Thanks for all the advice, guys. The winter is almost over (I hope) so I think I will see if there are any 'spring discounts' on a leftover plow. My main decisions now are straight blade or v-style, and whether or not I need a winch. Something tells me I would be much happier with a winch in front. Please advise.

I do very little 'straight ahead' plowing, most of it is off to one side. Another question would be which will angle off to the side steeper, a straight or v-style, or would they be the same. I have a driveway a good half mile long, and only have one direction to push it, so the better snow rolls off the end the better.

As they say a picture is worth a thousand words, and the pics you linked me to said an awful lot. I think your little 'mascot' is cute, but doesn't the litte bugger get cold? Do you have extra weight in the back, or is that just a box mounted on the rack?
Thanks again

 

Farmr

I would personally recommend the winch. Being on the farm, I think you will find numerous uses for it as well as lifting the snowplow. If you don't think you will ever use if for more than the snowplow (unlikely), you may want to consider the Cycle Country electric lift. The winch has the advantage when you are plowing long driveways because you can lower it to the height you want to plow and then motor along with both hands free. On tighter areas, it is slower to use than the hand lift would be as the hand lift can lift the plow faster. Just my thoughts.

 

Thanks, that is the kind of response I was looking for. I never really thought about the uses for the winch on the farm. I just always figured on using a tractor. Now that you mentioned it, though, stuff like pulling fallen trees off of fences and that sort of thing would be real handy as we can't get a lot of places with a tractor. Plus the fact that the ATV would be much faster to get there.

 

Yes the little bugger gets cold sometimes
NO, I don't have any extra weight on it. That's the box I normally mount in the winter so I'll have extra room for the snowsuit, boots, and just "more" of all kinds of wintery stuff.

I like my "V" blade, and will probably make the same choice next time. It is very versatile, and I think the section in the middle where it pivots is what gets the snow airborn when you're moving fast.

I use a winch, but keep this in mind:
(1) Running the winch in & out to operate the plow really mangles the first few feet of the cable. If you do any SERIOUS 4-wheeling (like Moab) where you and your quad are literaly hanging on that cable - keep 2 cables; one for plowing and another one just for the off-road adventures.
(2) If you choose to use the winch for snow plowing and don't install the manual lever, if you ever get yourself stuck you will discover that it is impossible to winch yourself out when your snowplow is laying on the ground and digging in (you have to disconnect the winch cable from the plow to use the winch to pull yourself out. It doesn't work). In the 3 years I've had mine I've only had that experience once though.

 

My set-up as follows:
99 SP500, stock tires, no chains needed
Cycle country 60" Work Power 2000 straigt blade
Manual Lift
Windshield

Driveway:

750' all gravel, only 200 feet are level, the rest is a STEEP grade and curve.

Wisconsin winter this year was BRUTAL, but the Polaris plowed like a pro.

I pushed some gravel around at first, but once it was frozen solid that was not a problem.

The manual lift worked VERY well. Very quick cycle times, and I am sure it is quicker when you have muliple passes.

The blade rolls the snow well, BUT DO NOT USE HIGH gear. My father-in-law was plowing our driveway while we were away and he blew the belt and it took out the clutch $$$

From your description, I would go with either the CC, or Moose, county plows...the ones that are tapered at one edge to roll snow higher. You will get a taller pile of snow.

I would not go faster than 5-15 MPH, hitting a solid object or a frozen snowbank at those speeds could and would through you off the machine. Besides, you tend to lose snow off the edges at higher speeds.

I tried to buy the Moose, but the mount kits were on B.O. forever this winter so I bought a CC.
No regrets.

We have since bought a Skidsteer, so I am selling the quad and/or the plow set-up

Good Luck

 

If you would quit having it snow you would not need a snowplow. Maybe you should look into a snowblower for your tractor instead LOL

 

Tim’s advice to use two cables is right on the money. The constant up and down lifting of a blade will mangle at least the first few feet of your cable. I’ve started using a 4’ length of wire rope for wintertime blade lifting then replacing it with my 50’ “trail cable” for warmer weather. The damage plowing inflicts on your cable makes it unsafe for an extreme recovery situation, and that’s what my winch is for.

 

Fenix, I think I remember you. Weren't you the guy who, while digging out of a snowdrift, mentioned you had a winch back home in your garage???