New to the board here. Glad to have found you.

I'm considering selling my motorcycle to buy an ATV. I have about 7 acres of mostly wooded land and everything is on a hill (welcome to Eastern TN). I have a lot of deadfall in my back "yard" and I'd like to start taking some out of it out. The hill is somewhat steep. From a topo map, I calculate the slope to be about 22-23 degrees. I'm looking for a good quad to be able to take an ATV trailer into the woods, and mostly haul cut wood from up on the hill. Maybe some light skidding, but I'll do what works best. I also want to carry a sprayer (probably a 16 gallon sprayer) to go through some of my property and do some brush kill spraying, so good rear rack capacity is also somewhat important. I have a small single axle 5x8 trailer with a 2" ball hitch that might be hand for loading with light branches to take to the burn pile. Finally, I'll probably do some trail riding on some OHV areas in TN (Buffalo Mtn, Windrock, and Harlan area), but that will only be occasionally. I don't care if I'm the fastest out there, I just like to get out and have fun occasionally. Oh, and I'll probably put around the yard with the kids a little bit, but I'm guessing any quad is ok for that as long as the terrain and speeds are safe.

I've been reading voraciously and I'm started to hone in on SRA models for good hillside stability and presumably a bit more stable pulling capability. Right now, I'm looking primarily at a Honda Foreman 500 (not sure about full manual or ES at this point) or a Kawi Brute Force 650 with a SRA.

The only models I've recently ridden were a Suzuki Eiger (not sure what year) and it was OK, if not a bit rough and tumble on the body in the mountains. I've also ridden an Arctic Cat 700 in some woods and muddy areas and that thing was a beast. I've also ridden a Suzuki sport quad (some 450 or another), but a sport quad is irrelevant for work duty. So that's my practical frame of reference. I've used none for pulling anything.

What I'm hoping to get out of this this thread is some discussion from those more in the know than I on what kind of quads would fit the bill for how I'd use an ATV.

A few specific questions (but don't limit the discussion to just these):

1. Will either of these models do OK with ~150 lbs or so loaded on the rear rack when I spray?

2. Are either of these models better suited than the other for climbing and descending hills with a small trailer loaded with cut wood? The brakes on the Foreman seem like they might be limiting on how much weight I could descend the hill with.

3. Is SRA the better way to go here?

4. Are there any other models (no AC or Can-Am recommendations, please - dealers are sparse around here) that I should seriously consider if either of these aren't the right kind of machines to be considering? I'm within driving distance to Southern Powersports in Chattanooga and would be willing to drive down there for a deal (they supposedly have the best prices on Hondas in the region).

Thanks!

 

I would recommend that you check out a 2011 sportsman 550 eps, Its a great machine and will do everything that your looking to do on your property. It can tow 1700 pounds, the front rack can hold 120 lbs, and the rear rack can hold 240 lbs. It has engine braking/decent control and that will help a lot on your property with the steep hills you have. It has independant front and rear suspension for a smooth ride.

 

With all the towing you plan on doing I would not get a IRS ATV in this case. A SRA does not carry the trailer's tongue weight on it,s suspension like a IRS does.
Sure IRS will tow but over time it will take its toll on the springs and many pivot joints vs a simple straight foward SRA.

I like the Brute Force ,it has a low range nd the most power and is the only one with diff lockers(True AWD) which are handy when hill climbing while towing. The Honda 500 Rubicon would be better than the Foreman because it is the only Honda with a low range while the Foreman does not, just a low 1st gear, and the rubicon has a more powerful liquid cooled 500 motor ,but no true AWD.
The Eiger/KQ 400,Rancher 420 and Big Bears are not full size chassis and would not pull nearly as hard.

The Eiger/KQ 400 may have AWD now and has a low range.
The Rancher has no low range or AWD.
The Big Bear has AWD but only a low 1st gear and is overall geared low and not much fun for pleasure rides with its 40mph top end.

 

Ghost Rider - thanks for the suggestion. I forgot that Polaris support in my area isn't exactly wonderful either, but that does look like a nice machine.

TLC - Thanks also, I hadn't noticed the Rubicon having a low range on its tranny. I also just checked and the Suzuki KQ doesn't appear to have fully lockable AWD, just limited slip. I should go see one in person and give it a look as well and make sure my reading isn't deceiving me...

 

Seems like your right, I thought a heard the The Suzuki 400 had diff lock for 2011 but a quess not. The 400 Big Bear does though. 2011 Yamaha Big Bear 400 IRS 4x4 ATVs

 

If you can pick up a used Polaris X2 you might be surprised at what I feel is the king of utility quads. There isn't much squat in the rear as it is rated for 400lbs. So, you can get a nice ride but also the highest rated rear suspension in a quad. It has a dump box that also converts to a 2nd passenger seat in less than 10 seconds. Towing is also very strong with this machine. I have no troubles pulling a 4' W x 4' L x 3' D trailer full of wet fresh cut wood up and down hills that are a little steeper than the ones you described. Mine is a 2006 500 EFI. They came out with a 700 and 800 and now make a 550 and an 850. I only had one small issue with 2600 abusive miles on the machine. Oh, and because the wheelbase is longer as it is a 2-up machine you have more stability on hills than with a shorter wheelbase 1-up machine.

 

I'm thinking a 400 might be a little small for pulling like the bigger bored machines, but what do I know?

 

Moose - The X2 looks interesting... I hadn't considered that machine either. I may have to at least go look at one. They look a bit spendy new and might be hard to find used in the wild...

 

A 400 in low range will snap all its axles before the wheels would stop pulling. You should always pull in low range even on a larger ATV. Larger ATVs have more weight ,thats way they have a pulling advantage.
My 1000lbs 20hp 2wd with chains Massey Ferguson garden tractor will out pull any ATV made when in low range.

 

Good to hear. What about IRS on steepish hills under some load? I was leaning toward SRA, but...