I saw a new ATV snowplow on the market at the dealer today....its made by Blackline and has an electric actuator to lift the blade up to 17 inches off the ground. It will lift the front wheels of the quad off the ground too. The manufacturer has an electro hydraulic unit for it too that angles the blade, and the controls are all supposed to be on one button. It all mounts to the front of the quad by one standard size square receiver which is attached to what looks like a new skid plate type mount that has the receiver welded to it. Its not cheap...best price I've found so far is around $1300 at Trax Motosports and that does not include the hydraulic blade angle adjuster. I just hate to be the new guy to spend big bucks on a new product and have it not work out, and I don't know how long their warranty is yet either....but it sure looks good....looks like it will work just like the big boys too. Does anyone have any experience with these they can tell me about?

 

So now...even better yet...Trax called me today and said they have a special on them until the end of the month....$997 including shipping for the whole setup with the 60" blade. Thats with only the electro type lift though. They said they are trying to negotiate a better price with the manufacturer on the hydraulic angle part of the mechanism since their price to me would be $500 for that part of it alone at current prices (no way...hydraulic stuff is cheaper than that!) . I'm still not clear on the handlebar control though...they show one with the hydraulic angle unit that has all the controls on a single one button control. I can't imagine them giving me the same control button with only buying a unit with lift alone. The lift unit is strictly electric and looks very much like the motor drive for the trim tabs on a friend's boat. They said the entire front plow unit weighs just about 90 lbs and it has a 1 year warranty on the whole package. Hmm...I sure wish someone out there could give me a recommendation on this unit before I buy it. Guess I'll be the guinia pig huh?

 

I'm a little short of time right now but tonight or tomorrow morning I should have the time to post my thoughts on these plows.

In short form though, I have not used one or seen one in person, just studied the pictures and I have some concerns.

 

First, as stated before I have not used or even seen one of these plows in person so my opinion is based on studying the pictures and my past experience with other snowplows. If I saw one in person my thoughts may totally change.

They talk about the actuator applying 500 or 600 lbs. of down pressure. I haven't found an ATV yet that will handle more than 100 lbs. of down pressure. When more than that is applied the ATV doesn't have enough weight or traction to handle it so they spin out quite often. If the terrain is uneven, I suspect you will find yourself adjusting the height of the blade a lot. Most of the time I will run 40 to 50 lbs. of down pressure with my Traxter, my P360 is limited to 30 to 40 lbs. At times I may adjust the down pressure to 80 to 90 lbs. but that is only when I am trying to cut small areas of packed snow like when someone drives through before I get a chance to plow.

Also the down pressure they are applying appears to be solid, unforgiving. If you hit a rock or something similar the blade needs to be allowed to come up some as well as tip forward. I tried a hydraulic ram for a while until I actually broke off the end of the ram. It took some experimenting to find the right amount of down pressure while allowing the blade to come up when obstacles are hit. The actuator they are using appears to be fairly solid so I doubt the ends would break but constant pounding could take out the nut and/or screw inside of it. Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of the actuator. It just needs something built into it to absorb shock and in fairness, they may have built that into it and I just can’t see it.

The cantilever system which replaces the push tubes is interesting. I’m not sure how that kind of system would work for stacking or ramping snow but don’t off hand see any problem with it.

Attaching only to a receiver would concern me. If something like frozen show were hit on the outside edge of a 60" blade that is a lot of leverage against the receiver. I am sure they built the receiver strong enough to handle it but they have no control over how strong the ATV frame is. Take a close look at how the receiver attaches to the frame to make sure you are comfortable with it. It is probably fine, just be aware is all I am saying. Over the years I have bent several mounts, push tubes and blades. Some of the damage would rightfully be considered abuse on my part but most of it is that these parts are not made to push a lot of snow. They are made for the person that might push 6" a week and might have to push 1 ft of snow once a winter. Here we will get the 6" once a week but we also will see 1 ft. or more a day for a week or two. That is when my patience gets thin and I start pushing harder and faster than I should which causes damage.

Hope this helps and remember, it is worth exactly what you paid for it.

 

Thanks reb2....those are some great points to think about. And it gives me a good idea of what jobs to avoid. I'm planning on using my rig primarily in a paved subdivision, and looking to get a sidewalk contract for the whole sub so I can just keep going from one end to the other on the walk, and back again from the other direction if I have to, as well as charging extra to get the snow out of the driveway approaches when the snowplows finally come thru and plow the snow from the street into the driveway. Usually we only get a few inches at a time here, and occasionally 10 inches in 24 hrs. It should be no big thing to hit it twice a day since its just a part time job anyway. I did'nt like the idea of using a winch to lift the blade and wear out the cable etc....and I don't have a winch yet anyhow, so its not like I'm wasting the money I spent on the winch. At $997 delivered with a 60" blade it does'nt sound that bad being that the blade etc. looks so well built. I guess my big concern is the same as yours......the leverage that works against the frame of the quad with that blade sticking so far out front really bothers me. I hope the receiver pan setup is bolted to the frame via a "pillow block" type of mount on the frame tubes instead of simply a u-bolt type of setup. If its not I'll put my brother (the machinest) to work to make me some better suported mounts out of solid aluminum stock and thereby spread the stress out over a further distance. Some additional gusset type of supports to the other frame members might be in order too. I'd rather overkill on support than wreck the frame of the machine. And as you said.....I guess it would be a good idea to use a bit of caution and patience with it in an attempt to avoid damage. The factory warranty is 1 year, so being that the seasons here are short I might as well start with it early and get the most of the warranty.

 

Beware! I bought a Blackline for my Ranger XP. Nothing but problems. Today it actually FELL OFF! A structural weld failed. Blackline had a cool concept, poor execution. More of a toy than a tool.

 

they musta cheaped them up since I got mine then. I've been pushing snow and crashing it into big snowpiles at a roll to push the snow further etc and have not had a problem. I have the 60" blade though, and pretty much to my hard pushing straight on. I could understand a problem with a 72" blade if you were trying to push big piles with the edge of the blade....the leverage would probably be tough on the frame of the quad too. But like I said....no problems so far after two seasons of abuse.

 

Just and FYI in general. I've been plowing my McDonald's parking lot in SW Colorado since 2003 with a 660 Grizzly and a Country State Plow 50". Has worked outstanding.

However I have no idea why someone would want huge down pressure, you won't push it. I tried a 70# sand bag on mine, but it caught on every crack and crany. The plow has a trip mechanism and you need it. I have slammed the plow into ice and curbs and no problem. this sucker really held up. I have put at least 1700 miles of plowing on it.

At my house I've had to plow out dirt roads just less than 1/2 mile to get out sometimes and it has worked very well.

You should be able to handle sidewalks and driveways etc easily.