I live in Nova Scotia and the weather can be quite crazy. We can have a 1 1/2 feet of wet, heavy snow; or 4 foot drifts of light, fluffy stuff. This is the first year of having a plow . I have never done any kind of plowing in my life. Its hooked up to the Big Bear. My question is what are some tips, and what are some things I shouldn't do. I have the stock tires and a set of bear claws for it on different rims and a pair of chains. I was thinking of leaving the bear claws on the back and putting the stock tires and chains on the front. I have a gravel driveway and it can become quite icey, it is also quite long. Where should I put the snow? (the sides, top, or across the road?)

I have a long gravel driveway...i angle my plow and push it out to the sides

Great post.......!

I snow plow with my Honda Rancher and it does a great job. I probably have 25 yards in length of driveway to plow and go about 15 yards wide and keep it cleared.

Some of the tips I've taken from doing this one year and learning the hard way are:

Find two places you can pile the snow and get it as far out of the way as you can.

Reason.......ATVs are great for pushing initial snow, but once it has sat in a pile......at least up here it isn't going to move again

Two piles make it easier to put more snow out of the way....especially if you get piled on like we see here in AK.

I use stock tires and they work great. But again, getting the snow plowed and pushed FARTHER then what you really need is key.

I also push the snow into small piles CLOSE to where it will be stacked and then ram it into large piles from the smaller rows I initially make.

Once we get a good snow, I'll take video of my Rancher pushing......does an amazing job with a LOT of snow and without chains.



Weasel

I plowed with my forman 450 for 2 years and never had any problems with my itp mudlites. I have a wide short drive wat more like a parking lot. 5 cars wide and 3 deep. I live in town so my areas to puch snow are limited. The best advice I can give you on where to push it is any where out of the way and far enough that you can continue to put it there and not build up in the way of the actual drive way. I now plow with my argo and 6 ft. plow I can build a 15 foot high buem without any issues.

Welcome to the fun world of ATV plowing. Here are some tips based on my experience plowing:

- Mark important things around your driveway that you wouldn't want to hit either because you would damage it or your machine. Mark the edges of your driveway around the ditch as well. It is not uncommon to drop a wheel or two into the ditch while plowing. With the winch otherwise occupied and the plow undercarriage impeding your ground clearance you will find your self wrestling you machine by hand or pulling it out with your truck/car.

- If you have a ditch beside the road you live on this can be a handy place to store snow. I angle plow to the end of the driveway, this pushes some of the snow off to the side of the driveway however as winter progresses not much will come off the plow when the banks get high. Once you have a pile at the end of your driveway you angle your blade to the right and push across your driveway and along the road at a fair speed as close to the ditch as you dare. The snow will roll off into the ditch. Keep an eye out for cars while on the road.

- If you have access to the ditch across the road push it straight across the road into the ditch.

- Snow in motion is easier to keep in motion, therefore the more you can carry it to it's final resting spot, the better.

- As Weasel mentioned once snow has sat it will not move easily and frozen piles of snow/ice are a great way to break parts.

- You can also build a snow ramp if you run out of places to put snow. Like the name implies, you keep pushing snow up a gradual slope until it falls off the end. Keep the slope low and when you are done back drag it to fill in your ruts. The snow will freeze and make your ramp easier to use the next time. You start a snow ramp by gradually lifting your plow as you come to where you plan on dumping the snow, the machine will start climbing the snow that falls out the bottom of the blade.

- You mentioned you have a gravel driveway, make sure you don't have any lumps or piles of gravel before the ground freezes or you will be forever tripping you blade on them (and possibly going over the handle bars)

- After the first wet snow fall pack it down and let it freeze, this will give you a nice surface for you blade edge to scrape against unless you live on a hill.

- As for tires, overly knobby tires tend to get stiff during the cold months and also tend to make a mess of your nice clean driveway. Stock tires should be good enough. Unless you only use your quad for plowing you will likely not want to be putting your chains on to plow and taking them off when you want to go riding.

- You may want to increase the pre-load on your front springs to compensate for the weight of the plow to prevent the front end from diving. Some additional weight on the back rack will help with traction as well.

- You may want to add a utility light to the back of your machine for when you are backing up. A rubber housed tractor utility light mounted to the under side of the rack works well.

- Speaking from experience give yourself a little distance between the blade and objects easily damaged, just when you least want it to the blade will catch and edge and pull the towards the object. Presto you will have just added a permanent racing stripe to your house/car.

- Because you never know when that next big snowfall will happen be prepared by doing a little driveway-keeping on the nice days. Push back piles and build snow ramps. Always have a plan for snow storage or else you will be in trouble if you get a winter with a great deal of snow.

- A thumb-warmer is a sound investment for those cold nights.

- If it gets really cold where you are consider switch to a lighter oil for the winter, cold starts will be easier and the motor will be better protected.

Happy Plowing!!!!

This is really good info. I'll be buying a plow this year for the KQ, and i've really never used one before.

I have had one for 2 years and have used it once. This part of New Mexico don't get much snow and again I am looking for it snow--sometime!!!

Just put the plow on, trying it without the chains and just the bearclaws. We are suppose to get 30cm of snow come sunday :):)

If you get drifting really bad make sure and pile in on 1 side of your driveway so it does drift worse eveytime you plow it

We had 1 - 1/2 feet of snow over night But the problem is it rained just enough to make it SUPER heavy. I got super stuck the first 20 secs, with a little effort and help from my son we got 5 driveways plowed. I only got stuck a few times, and it was just a matter of hooking the chain onto the truck. I broke the winch cable but I fixed it. I really like the plow, it saved me and a few friends today.

That sure was GREAT info Sparky! Thanks!

Some great sound Snowplowing tips there Sparky ... those tips are good ones to follow even for flatlanders who maybe don't get a lot of snow.

Now if it would just snow where I live ... I'd be plow'in ... WOO HOO !!!

Later ...

I shove mine accross the road & let the snowplow get ride of it

When you get a real dump you just push thru. I start at the road & back in till I'm almost stuck then slowly lower the blade as I go ahead & plow it out a bit at a time till you get a start.

First thing to look is if you have place to push the snow out of the way. If you have good tires you should be ok but chains will help lots. You need four wheel drive. During a snow storm make sure to keep a path opened at all times to be able get through because a plow with 2 feet of snow is not an easy task. Once you have one pass done you will have less restrictions.These recommendations are for huge quantaties of snow.

I plow my snow downhill around the house and right to the back of the property. I used tracks last year but I opted for just the XTR's this year and so far its good. Haven't had a big dump just a lot of little ones. Get a spare cutting edge in case you wear yours out.