P500 Snow Plow recommendatons for P520

[John Mc]

I bought a used 2022 P520 earlier this year. I'd like to add a snow plow, but have a couple of questions and looking for recommendations.

I have 27x9R12 tires with what appears to be 1.5" spacers on all 4 wheels. I'm guessing this probably means I need to go with a 66" plow. Is that correct? Do the larger tires change the set up enough that I need to be concerned about modifiying the mount for things to work properly?

I also use this SxS in all four seasons on my 144 acre wooded property here in VT. Some of this is hilly terrain and it can be a bit rough in spots (though not serious rock crawling or anything like that). I'm a bit concerned about loss of ground clearance and especially the approach angle with the plow installed. Am I likely going to need to remove the plow when working in the woods? If so, how time consuming is it (stored inside in an unheated workshop). Is there a significant difference in how high some models will allow the plow to be raised when not in use? Does the mounting bracket make much difference on ground clearance when the plow is removed?

I'm also wondering whether it's necessary to install a second battery. The unit has a winch with synthetic line already installed, but I haven't used it much (for big jobs, I use my tractor with 3 Pt Hitch logging winch). I'm just not sure how quickly it will draw down the battery. I'm debating about adding a pulley to double the line and slow down the winching speed for this operation. It that worth doing, or a waste of time?

Do most of you find you need chains to do much plowing? I have a 66" 3 Pt hitch snowblower for my tractor and the loader on the front for when things get really bad. However using the snow blower is a slow process and turning around backwards to see gets old really quickly, so the more I can use the SxS, the better. I do have a pretty good hill on part of my driveway, however, on the first pass, I'll be going downhill.

Thoughts on brand, mounting system, quality of construction greatly appreciated. I'd really like to "buy once, cry once" and be done with this purchase.

Thanks for any tips you can provide.

 

[Jerryg]

I think a 66" plow tilted only drops a few inches, probably bigger than you need.

Don't go universal under mount and you will not have any ground clearance issues.

A second battery is not necessary, but you may want to swap out the synthetic rope for a shorter plow strap.

Don't need chains.

After being a Warn fan for years, I have switched to KFI. Quality is superior and customer support is top notch.

 

[NTCPrezJB]

@Hondasxs can probably provide answers and get you a decent price on what he’d recommend

 

[John Mc]

I think a 66" plow tilted only drops a few inches, probably bigger than you need.

I was worried that a 60" plow will not cover my tracks when angled. I think I'm at about 53 or 54" wide with my current tires and spacers. Angled at 25˚, a 60" blade would cover 54.4". Depending on snow conditions, some of that will fall back into the cleared track. A 66" blade will cover 59.8" when angled at 25˚.

 

[Jerryg]

I was worried that a 60" plow will not cover my tracks when angled. I think I'm at about 53 or 54" wide with my current tires and spacers. Angled at 25˚, a 60" blade would cover 54.4". Depending on snow conditions, some of that will fall back into the cleared track. A 66" blade will cover 59.8" when angled at 25˚.

It depends on whose blade you are using, I think a 60" KFI blade would be about 56" fully tilted, but you can call and ask.

Also I went with the KFI Poly Pro blade so the snow doesn't stick to the blade. It works great.

I use a 66" on my 64" machine and it's not a problem. The snow tends to fling away from the blade.

 

[Jerryg]

Also remember, the bigger the blade the heavier it is and the more room it takes up when you are not using it.

 

[trigger]

Another vote for the 66" KFI. Mine's the steel blade and been plowing with it for yrs. No chains needed. Putting it on and taking it off takes minutes. Leave the bracket on in the summer and it doesn't reduce ground clearance or anything.

 

[Jerryg]

Another vote for the 66" KFI. Mine's the steel blade and been plowing with it for yrs. No chains needed. Putting it on and taking it off takes minutes. Leave the bracket on in the summer and it doesn't reduce ground clearance or anything.

Did you replace the front shocks?

 

[Scoop]

Purpose of 2nd battery is really to keep you from getting stranded. If your plowing will all be close to home and civilization, then a 2nd battery should NOT be a high priority. That said, if you stay with a single battery, be sure to keep it on a trickle charger/maintainer between plow days. Depending upon how you plow (how often you operate the winch), your machine might not have time to keep it charged up if you only use it to plow, then immediately shut it down each time.

I have a 2014 Grizzly 700 EPS that has served for snow plow duty (Warn 54" tapered blade + ProPivot) for almost 10 years and it only has a single battery that stays on a 1.0A maintainer during the winter. Zero issues.

 

[trigger]

Did you replace the front shocks?

Walker Evans

 

[john790]

I would get enought plow to cover your tracks at full tilt.For me a pulley set up is a must slows down the plow .Iam also running a v type plow its good for making first pass in deep snow.

 

[The Green Goat]

66" Pro-Poly KFI here. Works well enough. It's nearly the same weight as the 66" steel KFI, however, it is about 6" taller, so there's that. I forget the exact trig on how wide the plow is when tilted all the way, but it's enough to cover the width of a standard machine w/ spacers, plus a little more for the turning tangent.

A couple additional thoughts.

1. Don't waste your money on the KFI side marker poles. I bought them and they both snapped off after a year of ownership by slightly bumping into them while walking by. They seem to dry out and become extremely brittle.
2. Get a strap to save your winch line, as well as a pulley setup. The pulley setup cuts the raise/lower speed in half, which helps with things such as skimming snow off a gravel drive without either missing the snow entirely or plowing a huge pile of gravel. I also probably wouldn't buy KFI's winch strap. Mine is just barely long enough to get a wrap or two onto the winch. For the life of me, I don't know why they didn't add about 24 more inches onto the rope portion to keep you from potentially unwrapping it if you winch-out too far. Not sure who makes a longer strap, but if you can find one, I'd go with them.

 

[Vikes79]

The plows sold in the club store are quite good, and have a nice price point.

I’m very happy with my Denali pro plow ( has the snow flap and side markers. I opted for the hydro turn as well.

The markers on mine are very tough and really aid in knowing where the blade edge really is.

 

[john790]

Being i dont use a strap could you use a seat belt out of a junk car.

 

[trigger]

Being i dont use a strap could you use a seat belt out of a junk car.

You'd just have to find a way to rig it to the winch. My strap had a rope rigged to it. Maybe several wraps?

 

[trigger]

Another note is if you're plowing on concrete, the cutting edge will wreak havoc on control joints, tears the hell out of them. Last year I added a piece of conveyor belt type material to mine and it works pretty well. Won't cut the hard packed sh!t as well but...
Oh and I like my KFI side markers, haven't ripped them off yet. 🤞

 

[Scoop]

Been using and recommending the rubber wear strip (old conveyor belt) for years.

@John Mc, you might be interested in do this OR the rounded pipe, depending upon what the surface is that you're plowing.

Check out this thread I posted a while back: P700 - new warn plow skids worn out

If you don't have any of this material available, you can buy a piece cut for your plow. There is a link in my referenced post to where I got mine from, but it doesn't work anymore.

EDIT: I confirmed that this is the same guy, but he has a new domain/website: Rubber Wear Strips

 

[John Mc]

2. Get a strap to save your winch line, as well as a pulley setup. The pulley setup cuts the raise/lower speed in half, which helps with things such as skimming snow off a gravel drive without either missing the snow entirely or plowing a huge pile of gravel. I also probably wouldn't buy KFI's winch strap. Mine is just barely long enough to get a wrap or two onto the winch. For the life of me, I don't know why they didn't add about 24 more inches onto the rope portion to keep you from potentially unwrapping it if you winch-out too far. Not sure who makes a longer strap, but if you can find one, I'd go with them.

@The Green Goat - Glad you mentioned that. With my 27" tires (as compared to 24" stock tires), I'll have to lower things a bit further as it is. Do you know how long your strap is? What I'm seeing on some seller's web sites says the KFI strap is 70" long. Wondering if that has changed since you bought yours?

 

[Kilroy]

I have the Tusk brand 60" blade and it is just wide enough at full tilt. I am still running stock tires and rims.

I will also suggest a plow strap if you normally use synthetic rope on your winch. I picked up a strap for about $25 for mine.

And having a second battery or making sure to use a trickle charger/maintainer is definitely a good idea. The constant raising and lowering of the blade will put a strain on the battery and charging system at idle. Or at least my Tusk 3500 pound winch does.

 

[John Mc]

A few more questions:

Poly vs steel blade: I'm leaning toward a poly blade, but wondering if these will hold up for light grading of gravel driveways, or do I need a steel blade for that? I have a tractor with a box blade for heavier grading duties, but that blade does not angle. Using the plow blade on the P520 might be better for bringing material back in from the edges of the driveway.

Plow Level Kit / Lift Kit: With the 27" tires I'm wondering about blade geometry and clearance. If I go with the KFI, does this mean I'll need their 2" plow level kit (or if I go with a Denali plow, do I need the standard push tube with 2" lift kit?). Is clearance between the blade when fully angled and the tires likely to be an issue? (Radius of my tires is about 1.5" larger than stock.)

Installation: From the description, these seem to be pretty simple to do the initial installation. Am I missing anything, or is this all pretty straightforward