New '11 500 EFI, Eagle River, Alaska

[Russ Chastain]

Usually not... but I sure am glad to have a windshield most of the time.

[redmoose]

We had two days of warm "chinook" winds blow through with temperatures in the high 30s. Then it rained. Then it dove below freezing again. Worst possible conditions for making smooth, hard, slippery ice on the driveway! Well, I thought for sure I'd finally have to mount the tire chains on my Ranger, but I decided to see if I could clear some of the slush before it froze solid and spread some gravel and ice-melt mix for traction. I plowed the drive and got most of the slush off, and the icy crud left behind was very waffled by the Ranger's tire treads, leaving the surface rougher than it had been. Then I loaded 3 40-pound bags of gravel mixed with a little ice-melt in the hopper of my towed spreader and headed up the driveway. Just once I found a spot with insufficient traction and had to back down a little and try again. In 5 minutes or less I had the entire drive covered with 120 lbs of gravel for traction, and I only had to get out once to adjust the flow.

Last night it snowed - six inches of fine, dry powdery snow. The skiers must be having a ball! With that snow on top of the ice, again I figured to need the chains. Nope. Well, that snow no longer blankets my driveway - or the street in front of our house, or the sidewalk and path around to the back. Thanks to the Ranger and a heated cab I'm still toasty warm, and it took me less time than it used to take just to cut a path up the driveway with my snow-blower!

Did I mention how much I love my Ranger 500 EFI?

[redmoose]

Originally Posted by redmoose

Polaris apparently completely dropped the ball on my 66-inch Sno-Glide plow. After confirming two weeks ago that it was shipped to Alaska on a pallet of parts and accessories, the pallet arrived a few days ago WITH NO PLOW BLADE. Now Polaris is trying to tell my dealer that the blade shipped and my order was fulfilled. My dealer is fighting that and trying to get me moved back to the top of the order cue - if there is one. I understand the factory can't keep up with the orders, but I ordered mine in EARLY SEPTEMBER!!! Thank goodness I bought the 60" as a "back-up" - looks like that will have to do for now. Grrrr!
========== UPDATE ==============
After some phone calls to other dealers I have NO confidence that the 66" Sno-Glide will be available this year. I ordered a 60" two-way snow plow designed for the Ranger and Razor that should do a better job then the straight 60" I have now.... now I have another two week wait for delivery, but at least this one's available! Arghhh!

NEW UPDATE! Apparently Polaris only bobbled badly, but recovered. I'm in Asia again, but this morning my wife got a phone call from my dealer asking if I'd prefer the 60" 2-way or the 66" Sno-Glide blade. It seems after all the hassle described above that MY BIG BLUE SIXTY-SIX INCH SNO-GLIDE BLADE CAME IN TODAY! No one knows how it got into a different shipment than the supplier said it was in, but it is waiting at our dealership. My wife is going to pick it up on her grocery run into town today, so it will either be: A) waiting for me to install when I get back from my trip since there isn't any big snow in the immediate forecast, or B) already installed on the second push frame and mounted on the Ranger if the weather man is wrong and she needs the bigger blade before I get home! Hallelujah! I guess it's a MERRY CHRISTMAS after all!