my father and i want to go and play in the sand dunes. we are planing a trip to littel sahara,ok. i will be riding my 2002 raptor/w padle tires. my dad has two choises for a quad ether a 2002 recon ES or a 2002 rancher ES 4x4. both are stock. what one would be better in the sand and what size padles should we put on it. i know that they will doth be down on power but this is both of our first times out so speed is not a huge concern, only getting around.

 

In all honesty, I would not pick either one of those.
If that is ALL I had to chose from, I'd pick the lightest one with the most H.P.

You may be able to get away with simply dropping the air pressure in the tires down to ~ 5lbs (if his tires will allow that low of a pressure).

I would highly recommend a 2-stroke, or a high powered 4-stroke.

If this is your first time on the dunes, take my warning seriously, and WATCH OUT FOR DROP-OFFS! They will sneak up on you if you are not paying attention, and can do a great deal of damage, or even KILL you if you are not careful![img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-shocked.gif[/img]

 

i dont think either of those bikes have sufficeint HP to make a differnce with paddles, i had a modified blaster and it struggled alot with paddles, my advise is to just stay with the stock tires and lower the psi like 2fun said

 

I go to little sahara all the time, there are always a bunch of farm animals out there without paddles. If the sand is a little damp you will get around just fine, when it dries out, paddles are a huge asset. You'll be able to get around with no problems on the stock tires unless you attempt to go straight up some of the more severely sloped hills.
And BTW, the stock raptor tires get decent traction in the sand!!
There is a quad shop at the dunes that sells paddle tires and rims already mounted at very good prices, they usually match rocky mountain's prices, that you can always buy when you are out there.

And 2fun is correct, you got to be very careful at the dunes, especially if it's a busy weekend and you don't know where you are going, some of the drop offs on the dunes are very extreme and you never know who's coming up the other side of the dune about ready to decapitate you!

 

Yeah definitely HP is your best friend at the dunes.. The more you have the better off you are...

 

i agree fully with 2fun , neither. But if i had to pick one id go with the one that had the most power i guess and put some paddles on it.