New to this forum, need advice. I am putting quite a strain on my Rincon pulling a 500 lb. set of discs over rough terrain preparing food plots. As you know the Rincon has no low gear and overheats frequently. Is this hurting my atv, if so should I look at a specific atv make/model for this use (low gear , pulling power). I have only owned Hondas so I am not familiar with the others products.

 

Early last year I went through the same process. Needed something that would handle an ag. system I built. After reviewing many ATV's I settled on the Traxter and am still amazed at how much that thing will do. It is a more expensive machine but from my experience it is well worth it. Now you would have to buy that machine through a John Deere dealer.

 

I thought Traxter was a Bombardier atv? Whats up with the John Deer reference?

 

It is a Bombardier product but for some reason they quit selling it through their normal dealers. Now it is only available through John Deere dealers. I think now they call it "Buck".

 

I was also going to suggest the Traxter. It is one tough work horse. Everything Reb2 said about it is true.

 

Arctic Cat 500 manual. VERY LOW low range, loads of low-end torque, differential lock for the tough places, no belt or auto tranny to worry about, and an excellent suspension for putting the power to the ground. It's a very rugged ATV. They also respond very well to mild mods like a snorkle/filter, pipe, and rejetting if you feel the need for more power. Every AC 500m i've ever seen with these mods will turn even 29.5 outlaws very well in any type of mud, so there's loads of torque on tap. 06 models are going for around $6,200 so it's relatively easy on the wallet. A leftover 05 model is the same and should go for a little less.

My $.02

 

I think the best thing would be to have solid gears but I pull a pretty heavy disc as well with my Grizzly and don't have any problems at all. Putting chains helps to "hook up" a little better. I highly advise you to go with Engine Ice to help keep the motor cool.

 

Finding a real working ATV is tough, even those designed for such things fall short many times. I recently purchased a '05 Polaris MV700 as a do-all on my farm and have been extremely happy with it so far. Its not a cheap ATV but it is well equipped and needs no add-ons. The MV700 has a 2" reciever hitch standard, which is really nice when when pulling heavy loads. I've pulled some really big loads of rocks and you hardly notice its there. The tow rating is 1500# on the MV. My father-in-law badly bent the hitch on his 750 Brute Force the first time he pulled a heavy load (and it wasn't that heavy). The MV is probably overkill for most people but its amazing what it will do compared to most utility ATV's.

 

I agree with either the Buck or the MV. The Mv was designed as a military grade atv, and can take a severe beating. Go to the Polaris website tough and check it out. The buck was the old Bomb Traxter and it was a beast. The all wheel drive system is top notch, but go with the 500.

 

I have to agree with Mudking , the Arctic cat 500 manual is a real workhorse , I have a 400 with the manual tranny and it is a tractor , it will run out of traction long before it runs out of power and torque . Some of the auto trannys these days are very good and will pull without too many complaints but IMHO you cant beat a manual gear driven tranny for hard work and pulling . These Cats are one of the few quads left on the market that offer a manual tranny with a low range , not to mention they also have the most ground clearance , suspension travel and heaviest rack capacity oh and they too have a 2 inch receiver hitch for towing.
Some may disagree but I think the Cat is the best work/hunting quad on the market .