I bought a new AC300 4x4 back in the begining of winter, to ride and do work with.I use it on my farm to haul firewood,pull a ground driven hay tedder and hay rake, move wagons and many other jobs.It is fun and much more economical then our tractors to run.I would like to buy another atv in future,and would like to know from those who have full AUTO's, how well they handle hard work?

 

I have a 500auto that I use around the farm to do some of the same things.It works ok with no real problem.I do think however, for this type of work the gears are better.
My wife has a 300 manual and I have found that pulling a sprayer or anything at slow speeds it is much better to get the right speed and rpm.
However I still love my automatic.

 

Hokey:
I don't know what you consider "hard" work, but I use my AUTO for "work" all the time. I've got a lot of stories around these threads about the logging stuff I do, and various other chores I've done. I'm sure most of the people are bored hearing about them, but I'll give it a go once again.

For starters, including the winch, I carry nearly 150 lbs. of weight on the front rack alone. The winch weighs in at around 25-30 lbs or so, plus a 3 lbs ****** block, and whatever the mounting plate weighs. The mortar box I've got mounted up weighs in at about 33 lbs., and the rest of the weight is all the extra straps, chain, cable, axe, clevis's, first aid kit, etc. that is contained in the box. On the back rack I've got a 15" deep U-shaped rear rack bag that is "packed" with all kinds of other odds and ends, and probably weighs close to or just over 100 lbs. Then, I'm tipping the scales at about 225, so if you add in the dry weight of the 'Cat at 648 lbs., you're now up to a combined total of about 1125 lbs that the big 'Cat is moving around, without even starting to "work" yet. Only reason I mention this about the weight issue, is that the heavier it is, the more work it puts on the Auto, making it that much tougher to do.

With that said, let the work begin. When not running elk or deer trails with that same setup, I spend the majority of the time on the 'Cat towing logs up at our property. Any time I tow anything, I usually always use 4 wheel drive, low range, unless it's really light and I'm heading down hill. It just makes it that much easier for the machine. We had a small piece of our property logged off back in October-about 400 acres-and the loggers left quite a mess, as they were supposed to run over everything and crush the limbs into the ground to decompose. Well, with 2' of snow, it just got pushed into the snow, instead of broken up. As a result, we've got downed timber-full sized lodgepole trees, and limbs all over the place. Quite a fire hazzard.

I've been going in and hooking up to these downed trees, and other fallen timber, or branches, etc., and towing them into piles, or cutting it up into 8' fence posts. After I've got a bundle of say 10-12 posts, I'll tow the whole bundle out along the fenceline to repair or replace existing fence posts that are old and worn out. Many of the fallen timber that I pull out are up to or over 10" in diameter, and as long as 40' or so. Makes for a real pain in the butt towing up hill, and getting caught on other stumps or trees, then having to pick a new line to get that length to fit through.

Also, if you look at the few pics I've posted at the link below, you'll see our '91 suburban. In one of the pictures, I'm winching the suburban AND trailer that it is hooked up to out of a bad mudhole. The picture was taken at the wrong time, but when the truck was really stuck, the suburban was resting on the running boards on a 3' culvert pipe, with the trailer buried axle deep in mud. I had to tie off to a stump to keep the 'Cat in one place, but with the ****** block hooked up, the whole rig popped right out. The picture was taken after this occured, as I was so excited about it, I forgot I had a camera until it was too late.

There is also a couple pics of a Toyota that I winched out of a mudhole. Believe it or not, but this Toyota is running 33" tires, with a Chev 350 under the hood. Two other toyota's tried to pull it out, one blew the rear diff., the other broke a chain. I upset the both of them when I pulled up on the 'Cat and winched it out, though the driver of the stuck toyota was thrilled to death. I followed him down the trail till the end and ended up towing him out two other times that were pretty bad, as well as winching him once more. The second time I had to tow him out, he was high centered on both differentials, with all four wheels in the air, trying to get through some Jeep ruts left over from some 44" super swampers that had dried out from last winter. In the process of towing him out, he fell against the left side of the dirt ravine, and while pulling, I broke his driver side mirror off. The guy was so impressed with the power of the 'Cat, that he didn't care at all, and spent the next day wheeling with us. I must admit, I was more than impressed myself, and it was a ton of fun!

I apologize to those of you who are tired of hearing about this stuff, but he did ask, so I tried to give him an honest example of how I "work" my 'Cat. This is also what makes me wonder if I'm asking for trouble by putting larger tires on the 'Cat, and doing the other mods I plan to do. Of course, should I do all this as planned, and find later that I can't "work" it as hard as I used to, I've still got my Dad's 'Cat that can be recruited to take over "work", while I "play".

Sorry to be so long winded Hokey, I make it sound like the 'Cat is unstoppable. That is not entirely true, the 'Cat does have its limitations, though it does do nearly everything I have ever asked of it, which is more than impressive for a four-wheeler in my book. Most guys would suggest using a tractor for some of the stuff I do. As for belt problems, I haven't had any yet, but I've only got about 500 miles on it in these types of conditions. Hopefully many more to come.

Again, sorry to be so long winded, but I hope this gives at least a decent example of how the AUTO works for me. Good Luck!

Mike

 

Good post Cowboy. Never get tired of hearing it.

 

Thanks man!, though you may be the only one. Heh Heh Heh. Tell you what though, I really hate it when somebody tries to tell me I "can't" do something. Then I get really irritated and you can bet your _ss I'll find a way to do it! Kind of like those other two guys with the toyotas who tried pulling out their buddy. They said I was crazy, and no way in hell could my little four wheeler pull that thing out. When they start mouthing off, let the games begin! Sure pissed them off pretty good, man that was fun!!! Any of you guys feel the same way, or am I on my own with this one???

Heading back up to the property for the long labor day weekend. Seems the work never ends up there. I think this time I may select a few of the nicer logs and try to make a nice lodge pole bed frame. They look pretty cool and are stronger than hell if built properly, only they cost a fortune. I figure I've got all the materials I need, and then some just laying all over the ground. Needs to be cleaned up anyway, so I might as well do something interesting with it, instead of just piling it up to burn or shred.

AC 500's and Husky chainsaws-anybody think of a better way to "work"???

Hope everybody has a great long weekend!

Mike

 

I mainly use my auto for work. I drag downed trees out of my timber and haul firewood with a trailer. I've pulled out old woven wire fence that was buried in the ground. I have a plow for it and have used it for snow and for moving and leveling dirt. I have been very impressed by its abilities.

I do, however, take care not to put undue stress on the belt. I don't pull stumps with it, for instance. I don't pull stuff that I have to jerk to get started. I have a tractor for those kind of jobs. The tractor, however, has sat idle much more since I've gotten the 500.

 

Liked Cowboy's story. Anyway, if you use your auto to pull stuff around, you will be fine. While not really suited to pulling out stumps and such, they will pull a good load. As long as the wheels are turning somewhat, you shouldn't burn the belt. A gear drive is the way to go for that kind of thing or when you want to hold a constant speed for any length of time. Otherwise the auto seems just as good.

 

I have some similar stories. My count stands at two jeeps and one 3/4 ton 4wd with my 500 gear. It has the 26-10.5-12 Titan 495 tires on it, which helps. The pickup is the best story. I was on my way up Rollins Pass East in May. This is northwest of Central City / Blackhawk, Colorado. A pickup attempted to go through a 200' long snowdrift about half way up. He fell through to the frame. We jacked him up and put rocks in the holes. I hooked to him with a 125' 5/8 nylon rope and told him that I was going to stretch it like a rubber band, and to hit his throttle in reverse when I stopped. I pulled him about 100 feet bouncing off both sides of the cut where the dozer had gone through earlier. By the time all this happened a couple of jeeps and compact pickups had stopped to watch. They said that they saw it but still didn't believe it.

 

Man, bet that was a sight to see! Two Jeeps huh, bet that really got to them. The Jeep'ers out here have a little attitude that Jeeps are the ultimate 4x4, and won't even look at anything else. I found a stuck one in the woods a couple months ago, and offered to help out. The guy was rather rude, just said that he doesn't ever get pulled out by anything other than another Jeep. As a result, he spent the night in that mudhole, till his buddies came up the next evening. Oh well, no sweat off my back. Kind of makes you feel good though to pull out full sized 4x4's with a little 500-600 lb. atv.

Mike