# I need help, What is the best ATV to plow with?



## tfinacom

Hi this is my first post/thread, so please bear with me. I live in New England, and we see a lot of little storms i.e. 3-6 inch and two or three big ones a year in the 8-15 inch sometime 2ft plus. I looked at some other threads and I think these are the vitals.

1. I will be plowing 4 or more drive ways, the smallest off of a main road and is 10x20 (I will trailer the ATV to the jobs) and the biggest is at a multifamily where 8-10 cars park and its combined of two walk ways around 36 inches wide.

2. Price Range.... Well this is sticky, I just sold my bike and I got 8,000, I could put another 3 to 4 grand towards the ATV w/plow....no more or my no fun wife will hit the roof.

3. Dont have any product loyalty, just want a bad a$$ machine to rip it up and not have to worry about it. Didnt know if it should be in the 700 to 850 class.

4. Last I will also be using this bad larry during ice fishing to tow my ice shanty and lazy a$$ friends around the lake. 

Thank you guys in advance for the help this site is f'n great. 

Ohhh, and like I told the ball n chain, I will be using it for yard work, and hunting. Thanks again.:laughing:


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## nautica0626

id go with ole faithful yamaha grizzly.. i own a 700 an its the king of quads in my opnion... plenty of power.. rides smooth... an its efi an power steering is amazeing... kant go wrong an i got plow problems myself looking for new on also had a 50 inch from cc an it worked great till i broke it lol... good with buy.. look at warn plows or moose they make really good stuff an not over priced...


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## show-n-go

I always go with Honda. There quality is second to none.


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## IPLOWSNO

ye a honda in camo would be what ya want, unless speed is your thing, hondas are pretty maintenance free for the most part.they make a side by side also, you got plenty of cash to do all ya want thats for sure.


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## BruteForce750

Honda does have great reliability I've got to give it to them. However, understand that you still need to do your basic maintenance and preventative care to any ATV. I think its hard to really choose a bad quad from the top big names.

As for size, anything over 500 will do truthfully, of course, usually the bigger the better. You'll find marginal differences between the 700 and 800+ classes as the power is pretty amazing in all of them. Your best bet is to find the dealers close to you and go try them out. See which one appeals to you comfort wise for your height and structure. 

By the sounds of "rip it up" you'll be using this on your on "hunting" trips. If you plan on mudding be aware that the Honda is technically a 3wd machine as it does not have the locking front differential.


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## clayton2127

I bought an 07 grizzly 660 about 3 months ago for the reason of plowing. I used it the last big storm we had and it was awesome. It pushed some piles of snow I didnt think possible. The grizzly does have the front dif lock which def came in handy a few times. Also.. Do you have to buy new? I mean, if your willing to spend 12k on an atv, Im guessing your going to buy new. I bought mine used with 43hrs on it ( which is nothing) for 5k even. Then the plow setup was another 5 and some change.. just sayin, might wanna take a look around and possibly save urself 7k.


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## BruteForce750

Clayton brings up a good point, there is no need to purchase brand new. I purchased my 2005 Brute Force used with less than 30 hours on it two years ago for $4,300. I just recently purchased the plow for around $500 and had already purchased the winch a while ago. 

There are some great deals out there if your not in too big of a rush. Inspect it before you buy, take it for a ride and check through everything. In my own preference, I wouldn't buy one that already has a plow just because I don't know how the other person used the plow. 
You could say I'm a bit picky about my toys.


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## tfinacom

You guys are the best thank u sooooo much, all the answers was just what I was looking for..... I hope all is well with your families and have a great new year.....stay safe and let it f'n snow....

p.s. if n e one else has some info, please continue.....too much information isn't enough, I am leaning towards the brute force, I just was an 08 @ central mass motors.

Thanks again


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## clayton2127

Personally.. I wouldnt go through a dealer unless ur guaranteed a warranty or something. which im not really sure if you get warranties on atvs. I used craigslist and found mine. I was willing to travel like almost 3 hrs to get the one i wanted. I figure spending alil gas money is better than paying an extra couple grand because of a dealer mark up. luckily the one i found right before i made the drive was literally 2 min from my house.lol


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## IPLOWSNO

dude if you can afford it, buy it new, you definately don't want to pull up and buy my used equip. it may look like new and i take care of it but it isn't new , but i will sell to someone eventually,

the bruteforce is cool and if yea buy it new, see if they will give ya a deal for rims and tires, and trade yours in if the price is right, remember the economy sucks so if you have cash , cash is king, don't be afraid to walk, theye build them everyday, so they have to sell them too, 

your gonna need the whole pkg so add things as ya go, that way you know what theyre doing for ya,

never hurts to beat them up a little on the accessories, what you see in the parts unlimited catalog they get for 1/2, buddies used to be a dealer, i use to get my own book lol


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## show-n-go

You will be able to find some one that bought one with big plans of riding and rode it once. Heck my dad just sold his rincon with plow, winch, and all kinds of goodies, wheels and tires, for $5200. It had about 60 miles on it, 20 came from the trails where he avoided mud and trees all day because he didn't want it dirty and the rest came from plowing his drive and playing in the snow at his house.
There are tons of those out there just got to find them... Stay away from dealers if your buying used unless you know it is a smoking deal


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## BruteForce750

Just make sure you inspect it good if you buy used... 

I've bought plenty of "toys" used and have never once been disappointed. Get a feel for the person who is selling you the item too... As others have said, don't be afraid to say no and walk away. 

Leave them a card or number they can reach you at. You WILL get a call back from someone looking to off load it after they haven't had any hits on it.

As for the Brute Force, let it be known us brutes tend to drink a bit more gas. Not crazy more, but the twin does drink more than their single cylinder counter parts. But man is it fun to open her up and let her scream :yow!:


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## sublime68charge

I vote for Honda but I'm not gonna say anything else is bad. Each Quad will have it's good point's and bad points about it. Honda's are best in reliability, some of that is on past rep though. Any of the name brands are gonna be good/great quad. www.highlifter.com is a great site for different ATV brand's about whats better on this VS that. But any upper size Utlilty Quad will plow snow and do great at it.

Now big question is what type and brand of plow? standard or county blade plenty of threads on here about pro's and con's. width of Blade I'd go with a 60" only draw back is the sidewalk but I have plowed sidewalks with a 60" for 8 years now and done OK. a little hard on the grass now and again where I overun off the pavement I can live with that.

the Front Mount quick attach is the new kid on the block VS the old style mid mount.

you want Power Angle? Be able to rotate the blade from the seat?
thats a super nice thing to have.

what type of Blade set up you thinking 
Moose, Cycle Country, Warn are the big players at the table

each has things better than others and/or worse then other been plenty of hot topic threads about this as of late.


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## tfinacom

Hey guys, I looked into it and I think I am going to go with a warn 60", but what is this quick mount,,,,,n e good.....how long does the warn take to put on, are we taking hours?.....and what would the power lift cost, my fat a$$ is lazy and the less work the better. 

Regards


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## BruteForce750

I have the warn 60" front mount. It took me about 20 minutes to connect the actual plowing frame to the quad. Now that its installed, attaching the plow takes me less than 20 seconds. The mid mount connecting times are going to be higher but will be about the same as the rest of the mid mounts, one of those boys can chime in and tell you how long. 

As for the powerlift (up and down), do you not already have a winch? or are you talking the power pivot (side to side)?


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## tfinacom

No I want to get the warn winch, so i guess its the side to side

regrads


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## BruteForce750

tfinacom;945513 said:


> No I want to get the warn winch, so i guess its the side to side
> 
> regrads


A few people on the forum have the power pivot which is Warns automated side to side solution. While I'm sure some are happy with the power pivot, a few people have expressed unhappiness for the design. A quick search on the forum will be able to get you a great deal of information.

Numerous people also fab their own pivot system as well... might be another option for you.


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## ALC-GregH

The Warn PP will work fine to angle the blade. Just make sure the "keys" don't get lost or it will be rendered useless without them.


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## sublime68charge

if your going with a warn plow the Power Pivot would be the way to Go as long as you don't loose the locking Keys for it. Talk to ALC-GregH he know all about them there key's.

you could also fab you your own power angle system if you have time and ambition to fab up a system.

also depends on how much blade angle changing you'll need to make to plow your drive's.

I could due my 3 drives with only having to change the angle 5 times but I was making 3 passes in areas where I could just make 1 pass if I got off the ATV to change the Blade angle.

now due you want front Mount which is a new thing this year or the old style Mid mount for your blade

been talked about alot in thread's the skinny is the front mount is super/fast on/off for the blade,
can also raise blade up higher.

the Mid mount you have to lay down to hook up the blade to the ATV. My thought's are the Mid mount will handle the Abuse of plowing snow better than the front Mount.

its your choice what to get.

good luck.

sublime out


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## tfinacom

Alright here's what I was thinking.....I just saw a 08' 750 brute 4x4i for 5000, with 20 miles on it, and I was looking into the warn winch and plow (front) with the PP, but now I got to get them and put them on, the only problem is I am not that handy, Is the winch a ***** to put on, and I know you guys said it took 20 mins for the plow brackets, are those hard to, and will they effect the operation later when I am tooling around in the woods?

Regards


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## BruteForce750

I installed the winch on my 2005 brute force myself in all it took about 1.5 hours to do. There really isnt too much to it a couple u-bolts and a bit of wiring. The hardest part you'll find is to connect it to a Key on power source, however on the brute there is an accessory wire under the plastics if you look hard enough.

The plow mount for the warn plow was all of 2-bolts and 2 u-bolts. Getting the holes to line up was the hardest part for me. If you decide to go for it and have any issues, I'll be glad to take any pictures or help you through the install if needed. 

The nice thing with the front mount plow is that the bracket does not effect your ground clearance at all. There is no need to worry about it either as its pretty well protected in its location.

Any questions feel free to ask


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## doubleedge

The Polaris has very strong power steering. I haven't tried the Can-am's power steering, but it has 2 modes. The Yamaha's power steering works fine, but it doesn't assist as much as the Polaris steering at low speed. I don't think that Kawasaki has power steering yet. I haven't tried Honda's power steering.

Honda engines are relatively weak because of Honda's devotion to safety and reliability, and I believe that they are also single cylinder. Can-am, Polaris, and Kawasaki have very powerful twin cylinder engines. Yamaha has only 1 cylinder, but has pretty good power.

Honda, as stated before, is the king of reliability. Yamaha, from what I have heard, is in second. Polaris has relatively fast wearing belts, and many have had problems with the AWD system. I don't know about the other brands as far as reliability goes.


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## tfinacom

Thank you again brute all the info is very helpful.....doubleedge i was wondering about the polaris to (thanks you) there are a ton in the ads.....I found a nice 750 brute and I wasn't sure on some of the other brands....my only concern with the brute was that some had a recall on them for ball joint issues according to one site. Thanks again guys for everything, you have def. helped out a ton.

regards


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## BruteForce750

TF, if you get the vin, you can check the recall status online through the kawi website. You could also call the dealer and check the status as to if it has been done or not. If there is an active recall, they will do all the work themselves and it wont cost you anything. The 2005 had two recalls but neither were pertaining to my exact vin. 

Best luck


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## clayton2127

Just make sure the atv u decide on has the dif lock.. Granted i only needed it once when the snow was over the plow and almost to my lights... if i didnt have it, id be muffed


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## ALC-GregH

clayton2127;950960 said:


> Just make sure the atv u decide on has the dif lock.. Granted i only needed it once when the snow was over the plow and almost to my lights... if i didnt have it, id be muffed


Really? I had snow billowing over the front rack it was so deep and never needed to put it in diff lock.

Hey, did you get in touch with your friend? I need to do something in the next few days with the spreader.


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## clayton2127

yea, he said he wishes he could take it but its not in the cards for him right now either. I appreciate the offer though


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## SMITHCO INC

Will the warn power pivot fit a polaris glacier plow . Has any one tried that.


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## skywagon

SMITHCO INC;953403 said:



> Will the warn power piot fit a polaris glacier plow . Has any one tryed that.


Greg has one and can more than likely answer your question.


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## ALC-GregH

The Power Pivot is designed to fit the Warn plow only. Now if you got skillz, a bunch of metal and so time, you could make one fit.


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