working your ATV

mathteacher · Jun 27, 2004

I have two ATVs both are Hondas. A 650 Rincon (mine) and A 450 Foreman (boss/wife). I use them for trailriding and working around the property. I can't believe that I didn't buy one sooner. I use mine all of the time. I have a 5 by 8 foot trailer that I pull behind both of them. The ATV with a trailer is the perfect compliment to my tractor. I know that all of the brands give you a towing weight. And that weight is usually a lot lower than what we pull with our ATVs. I have pulled over a yard of dirt on that trailer and the ATV didn't even complain at all. I have also dragged around logs that I know weighed over 800 pounds. What is the most weight you have pulled with your ATVs. I have pulled around my Dad's 16 foot trailer. I know that thing is pretty heavy duty in weight. I would guess it around 1500 or so pounds. My wife's 450 actually has more low in pulling power than my 650.

wantabota · Jun 27, 2004

hey with my honda recon 250 I have pulled a 19 foot boat that weighted 3200 pounds. I had some trouble with it but it still managed it

DieselnHooters · Jul 1, 2004

Farmers pull hay-wagons with ATV,not sure how much they weigh but they are way over the towing limits for sure. BTW those limits are more on relation to braking capabilities than power, try to make a sudden stop on a 600 pounds machine towing a 1000 pounds trailer loaded with another 1000 pounds of material /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

johnk · Jul 1, 2004

Heres my son's Rancher with a trailer load of wood he lugged from up my steep muddy hill. More pics of Quads and Tractors on my website......

http://users.adelphia.net/~gizmo/

hockeyhead · Jul 1, 2004

I have 3 honda's,two trx-300 and one 450 forman, and I have abused those 300's beyond my wildest dreams and still no major melfunctions, they are unbelievable. I also own a 5'by8' steel utility trailer, and a 8' by 10' aluminnum snowmobile trailer bought when I bought the 300's. I have loaded rock,(boulders) 3' tall in that snowmobile trailer atleast weighing 1000# per load, and those honda's dragged it 1/2 mile to a guy that wanted it 20 times. That Bolens Huskey quote "garden tractor" that I was my first lawn mower could not come close to any of those hondas. Oh I also move my 27' boat regularly with that forman 450 bought 2years later than the 300's (then I was trying to live an rural life without a tractor). Now I finally own a cut so the 4-wheelers are mostly toys now, Except, I own a 24" by 60" lawn roller weighing 970# when full and my latest and greatest, lawn tractor, a cub cadet 1529, 19 hp kawasaki, hydro. whines like a pig when dragging it around, so that 450 or either one of those 300's will have to roll my lawn to get any life out of that cub. Just as they have done these years past. That 8' by 10' snowmobile trailer has not had a 4-wheeler on it since the day I brought them home in fact it is now my garden cart, firewood cart, garbage to the road, all purpose cart.

hockeyhead · Jul 1, 2004

Now that I have sang the praise of my 4-wheelers, and I like them alot I need to say they are not good at lawn mowing or spraying for weeds. I own the equipment to mow and spray with a 4-wheeler and both are poor substitutes for a lawn tractor or cut. they do not have the ability to control low end speed and do not have a tight enough turning radius to either mow or spray well at all. Now having a ballsy little 4-wheeler around to drag, move, haul, with isn't bad. In fact my neighbor used my log splitter last weekend and used his 4-wheeler to move it to his place.

soarkrebel · Jul 2, 2004

hockeyhead i don't know about the mowing but i have found my atv to be wonderful to spray with. i have a 16 gallon northern tools sprayer that attaches to my atv rack. i use it to spray fire ant mounds and my yard and heck my woods around my home.
it would be tough doing it without this setup. i am going to get me a boom setup to help cover my yard area.

now working my atv's is just norm for me. i first bought one for fun and now they have become tools. actually to the point that we are considering a kubota rtv to help out with other jobs.
I guess i could just let my property grow up and not work so hard to keep it looking great but i love the way it looks all groomed! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

And thank goodness for modern machinery making our lives so much fun working. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Birdhunter1 · Jul 2, 2004

I've got a 350 Honda Rancher 4x4 manual 5-speed. I've pulled my ranger pick-up out of its own tracks when stuck in wet grass in the yard and I pulled out a Honda Civic buried to the bumpers in mud once. I was quite surprised at both events. I also use it for firewood and farmwork and I have beenmore than impressed with it.

hockeyhead · Jul 2, 2004

soarkrebel,
I have a 25 gal rear rack mounted sprayer with a 12 volt pump and 10' boom. I got it at TSC 3 summers ago. I've used it 8 to 10 times. I have yet to get what I consider good results applying weed killer. I cannot get even coverage, with the 4-wheelers, some spots too much, some not enough, some just right. I blame this on not being able to maintain a slow, steady, constant ground speed with any of my 4-wheelers. I need one with cruise control, Instead now I have a CUT, so a KK, 3pt carryall, and a switched, 12 volt plug on the TC30 and I'm spraying decent. I hope you have better results than me, boom spraying with your 4-wheeler.

soarkrebel · Jul 3, 2004

hockeyhead i haven't used a boom yet and i hope i get decent results. the main thing i have used it for is ant mounds. the fire ant is taking over down south.

i also want a boom for spraying brush killer in my hunting areas so i guess i am not real picky on how well it covers.
but riding around on my atv beats carrying a tank by hand. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

dbelisle · Jul 4, 2004

An ATV will pull a tremendous amount of weight.

The locaL atv club has two tandem axel trailers with easy unloaders on them . They work great.
We also have a six wheeler that we pull with and have loaded and moved as much material as we have with pickups.

You have to be VERY CAREFUL going down any hills!!!

A trailer with a heavy load will pick the back wheels of an ATV off the ground. Before you know it the ATV and trailer will jackknife and you will find yourself heading down the hill out of control !!

botalvr · Jul 9, 2004

I have an old RV fresh water pump, mounted on a removable board that clips to the rack, runs off the 12v outlet. I carry a 55 gal barrel of water in my trailer cart, with a hose to the pump, connect a garden hose and spray nozzle to the business end of the pump, and viola, I have portable water for free.
Even had a guy stop on my street and tell me that it was the laziest thing he had ever seen.
Shoots water about 20-25 feet, and is much more gratifying than carring buckets of water to feed my plants and garden.
/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

JDgreen227 · Jul 9, 2004

HEY....I don't call that lazy, I call it smart !!!! I've got the old pump out of my travel trailer that I replaced with a quieter model....what a great idea you gave me. I have some trees to irrigate myself. THANKS !!!!

soarkrebel · Jul 10, 2004

dannydan you mean a guy had the nerve to say that to you?
I am always amazed at how many IDIOTS there are breathing our air! i couldnt write the response i would have had for him!
The truth probably is that he lives in a apartment cause he wouldnt have the brains to live on a real place!

botalvr · Jul 15, 2004

Nah, he had "wish I would have thought of that" written all over his face, and was smiling big time. I imagine he ran right home and started to build one himself. Guess I should have mentioned that!
I think everyone with an ATV needs one of them there rigs, if for nothing else than to spray the wife!
/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Bowhunter · Jul 30, 2004

I use my atv for work quite a bit. I've used it to pull trailers, for disking, for spraying, for seeding/fertilizing, and for pulling a lawn roller. Here's a few pics of it at work. Link

As far as spraying with the atv, I use it to spray my yard for weeds a couple of times each year. I also use it to spray my food plots occasionally. I have a Honda Rubicon with a digital dash/speedometer and this helps me to hold a more constant speed. I agree the constant speed is important for not only spraying but when using a seeder/broadcaster as well.

Nasty135 · Jul 30, 2004

Mathteacher, I have also pulled a 16' full diamond plate bed heavy duty trailer up a pretty steep grade with my polaris 500 HO ...At first I thought this might be a little hard on it but in low range it walked right up that hill /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gifAwsome impressive,Also pushed snow with it, pull a 4x8 yard cart loaded down with wood ,Oh and don't forget hay rides in the fall /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif That's about all so-far...It has a winch and a strap so I'm sure that we see some duty one day for something other than pulling my stepsons 4wd s-10 blazer out of some snow,That was funny the little 4wheeler pulling the blazer out of a sticky situation /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif