Use a strap for plowing to save wear and tear on your winch cable.

If you’ve already got a winch on your quad just in case you get stuck, why not use the winch to lift your snow plow? Might as well put your ATV winch to work in the winter and have fun clearing your driveway in the process.

Winch Straps for Plowing

Before you put your ATV winch to work plowing, you might want to modify the winch strap, especially if you plow often. Since lifting and lowering an ATV plow only uses a small section of the cable, it can wear down your cable over time. Synthetic winch rope handles plowing better, since the rope is more flexible than wire cable.

Installing a Winch Strap

Something we’ve found that works even better is to wrap a 2-inch wide strap (such as a tie down strap, a boat transom strap, or an old seat belt) around the drum. Here’s how to rig it up:

1. Take the winch hook off the rope or cable.
2. Thread the loose end of the strap through the loop on the end of the winch rope.
3. Then power the cable in until the strap is securely anchored on the drum. There should be at least 3 or 4 wraps of the strap around the drum even when the plow is fully lowered.
4. Attach the winch hook to the end of the strap and hook the strap to the plow.

Now you’re ready to plow. Just remove the strap and use the cable when plowing season is over.

Keep your ATV cover clean to make it last longer.

An ATV cover keeps your quad clean and dry during storage and trailering. To make your ATV cover last as long as possible and provide the best protection, you need to keep your cover clean and free of debris or snow buildup.

Washing Your ATV Cover

The easiest way to clean an ATV cover is to wash it while it’s on your ATV. Use a soft brush to remove debris and hose the cover down with a low-pressure garden hose. Do not throw your ATV cover in the washing machine, and avoid the use of harsh chemicals. Your ATV cover is designed with special coatings that can be compromised by harsh soaps, chemicals, or bleach.

Do not place a tarp on top of your ATV cover. A tarp will trap moisture underneath the cover and keep the fabric from breathing.

Storing Your ATV Cover

Make sure your ATV cover is clean and completely dry before storage. A wet, dirty ATV cover encourages the growth of mold and mildew. Store the cover in a dry storage area, preferably in a temperature-controlled climate.

Replacing Your ATV Cover

For the best protection, your ATV cover should be free of rips and tears. If the fabric wears through or you get a hole in the cover, it’s time to replace it or take it to an upholstery shop for professional repair.

Outback 4500 lb winch installed

The folks over at Quad Crazy tested out one of our biggest, baddest winches: the ProMark 4500 lb Outback Series ATV / UTV winch with synthetic winch rope.

Best known for its bragging rights and grunt power, the 4500 Outback winch is “a beast for my Yamaha Grizzly, or any ATV out there,” says Alex Malichek of Quad Crazy. “I’ve had my older 1500 lb winch on for a few years now and it was time to upgrade it after having the steel cable snap on it recently. I also wanted to try out a synthetic line instead of a steel line.”

Winching the quad uphill

Installation was quick and easy. Alex used the winch plate already mounted on his quad, which matched up perfectly with the 4-bolt ProMark winch. The winch kit also came with updated electrical wiring. But what excited Alex most about the winch upgrade? “The new thing I have now though…is a remote! A 10′ corded remote came with this package.

“The outlet for the remote can be mounted anywhere on the ATV; I opted to mount it in the rear plastic, behind the seat, under the rack. It comes with a waterproof rubber cover, for when not in use (In the video I shot, I use the remote to control the winch up the hill). The switch mounts on the handlebar and in my opinion is a nice rocker style switch vs. some of the other ones on the market. The solenoid, I mounted under the seat, in the rear compartment.”

ATV quad winched to top of hill

After installing his new winch setup, Alex said, “Very impressive winch, once finally on. With no winter snow here and all mud spots are low or frozen, I really didn’t have many options to test this out these past few weeks. Although I was able to test the sheer pulling strength by yanking some smaller trees out of the ground that my older winch just couldn’t do…that was pretty fun. I also wanted to see how it would pull my quad up a hill, that I couldn’t ride up, without flipping. My quad is only 650lbs, so this was cake for this winch.

“The geartrain and ratio on this winch are impressively felt over my older winch as you can see from the video. You can just hear and feel its strength! Pulling is no problem, I’ll post some more videos once we get some snow and I can get her stuck or help pull some people out! So far, I’m in love with this winch.”

We’re looking forward to some real-world testing of this ProMark Outback winch, once the snow hits! You can see Alex’s full review on the Quad Crazy website.

Use a snatch block to double your winch's pulling power.

Want to know how you can increase the pulling power of your ATV or truck winch? Meet the snatch block. This little powerhouse can almost double the rated load capacity of your winch, without even breaking a sweat.

What Is a Snatch Block?

A snatch block is basically a pulley with a metal casing designed to give you more flexibility in winching—whether you need to redirect a pull or get more power and reduce the strain on your winch. It’s compact enough to easily store inside your vehicle.

How Do I Use a Snatch Block?

To use a snatch block, spool out a few feet of cable, thread the winch cable through the pulley, and attach the hook to a recovery point on your vehicle. The winch line should travel through the block on the pulley and back to the vehicle.

Then grab hold of the snatch block and walk the cable and pulley out to your anchor point. Wrap a tree strap or chain around your anchor point and attach the snatch block to the strap/chain with a D-shackle.

Safety Tips

Make sure the recovery point on your vehicle is rated high enough to handle the full force of the pull. Your winch’s line speed will be slower with a double line pull, but the stress on your winch will be reduced and the power will be greater—both because of the snatch block and because you have more winch line out.

An ATV winch makes it easy to raise and lower your plow blade.

If you already own on ATV, why not put it to work in the winter with an ATV snow plow kit? You can clear your driveway, your neighbor’s driveway, and the sidewalks with less than half the time and effort it takes to shovel. Plus, it’s a lot more fun.

To operate your ATV plow, you’ll need some type of lift, either a manual hand lift, an electric winch, or an electric lift kit.

1. Manual Lift

A manual plow lift is simple to use and install. Fewer parts mean that it’s less likely to break and easier to fix if it does. The manual hand lift makes it quick to lift and lower the plow blade with very little effort. It’s also the cheapest option, unless you already own a winch.

2. Electric Winch

If you already own an ATV winch, you can put it to work raising and lowering the plow. Using the thumb switch is the only effort needed to lift and drop the blade. We recommend choosing a winch with a mechanical brake. ProMark ATV winches with a mechanical brake include the XT Series and Outback Series.

If you don’t already own a winch, you might want to consider purchasing one. An ATV winch comes in handy for recovery, landscaping, yard work, forestry, and farm chores, as well as plowing snow.

3. Electric Lift Kit

Special lift kits are available for operating a snow plow. They save wear and tear on your electric winch, and they provide an extra boost of power. Since these electric lifts are designed specifically for lifting and lowering a plow, they are less versatile than an electric winch.

The winch rope should spool in tight, even rows onto the drum.

1. Don’t spool out all of the cable.

Always keep at least 5 wraps on the drum. Leaving a few wraps on the drum helps anchor the winch cable in place. The rope attachment to the drum is not designed to hold a load by itself.

Expert Tip: If your cable is too short, choose a closer anchor point, use a longer tree strap or chain, or hook up a cable extension.

2. Avoid continuous side pulls.

They place a strain on your recovery winch and allow the rope to pile up on one end of the drum. If the rope gets pinched in the winch housing, your rope or winch could be damaged.

Expert Tip: As much as possible, rig up the pull in a direct line from the stuck vehicle. Use a pulley block to redirect the pull if needed.

3. Avoid shock loads.

Use the winch remote to take up any slack in the rope. The rope should be under tension before beginning the winching process. Shock loads can momentarily exceed the winch rating, which is dangerous for your equipment and for any bystanders.

Expert Tip: Pulse the winch remote intermittently to wind the rope until no slack remains.

4. Watch how the winch rope spools onto the drum.

Don’t let it pile up on one side or get nested into the inner layers. The winch cable should spool in tight, even rows across the drum.

Expert Tip: If the cable stacks unevenly on one side of the drum, spool out the uneven section of rope and reposition it to the opposite end of the winch drum.

5. Never use a winch rope for towing or snatching another vehicle.

Use a snatch strap to free a stuck vehicle with a shock load, and use a tow rope to tow another vehicle at a slow, steady pace. A winch rope is also not meant to hold a load in place.

Expert Tip: Snatch straps are stretchy (to handle shock loads), while tow ropes do not stretch (to pull another vehicle behind you).

Use the winch strap and leather gloves to spool out winch cable.

Handling wire winch rope is one of the hazards of using an electric winch. Although steel cable is rugged and durable in tough winching conditions, it can also be dangerous if handled carelessly. Here are a few tips on learning to handle wire winch rope safely.

Hand Protection

First off, protect your hands. Stray wires from the cable can tear up your skin if you’re not careful. Wear thick leather gloves any time you handle winch cable, and do not let the rope run through your hands. Grab hold of the winch saver strap to spool out cable, and use the hand-over-hand method to guide the cable back onto the spool.

Dampen the Cable

Although the chances of your winch cable breaking are low, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Dampen the winch cable by draping a heavy mover’s blanket or similar object over the rope. Place it about midway between the winch and the anchor point. Even a tree branch, heavy winter coat, or a length of chain draped over the winch cable will work in a pinch.

If the cable happens to break during the winching process, the extra weight will slow down the backlash effect. Just like a rubber band, your wire rope can snap back if broken. Besides dampening the cable, make sure bystanders are standing well out of the cable’s path. The winch operator should also be careful to stand out of the cable’s path as well. If you are operating the winch from inside your vehicle, consider raising the hood for an extra measure of protection in case the winch rope fails.

Winch Cable Replacement

Check your winch rope often for signs of damage. If your cable shows signs of deterioration beyond the usual wear and tear, replace the cable before using your winch again. For safer cable, consider switching to synthetic winch rope.

Push snow further out for early season snowfalls.

Winter is just beginning. Right now, there’s plenty of room to pile up snow on the sides of your driveway with your ATV plow, and tufts of brown grass are still poking out. You may be tempted to think you can just push the first few snowfalls to the edge of the driveway and call it good, but experienced plow drivers know that where you pile snow early in the season will make a huge difference later in the winter.

Push It Back

The more snow you pile up along the edge of your driveway, the narrower it will get. The snowbanks will start to close in on your driveway, creating a claustrophobic tunnel.

To keep the full width of your driveway open, push the first snow straight back a few feet into the grass. The more snow your region gets in a typical year, the further back you’ll want to push the first snowfall.

Pile It Up

As the banks on the side of your driveway get higher, you’ll need to start piling the snow higher. Use the ATV winch to lift the plow blade as you approach the snowbank. This helps you push the snow further off the driveway and keeps you from smashing into the packed snowbank, which can damage your ATV plow.

Eagle ATV Plow - Country Style

We’ve added a new Eagle snow plow blade to our line of ATV plows. The 50-inch wide Country Style ATV Plow Blade is designed primarily for the Eagle ATV front and original systems. Tall on one end and short on the other, this plow blade is designed to push more snow without letting the snow spill over the top of the blade.

Eagle recommends the Country Style Plow for long driveways and places where you need to push snow further. The blade is constructed with 12 gauge steel and powder coated for long life. Steel skids with rubber bushings, heavy duty wear bars, and a top side rubber flap are included. Proudly made in the USA!

Get it now and your orders ships free (lower 48 U.S.)!

Features:

• 50″ Length
• 27″ Height (23″ on short side)
• 12 Gauge Steel Construction
• Powder Coat Finish
• 7 Gauge Steel Skids
• Heavy Duty Wear Bar
• Top Side Rubber Flap
• Black Color
• Made in the USA
• Manufacturer Part Number 2915