Howdy.....just wanted some opinions.......I have a 05 Rubicon with a 1700lb Warn winch on the front. Was looking into some aftermarket racks. Most are the same size 41x29 overall. and the drop portion is 41x13.5x12.5. Makers include Kolpin $169 with rear fold down grate. Yukon Tracks Rear Drop Side basket $149 with folddown sides and NO rear fold down grate and one on Ebay the Panther with rear fold down gate for $179. Price are with sales tax/S&H. I'm not worried about the extra back rack weight(40lbs + equipment hauled) moving my center of gravity or making be back end heavy. My ATV is for work first and then hunting then trail riding.
Just wondered about........
1. The advantage/disadvantage to fold down rear(Kolpin&Panther) vs. sides fold down(Yukon). To me the sides folding down would be better because you could lay a deer or a shovel across it. The rear folding ones would be nice lifting heavy buckets into it but what is lifting 4 more inches to clear the rear rack or I could slide them in on the sides if I had the Yukon. Also do these things clang around alot? The Panther has a sliding bolt to lock it down the others have spring pins to hold them...they don't look too secure. I suppose I would have to bungee them anyway to keep them really secure.
Just wondering if you guys have any opinions, experiences, likes or dislikes.
The Sportsmans Guide has the best pictures along with Cabelas' but Dicks Sporting Goods has the best prices along with the one on Ebay.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

 

I was going through the same thing you are trying to decide and I don't really see the need for a "tailgate", although, drop sides may come in handy. A co-worker of mine just bought the "Swisher" rear drop basket for his 05 Rubicon and was impressed with the quality of the welds, finish and he said he can still open the rear storage box! I am going to buy the Swisher for my 05 Rubi and here in Wisconsin, you can get them at Fleetfarm for $157.99 everyday and this week they are on sale for $149.99! You may want to check out the Swisher basket and maybe save a little dough.

 

Thanks for the info. I'll have to check those out. I think the tail gate is nice but not "necessary" It's just alot of cash to pay for something that you hope will work for every application. Why doesn't someone make a side AND rear tailgate folding basket that has sliding bolt type locks that hold all gates securely. And offer it in aluminum. That would save some weight. I work in the Steel industry(Go Steelers!) and I know a few Millwrights that could fabricate one but they are busy building me a custom trailer to haul my Rubi. The boss is already giving me dirty looks about the time they are spending on it. Oh well. Any entrepreneurs out there......you could make millions. Thanks again.

 

The links below may give you some ideas on some. Personally I don't see a huge need for any moving gates. With a spring pin or sliding bolt there is going to be some rattle unless you bungy it. Hauling a shovel with the sides down you will still need to bungy it or it'll slide out. So just bungy it on top. Same with a deer, the dead deer will puddle into the center and hold itself in. I sometimes have to bungy the head though depending on the size. I made all the racks for my KQ and rancher except the rear extended rack on the rancher. The extended is nice but I had to modify it. All of those racks (last time I looked) are open to the front. Stuff will slide right into your back. I added a mesh bulkhead that's back far enough to not hit a second riders back. unlike my KQ (first attempt) that is not 2 rider friendly. Or maybe so if it's a male rider, they go in the basket. I put the bulkhead back where a milk crate will just fit. With one rider I can still bungy a milk crate or 5 gallon bait bucket to the front of the bulkhead. Also note on the Rancher front rack I extended the sides up to about 8-9 inches if I recall. I usually put the smaller stuff up front and noticed it would blow out if it was light or bounce out. The higher sides prevent this.

Both sites below have some pics.

Rob

 

If you had the right tools avalible then you could make your own for about $70-$90, at school I'm in shop and the teacher wanted one for hauling buckets around to feed, it did not take very long to build but I would not even attempt it if you did not have access to all the tools you need (welder, bender, variety of grinders). So then you could build it exactly like you wanted it, and not have to pay someone else $180 for the same thing.

See ya,
Derek

 

Thanks guys. Ron, those baskets are nice. I should just go out and buy the materials. I know we have the 3/4" square tubing at the plant but I would have to buy the mesh. No big deal. I just hate to bother the millwrights to make me baskets now. I'll probably just buy the side folding Yukon Back rack for 139 bucks. I agree with you on the tailgate. You really do not need one. The open front of all the racks is a slight drawback but I'll just bungee everything in. Not sure what I'll stick on the front. I'll just start with the back for now. Not really worried about riding someone on the back but I bet I'll do it sooner or later. I won't take away that space. Thanks again.

Derek, thanks for the info also. I do have access to all that you mentioned. I'm just not sure I want to bother my millwrights to build them. It might only cost me a case of beer for the labor but like I said I just don't want to bother them. They are ribbing me about the trailer they are building. You should see it. I just took them a pic of the one I wanted off the net and they built it. I supplied the axle, wheels, light kit , hitch and lumber for the floor and they did the rest. I have about $259 into it and it's about a thousand dollar trailer. Thanks again.

 

The wife bought me an early christmas present a drop basket rack(non folding) from the sportsmans guide. She paid 139+SH. The basket says weekend warrior on it but it might be made by cycle country. The flat bars they gave me to mount it were a pain to get on and bolted down. A few notes though on ANY basket rack for the Rubi.....1. You will lose your breaklights because when you load the basket it completely obscures the lights. Just a rear saftey issue is some one is following you. 2. You can not open your trunk when the basket is installed. 3. It rattled like hell when I started the bike up. The grating on the rear was not tacked properly so I took it to work and had one of my guys weld it. Over all I'm happy but not 100%. Thanks for the input.

 

Ford8n47 - just curious... Why do you have "05 Honda Rubicon ES" in yor sig? What exactly do yo mean by ES?

 

ES.....electronic shift.......I guess I'll take it off are they all the same?

 

Well, there is a Foreman ES - where the "ES" stands for Electric Shift. It is a gear on gear system that shifts electrically rather than witht the foot shifter. The Rubicon is a hydrostatic transmission that is either fully automatic or "ESP". The ESP mode uses preprogrammed positions of the swash plate. The ESP mode kind of feels like gears, but it's not really gears.

And technically, the Rubicon is called the Foreman Rubicon. So, I was just wondering if you actually had a Foreman ES or a Rubicon. Not a big deal.