This past weekend while out at Azusa Canyon mud pits and after being MUD KING with my mud lites I managed to get stuck.
My problem is where to add anchor points to the Brute so I don't bend the crap out of anything else.
Being stuck in oatmeal thick mud I had to be pulled out from the front, So I rapped a tow strap around the front top bumper tube and you guessed it, It freaking bent it forward like it was butter! DAMN IT JIM! I am hopeing that it's just the top bumpwer I need to replace and not a bunch of whatever that it's connected to. Now it looks like a pre runner bumper.
My question is what bumper, WARN ECT, will give me a no hassle anchor point if I need a big 4x4 to pull me out?
Thanks Calvin PS I think thats a bunch of crap that these ATV'S don't have obvious tie down points for trailering and secure tough anchor points for recovery!

 

Sorry to hear that happened to you.
The hook-up point for towing or pulling out of mud hole on BF is at the very bottom just front of the front diff gear box - tube frame parts. Stuck quad means that wheels are held by other force - the CG of the quad is now even lower than when not stuck. The bumper or rack is too high as a hook up point and it creates a Moment (Force x Distance) pivoting around the front wheel axle when pulled forward. Since the quad can really rotate by the Moment, instead, the weakest part will fail (bending the bumper in your case).
The Azusa canyon near the lower part is known for nasty stuck. It's more like swamp (silt?) than mud hole.

 

Hey guys, glad I came across this thread. I just got a new 750 brute with a warn winch and I would have just hooked the tow strap to the winch hook in the same situation...is this a bad idea??? Man there are so many things to learn about this atv stuff and I'd rather not learn them the hard way if I can avoid it LOL

 

That is what I would have done as well and use my own winch to drag me out. The guy on the other machine can either hook your cable up to his machine or another anchor point like a tree or if there is no other machine or anchor point you can build a deadfall. Montana jacks has some anchors you can drive into the ground as well if you have some solid ground. To bend that bumper I would think the person towing would have to have had a running start at it but if not I wil be sure to avoid pulling on it at all. You wouldn't want to have the person towing you to take a run at it when hooked up to your winch either or you'll probably end up a few hundred dollars short as well.

I agree with Hayashi that pulling on the bumper up high like that would be less effective than pulling lower on the frame but sometimes it is a more attractive option than digging through the muck you are stuck in.

 

Hooking up to the winch hook is the way to go - that's what it is designed for anyway.

I installed my winch on the back of the frame on my 750 using a home-made mounting plate. No need to use separate tow rope or straps when pulling something behind ATV. Yes, I installed an extra set of IN/OUT switch in the back of the quad so that I don't have to walk up to the handle bar every time I use the winch. I pull lots of dead tree limbs (big ones) on my ranch property and it's been working out really good.

 

Hello friends, I was thinking to hook low but being that the quad was sunk in and as many times looking over my Bf I thought if I wrapped the strap around right above the winch plate that it would cut the strap. So now i JUST BENT THE CRAP OUT OF THE UPPER BUMPER!
All the people around me kept saying hook the truck winch hook to your ATV hook (2500 warn which I need a ****** block for) While they were suggesting that, I thought that I read in the owners manual that thid type of pulling on the winch would damage it. I will look it up again soon as I get a chance.
Next time I go out I will be set with front and back anchor points and also a few other protecting points such as a way to clean the radiator much out. It must have had a cake in there because even with ENGINE ICE, my temp light was flashing and when I got to the water crossings and got some mud off of the side of my BF I noticed that I had no coolant in my tank. OH POOP!
Soon as I get the chance on a weekend off I will skin my BF and clean it up and see what I have and go from there. I for sure want to go with an after market front winch bumper with pin hooks, D rings and a bigger winch 4000 lb.
PS Much to my suprise after being KING of the mud pit with my displacement and 26"mud lites, I noticed the stock Yamaha side by side, (stock tires) seemed to go everywhere I did and then some. I think I will get one for my fiance and keep her Praire 360 for a spare. This way I think she would be out with us more often and feel more secure.

 

No coolant?!
Does your cooling fan come on when engine is hot (192+ F)?

 

Hayashi - I have to disagree with you here. Winch hooks are not made to be an anchor for towing or pulling.
It's best to find another anchor for pulling.

 

Here is an example.
Warn 2500 winch is rated for 2500 lbs pulling and it is a Kawi recommended winch for 750 at Kawi specified front frame section. The 750 weighs around ~ 600 lbs dry. I've personally used the tow hook to pull out my quad and others from stuck position with no problem. Nothing should goe wrong while pulling out 600 lb quad using a 2500 lb rated winch. Of course, I would not normally use it for towing a long distance. But if you are in a winderness or mountain, sometimes you don['t have a choice. You have to use what you've got. Kawi quads don't have tow hooks on the frame unlike on trucks. What part of ATV would you recommend if you are in a stuck situation?

 

I have a clevis that you can attach to your hitch on the back end as well for someone to pull on. I haven't actually had mine stuck bad enough to have someone drag me out but after looking at my machine there aren't many options on the front end other than the winch An aftermarket bumper might be the best option if you can't or don't want to use your winch to pull yourself out.