Plowing 1/2 mile driveway with a UTV. Should it be done?

[nybirdman]

To those who say to stay away from belt drive transmissions, I have an 11 year old Yamaha Rhino that does only work duty since new and so far I have not changed a belt or U-Joint. It has a Warn 72" plow, it hauls my firewood, it pushes broken trucks around, it carries lawnmowers to remote locations, it pulls a 4x8 utility trailer, it is used to haul camp gear in and out of the woods on weekends. I change the engine oil/filter and the front/rear differential oil each spring with Amsoil, and so far it only has needed a CV boot, 2 batteries and fuel. I expect it to go at least another 10 years. Maybe 20 more.

It ranks up there with one of the very best investments in equipment that I have ever made in my life. And it is useful all year long and has become a tool that even my wife agrees that we could never do without.

Mirrors my experience with a Rhino;had mine ten years and 4,000 miles traded it for a new Yamaha Viking.

 

[check]

Even on a driveway that's 1/2 mile long? For the record, the snow depicted in that video would might occur once a season here.

Length is irrelevant. You can go flying down that road with an ATV, and a half a mile would be cleared in no time at all. Think about it. You are pushing the snow to the side, so what does the length of the road matter? You would be going to a heck of a lot faster than the tractor in the video, so very little time is used up on each pass. The limiting factor, as I have said before, is the windrows. If you can make your pathway wide enough to begin with at the beginning of the season, by the time the windrows build up, the season will be over. The only tricky part is that short length that goes through the woods that you mentioned. If that section is narrow, and the trees come close to the road, then the windrows will pile up pretty quick. That is where I bring out the blower. Or, you could borrow your dad's tractor.

 

[MGH PA]

Length is irrelevant. You can go flying down that road with an ATV, and a half a mile would be cleared in no time at all. Think about it. You are pushing the snow to the side, so what does the length of the road matter? You would be going to a heck of a lot faster than the tractor in the video, so very little time is used up on each pass. The limiting factor, as I have said before, is the windrows. If you can make your pathway wide enough to begin with at the beginning of the season, by the time the windrows build up, the season will be over. The only tricky part is that short length that goes through the woods that you mentioned. If that section is narrow, and the trees come close to the road, then the windrows will pile up pretty quick. That is where I bring out the blower. Or, you could borrow your dad's tractor.

That's the beauty of building with little limitations. I can make that road as wide as a I want (within budget of course).

 

[Oaktree]

I would never consider suggesting anyone use a belt driven machine to move snow. Also, nothing with a diminutive drivetrain that costs a fortune to repair.

I'm with you. I don't know how a UTV compares frame-wise with an ATV, but I wouldn't use one on a driveway that long. Hadn't considered the drivetrain issues, but I did manage to crack the crankcase in my old Polaris ATV trying to push heavy wet snow...it twisted the frame just enough to put stress on the motor mounts. Fortunately it was a 2 stroke, and the crack was below the combustion chamber and I was able to patch it with some JB Weld, but I took it a lot easier after that.

With a driveway as long as the OPs, I wouldn't even consider anything that light duty.

 

[Rock Crawler]

I'm with you. I don't know how a UTV compares frame-wise with an ATV, but I wouldn't use one on a driveway that long. Hadn't considered the drivetrain issues, but I did manage to crack the crankcase in my old Polaris ATV trying to push heavy wet snow...it twisted the frame just enough to put stress on the motor mounts. Fortunately it was a 2 stroke, and the crack was below the combustion chamber and I was able to patch it with some JB Weld, but I took it a lot easier after that.

With a driveway as long as the OPs, I wouldn't even consider anything that light duty.

I wouldn't think twice about doing that with the Rhino. I use the plow for dirt and concrete that gets dumped here, snow, mulch, gravel... it doesn't care at all and I have been doing it for over a decade now. Before late 2017 I never had a tractor, so the Rhino was my tractor. It has pushed and pulled everything I've ever pointed it at or chained it to. My list of broken parts so far is a $15 CV boot that a stick went through and shredded. Some of you folks are giving these machines a very unfair evaluation in my opinion. I can't speak to Polaris and I personally do not prefer that brand based on belt troubles I saw 20 years ago, but I can attest to the fact that the Yamaha is a freaking tank that has FAR exceeded my expectations.

 

[ruffdog]

A half mile drive is not that big of a deal if it is level and straight. The OP says it is all fields next to it so he will have plenty of room to push the snow to. Being that it is open, plowing with speed and using the wind direction will help. A quality plow with a quality trip mechanism will be worth the money and a HD UTV will be needed for such a plow. We are still in snow season so the OP should be test driving any units or at least watching what others use. One person may be fine with a old ATV while another person NEEDS a $60k tractor. What is important is what the OP will be happy with.

 

[oosik]

I completely forgot about my 2005 Polaris ATP - all terrain pickup. I use it around the property to get to places where "no tractor has ever gone" nor will any tractor ever go. Its my, go to, vehicle for fence repair and maintenance. Roll of barbed wire, bag of wire staples, a couple two or three T-133s, if needed and off I go.
So my vehicle is thirteen years old now and I've never had a moments problem nor have I had to replace the drive belt.

It will go places that REALLY scare me. And there happen to be more than a few along my fence lines.

Its not that heavy - 740 pounds. So when the snow is a foot or so deep or has a crust over six inches - its not the vehicle to go out roaming around on. The idea of treading lightly on soft ground during the summer does not work so well with winter snows.

I would never expect to plow snow with this unit - it is simply way, way too light.

 

[ruffdog]

My RTV is around 2000 pounds.....big difference.

 

[check]

I completely forgot about my 2005 Polaris ATP - all terrain pickup. I use it around the property to get to places where "no tractor has ever gone" nor will any tractor ever go. Its my, go to, vehicle for fence repair and maintenance. Roll of barbed wire, bag of wire staples, a couple two or three T-133s, if needed and off I go. So my vehicle is thirteen years old now and I've never had a moments problem nor have I had to replace the drive belt. It will go places that REALLY scare me. And there happen to be more than a few along my fence lines. Its not that heavy - 740 pounds. So when the snow is a foot or so deep or has a crust over six inches - its not the vehicle to go out roaming around on. The idea of treading lightly on soft ground during the summer does not work so well with winter snows. I would never expect to plow snow with this unit - it is simply way, way too light.

An ATV will be fine. Mine is only 700 pounds, and it works great for snowfalls up to 8 inches or more, and the OP says that he generally gets 6 inches or less. Even so, with heavy snow, you just take more passes and you don't go the full width of the blade each time.





This is what I use, with a 5' plow.

 

[teejk]

An ATV will be fine. Mine is only 700 pounds, and it works great for snowfalls up to 8 inches or more, and the OP says that he generally gets 6 inches or less. Even so, with heavy snow, you just take more passes and you don't go the full width of the blade each time.



View attachment 535878

This is what I use, with a 5' plow.

When I used to plow my old driveway with nothing other than my CC 1250 (plow probably 36" but the ability to angle) I planned on keeping ahead of the process when a big storm was in progress so it might have meant getting up at midnight for the first pass and then repeated once or more times the next day. The driveway ran up to the house north/south on the edge of a mile of flat field to the west (elevated to the east) so I finally utilized snow-fencing to minimize the drifting. That was with a CC 1250! A modern UTV would have handled it.