesn't require a loop braided into the rope which the loop is the weakest point of the rope.

If you don't plow a lot the smaller and cheaper winches should work fine but if you plow a lot like I do then I would suggest going with the better/faster winches. I have setup several customers with the Warn 1500# winch with no problems reported but the winch is slower than the 2500#. In their situations the line speed wasn't as important as in mine. They are doing long driveways with turn around areas at each end. Mine is push and back up so I am operating the winch at least every minute for about 1 1/2 hours at a time so winch speed is important.

Hope this helps.


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## snowcub (Feb 8, 2008)

The nice thing about the superwinch is that if you did need replacement parts or even send your winch out for repairs they have that a/v. 
Here is the contact# for Superwinch
CDN 705.458.0028
USA 800.323.2031


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## Snowplow71 (Feb 12, 2008)

Reb;511360 said:


> I used Superwinch for the first few years on an ATV with a 60" plow. Wore out 2 and broke the third plus I had to replace 1 to 2 switches per year. Went to Warn about 4 years ago and haven't had a single problem. The Superwinches were 1000# and 1500# which was fine except they were slow. The Warn is a 2500# which is about the right speed.


I have had the same luck as you! I got the winch put on in 2006 I think, and it is 2008 now. Went threw 1 switch, and the "new" one is about junk! How much is the warn that you bought? What XXXX LBS did you get? I have broken the wire about 10 times since 06 JUST plowing. I was thinking about going to synthetic, or going with about 25 FT of the BIGGEST cable I can get in there (because I don't really do any mudding). But a Warn might be in my future. My friend has a warn, and I LOVE his switch it is "outside" not in some rubber that sometimes gets caught behind the switch.:salute:


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## Humvee27 (Feb 5, 2008)

I have a superwinch 1500 on mine...it's clutch is getting a little weak but other then that no issues...I made my own fairlead...I would suggest going with the systhentic rope though...lot easier then pulling out metal rope out of your hand when repairing...jmo


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## duff daddy (Mar 4, 2008)

I know this may be little off topic but if you guys want i can get you a winch that def will be enough gusto from a retired army duce ... 45k TON PULL


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## Reb (Feb 8, 2008)

Snowplow71, if you shop around you can generally find a Warn 2500# for around $400 including the mount. I just ordered one yesterday and it was just under $400 including freight. I plan on setting up my second ATV for plowing as a backup to the first one. Plus I am going to try out the new Cycle Country down pressure system so I am putting the CC blade on.

Synethic rope is the only way to go as far as I am concerned. I have had the same piece of rope on my primary snowplowing ATV for 3 years. As I mentioned before though, you have to attach it to the drum so you have multiple lines coming off the drum. By doing that you get rid of the braided loop and spread the load over the different lines. When I first used synethic rope I only used a single line and it didn't last very long in my situation.


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## Snowplow71 (Feb 12, 2008)

Reb;545783 said:


> As I mentioned before though, you have to attach it to the drum so you have multiple lines coming off the drum. By doing that you get rid of the braided loop and spread the load over the different lines. When I first used synethic rope I only used a single line and it didn't last very long in my situation.


I feel like an idiot, but when you say multiple lines coming off the drum how would you do that? I can picture like instead of one piece of rope going to the hook and back, I can picture like 2 but how would you do that? Is there a chance you could get pictures? I'm in no rush now, snows about done!


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## Reb (Feb 8, 2008)

No need to feel like an idiot. Running two lines wasn't that hard to figure out but when I did four lines off the drum that took some thought. I found two lines worked well for 1500# winches or less but the 2500# winch needed four lines.

I will try to get some pictures but it may be a while. In the mean time I will try to write up a description of how to string the synethic rope.


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## deere615 (Jun 1, 2007)

It would work, buy one for under $100 though, it wears them out after a while, my friend went through 3 good warns, in my opinion it isn't worth it to buy a top end winch for plowing


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## KGRlandscapeing (May 2, 2007)

deere615;545990 said:


> It would work, buy one for under $100 though, it wears them out after a while, my friend went through 3 good warns, in my opinion it isn't worth it to buy a top end winch for plowing


yalls lazy use the handle and u get strong buy the end of the season too. sorry thats my hillbilly ness coming out


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## Reb (Feb 8, 2008)

Stringing multiple lines of 3/16" synthetic rope on a Warn 2.5 winch.

Typically I use 12 feet of synthetic rope. If the winch sits up high on the ATV, more rope may be required. Ultimately you want to end up with at two or more full wraps of rope around the winch drum to hold the rope in place.

Tools required, pliers and a paper clip. Straighten the paper clip, then bend it in half.

Double the rope in half. Feed the looped end through the fairlead and around the winch drum. Hook the paper clip around the rope loop and feed the paper clip ends through the hole in the drum. Pull the ends of the paper clip through the drum hole with pliers. Pull until the rope loop is about 1 inch out of the drum.

Make sure the rope is running the same path the steel cable ran. This will make sure your winch is running the right direction.

Feed the two tail ends of the rope through the hook. Then feed them through the roller fairlead and around the drum (the same path the other two lines are running on).

Feed the two ends through the loop leaving about 4 inches sticking out beyond the loop.

Pull the two original lines to tighten the loop down on the two tail ends.

Route the two tail ends under the four ropes wrapped around the drum and lay the ends across the drum. By doing it this way the four ropes will tighten down on the two tail ends which will keep the two tail ends from slipping under the full tension of the winch.

















I bought quite a bit of the synthetic rope for my purposes but it lasts so long I figured I would never use it all so I started selling it to other people. So far I have setup about a dozen people with it and no one has ever broken a rope when used this way.

Hope this helps.


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## deere615 (Jun 1, 2007)

KGRlandscapeing;545992 said:


> yalls lazy use the handle and u get strong buy the end of the season too. sorry thats my hillbilly ness coming out


Thats what my plow came with, but I couldn't get it ajusted properly and it wouldn't stay up, so I hasd to use a bunjee and it was a pain. Winch is much easier


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