They say life is about simple pleasures, and one of the best simple pleasures I know is using your ATV to get jobs done. You are out working, but you are enjoying your rig. It really doesn't get better than that.
In this case, the simple pleasure I'm referring to is plowing snow. A fresh snowfall becomes another excuse to get out, fire up the ATV and play around, er, work hard for an hour or so. Without further ado, here are some tips on how to install that plow of your dreams.
Plow Basics
Plows come in a variety of sizes and shapes and are one of the most-popular ATV accessories. For this test, we went with a large plow offered by Cycle Country. As with many of the plow manufacturers, it offers straight and vee blades and a "state blade," or a large angled blade (which is what the state's snowplow trucks use, hence the name).
We chose the 60-inch state blade, a giant orange blade. In order to mount it, Cycle Country supplied a push tube (which runs under the ATV and mounts the plow), a mounting plate that includes mounting points for the tube and an electric angling kit. The directions require all of your attention, but we were able to do the job in an afternoon. The basic plow, push tube and mounting plate all went on fairly easily. The electric angling kit required considerable effort to install. The installation photos should help you through some of the tricky parts.
Note that you'll also need a lift mechanism for your plow. We had a winch installed on our test machine, and that works nicely for the plow. If you are considering purchasing a winch lift system, the manual lift is the most-economical option. We'd strongly recommend using a winch, as it is not much more expensive than adding an electric lift and is a nearly mandatory accessory for quads that see serious off-road use.
The Plow King Rides
Once the kit was installed, it was time to move some snow. The big plow was easily handled by our Rincon, and its 60-inch width meant we could clear a 10-foot-wide driveway with three passes. We had a 1700-pound winch installed, and that lifted the plow with ease.
Angling the blade is a key to making the plow work well. That way, you can direct the snow off to the left or right as you plow. Also, you have to plan your piles, so to speak, plowing the snow so that you can pile it up all winter long.
Note that the electric angling kit is a very nice feature, making changing the blade angle a push-button affair. Also, this allows the blade angle to be infinitely adjustable, as opposed to having three position choices without the kit. The only drawback of the kit is it is expensive and adds nearly $300 to the cost of your plow setup.
We were concerned about having enough traction to push the big blade but had no problems with the four-wheel-drive Rincon. We have an aftermarket front locker installed and Ducks Unlimited tires, which undoubtedly helped on the traction front, but we believe a stock 4x4 with factory tires also would handle the plow easily. In two-wheel-drive, the Rincon pushed the plow decently but had trouble backing up the driveway. Once we engaged four-wheel-drive, we found we had plenty of traction to move snow. If you intend to plow with a two-wheel-drive quad, you might consider adding a set of chains so you have enough traction for the job.
And that's it. You have now installed a BFSP (large snowplow). Let it snow!
Featured Destination: Clark County, Wisconsin
Clark County, Wisconsin, offers a mix of great trails, gorgeous scenery and low traffic. It's centrally located in Wisconsin, about four hours from Chicago and two and a half from Minneapolis-St. Paul. The area had more people living in it in 1930 than it does today, and the mostly uninhabited 1200-plus square miles are packed with sleepy little towns, 133,000 acres of public land, 32 lakes, the Chippewa River and 170 miles of ATV trails.