I've been debating about a plow for the ATV. Has anyone plowed snow before with the two wheel drive?
I know the 4x4 is better but would like to know if anyone has tried it.
thanks

 

Welcome to the forum.

A 2wd Rancher would be less than an ideal choice for plow duty, and I would guess it would only handle light snow with a smaller plow and chains, but I haven't actually tried it.

 

I have seen a older 2wd TRX 300 Plow snow rather well ,the guy had chains and a sang bag on the back rack which helped alot.

 

What type of road surface will you be plowing? There is a big difference between pavement and gravel. IF you are plowing gravel, the 4x4 will come in handy. Deep snow will be a challenge. You can counter than by plowing more frequently. Several one to two inch passes versus a foot of snow. Plow as it is falling and stay ahead of it. I think the issue will be traction, not power. When you hang a heavy plow on the front, you need to add weight to the back to compensate and improve traction.

 

I think it would depend on what you are plowing (as Draggin said above) and where you live...

I can say here in Upstate NY - my 4x4 Rancher is just barely adequate...... I used to plow with a full sized Ford Bronco, and before that an F150. A truck is ideal for the huge drifts we get....but the main problem with a dedicated "plow" truck is that they sit and rot and something breaks every year - every time you go out to plow it is a gamble. And I really don't want a plow on my everyday driver.

So I switched to the Rancher last season - it never sits long because I use it all summer to mow and tow - it plows great and it will do the job. I just cannot let it pile up like I could with the trucks. If we are getting 12-18 inches I need to go out twice now as opposed to once. And I have to push the first banks back as far as possible just in case they don't melt all winter. With the trucks I would have 10 foot banks piled up, but the quad won't do that.....

But up here a 2WD ATV would be useless for plowing snow.

In some places, a 2wd will probably work if you are just plowing 3-6 inches of snow and then it melts after each storm......

 

i live in southern ohio and usually only get 2 or 3 "big" (only 4-8 inches) snowfalls a year and some light snow... do you think I'd be fine plowing with my recon? (2WD)

 

I had a plow made to fix a 250ex all it was was a plow that had a bolt that went through two holes on the stock front bumperand rope the raise and lower it. it was great in little snow, in deep snow i would take and put a strap from the blade to the frame and holed it al little off the ground to done half then i would put it all the way down to get the rest.

 

i might do something like that, how much did it cost you?

 

nothing i had all the laying around

 

cool!