Home Forums Gear Horses and ATV's The Honda Pioneer & Snow Plowing

So I have been doing a LOT of snow plowing over the last few days, we have gotten a foot in the last 2 days alone. Anyhow I have a Pioneer 700 with a 6' plow attached and I use it for my drive and a few others that are close by. It plows pretty well but I do have some issues with the cable breaking on the winch and it would be nice if it was a bit heavier but for the most part it does well. The one thing it does not do well..........back dragging.......I can never get that last 2 feet of snow close to the garage door because back dragging is ineffective with this plow. On your electrically actuated and hydraulic models the actuator/cylinder pushes the plow down and holds it....with the winch its just the weight of the plow and its usually not enough. I am just wondering if you guys have tricks that can be used to make back dragging more efficient which will mean less shovel time for me.

Carry a shovel.

Back dragging with a plow often makes ice.

Most plows are lowered by gravity.
Unless you put a plow on a loader.

About that cable breaking: steel or synthetic? I use synthetic with a pulley fairlead and have had it break once in several years. This time I got a heavier rope - 1/4" instead of the usual 3/16. We'll see how it holds up. A 10' plow rope costs $30. For $20 you can get a 50' rope and make several short ones if you learn how to splice a loop. There are lots of videos on Youtube on how to do it. After mine broke, I just tied a bowline in it and it worked fine until the new one came.

I am using the steel cable that came with the winch, I am planning on swapping it out for a synthetic once it warms up a bit. I also saw some pulley systems that ease the tension on the rope and they aren't much more so I'll probably try them out

I’ve been paid to plow snow for 43 years dirt roads to interstates.I’ve never seen a truck mounted snow plow with down pressure