Hi All-

New to the whole ATV world, but have always LOVED the concept and had the chance to ride a friend's ATV years ago. Now I do a good deal of duck hunting, which involves a good deal of trekking to blinds through woods/mud/grassy fields.

I am looking for a RELIABLE machine with solid capability and that I do not have to worry about being too sensitive to the surrounding environment. We have had shoots at -25 degress, and I need to find something that will not care/flinch. It also gets VERY hot in the Baltimore/Washington area in the summers and am hoping to find a machine that can cart me and my wakeboarding gear down to the neighborhood dock/beach (<1mile), as well as for hauling things around the property and the adjoining 15 acres of woods we have.

Can any of the utility ATVs handle towing duties? I have a 23 foot wakeboard boat that I would like to be able to manuever around the driveway. Tongue weight is 400 lbs, and GVW is >5k lbs.

Sorry to ramble, I do not mind spending money for quality. I am NOT a mechanically inclined person and do not have time to get "smart" on maintenance/upkeep. I take very good care of my toys, but do not do the work myself. Work keeps me too busy these days.

Would really appreciate your collective thoughts, and do not mean to start any kind of turf war between brands.....just curious to know what the TOP 3 manufacturers are and what you all consider to be their plusses and minuses.

Thanks in advance for your time/help.

CHEERS-
SOLRIDER

 

Towing your boat will be the biggest problem, 5k lbs is a big task for any atv or utility vehicle. Realistically, you sound like a good candidate for a utility vehicle over a quad....higher towing capacity, much more room to carry gear, and strong machines....they just aren't as sporty as most quads, but it doesn't sound like that will be a problem for you.

There are quite a few manufacturers of utility vehicles now, Polaris has its ranger line, Yamaha with the rhino's, Arctic Cat with the prowlers, Kawasaki with the Mules, and so on. I don't own any of these, so I don't want to go and start giving recommendations on which I think would be best for you, your best bet would be to read up on each different type and find what fits your needs the best. Some have a sportier ride with less cargo room, and less towing capacity but are much more fun on the trails...others are the complete opposite.

 

Should have clarified....towing is not a priority at all, would just be nice if I could find an ATV that could handle that. I prefer the ATV configuration b/c I can fit it in my Avalanche as it will need to get transported regularly. I may consider a trailer down the road but for now will have to be able to fit it in a truck bed. That begs the next question, late model ATVs will still fit in Avalanches, correct?

As for gear, a regular ATV with the correct rack setup should handle my stuff with no problem. 1-2 boards and a backpack and vest is the norm.

Thanks for the initial feedback though, I am pretty sure I am looking for a Utility ATV at this point however.

-SOLRIDER

 

I think you will find that most manufacturers offer a fine utility ATV. Some will chime in and say that their brand is better than others, or start a "pissing match", if you will, but in general I believe all of them are excellent in some way or another. I will start the "pissing match" by saying that the Yamaha Grizzly 700 has had great reviews, especially with the power steering. However, it's just a 700. CanAm and Polaris offer an 800, so think about how much power you REALLY need. Sounds like 4X4 is definitely a plus for your needs. Research hard and ask lots of questions, and if price isn't an option for you, get what you want, not what you'll settle for. Good luck!

 

The Grizzly 700 is an awsome machine. My cousin has one and the power steering works like a dream and it by far the most comfortable machine I've been on. I have yet to test the Sportsman 800, but the 07 500 HO are very nice machines as well. In my opinion though the Renegade 800 by Can Am is the best all around quad that I have been on. The Grizzly is a little bit more comfortable than the Renegade, but the power of Renegade makes up for it.

 

+2 for the grizzly 700....one of my friends has one and I fell in love with it the first time I drove it, awesome power, extremely comfortable, and the power steering is great when the front end is locked up. That will definitely be my next quad.

The Can Am renegade is a badass machine, but it wont be ideal for working becaues of the lack of racks...the outlander on the other hand has the same motor as the renegade, and is a great machine too.

A coworker of mine has a sportsman 800....Its a nice machine with a lot of power, but I have never been extremely impressed with any polaris, dont jump all over me...thats just from my experience with them. My uncle has two, and a friend of mine had a magnum 325 and it couldnt even make it up a lot of the hills at the dunes.

With the Kawi's...I have never been on one, none of my friends have one...so I dont know a damn thing about them.

Honda makes a nice machine. My dad has a 500 foreman, and my mom has a 350 rancher. They are both nice, but arent very impressive with the power. My bruin 350 is a bit quicker than the rancher, and my 450 wolverine walks all over the foreman. But its stupid to compare speed of utility quads, they can be quick but thats not what they are designed for, and it doesnt seem like thats what your looking for. The rincon is a beast, but I dont like the fact that there is no engine braking...it comes in very handy when you are going down some steep hills.

just my 2 cents.

 

OK, so how much do you want to spend?

And by the way, unless you get a small quad, there's no way it will fit into your Avalanche. My brother's 250 won't fit in the back of my dad's Avalanche even with the midgate down.

 

if you want something to lug around and use in extream weather i would sugest a hond rancher es hard working good reliable atv but not the fastest

 

if you want to tow really heavy stuff, get either a polaris sportsman 800 or a arctic cat 950 and put really aggressive mud tires on it so that you will have great traction. Those 2 quads will be heavy enough to tow really heavy loads and not spin the tires.

We have an suzuki eiger 400 auto. Power is not a problem when towing- traction is what limits me. it will just spin the tires in both low and high range, and reverse (when maneuvering a wagon.) It helps if add about 150lbs to the front and rear of the quad so that it doesnt spin the tires as much