Well I picked up my new Sportsman 800 HO yesterday and I finally got a chance to drive her today. I had a blast and know that I made a good choice. She was able to get me anywhere I wanted to go in comfort, while still being able to show off on the power department a little too, when I wanted. Anyhow, I'm figuring out my plow and winch options now. I'm pretty much set on getting a Warn winch. I'm leaning towards the Polaris marked RT30, as it should pretty much be plug and play. I may go the XT30 route, but I don't think I'd need a wireless remote, and according to the Warn rep I talked to the other day on the phone, the wireless remote and the synthetic cable are the only differences between the XT and RT 30.

So about plows... I'm looking at putting a plow on the front of my new baby. I really like the look of the Polaris plows, even if they are a tad bit pricy. It looks like their mounting system is really quite easy to use and doesn't give up much if any ground clearance. I also like not having to drill any holes and having everything already setup for a plow. I would like to stick with the Glacier 1 setup, as it does appear beefier and it seems more durable by the accounts of some people here on this forum. Also, it looks like it would only be about 5 minutes worth of work to take the plow mount off the ATV in the summer if I really needed that extra half inch of clearance. So, the real question becomes what plow to put on the front? I think 60" is the way to go size wise as my 800 should be able to push a 60" blade with ease. Is the 2 way razor blade worth the extra cost? I would like to be able to angle the plow in both directions as well as be able to push straight so that kind of leaves out the 1 way plows. But is the 2 way plow really useful or more of a gimmick? Is it as durable as the standard blade? Is the center height of the moldboard as high as the moldboard on the standard 60" blade? I am interested in people's experience and opinions.

Although I'm leaning towards the Polaris Glacier 1 setup, I could still be swayed to another plow with proper convincing. The moose plows look good and come pretty highly recommended as well. The difference in cost isn't much if any though compared to the Polaris setup, so unless the Moose was clearly superior, I think I'd rather pay a slight premium for a Polaris unit. Also, it looks like Warn plows aren't quite as easy to use as the the Moose plows, but they come from a good name and might offer some benefits that I'm not aware of.

Lastly some more winch related questions. If I were to install Polaris' full brush guard (with headlight protection etc.) would that interfere with proper operation of the plow and winch? Would there be clearance issues? It looks like just the double tube bumper that Polaris has on the Sportsman in their parts and accessories catalog barely allows for the winch to pick up the plow without rubbing, does anyone know if the full brush guard would have problems in this regard? Lastly, is the synthetic winch cable really worth it? I would like to use the winch to clear brush as well eventually at the property I am trying to purchase for my future house. It seems like the wire cable is able to withstand that sort of abuse better than the synthetic, while the synthetic offers advantages with plowing. Would I be better served with just a synthetic plow cable and use the steel cable for my normal work? How does the short synthetic plow cable work? Does it completely replace the metal cable on the spool, or does it somehow attach at the end of the regular steel cable? If you have to remove the steel cable to install the synthetic plow cable, do you have to remove the winch from the ATV or can you just unspool everything while the winch is still attached and hooked up to the ATV? Sorry for the newbie questions, but I really appreciate the advice of the more experienced on this forum. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Anyone, Anyone, Bueller?

 

You won't be disappointed with the glacier I plow, I have a 52" on my 500 and love it. I can put mine on and take it off 10 times while my buddy hammers and pries on his crappy push tube setup, laughing hysterically the whole time. Then I finally lay on the ground and help him after his blood pressure is boiling over! There may be heavier duty setups out there, I don't know, I plow my drive way and a few others and don't use it for dirt or anything else, so I don't care. If the glacier is in your budget get it. Check out Breese on eBay for a plow/winch combo, they have the best prices going. If you don't see one listed call them and they'll list what you need. Also they accept offers on their auctions as well, check the completed auctions to get an idea of what offers they have accepted and what has been turned down. I called them made an offer and paid by CC at 4:15 on a Wednesday and had it by the time I got home from work on Thursday. Installed it in about an hour or so, no issues, easy as can be. Like I said I have no experience with any others except for laughing at my buddies junk rig, I keep telling him I'll do him a favor and run it over with my truck for him so he can get a glacier. he hasn't taken me up on it yet [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

doubled up somehow [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

 

I have a 60" Glacier 2 blade for my 800.
I found that narrower blades let snow spill out when angled and then I was running the tire on that side on that snow.
The 60" does not do that with pushing 30" of snow around.

This is straight blade that is lower in the center than either end sort of a V. it has 2 positions to angle to either side.
I have pushed some dirt around and also used it to roll over my compost pile up the hill.
I have a swisher bucket too, but the Glacier 2 mount was already there and 2 minutes I have the blade on and can turn the pile, finish and then in 2 minutes or less it is off. Time to play again.

Any plow seems hard on the wire rope. I am considering a short towstrap or synthetic rope for plowing.

 

I have the warn plow, yes you have to bend over and put the pins, its a 54" and when I angle it all the way and I don't run over the snow It swivels very and overall I am very happy
just my .02 cents worth

 

I didn't mean that push tubes are junk in general, but his are.

 

I love the Glacier I plow and used it for 2 winters with a Polaris brushguard without any problems. I got a 54" plow because I can't use a 60" blade on my 60" sidewalk without getting off to angle it then changing it back again to plow the driveway.

 

How hard is it to change the cable on the winch to a plow strap or tow rope? Do I have to take the winch off of the ATV in order to remove the cable in order to put the plow line on? Thanks

 

no,you do not take the winch off,just have to take the winch cable off and put the plow cable on. There is a winch motor kit that mounts on the plow too, check with breezelawn and garden on e-bay or do a search on ebay they are a good option too do not have to use the winch....