Grateful for some advice please....

I have a pair of 2008 Arctic Cat 366 quads, I recently saw an advert for a KeeganBar towing system The KEEGANBAR ATV and Quad towing system and Towbar. ATV Accessory for ATV and Quad towing without trailers and trucks. ATV and Quad Towbar, tow your ATV with your Hitch Mounted vehicle or with another ATV or Quad. ATV and Quad aluminum towbar.

At first sight it looks like a good idea, but before I buy does anyone have any experience of towing like this. I appreciate I would need to keep the speed down, but would there be any bad effect on the bikes (other than wear and tear on tyres)??

I would be towing behind a Land Rover Defender so I have plenty of towing capacity.

 

I do not think I would use that tow system for more than about 10feet. The way I see it the tow system may only cost $100 (I think $350 for two bikes) but your ATV tires are NOT designed for highway use they will wear REALLY fast towing them this way. So then you will need to spend $300-$500 on new tires on each machine fairly often.

A good two place utility trailer is $1000. So the math is fairly easy. If you know how to weld you can build a custom two place trailer for under $500.

 

Thanks for that Swampyjunior, I am not too worried about tyre wear, where I am there is not much tarmac, mainly dirt/gravel tracks. I was thinking more of implications for the Transmission, being towed in neutral for possibly up to 20 miles or so.

 

Well, I know a few people who travel around in large motorhomes and tow cars of various sizes behind. Just about every one of them I know has had issues with the towed car's transmission or drive train. The only one I know that doesn't have issues unbolts his drive shaft every time. He has only had tire wear issues.

To me it follows logically that ATV's do not have a tranny as complicated as a car but I would think the same issues that effect a cars tranny while being towed could happen to the ATV. The ATV tranny usually operates on a centrifical clutch while the Car's are usually hydrolic. SO anything tha wold cause the tranny to turn or spin could effect the ATV more thanthe car. I still come back to the fact that if you have any trouble with the tranny on the ATV you could easily spend as much fixing it as you would for a trailer to haul them on.

I live less than 20 miles from where I do most of my riding and I would not use nor trust it. Any riding on packed gravel or paved roads will cause the tires to wear at a faster rate. Most ATV manuals say they are not designed to be used on roads. They do not specify what type of roads.

If you do decide to try it then I would change my oil frequently and check it for lots of metal shavings as that would be a sign of trouble.

Swampy

 

Many thanks for that, I have shot an email off to Arctic Cat to see if they have any comments, If I get a reply I will post it here. On paper it looks a good idea, but I have the same issues as you worrying about the transmission, I want to investigate throughly before committing myself... I am in the Falklands, the bikes are European spec and are both Road Legal, the trailer is actually the bigger problem, because of where I like to ride (on the other island) I have to use a Car Ferry, it will only cost £10 each for the bikes but £60 for the Trailer with the bikes on. If I can do it like this it will save me about £40 a week!!!!! Outweighs the cost of tyres considerably. Obviously if it stuffs up the transmissions its a non starter..

 

UPDATE: I spoke to a rep at Arctic Cat, he advised that as long as the speed is kept down, and attention is paid frequently to make sure the transmission is not getting hot, it would be OK to tow in Neutral, they know of quite a few folk who do this. Obviously there is an issue with tyre wear....

I will be giving it a go now, and at some point in the future I will post my findings here...

 

You are kidding right??? Buy a used trailer...you will use it for more than just your quads anyway!

 

No, Not kidding, read back along the thread, there is an explanation why the trailer is not practical.....

Pleased to hear your views in a bit more detail though!

 

My take on the trailer is this...you will be driving to the location of your ferry either pulling a trailer or pulling your quads directly behind your vehicle. Do you then park your vehicle and only load both quads onto the ferry or just drive your vehicle and quads directly onto the ferry? I would think that if it is the latter and you drive your vehicle onto the ferry with both quads hooked directly behind the vehicle there should not be much of a difference in price whether those quads are on a trailer or sitting on the ground. If you are only loading the quads onto the ferry and leaving the vehicle behind you could just leave the trailer behind too! It just seems that pulling your quads directly behind your vehicle for any extended amount of time would be very hard on tranny, tires, steering bushings, tie rod ends...

I bought a trailer used that was 89 inches wide and 10 ft long for 300 bucks. I was able to haul both of my quads side by side on the trailer...but I also could use it to haul a lawn mower, mulch, furniture, really anything! I guess that I just see the trailer being much easier on things and being more multi-functional. I guess really the decision is strictly yours and anything that I have to say is just my opinion...I just know that I am able to tear up my equipment easy enough while enjoying it-I don't want to tear it up getting to my riding location. Go with what your heart and wallet tells you is best...you can always reconsider later! I sold my trailer for 280 bucks and bought a bigger one that (I ended up getting what I wanted and only lost 20 bucks in the meantime).

 

I wish it was you setting our Ferry Prices, because the bikes are considered as agricultural, they are £10 each for a return crossing with the car costing £30, the Trailer is charged at £60 so the saving is quite high. I have something of a drive on both sides of the Ferry Ride, so while the trailer would save a bit on this side I am still stuck on the other Island. If I had the bikes on the Trailer they would charge £60 for the Trailer and £10 each still for the bikes. So instead of costing me £50 It would be £110. I know none of that makes sense, but then it is a Government Run Ferry service, so you can't expect more.