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Posted by: GreatCanadian
Douglas....there are so many good ATV's out there that will do what you require....however, if the reliability is there i would kinda lean toward the Arctic Cat manual, or the Honda 450...i have driven both and there is a lot of pulling power on the AC....i am not experienced enough with AC to suggest that they are reliable or unreliable...maybe some others can fill you in on that....the people i know with the Honda 450 manual have no problems, rides a little rough but is a bulldog when it comes to work...hope that was of some help.
Posted by: JohnO
I bought a new quad last year to replace my aging Big Bear, to haul me and tools around the farm, haul loads of firewood, and pull downed trees off of fencerows when the locale was too rough to get the truck in. Settled on an Arctic Cat 500i with manual transmission, and it has been terrific. One of the primary reasons I got the Cat is it's one of the few that can be had with a manual, and the only big IRS quad that has a 5 spd. For a 500i new, you shouldn't have to pay over $5800, and with the 650 Cat out, you can probably pick up a deal on a slightly used 500i taken on tradein.
Get a winch, sooner or later you will need it. While the Cat is one of the stronger pullers, quads in general don't have a lot of pulling power, compared to a truck or tractor. Even with the winch, I can't even come close to matching my JD 1050 tractor for moving trees, but I can work the Cat into places where the tractor would roll over. I've used the winch a couple of times to pry apart a cut log when it pinched the chain saw bar. Also keep in mind - while some of the bigger utility quads can get a 2000-3000 pound trailer moving, they can't stop it very well, don't have the brakes or the weight to really control a big load. Not too far from my farm, a kid ran a grizzly and a loaded hay trailer through a fence learning that lesson the hard way... oh, and it was a barbed wire fence. You can haul loads with a quad, but learn and respect their limitations.
AC sells a nice off road trailer. I destroyed, one of those cheap garden trailers, learning that you need a heavy duty trailer to haul heavy duty loads. My Cat trailer is on it's second season of hauling oak and walnut firewood, and it's holding up fine. I'm also looking at the swisher dump bucket setup, but haven't bought it yet.
Posted by: RINCON
850lbs on a honda is exactly as stated before. They will tow a lot. I know a guy with a Rubicon that pulled 16 cord out of the woods with his after the hurricane. (not all at once of course!!)
Posted by: Coyotechaser
Keep in mind that Honda limits all of their towing limits to 850lb to cover their butt. I pull a 16' fiberglass boat around my yard with my Foreman 450. Also keep in mind that different companies measure ground clearance at different places. (Foot pegs, rear end)
Arctic Cat comes in a 5 speed with hi/low on certain 400 and a 500 models. (retail- $5549. & $6549.)
Posted by: Coyotechaser
The cheaper garden trailers don't seem to hold up very well. I had pulled one around the edge of a pasture while fixing fences. I was driving very slow so I wouldn't lose my tools. By the time I was done the tongue was bent like an upside down V. ^
LDouglasLJr- Dirt Wheels has a 2004 Buyers Guide out right now. (Jan. 2004 issue) It may help you make a decision but then again it might complicate your decision. (Too many choices)
Posted by: Coyotechaser
I don't think all the companies are trying to "cover their butts". Mainly Honda. Honda has the same tow cap for the Rancher 350 4x4, Rancher AT400 4x4, Foreman 400 4x4, Foreman 450 4x4, Rubicon 500 4x4 and Rincon 650 4x4. I think that the tongue weight limit of my 450 is only around 32lb. That's crazy! Isn't the tongue weight (for a vehicle) usually around 10% of the total weight limit. Shouldn't a tongue weight be around 85lb for a 850 limit? So if a problem occurs over the low limit then Honda is not at fault.
The AC 2x4 250 has a 850lb tow limit and it's only a 246cc and 2 wheel drive.
The AC 4x4 246cc and 280cc have tow limits of 950lb.
Rincon 650- 850lb, Grizzly 660- 1212lb, Sportsman 700- 1500lb, Prairie 650- 1250lb, Quest 650- 1100lb.
Posted by: sp600towtruck
Go test out the Polaris Sportsman 600 or 700. I do major work with my 600: plow 12-14 driveways (20-90 yards long) every snowfall, push gravel and dirt with combo plow, pull trees, stumps, trailers, etc. As long as you use Low range for doing work, you should never have a belt slip problem. I have 670 miles on mine with absolutely no belt slip problem. The Twins have serious low end torque and they work effortlessly. They are the true work/utility ATV.
Posted by: akfireman
try looking at the Cats again, tell the dealer you want to look at the manual shift not the auto. they are the ultimate work machine, I have the 400I 4X4 manual with a warn winch and a quadboss plow and have been plowing the same amount of snow the guys with plows on their trucks are plowing and havent had any problems at all, the only difference is the width, mine is 52" theirs are 7 ft. I know you will be real happy with the Cat. I have some pics in my gallery if you want to look and see how much snow i have been plowing.
Posted by: KenHower
Quote
Originally posted by: LDouglasLJr
My only concern about non-Hondas is the belt drive. Doing utility work I'm worried about the belt either slipping or worse breaking. In the Hondas I've looked at Rancher to the Rubicon.
The tow capacity on the Polaris is 1,500 lbs. In low gear....you have a lot of torque.
You also mentioned pulling trees. Montana Jack's ATV site has a really nice tree skid.
Posted by: KenHower
Did you look at the Polaris ATP ATV?? That's a work ATV "right out of the box." Has the back dump, closed forward compartment....Similar to a Sportsman, but I think it's a bit longer.
Posted by: LDouglasLJr
I'm looking to get a pure utility atv. The kind of utility work I'm looking to do is plow snow this winter my driveway is about 300' and my mothers is about 3/10ths of a mile, I also want to be able to pull downed trees or trees I need to cut down, do lite road work on mine and my mothers driveway in the warmer months as both are gravel. I also will be pulling a cart around. Basically just all around utility work. Not looking to ride trails and such just work. Have looked at a lot of Hondas as I still have my old 1985 TRX125. My only concern about non-Hondas is the belt drive. Doing utility work I'm worried about the belt either slipping or worse breaking. In the Hondas I've looked at Rancher to the Rubicon. I also have looked at the Arctic Cat and think they have a lot of nice features but the belt drive issue again came up. But I will admit the towing cap. of the Cat is impressive all the way down to the 250 class, as well as the rack capacity. Any help anyone can provide or suggestion will be greatly appericated. Thanks in advance.
Posted by: LDouglasLJr
Wow, I didn't think I would get so many responces so fast since I posted this today. I must say I'm very impressed with the quality of people here and their thoughts. I very much appericate everyones help so far and I appericate any further comments as well.
I have looked at Montana Jacks and they do have a lot of great accessories. I'm actually amazed by the quanity of accessories for atv's today. It pretty much looks like whatever you want your atv to do there's something out there that will do the job. Pretty impressive so far I must say.
Posted by: LDouglasLJr
Actually I did pick up that exact Buyers Guide over the weekend. Yeah you're right it did complicate my decissions. lol But hey that's half the fun right.
John O- If you happen to get the Swisher setup I'd be curious to know how it works and all. I'd been looking at that setup for awhile now. First saw it in a Northern Tools Catalog and thought it looked pretty nice. Also have watched the videos on www.quadivator.com and thought it looked liked it works pretty well but still haven't heard any first hand accounts and that would be nice.
On my way home from work yesterday I stopped in at the Polaris showroom. I must say I hadn't seen any of them in person and the pics the web site has on them doesn't do them justice that's for sure. Really nice looking atvs I must say.
I'm not looking to do all the things a full size or even a compact size tractor can do just don't like the price tag on those kind of units so i thought I could get a utility style atv to do the work I'm needing to do. My father before he passed away this July (which is now mine) had a 1950 somthing Farmall H but he wasn't able to get it running after it quit on him one day and for me to find the time I'd need to fix it is more then I have right now. If it wasn't for that fact pulling trees and doing light gravel work and such wouldn't be a problem come summer time but still it's te narrow wheel style and I'm sure everyone here knows that's suckers can roll on a person so fast.
As for moving big loads that's not something I would try. It sounds like that kid learned a very painful lesson that afternoon. This is probably an unintelligent question to ask but I'm curious. The tow cap. that the manufactures list that is basically just their way of covering there's butts. Would that be a fair statement?
