Hey nice pics man! I'm really liking the looks of the new 'Cats, and would love to have that increased ground clearance. I'd imagine with my 'Claws and spring lift under the 500, you'd have somewhere around 14" clearance which would be awesome! I don't recall exactly what I've got now on my 'Cat, but it was 9.2 stock (claimed), then the spacers added 1.5", plus a full 2" with the 'Claws-that's around 12.7 supposedly, but still, that if I could just squeeze out that extra couple inches somehow.... heh heh heh [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

Yeah, that mud on there really gives your 'Cat an awesome look-they just look soooooo much nicer all covered in that "protective coating", ya know [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

Best of Luck, hope you really enjoy the new machine!

Mike

 

I went through a similar process of buying 20 acres of property and building a house 3 years ago. One of my main concerns was being able to get out in the winter. I have about 3/4 mile of road to clear, which comes off of a 1/2 mile dead end gravel road, which is 3 miles from the nearest pavement, you get the idea. I started out buying a used tractor with 8' blade and loader bucket. I have since bought an ATV that I also use to plow. It is an AC 500 automatic like Cowboy's. I'll try to answer your questions through my experiences.

OK, now for the questions:
1) Will a ATV handle these plowing requirements? I currently have an OLD Land Crusier that I use for plowing, but it isn't as versitle or as much fun as a ATV. Should I be thinking about a tractor instead?

It depends. I have a 50" Moose plow on the ATV. I have been utterly amazed at what my ATV can plow, but there are also limits to what it can do. For smaller snowfalls, say up to 6", I can clear my drive just as fast with the ATV as with the tractor. The speed and manueverability of the ATV make up for the lack of blade width. 8" and above the tractor ends up winning with its mass being able to break through snow better. I have plowed through 2-3' drifts with the ATV, it can be done, but obviously takes some effort to move that much snow.

2) If a ATV will cut it, which one do you recommend? Idealy I'd like to find a few year old one to avoid wacking the budget too much, but it looks as if there are alot of new big utility rigs that have come out in the last couple of years. Will consider new.

I'm know I'm biased, but I like the AC 500's for doing work. That's what I bought it for.

3) Are the automatics OK for this kind of work, or should I stick with a manual? I've had some experience with snowmobile belts blowing from time to time, but they are running at much higher RPM than what I anticipate here. A blown belt would be a bad thing in the middle of winter, I'll be stuck at home if I can't plow my way out; course not much stops the old Chevy. Reliability is more important than the convience of the auto.

I love the automatic for plowing. I plow a rectangular parking lot with my ATV. I plow outward from the center making an ever increasing oval. The ability to increase and decrease speed over and over between 0-15 mph without ever shifting is great. The automatic has held up very well.

3) Who makes accessories for use as a "poor mans tractor"? I'd like to see some kind of a box-grader for landscaping and road maintenance.

There are several companies that make ATV implements. Weekend warrior and cycle country come to mind. I saw a box-scraper in the latest Cabelas catalog. I guess one point I wanted to make is this: I have more money tied up in my ATV and plow then I do my used tractor with its accessories. ATV's are expensive, their accessories and implements are expensive. For example, 50" new blade for ATV, $350. 96" new blade for tractor, $500. Around here I can find about any tractor accessory I would need used at auction. Just seems like most ATV accessories have incredible markups. But bottom line is this, most work output per $, tractor; most fun output per $ (and can work), ATV.

That's about all I can help with. There are photos below that show some plowing pictures. Good luck.

 

TCat-
Thanks for replying here, you've got some great snow plowing pics there. You'll have to forgive me though-I knew somebody had them, just couldn't remember for the life of me who it was [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-blush.gif[/img] Sorry! Is it Catlance who has the ones plowing the LONG driveway down towards the main road in to his place, or was that somebody else??? I feel terrible, a couple guys have some great snow plowing pictures, and I can't remember who! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-sad.gif[/img]

Thanks again for the link, it's amazing how much pictures help out with things, and those illustrate very well what you can do with an atv and plow. Nice pics!

Mike

 

Cowboy,
[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img] Hey, no problem. Yea Catlance has the pictures you're talking about. BTW I've been using the plow to move some dirt this week. I'm filling in a steep ravine with fill dirt. It's too steep for anything but the AC to get close to the ravine, so I have a staging area where I dump the dirt and push it and pack it in the hole with the CAT. I'm surprised, it's working better than I thought it ever would. If you close your eyes, it's almost likes it's yellow instead of green, and says D4 on the side...HMMM...[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

 

OK, you guys have pretty well talked me into the Arctic 500! I stopped by my local dealer, only to find out that they were going belly up-had only had the franchise a couple of years. There is supposed to be someone opening up soon, but no "official" announcement. The "old" guys still had 2002 literature, I like what I see. I'll be over at the fair in Spokane this weekend, maybe a dealer will be there with one. Any idea what a 2002 500 auto is selling for?

Stopped by the local Polaris dealer and described what I was looking for. Salesman tried to say the 300 Bayou. Seems like it would be a little light and underpowered for my needs. It does have a semi-independant (ACT type) rear suspension, where the big Prairie has a ladder style non-independant.

Tcat, great plowing pics! With the ammount of roadway you do, why the 50" blade rather than a 60? Does anyone here use one of the taper or "state" plows? At my current place, our road runs across a steep hillside, without alot of excess width to plow snow over into. Having a plow that will lift and throw it fairly high is a big geal. I'm wondering if the taper plows do a better job of this. I've tipped the blade back at a angle on my Land Cruiser to get the extra lift, it helps. This will be a little less of an issue with the new patch of dirt, in that it isn't as steep.

I'd really like 2 toys, a 4x4 tractor for work and a ATV for play, too bad the budget (and the wife) doesn't allow both! I'll try a few different machines out at the dealers this winter and see how they do. Thanks for all the input.

Bri

 

Brianidaho,

The first reason for the 50" plow was that's all that was in stock at the dealer when I bought the ATV. It was November, and I didn't want to wait for a 60" to come in and make another hour trip to the dealer to pick it up. After using the 50" some I came up with some more advantages for the smaller plow: If you plow sidewalks (normally 48" wide), a 60" could give you problems with tearing up the adjacent turf. I plow out some parking lots, drives, etc., where I load the ATV and plow in the back of the pickup and go. A 60" plow would be a very tight fit fitting it in the bed of a pickup width-wise. You could always angle it, but then couldn't close my tailgate. There are times where the 60" would be nice, but transporting it in my pickup is my biggest hangup with it.

As far as throwing snow, the regular plow works pretty good. At a good clip of speed, you can throw dry snow 3 to 5 feet laterally, and 6 or more feet vertically. Dry snow curls nicely off the top corner of the blade. I would image the "county" type plow would work even better for this, but only have experience with these type plows on plow trucks and not atv's.

 

Cowboy, and others have had some very good input to offer you as far as getting a "utility/work" quad goes. I would agree with cowboy about staying with a straight axle for a "work" quad. Stronger, more dependable, less maintenence. I've seen the AC's articulating rear axle work, and it does a very good job of keeping the wheels on the ground, while still allowing for the strenght and durability of a straight axle. I would have to say that a manual shift would be better for a pure "work" quad. However I know alot of guys that work the hell out of their autos, without any problems(Polaris excluded). I also ride with a buddy who has a Traxter, and that is another quad worth considering. Its heavier and wider then the AC, which for a work quad, as you have mentioned would be an asset. It has a "locking" front differential for superior traction. The 650 Prarie would also be a good choice. Again, it has a straight rear axle, but it also has 650cc's. More power is always better[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]. I'm not too sure if I like the variable "locking" dif of the Prarie. I think it would be better to just engage the "lock" on the front dif and go, but that is just my opinion. I haven't ridden one.

Rick

 

Save your self a lot of disappointment and go with a compact utility tractor with front wheel assist, 3 point and loader. If you are building in an unimproved location you won’t regret it.

Dan

 

Get the new hona forman s....it has the trax lock for fun and the force to push however much snow u want....with a good set of chains it becomes an ultimate snow plow.

 

Greetings,

Lots of good advice here, two things to add.
1. Try Northern Tool and Equipment -- they have lots of carts, scrapers, blades etc. 2. Whatever equipment you consider buying, check the hitch. These things don't go together like Tonka Toys and, if its not a solid connection, it won't work well and may even be dangerous. I've flipped my flail mower three times while trying out different hitch set-ups. I think its solved with a standard ball and coupler -- but what a hassle it has been.

Good luck out there.