Just bought a new Rhino 250 and am going to install a 60" snow plow

George_NJ · 04-28-2018, 12:00 PM

Anyone else here using their Rhino 250 to plow snow? I've seen youtube videos showing the Coolsters and Rhinos plowing.

I bought a like new 60" Moose plow of Craigslist $200, and am waiting for a $40 mounting plate off Ebay that I will most likely weld on to the Rhino. I also got a $13 LED amber & white flasher system for the front and back for when I'm out in the dark plowing out by the street and mail box. I already have a small 12 volt Harbor Freight winch that I'll use to raise and lower the plow.

I used to use my lawn tractor to plow with, it is a lightweight machine and cant push heavy deeper snow, nor was it built to plow. I Frankensteined a plow to it that worked for two years, but it's starting to fail. That's why I wanted to get the Rhino (that was my excuse to the wife to buy it anyway).

I never rode a quad before, it sure is a lot of fun.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-3-AMBER-W...72.m2749.l2649

Darth Racer · 04-28-2018, 06:29 PM

I think it might be a little to wide of a plow for the Rhino... would cut the ends down for less stress on the engine/trans. Try it as it comes and see if it works.

Definitely would get a smaller sprocket for the front and the largest sprocket I could get for the rear for more low end torque.

Add a bunch of weight to the back (have to support the rear rack better if you go that route) or get wheel weights.... chains too for grip.

George_NJ · 04-29-2018, 07:56 AM

Yes, I will get the chains too.

My old lawn tractor did a pretty good job for only having one wheel spinning at a time, where as the Rhino has both rear wheels spin all the time. That alone will make for much better pushing.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about sprockets, it seems more set up for speed and fun right now than for a slower work pace, but should be easy enough to fiddle with.

I figured with the angle of the plow, that will eat up a lot of that extra length. I had to add to my old plow to get a decent size after angling it. But yes I could always cut it down if need be.

I was dragging some downed trees with it yesterday, where I didn't want to tare up the wet grass with my jeep. Even with some spinning of the wheels while pulling, it didn't tare anything up. Even going fast while riding for fun, doesn't tare up the grass, I was happy about that.

Darth Racer · 04-29-2018, 09:32 AM

With the sprocket mod you do lose some top speed.... I never had the throttle pinned in 4th gear on mine so noticed no difference. It's still fast enough with the mod... take offs are better and hill climbing with a heavy load is great.

I'm curious how it works out for you... really haven't seen much about putting a plow on a Rhino.

I'm interested in making a narrow bucket scoop for mine to fill dredge holes back in.

Mudflap · 04-29-2018, 10:38 AM

With a 3.33/1 ratio my Rhino will still do over 40 mph, plenty fast for me. Low gearing is what I need for starting out on steep hills.

George_NJ · 05-04-2018, 12:51 PM

I had a chance to take it to a 200 acre farm with rolling steep hills, paths & flatland fields yesterday. Boy that was fun. I've ridden my kids bone shaker of a go cart through there years ago and that was fun, but the atv blows that out of the water with being higher up with a suspension. The thing is so much faster than I ever want to go. Even out on the paved road, I didn't even hit top end and it was way too fast for me to feel safe (being a 50 y/o unexperienced rider). I'm loving this thing

George_NJ · 09-28-2018, 08:55 AM

Update;

I welded on the receiver plate onto the bottom of the Rhino, there was plenty of frame / plate areas to weld onto. I used the Rhino & plow to push & level off a pile of QP gravel, I worked her very hard and the plate stayed put, so I guess I did a good enough job of welding

*pic below is of plow being used with temp come-along to raise the plow while pushing the QP

I installed the $69 Harbor Freight winch with wireless remote to lift the plow. I was very impressed with it for the price. I didn't install the rollers (yet), I don't think I need them, I only plan on using the winch for the plow and don't need it for that.

Bought real nice rear tire chains with an extra "V" griper on each link for around $40 off ebay, they look very aggressive, and I expect they will be a big help with snow plowing.

I bought a smaller front gear & chain and attempted to install it yesterday, but the new chain doesn't work with the stock rear sprocket. I tried using the original chain, but that doesn't work right with the new front gear... I was able to drive it and can easily feel the difference with the smaller gear, exactly what I need, but the chain slips going up a hill due to the chain not being able to seat 100% on the new gear being an off size. Once I get this straightened out I'll be all set for plowing. The job itself was easier than I thought it would be, reminded me of my childhood working on my old bicycles, so it wont be a big deal to do it over again.

Bruces · 09-28-2018, 09:26 AM

Whenever we run a winch for a Plow ,we remove most of the cable as it tends to bird nest real bad and fail often .Its a bit of a dance though as you want a few wraps on the drum to slow it down and give it some power,yet if the drum is full it creates issues .Also if I am not mistaken ,my friends from New Jersey typically deal with wet heavy snow ,why not just put a Plow on the Jeep ?I built this a few years ago and it worked perfectly but my feet in winter boots were causing clutch issues (not enough room ) so I sold it .

George_NJ · 10-06-2018, 08:27 AM

Hi Bruce,

You're right about bird nesting, I actually tried using the winch to move an old hottub, and when I had my son hold the line to keep tension as I reeled it back in, he had no clue and it got messed up. I ended up cutting it, so it is shorter now.

I'm home when it snows, so it's not a problem for me to go out and plow before the snow either gets too deep or too heavy. I just got rid of my old Jeep. I have high hopes for this plow set up on the Rhino. If my old lawn tractor could do it with a Frankenstein plow setup, this sure should.

I figured out my problem with the sprocket not working, I bought the wrong size for size chain. Learn something new all the time

George_NJ · 11-16-2018, 04:59 AM

Snow report! The Rhino happily exceeded my expectations in plowing what was the first snow storm of this year! I didn't have to cut down the plow, it worked just as I hoped it would, even straight across where needed. The winch worked great, sure beats pulling on a rope like I had to with my lawn tractor. I strapped a marine battery on the back tray for added traction. The Vbar chains worked great with hardly any lost traction. The new front 11 tooth sprocket worked great, even when the snow got wetter and heavier later on. What I liked especially is that I could plow FAST with the Rhino, where as the lawn tractor did it at a snail's pace. We got about eight inches of snow.

Here's a couple of video links showing the quad & plow in action.

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ze..._g19nPhSUslhpy

https://drive.google.com/open?id=11N...kvSxYo7pKVD3lu

Darth Racer · 11-16-2018, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the update and the videos George. I'm gonna have to do this upgrade at some point. Least now I have confidence it will work.

Really would like to do a smaller scoop/bucket to tackle the snow banks the road plow leaves behind. Would be nice to have when prospecting too.

If you ever get around to it, some pics of how it is all mounted up underneath would be a ton of help. Will probably make it all from scratch when I get my TIG welder.

George_NJ · 11-17-2018, 07:42 AM

Hi Darth Racer,

Yeah, that's one of the pics that I forgot to take and post here, but I will...

This is the plate I bought off ebay, $40 delivered.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Moose-Utili...item1ca9a5c309

I didn't use any of the mounting hardware that came with the plate because I just welded it to the frame underneath. So far my welding has held up, I've beat it hard pushing QP gravel & now the snow. I have about 200 feet of driveway and a large lot area to plow.

I *really* like your idea of a dumping bucket. It could be something simple with a trap door bottom, hinged in the back that is worked by another electric winch. You would definitely have to beef up the front end of the Rhino to lift the added weight because as you can see in my video, the front end squats when I lift my plow.

Here's another video of my setup;
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ar...VPjmpL6HDQDVsS

Darth Racer · 11-17-2018, 08:19 AM

I paused the video and viewed frame by frame.... I see how to mount it up now... Cool .. thanks George.

The flasher lights are a nice touch.

Bruces · 11-17-2018, 08:31 AM

My old eyes don’t show me if that is how yours is hooked up ,but a lot of the atv Plow s mount from the rear hitch ,and have two long tubes under the atv with the Plow attached on the front .That should help with the weight .
Have you checked your attack angle ?should be around 70degrees on a level surface on the ground .

Mudflap · 11-17-2018, 08:51 AM

I made a simple snowplow for the ATA250D but don't have pictures handy because I'm in Arizona for the winter. My daughter will try it out once the snow flies in Oregon. It would also mount to the Rhino.

The main attachment point is to the front foot rail mounts. I put a bracket there to allow the main snowplow frame to pivot up and down. It is lifted and lowered with an electric screw jack from a garden tractor that sits inside the frame just in front of the steering column. It'll easily raise the front wheels off the ground.

04-28-2018, 12:00 PM	#1
George_NJ Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: New Jersey Posts: 41	Just bought a new Rhino 250 and am going to install a 60" snow plow Anyone else here using their Rhino 250 to plow snow? I've seen youtube videos showing the Coolsters and Rhinos plowing. I bought a like new 60" Moose plow of Craigslist $200, and am waiting for a $40 mounting plate off Ebay that I will most likely weld on to the Rhino. I also got a $13 LED amber & white flasher system for the front and back for when I'm out in the dark plowing out by the street and mail box. I already have a small 12 volt Harbor Freight winch that I'll use to raise and lower the plow. I used to use my lawn tractor to plow with, it is a lightweight machine and cant push heavy deeper snow, nor was it built to plow. I Frankensteined a plow to it that worked for two years, but it's starting to fail. That's why I wanted to get the Rhino (that was my excuse to the wife to buy it anyway). I never rode a quad before, it sure is a lot of fun. https://www.ebay.com/itm/6-3-AMBER-W...72.m2749.l2649 Last edited by George_NJ; 04-28-2018 at 04:07 PM.
	1

11-16-2018, 04:59 AM	#10
George_NJ Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: New Jersey Posts: 41	Snow report! The Rhino happily exceeded my expectations in plowing what was the first snow storm of this year! I didn't have to cut down the plow, it worked just as I hoped it would, even straight across where needed. The winch worked great, sure beats pulling on a rope like I had to with my lawn tractor. I strapped a marine battery on the back tray for added traction. The Vbar chains worked great with hardly any lost traction. The new front 11 tooth sprocket worked great, even when the snow got wetter and heavier later on. What I liked especially is that I could plow FAST with the Rhino, where as the lawn tractor did it at a snail's pace. We got about eight inches of snow. Here's a couple of video links showing the quad & plow in action. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Ze..._g19nPhSUslhpy https://drive.google.com/open?id=11N...kvSxYo7pKVD3lu Last edited by George_NJ; 11-16-2018 at 03:57 PM.
	4

04-28-2018, 06:29 PM	#2
Darth Racer Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: MD Posts: 558	I think it might be a little to wide of a plow for the Rhino... would cut the ends down for less stress on the engine/trans. Try it as it comes and see if it works. Definitely would get a smaller sprocket for the front and the largest sprocket I could get for the rear for more low end torque. Add a bunch of weight to the back (have to support the rear rack better if you go that route) or get wheel weights.... chains too for grip.
	0

04-29-2018, 07:56 AM	#3
George_NJ Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: New Jersey Posts: 41	Yes, I will get the chains too. My old lawn tractor did a pretty good job for only having one wheel spinning at a time, where as the Rhino has both rear wheels spin all the time. That alone will make for much better pushing. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing about sprockets, it seems more set up for speed and fun right now than for a slower work pace, but should be easy enough to fiddle with. I figured with the angle of the plow, that will eat up a lot of that extra length. I had to add to my old plow to get a decent size after angling it. But yes I could always cut it down if need be. I was dragging some downed trees with it yesterday, where I didn't want to tare up the wet grass with my jeep. Even with some spinning of the wheels while pulling, it didn't tare anything up. Even going fast while riding for fun, doesn't tare up the grass, I was happy about that.
	0

04-29-2018, 09:32 AM	#4
Darth Racer Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: MD Posts: 558	With the sprocket mod you do lose some top speed.... I never had the throttle pinned in 4th gear on mine so noticed no difference. It's still fast enough with the mod... take offs are better and hill climbing with a heavy load is great. I'm curious how it works out for you... really haven't seen much about putting a plow on a Rhino. I'm interested in making a narrow bucket scoop for mine to fill dredge holes back in.
	0

04-29-2018, 10:38 AM	#5
Mudflap Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 1,929	With a 3.33/1 ratio my Rhino will still do over 40 mph, plenty fast for me. Low gearing is what I need for starting out on steep hills.
	0

10-06-2018, 08:27 AM	#9
George_NJ Join Date: Apr 2018 Location: New Jersey Posts: 41	Hi Bruce, You're right about bird nesting, I actually tried using the winch to move an old hottub, and when I had my son hold the line to keep tension as I reeled it back in, he had no clue and it got messed up. I ended up cutting it, so it is shorter now. I'm home when it snows, so it's not a problem for me to go out and plow before the snow either gets too deep or too heavy. I just got rid of my old Jeep. I have high hopes for this plow set up on the Rhino. If my old lawn tractor could do it with a Frankenstein plow setup, this sure should. I figured out my problem with the sprocket not working, I bought the wrong size for size chain. Learn something new all the time
	0

11-16-2018, 04:19 PM	#11
Darth Racer Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: MD Posts: 558	Thanks for the update and the videos George. I'm gonna have to do this upgrade at some point. Least now I have confidence it will work. Really would like to do a smaller scoop/bucket to tackle the snow banks the road plow leaves behind. Would be nice to have when prospecting too. If you ever get around to it, some pics of how it is all mounted up underneath would be a ton of help. Will probably make it all from scratch when I get my TIG welder.
	0

11-17-2018, 08:19 AM	#13
Darth Racer Join Date: Apr 2016 Location: MD Posts: 558	I paused the video and viewed frame by frame.... I see how to mount it up now... Cool .. thanks George. The flasher lights are a nice touch.
	1

11-17-2018, 08:31 AM	#14
Bruces Join Date: May 2018 Posts: 1,649	My old eyes don’t show me if that is how yours is hooked up ,but a lot of the atv Plow s mount from the rear hitch ,and have two long tubes under the atv with the Plow attached on the front .That should help with the weight . Have you checked your attack angle ?should be around 70degrees on a level surface on the ground .
	0

11-17-2018, 08:51 AM	#15
Mudflap Join Date: Sep 2014 Posts: 1,929	I made a simple snowplow for the ATA250D but don't have pictures handy because I'm in Arizona for the winter. My daughter will try it out once the snow flies in Oregon. It would also mount to the Rhino. The main attachment point is to the front foot rail mounts. I put a bracket there to allow the main snowplow frame to pivot up and down. It is lifted and lowered with an electric screw jack from a garden tractor that sits inside the frame just in front of the steering column. It'll easily raise the front wheels off the ground.
	1