I agree, a come-a-long would work good. My dad used his old heavy-duty one to pull the track back onto his Oliver HG Cletrac Bulldozer. When he was doing lakeshore work he threw one track off, but he and my brother pulled it back on with the come-a-long. So, it is a cheaper alternative that will work.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

What is a come a long?

I would recommend the 300 4x4 for the same reasons as fore said. plus you can always get a winch later if you REALLY need one.. or just buy a manual ratchet winch. it would do the job if needed.

I second what TGI said.

there is no need for that here, undeadinfantry.

newf

 

I bought a ratchet type winch when I bought my cat, and never used on my cat, (I have been pulled out of the mud many times though) but I have used it to pull out a hopelessly stuck Rubicon, and it works great, and it has a rated pulling strength of 2 tons(4000lb) that's more than the 2500lb winch that I just bought. The ratchet winch is a great alternative until you can save the $$$ to get a winch. It works just fine, and costs under 50 bucks. The only drawback, is that the cable is farily short, and it would most likely take 2 or 3 setups to remove a quad from a hole. The guy on the Rubicon used a ratchet winch to get himself out of a ditch that he couldn't climb, it took him about an hour and a half, but it worked. I am sure that if you looked hard enough, you could find one that had more cable and higher rated pullong strength, but I just went down to AutoZone and got the frist one I found. OOh yeay, go ahead and get the 4x4 you won't regret it.

 

My dad has a 300 4X4 with a winch, and I love the ride. It is not the most powerful monster out there (280cc's) compared to most of the big bikes, but it will go just about any where within reason. The Arctic Cat 300 has the softest ride of ANY ATV on the market. I have been shopping around for a new ATV and have ridden every brand out there from 300cc's to 700cc's and there is no comparison as far as ride goes. It steers as easy in 4wd and most 2wd's do. Most Suzuki engines are pretty reliable and his AC, with the Suzuki engine, has given him no trouble at all... When we go on an all day ride, I would much rather ride his AC than my Honda 300 because at the end of the day, I don't feel worn out from the heavy steering and jarring ride.

 

I must sound like a broken record... But I loved my little 250 4x4, it had plenty of power for general trail riding and a little mudding. No it wouldn't turn huge mudder tires, and its top speed was measured at 38mph (GPS). Overall it was a strong machine (a mini-grizzly) the only reason I sold it was because of the great offer someone made plus the fact I wanted something a little larger. Cats are what jeeps were long ago, true off-road machines.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Thanks for all the comments. Everyone said what I expected them to say.
After carefull consideration and analysis I'm taking the cheap route and
going with the 250. For what I want it to do I think it will be a fine machine.
The kids are small, and the wife and I wont be able to get out too often together
for a few years. I'll pretty much be on my own on our hunting property. THe 250 will
work fine for trails and carring supplies for hunting blinds. THe plan is to keep it forever. In 3-5 years the oldest daughter can take it or my wife can. I'm sure someday we'll have a fleet of ATVs. Right now the family is young, and I just need something for solo runs on the property.

-jeff b.

 

Happy ridding Bartojc2000! The 250 will make a fine solo quad; just watch the rear CV boots they can get torn up fairly easily. The rear CV boot protectors from Cat can tear the boot up if they get bent in, so I'm not sure if it is worth spending the money on them. I did and just kept a watchful eye on them. Buy the rear skid plate (I'm not sure if they come standard on the 02 250s) it'll come in handy.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

 

All boots and protectors will be installed before I put it in the truck.

Thanks!!

-Jeff