I have always had a house in town with a smaller driveway and walks. I have always shoveled snow by hand.
My current house has a 60' driveway, a 20' walk out front, and parking spots along the street in front that I typically use. It's about 70' of space that the city plow throws snow onto so I have to either shovel the giant berm away, or only park my 4x4 there and engage it every time I pull in or out.
Well, my dad passed in May and I inherited his 2006 Arctic Cat ATV with a plow. I had used it once before at his 10 acres to clear his drive for him, which was about 100yds.
Last week, we got about 3" of snow at my house, and I just got the ATV back from the shop (with only 450 miles on it and mint, it needed serviced and repaired), so I decided to forego the shoveling (except for the walk) and use the ATV.
Wow! What would have taken me a couple of hours with stopping every 10 minutes to prevent cardiac arrest, I was able to do in 15 minutes. I had so much fun that I then when and did the neighbor's drives and parking spots.
When the Arctic Cat again started having issues a couple of days later, I decided that I HAD to have a reliable ATV for plowing snow, exploring the woods, and hunting. So I did some research and ordered a 2024 Yamaha Kodiak 450 from the nearest Yamaha dealer.
I bought my first ATV 23 years ago in 2001. It was a Yamaha Kodiak 400. Base model 4x4. Cost $5100 brand new. Not a single issue with it until my ex-wife took it in the divorce in 2012.
This new machine is amazing. My brother bought one in 2022, and my mine will be identical except for the color. Both are the Kodiak 450 EPS SE models. They come with power steering, independent suspension, locking front differentials, and Warn winches. His was $7900 two years ago, and mine is $8300.
I'm having the dealer install a plow, since I will never not have an ATV with a plow again.
The ATV repair shop said I could sell the Arctic Cat for $5k, so not too much money out of pocket for a brand new and reliable machine.
I can't believe that I haven't owned an ATV with a snow plow until I was 54 years old!
Who else has one and can't imagine not having one?