I will buying my first ATV and am seriously considering the Arctic Cat due to its general reliability, load carrying capacity, ground clearance and heavy construction. I will be using it primarily for dragging or hauling firewood in the mountains. Our terrain is fairly steep with lots of rocks and saplings.

I think the AC 400 or 500 would do the trick. I also think I like the ACT vs the IRS because I will be paralleling the grade at times and although the ACT has less clearance, it shouldn't tend to "roll downhill" as much. But my biggest question is auto or manual? The automatic clutch for the CAT helps, but the newer duramatic tranny gets good reviews.

Any advice on auto vs manual tranny, ACT vs IRS, and 400 vs 500 for this usage would be greatly appreciated.

 

there's 2 sides to that coin. the CVT auto trannies obviously have a high and low range so the quad can be worked and pull with. ive had a couple autos but never had to work them hard so i can't help u there. i have a 00 rancher electric shift that i sport ride with and also plow snow w/ and it's great. as long as u stay within AC's tow / haul specs then u should be fine using low range if u don't want to shift. on the other side.....some 5-speed / auto clutch guys will say the 5 speed will be more reliable if u want to use it solely for work.....look at honda's 400 foreman, it's basically a boring ride but has the 5-speed footshift cuz it's set up for pure utility. tough call...good luck.

 

ooops, forgot....for solid work i'd probably opt for the ACT or swingarm vs. the IRS.