I did have a 25 gallon sprayer on the back of my 2000 Polaris Explorer. In low gear 4x4 the machine was working very hard. One time the belt became SO hot it actually melted the transmission cover. Melted it to the point the Atv became inoperable. Having the weight on the back is not safe feeling.

I would highly recommend a liquid cooled gear driven machine and a pull behind sprayer.

 

You are way out of whack with your expectations and assumptions that a mini will fulfill your requirements and hold up to the work you wish to have it do. IE, I think you found a cheapo deal and want to know if it will do the job... Well, no. And a couple of other guys have told you the same thing. You need to go to a larger machine.. probably in teh 300 to 400 range.. and even then it will be a compromise. Sure people put these spreaders on them for small tasks.. but you are trying to take that and make a professional deal out of it.. and an ATV is not suited for that.

You hang all that weight on teh front end, and it will take super man to get the thing to turn. If it doesn't flip over forwards when you get off the seat that is.

Get a cheap tractor.. or better yet, get a side by side hauler...like polaris, or a kubota RVT900. Much better suited for the work you are proposing.

If you get a small tractor, you can add several tools to it using a three point hitch.. I think that would be easier to justify in your line of work.

 

To answer your questions,

1) The automatic transmission every one is talking about is a snowmobile type tranny. Basically you have a belt and pulley system that is "infinately variable" and changes the gearing based on engine load/rpm. You will have no more problem holding a steady speed with this setup than you do in your car/truck. For extended/heavy towing/hauling, you should really get a model with High and Low range. Using Low for your type of work will extend the belt life, and help it not to slip or overheat. Belt slippage is not what you are looking for in this type of tranny. You will have no trouble shifting from forward to reverse, most models use a lever to do this.

2)the 'rod' you mention is actually referred to as shaft drive. Chain drive requires frequent lubing and somewhat frequent adjustment. Shaft drive requires little if any maintenance, same as the shaft drive on your automobile. I can't offhand think of any utility atv's that would be both suited to what you want to do, and have chain drive. I think this is a moot point for you application.

3)Should be able to put turf tires on, no problems.

On a further note, after rereading this post and thinking some more, i have some further opinions. A kids atv will NOT suit your purposes. Even the Recon at 250cc is not going to be good either. Polaris ATP Try this link, go to atv's, 2005 model year, and click on the ATP models. These are the only models currently in production that will work for you IMHO. Kawasaki used to sell utes with a selectable rear diff(turf mode) also. They are discontinued now I believe. A local dealer still has a leftover '03 sitting on the showroom floor, but I don't think it is stout enough to hold a sprayer and 100 pounds of fertilizer all day. It has an auto clutch manual shift transmission though.

I can't give you a price on the Polaris, utes really aren't my thing. I would expect that sweet 500 HO has to be close to 7k, maybe more. All utility atvs are going to have electric start and reverse, don't sweat that part.

 

Thanks guys for all your help,

Since most folks on here dont think kids atv will not do the trick, nothing will because all other recomendations are just way too big, including the afore mentioned tractors.
Remember these are tiny lots, and even a tractor wont be in a hurry to make a sharp turn.

This is what I need, or was trying to replace...http://permagreen.com/ but the price tag of this thing is 6k. I was hoping to save a few $$. But it seems a better judgement calls otherwise.

Thanks again for your time.

 

After taking a look at the perma-green item you are trying to duplicate, it would appear that it is going to be a pretty big order to fill. There seems to be a lot of thought and engineering in this device... and I suspect it woul dtake a considerable amount of enginuity to duplicate the functionality. Considering the quality components used, I think it is a deal...

 

PM'ed you dobe

 

I have managed a lawn/tree care company for 3+ years and unless you are going to be spraying anything larger than a 1/2 acre don't waste your time with a atv or tractor. However if you do end up spraying larger areas a couple ideas, we used honda 300's fine for power but the full time 4x4 sucked, also we were only using a 25 gallon tank on back and with any weight at all it sure did expire the suspension. so I would suggest 500 vinsion or sportsman (most comfortable).