Does a plow wreck an ATV?

OK, more input needed from those more experienced ATV guys out there.

I have a Polaris 2010 500 HO in my sights. Nice machine, reasonable price, looks great, 1100 miles. Everything works, nothing busted, no “easy fixes”. Tires are about 50%, but that’s always the case. I’m ready to do a deal.

So I call my dad and say, we’re buying this one and he looks at the ad and says, “He!! no! It’s got a plow. It’s been beaten like a rented mule. Everybody has told me plows beat an ATV to crapola and the frame will be bent like a pretzel. Forget it, that machine is trashed.”

OK, dad is getting his info from his two ROF (retired old fart) buddies, and they DO both own multiple ATVs, but is this really true? Do snowplows really beat ATVs like a redheaded step child?

If it’s true, I’d never heard that one before.

Help please.

Grouse

From my experience, you will wreck the plow before the wheeler, if your beating it that much running into stuff. The plow bracketing is weaker than the frame (by design I would think). Now maybe 30 years ago….

IMO,the guy at the handlebars will be one one to wreck the atv,….. The plow won’t. Take a look at the sellers other stuff….vehicle, equipment, etc….. If that stuff is beat up and in disrepair, he probably wasn’t too careful with the machine.

From my experience, general household plowing on a modern ATV causes less damage than most trail riding/mud bogging. If it appears in good condition, it probably has been taken care of.

T

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From my experience, you will wreck the plow before the wheeler, if your beating it that much running into stuff. The plow bracketing is weaker than the frame (by design I would think). Now maybe 30 years ago….

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X2 the plow and brackets will bend break before the frame, and shouldn’t be hard on trans due to loss traction. Unless they are racking the gears fwd to rev hard.

I’m with your dad on this one. Buying a used ATV is risky enough, but the plow puts it over the top. All of the banging and shifting will put unseen wear on it.

I can tell you my 500 with plow is in almost new condition after 7 winters and gets trail ridden periodically in the summer.

Its like this!! by using the machine for plowing sure has some impact on the condition..

wheelers are pretty tough and if used to plow on a smaller scale like a small driveway it should not be a problem.. on the other hand if it has been used alot for plowing then that will definitely have a huge impact on wear from tiers to engine..

same as a plow truck you try not to buy them either

if your planning to use it to plow and have a small driveway then fine but if your looking at a long driveway or larger areas to keep plowed with it buy a skid loader instead..

I got a buddy with a can-am 800 with a plow!! he plows a larger driveway 100 yards!! worked good for him about 2 years with no problems!! then busted the plow and needed welding!! then the winch burned out!! and each of the last two years it has been in for engine repairs over 2 grand each time and the mechanic told him to stop plowing with it!! everytime he had problems it was while plowing

he also put a lot of use in the summer on it but the plowing kicks its a$$

He now has a plow TRUCK!!

take that how ya like!! I wouldnt buy one that has been used for plowing unless the price was real good!!

corey

OK, I get that between two otherwise equal machines, the one with a plow has been used harder and more.

But I saw the driveway the guy had and of just over 1000 miles on the machine, I would say that 5-7 hours of use total would have been from plowing. And that assumes he had the plow from day 1, which I don’t know if he did or not.

So yes, I’m down with the fact that it causes more wear than if the ATV was just sitting in the garage all winter. But on a sub-2000 mile machine, how much wear would REALLY be added by a homeowner plowing his driveway?

I have a pretty big driveway, 2.5 cars wide X 100 feet and then the patio and the sidewalks. I count the number of times I use the snow blower every year, and over the past 10 years, it’s only 8-12 times per year. So I’m putting less than 10 hours on my snow blower every year. That’s not very much.

Well, it’s all a moot point anyway as the guy emailed last night and the ATV sold. Of course.

I really don’t see where a plow is the death knell for an ATV if everything else has been well taken care of.

Grouse

I did blow the frame out of a Polaris 400, but that was 20 years ago and I was young and dumb and beating the snot out of it. Since then I have had plows on my 500 Polaris 6×6 and plow 400′ of driveway all winter and have had no issue what so ever. It does depend on how the guy took care of it, but the newer models are made to take more abuse and like said above, the brackets are made weaker than the frames now.

grouse I dont know what the asking price was!!

I personaly wouldnt buy a wheeler with a plow on it unless the price was right..

my brother bought a polaris side by side.. last year used with a plow!!! first thing this winter he blew the tranny out plowing and had to get it fixed!!

he got the hole package for like 2 grand used so even after the fix he has a very inexpensive unit for what it is!! so in that case he stillalright!!! fixed it himself to save money!

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grouse I dont know what the asking price was!!

I personaly wouldnt buy a wheeler with a plow on it unless the price was right..

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I guess this is my position too. I’d avoid machines with a plow except in the case where it’s a good price on a low mileage/hours machine that is otherwise well maintained. The ATV I was looking at was priced about $500 below what I’d consider average and then it had some accessories that I actually wanted (hard gun scabbard, winch, brush guard), so it was pretty much what I wanted, but my fault for balking about the plow issue.

With an ATV, some guys think they can run an ATV through the car wash and that hides the fact that it’s been beat like a rented mule its whole life. Forget it. The wear and tear shows in a million little ways that can’t be erased with a pressure washer. I’m a relative newbie to ATVs, but I’ve been around machinery my whole life and I know what wear and tear looks like.

Grouse