P500 Snow Plow recommendatons for P520

[John Mc]

For those of you using a strap on your plow: does that replace the synthetic cable on your winch, or is it somehow added in addition to it?

If it replaces the cable, how time consuming is it to swap them out. I work in the woods in the winter, and will need the winch occasionally. (I'll be swapping in an unheated shop, but it's partially underground: it gets cold in there, but not quite as cold as it is outside.) The only winch cable I've ever changed is the 3/8" diameter, 230' steel cable on my tractor's 3 point hitch logging winch. That one is a pain in the butt.

 

[Admin]

 

[The Green Goat]

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"

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

The poly is plenty strong. I've pushed dirt and a log brush pile around with mine with zero problems. Last I checked, I think a replacement poly face was like, $50 should you somehow manage to break it. The reinforcing frame and cutting edge are all steel.

As for the level kit, I think I went with the 2" for mine, which also has 27s.

 

[The Green Goat]

For those of you using a strap on your plow: does that replace the synthetic cable on your winch, or is it somehow added in addition to it?

If it replaces the cable, how time consuming is it to swap them out. I work in the woods in the winter, and will need the winch occasionally. (I'll be swapping in an unheated shop, but it's partially underground: it gets cold in there, but not quite as cold as it is outside.) The only winch cable I've ever changed is the 3/8" diameter, 230' steel cable on my tractor's 3 point hitch logging winch. That one is a pain in the butt.

Strap replaces the rope. On mine, its kind of a PITA to route the strap under the pulley as the metal end on the strap won't fit under the pulley without removing the pulley first. Pulling out the winch rope is straight forward enough, but mine uses a ball bearing to lock the rope into place and it can be tedious trying to get it back into place. I've only ran mine for 2 winters though, and mine stays on for the whole season, so its not a huge deal. If I had to take it on/off frequently, I'd come up with some better solutions.

 

[Scoop]

Winter setup (winch rope, strap, etc.) goes on in the fall and comes back off in the spring. I would not want to swap back and forth throughout the snow plowing season.

 

[John Mc]

Strap replaces the rope. On mine, its kind of a PITA to route the strap under the pulley as the metal end on the strap won't fit under the pulley without removing the pulley first. Pulling out the winch rope is straight forward enough, but mine uses a ball bearing to lock the rope into place and it can be tedious trying to get it back into place. I've only ran mine for 2 winters though, and mine stays on for the whole season, so its not a huge deal. If I had to take it on/off frequently, I'd come up with some better solutions.

Winter setup (winch rope, strap, etc.) goes on in the fall and comes back off in the spring. I would not want to swap back and forth throughout the snow plowing season.

Thanks for the feedback. The comments here that it can cause wear on the winch rope had me thinking strap, but the need to do some winching during the plowing season makes me think it would be simpler just to plan on replacing the winch rope more often, rather than having to swap back and forth during the winter.

 

[Jerryg]

Thanks for the feedback. The comments here that it can cause wear on the winch rope had me thinking strap, but the need to do some winching during the plowing season makes me think it would be simpler just to plan on replacing the winch rope more often, rather than having to swap back and forth during the winter.

The synthetic rope on my Warn XT25 lasted about 10 years before it broke.

But it was a 54" Warn plow.

 

[trigger]

The synthetic rope on my Warn XT25 lasted about 10 years before it broke.

But it was a 54" Warn plow.

Mine lasted about 4 or 5. Went to a strap last yr. It's a pita to switch out plus I swap the fairlead from hawse to roller but it's a better setup for the repeated short area the line gets worked.

 

[John Mc]

Mine lasted about 4 or 5. Went to a strap last yr. It's a pita to switch out plus I swap the fairlead from hawse to roller but it's a better setup for the repeated short area the line gets worked.

Sounds as though they should be using larger radius pulleys?

Did your your winch line set up have the extra pulley to cut the speed and the load on the winch in half, or is the line just a straight run to the push tube?

 

[trigger]

Sounds as though they should be using larger radius pulleys?

Did your your winch line set up have the extra pulley to cut the speed and the load on the winch in half, or is the line just a straight run to the push tube?

KFI doesn't use the pulley system and I didn't want one honestly. It's just another mechanical part to freeze up or bind IMO.

 

[John Mc]

KFI doesn't use the pulley system and I didn't want one honestly. It's just another mechanical part to freeze up or bind IMO.

It looks as though they offer it as an option. Here's a link showing the set-up for the strap (the winch line version is similar):

#106140 Plow Strap Roller - KFI ATV Winch, Mounts and Accessories

#106140 Plow Strap Roller KFI and other ATV Winches and KFI ATV winch mounts and Accessories

kfiproducts.com

 

[Splorin]

Wondering if a silicone grease on a couple feet of the line used for plowing would extend the life of it??????

 

[trigger]

It looks as though they offer it as an option. Here's a link showing the set-up for the strap (the winch line version is similar):

#106140 Plow Strap Roller - KFI ATV Winch, Mounts and Accessories

#106140 Plow Strap Roller KFI and other ATV Winches and KFI ATV winch mounts and Accessories

kfiproducts.com

Interesting, didn't know KFI even offered that. Would definitely make it easier on the winch but it's only a couple hundred lbs and (as fun as it is?) wouldn't want to slow the process down. It is cool though.

 

[john790]

While wire rope is not popular on here thats what i run.For what you want to due might be a good choice BUT mine breaks about once a year.Easy fix cut off start over.Some say you dont need a pulley but for a gravel drive its a must.On blacktop or concrete maybe not needed.Tried both ways for me its a pulley.Made my own setup.Big pulley deep groove.

 

[Kilroy]

I just swap out the synthetic rope for the plow strap when I have the snow plow mounted. It only takes a minute or two to swap them out.

 

[John Mc]

Thanks for all of the tips and advice here.

I'm ordering a KFI 66" poly blade set-up on Monday. I'm going with the strap. Hoping I won't need to swap back and forth between the strap and the synthetic winch cable too often during the winter. If it becomes too much of an issue, it's not that expensive to switch a couple components and use the winch cable for the plow as well.

It turns out a motorcycle/ATV/UTV dealer in the next town deals in KFI products. They have quoted a decent price, and the owners also happen to be friends from long ago.

 

[Scoop]

It turns out a motorcycle/ATV/UTV dealer in the next town deals in KFI products. They have quoted a decent price, and the owners also happen to be friends from long ago.

Did you see the Denali lineup available at the Hondasxs.com club store? PM @Hondasxs for a forum discount.

 

[John Mc]

Did you see the Denali lineup available at the Hondasxs.com club store? PM @Hondasxs for a forum discount.

Yes, I did. It was one of the brands I was considering. If I had decided to go with a Denali plow, I would certainly have ordered it through the club store. In the end, the KFI plow interested me more.

 

[Tom_C]

Sorry to go sort of off topic, but I have a warn provantage front mount bracket, and wondering if the KFI blades the same mount pattern?

 

[trigger]

Sorry to go sort of off topic, but I have a warn provantage front mount bracket, and wondering if the KFI blades the same mount pattern?

Probably not. 🤷‍♂️

 

[Jerryg]

Sorry to go sort of off topic, but I have a warn provantage front mount bracket, and wondering if the KFI blades the same mount pattern?

Not likely but who knows, maybe with a small amount of modification it might.