# Newb with some questions



## YankeeIngenuity (Jan 15, 2011)

Hi folks,

New here and just discovered your great forum. Nice place!

We just moved to NJ and I have some questions about using an ATV for residential driveway plowing. Wondering if you all could help.

1) Seems like bigger is better and 4x4 is better than 4x2 if you can afford it. That said, is there a good minimum size ATV for plowing or just buy as big as you can get? I'd like to be able to at least safely plow 12-14 inches of snow if possible. It can get pretty wet here too. How much snow can you plow with an ATV anyhow? We just got 30 inches here where we live and I assume I would have been screwed on that if I hadn't gone out once or twice during the storm.

2) Any make/model ATVs better than others? I know this is often a matter of preference, but are there any brands that stand out over others for reliability, maintenance, ruggedness, or whatever?

3) Same question for plows - what brand is best? Again, I know that answers will vary, but are there any brand's that stand out? I'm willing to pay some for quality since I find with tools that usually pays off in the long run.

4) Any other suggestions you all have to an ATV plow newb? 

Thanks in advance folks!


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## Dave T (Feb 11, 2009)

1. Bigger is not necessarily better... but it doesn't hurt. I think a 500 class machine is a good minimum if dealing with reasonable amounts of snow. Ditto for the 4WD... a BIG plus. 12 to 14 inches of snow is a lot for any ATV, if it's "wet" snow, you are going to have a tough time. 30 inches will be almost impossible under certain conditions. You would probably want to plow 4 or 5 times to go easy on you, and your machine in a storm like that. 

2. You are correct, everyone has their preferences. For reliability, I happen to prefer Suzuki, Yamaha, and Honda. Others may disagree. 

3. Right again... everyone has a favorite. Warn and Moose get a lot of good press... I like my Eagle system. I'm sure their are other good ones. 

4. Get good tires. Plow with the storm. Make sure you make plenty of room when plowing the first snow, so you have room to put snow from additional storms.


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## ALC-GregH (Nov 26, 2008)

Not to sound like a smart azz but you need to educate yourself on all of this. You can't just go by what anyone says. Do some digging on here and go to a few local dealers and look around a bit.


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## sublime68charge (Dec 28, 2007)

ALC-GregH;1197989 said:


> Not to sound like a smart azz but you need to educate yourself on all of this. You can't just go by what anyone says. Do some digging on here and go to a few local dealers and look around a bit.


what Greg said read through the stuff here all you asked has been asked before.
either find out what brand ATV you want or brand plow and then expand from there.

from the Hip for your ??

1, 4x4 is a must and at least 450CC machine
2. Honda will last and last and then still run some more but these day's the other big brands are just as good. You want to know the good/bad about an ATV go through www.highlifter.com they have all the downlow the good and bad of most ATV machines
3 Cycle country is OK, Moose is better to me. Warn is hot with the Power Pivot now.

4. area your plowing pavemnet type/gravel? avg snow amount 10 storms of 2" or 6 storms
of 12" has a big impact on the type of plow. also with you need to reset the angle alot?

read through this forum and learn.

enjoy sublime out.

go through the whole ATV Plow with Pics thread and there's alot a configurations of ATV and plow's in there.


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## skidmark845 (Nov 28, 2006)

Hi and welcome.

I have been plowing with a quad for going on 3 years. I use a Yamaha 350 4X4 with a 48 inch cycle country plow with electric lift. I have a 100 yard driveway. It does the job with no problems. At times do I wish I had bigger plow? Yes, as at first plowing is fun but then other times U want to get done to get to work. You dont want the amount of snow to get over 5 or 6 inches.

How big of an area you will be plowing depends on the equipment you need.

Be sure and look at craigsist when looking for equipment.


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## jim331656 (Dec 29, 2010)

Well I am also from NJ and the setup I chose was 4x4 honda rancher 420 with a belly mount moose 50" plow. A couple of reasons I went this way. I was between the rancher and the foreman and went with the rancher for the fuel injection and I felt the rancher was a little more sporty. I went Honda because they still use real transmissions... Most people will tell you cvt is fine and the demons have been worked out and what not but for me I wanted gears...and it's a Honda. I like the reliability. The moose plow is heavy duty. Two of my friends have the cycle countries on their ranchers and they work well too. This past storm I got about 6 inches (my first snow with the plow) and pushed way more snow then I thought I could. This was with stock tires and no extra weight on the racks. Plenty of grunt to push way more snow... Traction will be what stops me I would think.


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## andyslawns (Dec 24, 2010)

Welcome to plowsite. 
I have a Honda rancher 350 it is a 2005. With aftermarket tires (Kendall executioners, these make the difference). I have a 60" warn blade on it., belly mount. I have not had any issues with it not being able to push snow. I have pushed 14-16" storms no problem just takes a little longer. I have also pushed through 40" drifts, make 2 passes the first with the blade being most of the way raised, second pass put it to the ground. The tires will pull you through the initial pass. 
I push 17 residential driveways and 2 small parking lots per storm.

I paid 4200 for my ATV 500 for my tires. All new in 2005.

I could not buy a "big bike" for that, but have pulled bigger atv's all over the place. The tires are key. Where less aggressive. Tires or trail tires lose traction I am just starting.

Any more questions let me know.


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## IPLOWSNO (Oct 11, 2008)

gearing is why you can out pull a bigger quad, well that and the low displacement,

i know two brothers that bought quads the same day, one got a grzz and the other a big bear, so to break them in we had a tug of war and the big bear pulled that grizz regardless of the rider all over the place,he barely spun it's tires as i beleive it couldn't.it was a shifter model too so that plays into it imo

my honda pulled both of them because it's a honda lmao


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## RugerRedhawk (Jan 11, 2011)

If you get 12-14" of snow, you better get out and hit it before it gets that high or you'll have a mess on your hands with any ATV.Could be done, but I always try to get out and hit it with no more than 6".


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## BlueRam2500 (Jan 15, 2005)

Everyone has given you very useful information in this thread. I like my Foreman with the electric shift and 48" electric lift plow for my driveway, but its only a 2 wide, 1 deep driveway. If my property was bigger, I probably would have bought the 680 Rincon. Point is, my setup works for me.

As suggested by Sublime, www.highlifter.com is a great website with a ton of information about ATV's and accessories.

Where abouts in NJ are you?


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## YankeeIngenuity (Jan 15, 2011)

Wow - thanks for all the great replies folks! I'm just beginning to look into all this, but you guys have given me some excellent starting information. I confess that I'm a bit sheepish since I've been digging around more in the forums since I came upon the site and realize, as has been pointed out, that answers to most of my questions have already been posted here in one form or another. I'll try to look more diligently in the future before posting!

@Dave T - I live near Princeton in the western part of the state. 

Thanks again guys.


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## IPLOWSNO (Oct 11, 2008)

cool keep us informed to what you come up with, and don't forget pics and just keep in mind theyre all junk when theyre broke.


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