ATV Recommendation

[willsaw4beer]

I have an old 250 4x4 trailboss I bought for cheap a few years ago. It's slow and clunky but it definitely gets the job done in terms of hauling wood. I always was pretty impressed by the older 4x4 Yamaha big bears also. I personally don't really like the new fancy atvs, and for the price you could buy a pretty decent 4x4 toyota woodtruck. My philosophy is that you worry less about an $800 atv than an $8000 one. With my old Polaris I don't worry at all about scratches, scrapes and whatnot, and if I need more power I grab the Tacoma. A beat up old tractor is a good alternative- my dad's old Ford 8n was more of a workhorse than any atv period, although keeping it running was another story.

 

[Dok]

I bought a used Arctic Cat 500 and am very happy with it. I couldn't justify buying new. With all the accessories a new quad is too close to the cost of good used tractor.

The Arctic Cat is wider and taller than most other utility ATV's. Its a good thing on my property because the trails are often wherever I happen to be riding at the moment, but some don't like it.
Dok

 

[John D]

I have a 01 suzuki 500 4x4,its been good. Hondas are excellent, except for the pushbutton shift foremens 450s from around 2001 or so.I have a few friends with them,and they act up often,your stuck in one gear then until they decide to start working right again,just too many little problems with the Hondas they have.

 

[loknlod]

Honda or at least SRA

I recommend Honda (Foreman or Rancher) but solid rear axle is the main thing I'd be looking for. I use a Foreman 500 now and had a 450 before that. Both were well suited for hauling and pulling. I attached a couple pics. 2 of the new machine and 1 of the old one in action. Wife needed a break from swinging that axe.

 

[nikocker]

Gutless???

Hondas are nice but they are very underpowered. Ive ridden a few Honda Foremans and got the chance to try out a new Honda Rincon and at first I thought I was riding a 250 because of how gutless they were.
My family has owned Polaris ATVs for a lotta years. Great power, but Polaris seems to have some quality control issues.
Id go with a Yamaha if it were me. Great quality, great power, all around a great ATV.

Octane - I don't know what was wrong with the Rincon you were riding but this 19 year old TRX is anything but gutless. This trailerload is a half cord of oak and this old girl pulls it with no problem.

You can also see it's mate in the background. Great machines!

Al

 

[medic977]

Personally I own Suzuki's. I have two Eiger 400's one is 4x4 one is 4x2. They have more than enough power in what I am doing with them, work pleasure what ever. I also used to use them for spreading fertilizer and such, haven;t gone the plow route yet as I can;t justify it with all the others I have. I really don't use them much for pulling to much as I usually get my material delivered, and when I am actually cutting, I have a Norse on the back of the tractor that pulls 10k. The 4x4 and 4x2 are extremely comparable in power, I have only had to pull the 4x2 out once, and my son and I take them in the same exact places. Usually with Dad in the lead because son knows not what fear is, maybe a case of knowing old bones take longer to heal. He runs them both really hard, and with the exception of tires on the 4x4 never had a problem other than didn't drain the gas one year and the 4x4 varnished pretty badly. I have also owned the Bombardiers, honestly, you could not pay me enough to ever buy one of them again.

All in all I would buy another EIger if I came across one, looking for the wife now. We do have a Polaris Dealer around the corner from where we are now, so may check on them a bit more, and wife may get the hand me down some where along the way. She won't use it to much, so why not spend the money were it will get used. The tough part is going to be using the same thought process when it comes to the son. I think I will have to get a different theory there, I think he had a surgical attachment to mine.

 

[Ole Farmerbuck]

We bought a 2007 Kawasaki Brute Force 750. If you want power......here ya go! Havent used it much but pulled my 7'x10' trailer loaded with wood around with no problem. I forgot, it is powerful! lol

 

[cjcocn]

My '06 Polaris Sportsman 500HO (w/ EFI) pulls my 5' x 10' trailer full of (albeit light jackpine) firewood from the wood pile to the wood shed without any problems. It will also drag a moose out of the bush as easy as you please. I've had it for 2 1/2 years and have just over 300 miles on it.

However, it likes to overheat and sometimes fairly quickly at that. This issue has been discussed on a few ATV forums so I am not the only one that this has happened to. During the winter I will probably pull the radiator and re-mount it onto the top of my front rack. It is the most common fix that is used so I figure that I will give up the space. Seems easier than always having to stop and let the machine cool down.

In short, I'd pass on a Polaris next time.

HTH

 

[ken45]

I have to agree that a UTV (utility vehicle) with a dump bed beats a 4 wheeler. We bought the Kubota RTV900 last spring and love it. Of course we are talking a few more $$$ here than a 4 wheeler.

Tractors work well depending on the terrain and how much room you have to maneuver. But a good used tractor is probably the most bang for the buck.

Seeing the photos of the big trailers load with wood, all I can say is "have you checked the maximum hitch weight rating on the 4 wheeler?" Both my Honda and Yamaha (450's) are only rated for 35 pounds on the hitch, not much! I don't pull more than one of the garden carts full of wood with mine. Yes, I know a lot of people pull a lot more but looking at the hitch, too much weight seems like a good way to damage the rear end casing ($$$).

Ken

 

[KMB]

I bought a used Arctic Cat 500 and am very happy with it. I couldn't justify buying new. With all the accessories a new quad is too close to the cost of good used tractor.

The Arctic Cat is wider and taller than most other utility ATV's. Its a good thing on my property because the trails are often wherever I happen to be riding at the moment, but some don't like it.
Dok

What year model is yours? Manual shift or auto? I've been doing "research" for many years on what 4wheeler I would buy and the Arctic Cat 500 manual (starting from 2004) is what's getting my vote right now. I would like a 500 class machine, manual shift (semi-auto), and independent suspension at all corners. I know the solid rear axle has been said is better for work, but my machine would be mostly for recreation. The riding I like to do (with friends on their 4wheelers) includes some fairly technical riding, so ground clearance and full independent suspension would be nice. From my experience around other friends 4wheelers, Honda would be my choice for a work machine.

Why don't I have a 4wheeler yet? I'm picky and don't have the funds (yet) for what I really want.

Kevin

 

[KMB]

I have a 01 suzuki 500 4x4,its been good. Hondas are excellent, except for the pushbutton shift foremens 450s from around 2001 or so.I have a few friends with them,and they act up often,your stuck in one gear then until they decide to start working right again,just too many little problems with the Hondas they have.

Is your Suzuki 500 the Vinson version? I'm not sure if the Vinson came out in 2001 or 2002. And is it manual or auto? For a solid rear axle 4wheeler, the Vinson 500 manual (from 2003) would be my choice.

Kevin

 

[excess650]

I have to agree that a UTV (utility vehicle) with a dump bed beats a 4 wheeler. We bought the Kubota RTV900 last spring and love it. Of course we are talking a few more $$$ here than a 4 wheeler.

Tractors work well depending on the terrain and how much room you have to maneuver. But a good used tractor is probably the most bang for the buck.

Seeing the photos of the big trailers load with wood, all I can say is "have you checked the maximum hitch weight rating on the 4 wheeler?" Both my Honda and Yamaha (450's) are only rated for 35 pounds on the hitch, not much! I don't pull more than one of the garden carts full of wood with mine. Yes, I know a lot of people pull a lot more but looking at the hitch, too much weight seems like a good way to damage the rear end casing ($$$).

Ken

The Kubota RTVs with 3 cylinder diesel and hydrostatic drive are true workhorses. I would have one now if I didn't have so much $$ tied up in the new house.

I've used a Honda 450 Foreman a bit and found it to be anything but gutless. Its got way more power than the tires can handle.

 

[KMB]

I have to agree that a UTV (utility vehicle) with a dump bed beats a 4 wheeler. We bought the Kubota RTV900 last spring and love it. Of course we are talking a few more $$$ here than a 4 wheeler.

Tractors work well depending on the terrain and how much room you have to maneuver. But a good used tractor is probably the most bang for the buck.

Seeing the photos of the big trailers load with wood, all I can say is "have you checked the maximum hitch weight rating on the 4 wheeler?" Both my Honda and Yamaha (450's) are only rated for 35 pounds on the hitch, not much! I don't pull more than one of the garden carts full of wood with mine. Yes, I know a lot of people pull a lot more but looking at the hitch, too much weight seems like a good way to damage the rear end casing ($$$).

Ken

Good points about the hitch rating. One reason I'm looking at the Arctic Cat (from 2004) is that they have a 2" receiver style hitch (from the 400 class up). I know it's still a 4wheeler (and not a tractor), and I don't know if you could pull more, but I think it would be a nice feature to have. I know Yamaha now has the 2" receiver style hitch on some of their models, not sure how many years you have to go back.

Kevin

 

[woodfarmer]

i 'd go with the yamaha grizzly 660 for skidding logs, works great

 

[ropensaddle]

Here is my four wheelie

 

[iCreek]

Topic made me dig up some photos from a ride last fall

Here are a few pics, as stated earlier we like our Hondas, although today there are many good brands to select from.

 

[Octane]

Octane - I don't know what was wrong with the Rincon you were riding but this 19 year old TRX is anything but gutless. This trailerload is a half cord of oak and this old girl pulls it with no problem.

You can also see it's mate in the background. Great machines!

Al

Try out a Polaris or Yamaha sometime and you would see the difference. The Polaris ATVs Ive owned would outpush, outtow and outhaul anything Honda has ever made.
To each their own though. If you like your Hondas, thats cool.

 

[MR4WD]

Get an 800cc Can-Am outlander!

 

[John D]

Is your Suzuki 500 the Vinson version? I'm not sure if the Vinson came out in 2001 or 2002. And is it manual or auto? For a solid rear axle 4wheeler, the Vinson 500 manual (from 2003) would be my choice.

Kevin

Mine is not the Vinson as far as I know. Decals say it is a quadmaster 500.It is fully auto operation hi/lo and reverse. I seen the vinsons on ebay and mine looks to be 99% identical to it.Not sure what the differences are.I got mine for what i thought was a great deal considering how lightly it was used,so i jumped on it.I dont use it much,its only got 530 miles on it.This is the first winter ill have it,so the 4x4 will come in handy,Ive got a 42" plow on my warrior,that will work much better on the 500 4x4,so its going on it soon. I have a jacobsen 3422 utility truck i use for most of my wood towing or off road hauling around the property.It has 2800 lb payload,and easily tows my 14ft dump around the golf course when im gathering wood.I keep the saws.oil gas,tools,etc in the jacobsens dump body,and put the wood in the dump trailer,it works great as long as your not in muddy ground,where the 3422 will get stuck.

 

[logbutcher]

2000 Honda Foreman 400....in official Honda Red. The beast has pulled out an average of 6-8 firewood cords per year , 10-12 pulp cords per year with zero mechanical problems. The damn fool riding her has abused her over and over: in swamps, turnovers, hung up in snow over her wheels, stuck on stumps. Rubber fenders are long gone. Only maintenance : plugs, oil/filter, air cleaner. It is a reliable workhorse that starts in wet, below zero, anytime hot or cold. With any ATV be sure to get skid pads and chains for snow.
The UTV's that friends have are cute to ride, more $$$$, not anywhere as stable and versatile in rough terrain as most ATV's. Hey, if you want a cab, get a real skidder or tractor.
One caveat: ATV's without a Logging Arch will not skid well....also unsafe if the log gets hung up if skidding nude trunks.:censored:
Get a Honda.