# Been lurking



## warrior88 (Oct 18, 2011)

So I have been lurking around for a few weeks now but just decided to sign up. I am currently living in Texas and we dont get any snow. But at the end of this month I will be moving to be with my girlfriend and her kids in Pa. I have lived in the north before so I know what to expect from mother nature. But my question is this, Do you think I can effectivly plow with an 88 Yamaha Warrior 350? I know the usual answers like put some weight on the rear, and chains. I wont use chains unless I absolutly need them. And have started fabrication on a rear rack for an extra battery and sand bags. 

I am also planning on building a home made plow out of a 55 gallon barrel. Yeah I know that this design is not the best but its all I can afford this late in the season. I will be starting one out of a water heater either in the spring or as a winter shop project. my questions about the barrel are, what can I use as a cutting edge? Maybe just the barrel since it will only be used one season? I will have a gravel drive up there so Im guessing I do not wanna scrape all the way down anyway or I will be pushing gravel in the spring. 

What about keeping snow out of your face? Just some goggles to wear over your helmet or is there some way of fabbing a device of some sort to keep the snow down and not up in the wind? Also I cant find a winch mount for my bike so Im planning on fabbing that as well. 

Any and all suggestions are very much welcomed and apreciated as I have no idea about plowing or how they work. Any techniques on how to clear the drive would be great too. but as time goes on and I plow 3 or 4 times Im sure Ill figure that part out. 

I know it seems like I am rambling and I may very well be but I have alot of questions and cant find answers. Thanks guys and gals. 

RJ


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## outdoorfan (Sep 22, 2011)

If the Warrior is a 4x4 then I don't see why it can't do everything my little old Honda 300 4x4 can do. But, of course, my Honda is set up pretty well for plowing.

Make sure your piles are pushed back far enough to begin with, or you'll run out of room. Learn to stack snow. It takes some practice. The higher the blade will lift the higher you can make the piles. With the Honda I'm essentially riding up the piles while I'm pushing the snow.

As to headgear, I just wear the full face mask (skie mask) when it gets real cold and windy. Goggles fog up. I don't like them. Plus, then my skin is still unprotected. Full face mask all the way.


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## warrior88 (Oct 18, 2011)

Warriors are only 2X4. But I have some really meaty mud tires. And I havent been stuck in even the stickiest and boggiest of muds. I dont know how they will be in the snow though. All I can do is try and if they dont work as well as they do in mud I can always buy some tires that will do better.

Thanks for the pointers. Can you maybe post some pics of your plow mount itself. Mainly focusing on the part that connects to the plow (the pivit point where can angle the blade) and how your trip springs are attached. I really wanna make this thing to last. Not so much the barrel design Im gonna go with for this season but the one Ill make in the spring Im gonna go as close to pro design as I can get from a home brew.

And holy crap!! You got alot of that white stuff laying around!! Nice set up you have as well.


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## hghgrad (Nov 29, 2010)

I'd five it a try for sure. Worst case scenario, you're stuck having to make a few passes with the blade lifted to get started.


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## irv (Oct 20, 2010)

hey outdoor fan, what tires do you have.i have a friend with a 300 that pushes snow 
that i dont even try with my rubicon.that thing is bulletproof.--irv

by the way,good looking machine


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## outdoorfan (Sep 22, 2011)

Warrior, 

My Honda doesn't plow for crap in 2-wheel drive. (BTW, Fourtraxes are full-time 4x4, but I have the Warn 424 that allows me to ride in 2x4 if I want to.) I would weight that back end down big time to even have a chance. And, I would not let the snow pile up more than a few inches. 

I'll try to get some pictures in the next day or two. 



Irv,

Tires are Highlifter Outlaw MST's. The ones I have are two full sizes oversized from what came stock. Also, the MST's sit higher than most, so in reality it's about 3 full sizes bigger. Am running HMF exhaust (loud), which in turn justified moving up a couple main jet sizes to keep things cool. Despite the oversized tires, the power is only slightly less than with the stock tires. Also have a 1.5 inch lift kit on front and back. Ground clearance is fantastic as opposed to the stock set-up. Really enhanced the plowing ability. It really pushes the snow for being such a small quad. 

I agree with you that the engine is basically bulletproof. I've even hydrolocked mine from sinking it in a river out in S. Dakota (prairie dog hunt). I ran diesel fuel through it while idling the engine to help clean things out. Did that several times. Wasn't sure if it would turn out okay. When all was said and done I didn't notice any negative effects from the river event. Amazing machine those 300 Fourtraxes are. They have their issue too, but not in the engine.


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## warrior88 (Oct 18, 2011)

First and foremost I want to thank you for the replies so far. Im gonna mount the rack on the rear I am working on and add sand bags for weight, it cant hurt anyway. I have plenty of power since I rebuilt the entire top end of this machine. It is an 88 and had some terrible performance issues so I went for it and now she runs like a rapped ape. I also replaced the stock 13 tooth sprocket on the front with a 12 tooth which gives more low end torque in effect. 

I also have a winch so if i get stuck Ill just drop the plow and pull myself out. That might not be the best way but again its what Im going to have to do this year. Maybe next year Ill get a bigger bike with 4X4.


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## sublime68charge (Dec 28, 2007)

rear weight and chains if your alread on a gravel drive to provide you with traction. you can problay find some garden tractor or car tire chains on your local CL and get them cheap and make them fit.

what type of rear tires? wide or skinny? how deep are the lugs will the chains just fall through?

or get your self a set of rear stock tires and just put chains on them?

I have 589's for summer mud tires and my stock tires at 30% tread with chains push's about 20% more snow then the 589's Chains can make a huge difference and since your a 2x4 traction is key.

also get your winch fab up to keep the blade up from the gravel. the first couple of snow falls you might just want to drive on it and pack it down and then plow after that. that work OK if your drive is fairly level. What is the type of cars you have on the drive way? 

will have more later for you.

sublime out.


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## sublime68charge (Dec 28, 2007)

the 55 Barrel would be OK I suppose and maybe bolt a 2x4 to the bottom edge to help it float on the gravel and not scrape it up. then your just pushing the loose snow on top and not scraping the gravel at all.

good luck.

I would look for a used Cycle country plow and push tubes you can get for probaly $200 or less then a $50 mount for your quad, 

48" or less for blade width for your quad.

good luck.


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## herb1001 (Sep 15, 2010)

warrior88 please make sure you look online (ebay, craigs list, plowsite) for used quad plows. Brand new they are only a few hundred dollars. Used ones have to be pretty cheap. In the long run, a real plow might be worth it. Your looking at a lot of time you would have to put into this.

Other ideas are to look for a plow that goes on a lawn tracker that you could mount on your quad. I would just say, do your homework on what used stuff goes for.


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## hghgrad (Nov 29, 2010)

I've built a few using garden tractor plows. They tend to be almost as expensive as a regular quad plow around this time of the year though. I think I paid $20 for two of them a few years back and I've recycled them onto a few machines. If you're handy, it's pretty easy to build something that will work. Old water heater, burn barrel, plastic barrel...the sky's the limit if you've got some imagination. 

Craigalist is usually a great place to find an old plow, but if you're currently in a warm state, you might have to wait until you get over this way


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## outdoorfan (Sep 22, 2011)

Agreed, in the last month or so I've seen A LOT of used plows on CL for $200-300. Well worth it to save on the added aggravation of fabbing stuff up.


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## hghgrad (Nov 29, 2010)

If you have all the right tools and truly like fabricating, its no hassle at all 

I'd rather spend an hour in the garage to save $1 than an hour driving somewhere to spend $1 more. Its something I truly love to do. 

On the other hand, if you don't have everything needed (tools/materials) for a project, its worth the drive and the extra $.


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## BlizzardBeater (Aug 29, 2010)

I think you're going to have a hard finding a set up to "bolt up" to a warrior. I dont even know as if they make a mount for these. It's also going to be a pian with that quad with it being a manual clutch and how it goes into reverse. But, as always, necessity is the mother of all invention and can be done. I'd use some plastic PVC pipe as a cutting edge. This will prevent digging into the gravel and also help the homemade setup glide a little easier and give you a fighting chance. Patience will be the key with this setup.


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## warrior88 (Oct 18, 2011)

I fabbed up a winch mount plate and mounted it this weekend. I bought a 2000# Superwinch and mounted that to the plate. Got pics on my phone I'll see if I can upload them to photobucket or something and post them in a new thread for Warrior fabbing. I have seen a few other guys asking about them as well so it may be helpful to them. My plan is to use the barrel for this season only and in the spring Ill start looking for a used plow as they will be cheaper then. The possibly of finding one down here is down right impossible.


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