# Disappointed with my ATV and plow. Help me out.



## jason9696 (Nov 28, 2008)

So this will be my first season plowing my approximately 50 yard long paved driveway with a two car dooryard. I have a '03 Arctic Cat 400 4x4 with a 54" Kimpex Click N' Go plow that is raised and lowered with the factory winch. I have no chains, and stock tires.

My problem started with our first big storm, which was around 8" or so. I couldn't plow it all day, because I was at work. When I did get to plow I think it was too much for the wheeler to push. I kept getting halfway down the driveway and unable to push the pile any further. The wheeler would just go sidways and start spinning. It took me longer to plow it as it used to with my 32" Ariens snowblower.

What am I missing here? I dropped some serious coin on this setup compared to a snowblower and I thought it would be a lot faster than snowblowing.

However the other night we only got 3 to 4" and the thing worked like a charm, it only took me less than half an hour.

Do I need chains or something?

Any input would be great.


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## kelly67 (Nov 15, 2008)

chains on a paved driveway might not be a great idea! they will tear up your pavement. I would say your machine an plow are matched good. This morning I plowed 6" of very heavy snow with no probs. I do run chains as well. an when I'm at the end of the road on pavement they to spin more then. My drive an road are gravel. were you angeled or pushing everything straight? how heavy was the snow?


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## jason9696 (Nov 28, 2008)

kelly67;906686 said:


> chains on a paved driveway might not be a great idea! they will tear up your pavement. I would say your machine an plow are matched good. This morning I plowed 6" of very heavy snow with no probs. I do run chains as well. an when I'm at the end of the road on pavement they to spin more then. My drive an road are gravel. were you angeled or pushing everything straight? how heavy was the snow?


The snow was pretty heavy, and I was not all the way angled, but not straight on.


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## kenidaho (Dec 27, 2008)

I ran a Suzuki 500 with a 52 inch plow and I could push fine until last year when we got 21 inches in one storm. I was not able to wide the drive out any more but if it is only 6 Inches angle the plade all the way and speed up a bit so the snow rolls off the blade.


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## fms (Nov 8, 2005)

In larger storms of wet heavy snow I keep the blade angled all the way, work from the center to the edges and try to keep a head of steam going. I've also put two bags of calcium on the front and rear racks to add a couple hundred pounds. It becomes a weight game sometimes.


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## skamaniac (Aug 24, 2009)

Do you have a low range option? I plow in low range with wet heavy snow.


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## IPLOWSNO (Oct 11, 2008)

i let mine sit also, wanting to get a base over gravel, then we got some heavy wet snow , so i let that freeze up a little and plowed it down , turned out very nice, then it rained, so i had to push slushoff and it was heavy, 

do it in smaller sections, don't be afraid to lift the blade alittle it will give ya traction, i try to keep my blade just a little above the ground then i will push the suspension down with my body to start digging if i want it up i gas it a little, you will learn the tricks,

i don't think its faster than blowing but it is usually drier and and it makes ya feel like mr contractor getting a basement put in,

when we get 4 ' snows here it is an all day deal, as soon as your done you shovel the roof and start the driveway again .


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## JDiepstra (Sep 15, 2008)

Well lets see......... light four wheeler, proportionately large plow, little power.... sounds like a receipe for getting stuck. There was just too much snow for your setup to be efficient.


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## plowguy43 (Jan 2, 2008)

It happens to trucks as well, just like JDiepstra just said. If you had plowed with the storm you would've been fine. Its when you let the storm pass and then try to plow it all at once that you start to have issues.


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## bh115577 (Oct 25, 2009)

I had a 400 sportsman with a 60" plow that didn't push the heavy stuff very well. I put chains on and it turned into a tank. No problem with the blacktop either. Wish I had put the chains on from the first day of plowing.


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## IPLOWSNO (Oct 11, 2008)

your better off with a base if you wanna run chains, it will kill your pavement,


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## sublime68charge (Dec 28, 2007)

Chains will increase the amount of snow you can push by %10-30 some where in there. though if you due alot of sitting and spinning you'll leave marks on your pavement.

some weight on the back of the ATV will help out alot also.

once you get past 6" of snow a ATV can take longer than a good 2 stage blower for snow removal.
but for the 6" and under the ATV can run circles around the blower.

you have to look at it over the course of a whole season of snow removal 

10 snowfalls of 6" and under ATV and Plow fast easy simple

2 big snowfalls ATV can due but takes along time.

if you just had a blower those 10 snowfalls are no fun at all.

did you keep your blower or sell it when you got your plow?

also for the big snow falls you can try and keep the blade up some to plow off the top layer and then go back and plow off the bottom layer.
just dont go into it with the blade all the way up cause if you spin out you'll be stuck. you need to be able to pick the blade up to try and back up when you spin out.

just my thoughts.

sublime out


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## jason9696 (Nov 28, 2008)

That's a lot of good information guys.

Let me answer some questions,

1. I still have a snowblower

2. I used low-range for most of the time. 

I don't think that I want to tear up my driveway so I think I will stay away from chains. 

I just thought that with this $3500 investment I could get it done in half the time that it takes my $1000 snowblower to do it in. I guess that assumption is right, if the snow is less than 6" and light.

I guess I will have to decide whether saving that time in the smaller storms is worth the extra investment of the wheeler.


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## sublime68charge (Dec 28, 2007)

you could also for the big snow falls run you blower up and down the drive a 4-6 times and then go to the ATV and plow to finish up.

run blower down move over 2' run blower up move over 2' run blower down etc this way you have created space for the ATV and blade to work with.

this way you can get the bulk of it with the blower and then clean up with the atv.

Like I said before you have to look at total time invested in snow removal over a whole season.

also some weight for when your working the bigger snow falls will help out.
theres many tricks to using the ATV and Plow have you read through the first time plowers theard on here? Lots of great info there to help you out as well.


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## Sportsman500?? (Jan 11, 2009)

Your tires don't have much tread it seems.


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## mercer_me (Sep 13, 2008)

Chains would help out alot. If you can help it don't let the snow build up to much before you plow.


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## lilpusher (Nov 16, 2009)

I use bags of salt on the front and back racks to weight it down and my 07 rincon does well with 27" ITP's and lift kit LOL


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## MRadke (Sep 25, 2009)

As others have said, weight and momentum are your friend. I carry 140 pounds of sand on my back rack and 70 on the front. The toughest thing on deep, heavy snow is getting the first trail made. Everything else is cake.


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## cubplower (Oct 22, 2009)

chains will work. add weigt too


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## MtnCowboy (Dec 20, 2009)

It can be done. Weight down the ATV as much as possible without overloading, make the first pass with the blade fully angled; if necessary, take less of a bite by raising the blade -- and chains on blacktop aren't a bad idea if you can find the regular kind, not the typical ATV v-bars. But if you are spinning any type of chain on pavement you will cause damage.

I have a mile-long mountain road and run a Grizzly 660 with winch-operated Warn 60" straight blade and a top extension flap (to give more blade surface- not as a powder flap). The unit has a cool Montana Jack's receiver system w/ elevated winch "gismo." Two bags of sand on the rear rack and one on the front. The front wheels are chained with standard 2-link and the rear with 4-link v-bars which I remove for the lower portion of the road, which is asphalt.

In 2007 I busted through 3 feet of snow -- and after a rain. It was hell but it was doable. The 660 grunted all the way through that first pass. Once the first pass is done you can nibble at the rest. Picture is from 2006, 3 weeks after I bought the ATV. I've used a truck mounted plow and snowblowers too, and have rented heavy equipment. All have their usefulness and drawbacks.

Good luck.


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## dan67 (Dec 18, 2008)

mtncowboy where in the cascades are you?


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## MtnCowboy (Dec 20, 2009)

North Central WA, Blewett Pass


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## skamaniac (Aug 24, 2009)

> I have a mile-long mountain road and run a Grizzly 660 with winch-operated Warn 60" straight blade and a top extension flap (to give more blade surface- not as a powder flap).


I've been looking for a thicker top flap for the same purpose. Did you buy your's commercially or did you make it? Have a pic?


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## MtnCowboy (Dec 20, 2009)

Skamaniac, I use a Montana Jack's 6" rubber plow bade extension, shown in the photo. It's not all that thick - maybe a 1/4". You can search it on line or probably manufacture one easily enough with a stout piece of conveyor belt a and metal bar. I've tried two configurations: as shown in the pic, and also with a piece of drilled angle iron to point it down for use as a powder flap. I prefer it in the up position since with wet snow the "powder flap" configuration just traps snow that lifts the light blade upwards... although that might be handy if you are ramping/piling snow. I plow at speed in order to toss the snow over the roadside. The extension helps with that but I still have to stand upright to avoid being hit in the face with snow flying over the extension flap. But I'm generally going 20mph-30mph.


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## captainkelley (Jan 9, 2009)

OP: Your setup is fine. I have an AC400 with the AC 60" poly. Pushes fine with a 10" piece of conveyor belt on top and a plastic wear bar. I push piles bigger than my bike when moving stacks left by trucks. Just remember that you weigh 1000# instead of a 9000# pickup. Raise the blade and work a path into the drive. When you get this worked down to the pavement, move over a foot and slice off the next pass. It doesn't matter how heavy you make a quad, it's not gonna bust open dives or roll snow like a truck. So angle your plow one notch to the open path and keep slicing off just enough that you can carry it to wherever your stacking it. Slower that normal but faster and warmer than a blower. BTW I push commercial and have done this a couple times. Wink wink.


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## Sportsman500?? (Jan 11, 2009)

I agree with most people. Make a fully angled pass in the center of the drive first which gives the snow a place to go if it builds up too much. Plus, don't use chains on blacktop. You'll need to be sealing the driveway a lot more ofter if you do use them.


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## IPLOWSNO (Oct 11, 2008)

i actually flat blade all my snow to where i want it to go, but you can only bite off so much, especially when its deep. snoblowing would be quicker, but you feel like a hunched over dork getting sno blown in your face, as oppsed to being cool on your little piece of heavy equip.


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## fsstnotch (Jan 10, 2010)

I don't think the problem is with the setup so much the technique. I think you might be plowing too slow. I plowed my drives with a sportsman 500 and now an 800 and i can easily plow up to 18" without cutting it. That's with the blade at full angle to still allow turning and using momentum. If the snow gets deep and you aren't moving fast enough, it'll build up and turn the bike with teh plow angled. The only issue I had was with tires. The stock tires on my 08 sportsman 500 were just not up to the job. I replaced them with a set of Innova Mud gear tires and the difference was night and day. I now plow with an 800 with a set of Highlifter Outlaw Radials and they work awesome too but they're alot heavier. 

Work on your technique. you'll get better and faster the more familiar you get with the machine and it's capabilities.


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## CARDOCTOR (Nov 29, 2002)

angle the blade and do the driveway in pieces.


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## Outty330 (Dec 4, 2008)

I plow with a Bombardier/CanAm Outlander 330HO with a 50 inch Moose stock tires no weight front or back and never had any issues. sounds like you might want to work on your technigue like the guys said full angle for a couple passes and you should make out better.


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