I'm new here, but I've already been enjoying the discussions. What a great community!

I just bought a 2008 Prairie 360 4x4 with the intention of plowing my 600ft blacktop driveway which is on a hill here in NJ. There's a 40ft or so elevation increase from the bottom to the top, so not a crazy steep hill, but it's constant.. We're at about 1000ft up in northwestern NJ, and get the occasional decent snowfall, 12-15 inches, but there's few times where we can get 2 to 2 1/2 feet. Most I've ever seen in 15 years was 3 feet.

My current Cub Cadet 930swe snowblower does the job generally well, but I'm getting tired of the time it takes and want something easier.

Now, let's be clear here, I wish I had a more powerful ATV, but that's not what I've got to work with...

I'm considering a mid-mount Warn setup, with a synthetic winch, and a 54 or 60 inch blade. I'll adjust the angle manually. I'm also thinking about the warn bucket conversion kit to be able to do work in the summer like moving small amounts of mulch around the yard. I recognize that I'd be very limited in total weight that it'll lift. If consensus says that the bucket is a silly idea with this small atv, then I'll look to KFI or another brand for the plow kit.

The width of the ATV is 49" from tire edge to tire edge. If I only got a 54" plow, I'm worried that when plowing on an angle that it won't be wide enough. I can't seem to find specs on what angle the mounts adjust to. A 60" plow would surely be better in terms of total plowing width, but will my measly 360 have enough power to get through a foot or more wet snow with a 60" plow?? If we get more than a foot, I'd plan to plow twice or more, just like I do with the snowblower.

Is there that much difference in the power required to plow with a 54 vs 60 inch plow in say a foot of heavy snow?

I've considered adding weight to the back of the ATV, maybe the front too. I worry about the suspension not being durable enough. If chains would help, I'll get them too - we sometimes get ice on the blacktop before it snows.

I'd appreciate your thoughts and feedback (just don't tell me to get a bigger atv :)

Thanks

 

After more research, I'm considering:
1) Ditching the mid mount idea and going front mount to give bigger range of motion
2) Using a tapered 54 or 60" plow
Still very interested in everyone's thoughts.

 

I owned a praire 300 for 16 yrs to plow my 300' stone driveway and it worked great and had no issues with the machine. With that said, you will need some extra weight, I used sand bags on the rear rack, also keep in mind that it will not bust thru a snow drift, you just won't have enough traction. I use a big snowblower to bust thru drifts (big ones) and throw the snow farther from the edge of the drive. Yes the snow does pile up along the edge and will keep making your drive more narrow as the piles are to big to move with the atv. For amounts of snow under 6" the atv is great and much faster but when the snow gets deep, you have plenty of power just not enough traction especially on pavement. I plowed a neighbors paved drive and could not push nearly as much snow on pavement that I could on my stone drive. The atv is a great tool for quick snow removal but you need to move it before it gets to deep. Many times I would plow my drive 2 or 3 times during a heavy snow fall just to keep ahead so it didn't get to deep. If you get good size drifts your gonna need that snow blower to bust thru and keep the edges of your drive knocked down. A bigger atv engine will not help much as you will still have a traction problem. I moved into a side x side with a plow and can move more snow due to its much heavier weight (1200lbs) but can still have traction problems on pavement. Do not go with the 60" blade as this will cause even more traction issues while trying to push that much more snow. I had the 54" blade and even at an angle is was wide enough for the machine. I would also highly recommend the mid mount as it makes a stronger mount on your machine. If you do some research, the front mounts are more convenient and gives a higher lift, BUT...many have experienced front end damage to their machines from the added pressure of the snow blade and pushing heavy snow! I even have a mid mount on my side x side and it is a much heavier duty machine than my Praire. I bought a "Pile Driver" blade and mount assembly with a quick attach mount....very heavy duty commercial grade plow and mount. Blade goes on and off in about 1-2 minutes with little effort. I am 68 yrs old and have no issues putting on or off. Keep us posted on what you decide....above all else..plowing snow is a lot of fun..at least I think so!!

 

Kymco, thank you for the detailed reply. I've got essentially zero experience with ATVs and even less (if that's even possible) with plowing, so thank you for sharing your thoughts and (unfortunately) confirming some of my fears.

I am certainly looking forward to the fun of all of this. I won't miss the snowblower, though suspect I'll be using it for at least some of the driveway.

I was already thinking about putting some big concrete blocks on the rear rack. How much weight were you adding? Are we in a the more the merrier type of situation?

Do you think that chains would help on blacktop?

I thought about studded tires but they're mighty expensive and I worry about blacktop damage. Your thoughts?

I care very little about the ease of getting the plow on and off. I envision this thing going on come winter and off in the summer. Maybe I'd slap it on if I were going to use it to move or spread dirt, but that wouldn't be more than once a summer, if that.
The downside for me of the mid mount for me is that it eliminates the possibility (according to the warn website) of buying the bucket accessory. I'm guessing that's due to the mid mount not having enough lift height.

Warn has a 54" tapered blade that theoretically throws snow better to the side. Of course, that's to the right side which creates an issue for about 1/4 of my driveway. Going down hill (where I'd expect plowing to be much easier) there's a 2 foot high stone wall butted up to the right side of the driveway for about 125 feet. I wonder how far and high the tapered plow would throw 6-8 inches of snow if I'm going at speed down hill. It'll surely vary based on the weight of the snow. If I'm not doing the bucket thing, I guess I might as well get the tapered blade for the rest of the driveway and then either do the wall section up hill only if I can (throwing snow onto my front lawn). Besides a $70 price premium over a Warn 54" straight blade and not being able to use it as a bucket (with the accessory), any downside to going with the tapered blade?

My current thought is:
WARN 80954 ProVantage 54" Tapered Plow Blade
WARN 62686 ATV Center Plow Mounting Kit
WARN 78100 ProVantage Plow Base/Push Tube Assembly
SuperWinch or other less expensive 2500 winch with synthetic rope and a mount for the Prairie 360
Maybe tire chains.

 

I will try to cover all your questions if I can remember them all, if not feel free to ask again... weight, I used sand bags made for the rear of trucks availiable at most home improvement stores or places like tractor supply. I believe they weigh about 70 lbs each. Normally used just one but added the second at times, be sure to use some type of tie down or you will lose them when you don't expect it!! Chains will help with traction but will mark up your pavement. My neighbor bought some used rear tires and studded them himself with screws and they work pretty well, better than stock tires on pavement. The tapered blade will improve side push of snow, with your wall you may need to start at the wall side and push your snow all the way across the drive if you have room. My drive is a full two car width so on heavy snows I plow at an angle (mabey 15-20 degrees) across the drive to keep it from building so high the plow/atv can't push it, by going at an angle you will build up less snow before reaching the other side. This takes a lot of shifting and going back and forth but it does work on heavy snow. You probably won't be able to take a full width push on the blade, try taking about 2/3 the blade width at a time and even then you will probably have to go back over it a time or two. I prefer the easy hookup and unhook for the blade as I ride my side x side around all year long, in my area we can ride on the back roads (way out in the country) and I also use it for other things on my 5 acre property so I only hook up the plow when I need it. I think the idea of using the bucket will not work to your satisfaction (personal opinion) as these require a really big machine with stiff front springs and a lot of HP to make them work and even at that the max lift load is 200 lbs including the bucket weight so your really only lifting a small wheelborrow load at one time, doesn't seem hardly worth it to me. I trade help with my neighbors so if I need a tractor for anything we trade and I plow his drive or work on his boat for him etc. Keep me posted on your thoughts, hope I can be of help..

 

Thanks again.

I'm done considering the bucket idea, too expensive for too little lift, plus then I couldn't get the tapered blade.

I've read a bunch about chains, forget that too - don't want to damage the blacktop. Studs are still intriguing, but i don't have another set of wheels/tires, the tires I have don't have stud holes, and I don't have the tool do DIY. I guess I can always add that later.

I'll look at 70ish lb sand bags instead of the cinderblocks to make it easier to secure.

Except for a large flat area by our garage, the rest of the 600 foot uphill driveway is a single lane, maybe 12 feet across. I'll have to play with the most efficient way to plow it. I'd hate to constantly have to shift into reverse and raise the plow. That's starting to get more annoying than snowblowing.

I'd certainly prefer easy removal over a more difficult one, but unless I misunderstood, you recommended a mid-mount push bar for stability vs the ease of a front mount no?

Any suggestions other than my current thoughts?

• WARN 80954 ProVantage 54" Tapered Plow Blade
• WARN 62686 ATV Center Plow Mounting Kit
• WARN 78100 ProVantage Plow Base/Push Tube Assembly
• SuperWinch or other less expensive 2500 winch with synthetic rope and a mount for the Prairie 360

 

If you can find a used pair of rear tires or even a full set you can add tire studs that screw into the lugs on the tread. They used to be called ice screws and made to screw into the rubber lug on tires, that is what my neighbor used. They are not for high speed as they can fly out at speed, but no problem with 10 mph or less snow plowing speed. Glad you gave up on the bucket system as they are hard on your machine. With a heavy snow you will have to experiment with which way to plow your snow, easy is not always better!! I hate the cold, but I don't mind snow for some stupid reason...in fact I enjoy plowing snow on my machine. The snow blower is Ok but just so darn slow. I normally just knock down the drifts and really deep stuff then jump on the UTV and finish with the plow. I recommend the mid mount due to excess wear and tear on your machine for a front mount. I have read and saw damage from heavy plowing on the front suspension when using a front mount, the mid is more friendly to heavy plowing. A good mid mount that is heavy duty with a quick attach is not cheap, I paid 1200 for my "pile driver" setup with a KFI winch. But it is a commercial duty setup and is a snap to hook and unhook. There are videos to show you how it works if your interested just look up "Pile Driver Plows". Glad to see the forethought you giving all of this, a lot of folks just go buy stuff then regret it later. Your Praire is a good machine, it is heavier than most others its size which is good for plowing. It may not be the fastest machine out there but they are heavy duty and capable of working and plowing snow. I remember my 2000 praire weighed 625 lbs and was built like a tank, great machine. At my age I do prefer the steering wheel on the UTV over the handle bars on the atv as I have torn rotator cuffs in both shoulders. Wife also likes the UTV as we can ride together rather than on separate machines.

 

My Prairie is listed at 643lb. I'm hopeful that my my approx 200lb and 75-150lb of sand will make this heavy enough to avoid the studs. If not, I'll see about taking your route with used tires, another set of rims, and either DIY studs / ice screws or having a local shop do it for me.

I'll try it out with the first snowfall, likely only an inch or two, to get used to it and then decide if I need studs, weight, etc once we get more snow.

I keep going back to the front mount idea, not because of ease of mounting (though that's nice) but because with the mid mounts it seems like I'll only be able to lift the blade about 6 inches off the ground. If I need to get over a curb, take the top off of a snow bank, or work on a hill, that's not going to work unless I'm missing something... I do like the idea of the extra rigidity of the mid mount, but do I really need to worry about the frame based on my relatively low powered ATV???

I'm in my mid 40's and don't mind the handlebars for now. I love the snow, always have, hope I always will. No budget for a side by side, or I'd definitely have gone that route! If you change your mind and want to go back to an ATV, I'll do an even swap with you- that way you can get back on a familiar feeling machine, but with 20% more power than your 300 was

 

I had a 60" on several 300 Bayou 4x4's and they seemed to handle it fine but for what you're wanting to do I suspect you'd be better suited with a 54". I think you would need a bigger ATV to really handle a front mount plow. I was happy with Moose Plows.

 

Thanks John.

I've definitely settled in on a 54", but that's about all I'm certain about at this point.

I certainly understand the benefit of the improved rigidity of the mid mount, but I'm worried about a mid mount's limited ability to raise the plow. If it's only able to get 6 inches off the ground (from what I've read, maybe that's wrong?) how could I:
1) Get up steep hills if the plow is on?
2) Get over curbs?
3) Take the top layer of snow off a mound or skim the top layer of snow off of a deep snowfall?