I just bought a Moose Plow for my 06 400 and it works very good compared to my old setup that I had on my 94 Pull-ur-*** 400L. My question is with the skids that are on the blade. My old setup did not have them so I'm curious on what other people have done with them. My understanding is that they are more useful in non-snow situations, such as gravel or dirt. I have them set to the lowest setting but I don't seem to be able to get right down to the concrete when plowing. I've also noticed that they don't sit flush on the ground but instead are sitting more on the back edge. Do I need to pitch my blade forward more?

Also, I have a question on the spring adjustments. The instructions that came with the plow are crap and don't give any recommendations on how to set these up so I arbitrarily set the tension. I had it flip down a couple of times but how exactly should I set them? Any help you guys could give would be great!

Also, would anyone definitely swear by tire chains? Just curious.

Finally, for anyone wondering if their 400 can handle plowing wonder no more! I have a 50" plow and I was able to push 7" of snow with zero problems! To add to it, it was a very wet snow so I thought I would have a hard time but that wasn't the case at all. I was very impressed with how the Cat performed! I love this machine!

 

Set the blade as level on the feet as possible, tighten the springs enough so it only flips when you hit an object, you can remove the feet when plowing concrete driveway, mainly used when plowing snow on gravel driveway to keep from pushing gravel away.

 

Thanks for the reply man! I got to use it on 4" of snow Monday afternoon and I took the skids off all together and it works great! I have a gravel driveway but because I didn't get my plow right away, it went unplowed for a while so everything is frozen down so no worries on moving the gravel! I'm still tempted to tilt the blade forward more but I don't want it to flip everytime I hit a crack in the sidewalk.

 

I plow with a 50" American Eagle County plow. Same as previous message. I tuck my skids all the way up behind my blade and only use them down when plowing off the frozen lawn (I keep my trailer behind the house so I need to get it out now and again). With the skids down I get a 1/2 to 1 inch clearance off the grass. No damage to fix in the spring. Otherwise, its skids up! I routinely change the cutting angle of the blade (tip forward/backward) depending on the type of snow and if I need to scrape ice or packed snow of my storm drain catch basins. Play with the blade tilt and you will figure it what works best for you. If you have an ice lip somewhere in your drive, use it to gauge the spring tension. You don't want to hit a frozen ice lip and have the blade stop the AC in its tracks. It will send you over the bars! Run the blade up against it and adjust the springs so the blade tips when you push against it.

I plow a 700' driveway (hot top) with a 1 in 4, 100' grade to the main road. The little beast is a 2003 300 4x4 with Hi/Lo semi auto transmission. It will pull the back teeth out of yer head and plows 6' of heavy wet snow without complaining. Four years of plowing no problems. Make sure you do the maintenance, plowing is hard work for the AC. Lots of lithium grease and keep the salt and sand out of it as best you can. I also added a set of plow lights as the AC lights are too low below the wing shape of the county plow. Add a few extra pounds to the front tire to prevent steer under when turning even at low speed. This may also give you a little better ground clearance for the plow frame. Tried chains, very hard ride. Too much hassle to remove when I ride during the winter. The plow is easy on easy off. Chains tore up my hot top as well. I get great traction with AC stock Titans. Higher front pressure approx 7-8 Lbs. Normal pressure in the rear.

Have fun in the Snow!

Cat 300 4X4 (2 Red and Green)
2500 Warn Winch
Eagle County Plow
Plow Light Rig/ Front and Rear

 

Can I ask exactly where you apply the Litium Grease at? It is my understanding that there aren't grease zerks on the 06 400. Also, do you wash yours regularly? I have my outside spickets shut off on my house for the winter to prevent pipe bursts, but I do have a car wash that's not too far away. I've contemplated running down there occasionally to clean her off.

 

I add a spray of grease to all of the moving parts of the plow. It keeps the water off the sliding surfaces and and helps with rust prevention. I use it to enhance the operations of moving parts like HI/LO tramission lever, gear shift pedal and any other parts that are subject to ice freezing to them. We get severe temps that freeze the metal to metal if there is any moisture at all on them. I usually have to plow real early in the morning before the sun (if any) has any chance to warm up the air.

I am not using this spray grease to do the AC recommeded lub on steering and suspension elements. I have a varity of zerks on those parts that I use the traditional pump on. I do not do these other than before and after the winter season. They are not as subject to the ice and snow.

I too have all my water shut off, but I open one up on days above 35 degress and use the power washer to give the innards a good hose down. I run the engine to help generate heat and evaporate the spray. I use a commerically available car wash soap in my power washer syphon to spray of the built up sand and silt. Then, I wax all of the the plastic down with a hard shell to keep the sand and silt that flys from drying to the surface and scratching it too bad. (I know its Quad and and I baby it, but when you think about what we pay for these things I think it is better to maintain than replace). Prior to the season I also spray the battery terminals with a corrosion inhibitor you can get at Autozone or VIP autoparts. I also clean any ice and gravel that sticks/freezes to the plow blade after evey use. I learned the hard way that this traps moisture and can cause rust on that nice bright yellow finish.

A lot of commercial places do not like having the quads in their bays but you might get by OK, as it is winter dirt rather than a ton of mud you are leaving behind for the attendent to sweep up.

Hope this is useful.