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Tires For Plowing With A 2018 Foreman

4K views 13 replies 5 participants last post by  TomB80 
#1 ·
Just getting into plowing with the Foreman this winter. My Yamaha snow blower is on it’s last legs, so bought a Warn Provantage 60” plow setup for the Foreman. These newer locker 4X4 Honda’s get good traction. What I’m wondering is, what should I do for tires? I’ve been considering getting some 27” Zillas. My other option is to put the almost new Foreman tires on the 08 Rancher. Take the 12” wheels and 25” tires from the Rancher and just put chains on them for plowing. The Rancher tires are getting old so tearing them up with chains would be no big deal. Eventually though, I’ll need some new tires on the workhorse Foreman. What are the best tires out there for plowing?
 
#2 ·
a lot will depend on what and where your plowing snow
most 4x4 atv's will push decent amounts of snow on stock tires just fine, NO need for lockers or chains
if you get a lot of ice , all the more so if hilly, chains will be a big help, and or a dedicated set of tires that are studded!

to plow snow, I think you will be much better off with stock size tires 25-26's
27's and up will take a lot of the power away for the hard work of pushing snow

also, you do NOT want really aggressive tread tires for plowing snow, they will ONLY work in deep wet snow, in basic snow or in plow paths, they don't grip well, as they don't have much surface area on the ground, plus most are of very hard rubber and as such, don;'t work well in cold weather

a GOOD all terrain tire will work better, the key to working in snow and ice is LOTS of small edges grabbing and gripping for you!

look at any dedicated Snow tire, and you will find they are NOT big aggressive tread mud like tires, and there is a reason for this!
as for tire suggestions, , Big horns, bear claws and so on like treaded tires are liked by many!
work well all yr round, but AIN"T great mud tires!
there is NO one tire does it all great, have to compromise some times!

20+ yrs of plowing snow with atv's and many more yrs of just plowing snow

things to keep in mind, its better to plow a few times in a snow storm, than TRY and wait till it all stopped, DEEP snow, , all the more so can make the atv NOT able to push it, pending HOW deep[ and wet it is, NO matter the tires or chains
if snow gets very deep, or wet, many times you need to ADD weight to the ATV, to get it traction/down force!
remember ATV"S are designed to have a low ground pressure foot print by design, so when plowing, some added weight can be a BIG help, in deeper or heavier snow!
when lifting your plow with a winch, be EXTRA careful to NOT over IN on things, this is the #1 thing that causes winch like to break, be it SYN line,. or wire rope line!
,
 
#3 ·
Thanks for that mrbb, it’s hard to get a feel for what the Foreman will be able to push. I’m blowing snow away from structures into two separate driveways (gravel). Plowing the driveways down to where a front loader takes over...none of this will be smooth! I’ll be pushing snow at a fairly slow speed. Sounds like the old Rancher tires with chains might be the way to go for extreme conditions, they still have plenty of tread, they are just getting long on years.
 
#4 ·
I plowed a 3/4 mile gravel driveway , opening it up 20+ ft wide for 15 yrs with a older smaller 400 foreman and a 60 inch plow
LOTS of passes to get it done, but it never failed to do it all
you will be surprised how well atv can push snow without chains
name of the game however is plow before it gets too deep or heavy, and plow as wide as you can so over the winter the plow curls on sides of things will freeze and turn into rock hard things, so better to make wider and then by winters end still have room to push things
and yes I recommend going SLOW< 3-7 mph is about all I go and many times its more on the slower side than the higher end there!
hitting something solid with speed is a good way to get hurt or break things , never a good idea, even if it seems like more fun,
learned that yrs back when I hit the edge of a parking curb at about 25 mph, had my knees not caught the handle bars, I would have gone over things and landed on my head
lucky my knee'
s caught me and only smashed by head on headlight pod LOL
had black and blue marks on both knee's for weeks
since then, I slowed way down and problem free!
 
#5 ·
Yeah that is good to know, I’ve been driving these things since 3 wheeler days. The newer ones are impressive in the snow and cold. They have come a long ways...
 
#7 ·
I bought the 26” Rip Saws 9’s on the front and 11’s on the rear.
 
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#8 ·
Hope these Rip Saws will fit in the Honda Wheels! 9” on the front and 11” on the rear...I’ll find out tomorrow after dropping them off at the Honda dealer.
 
#10 ·
Yea they did fit on the aluminum Honda wheels.
 
#11 ·
The Foreman with a new 60” Warn plow and Rip Saws all the way around.
149394

149395
 
#13 ·
Those tires are impressive! They really go through the soft stuff. I’ll let you know later on the hard pack. They have 7lbs now would reduce air for a harder surface.
 
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