Here is the situation boys:
I am new to this ATV stuff, however I will tell you what I am looking for. I want the best all around utility ATV to be used for pulling a trailor and other heavy items and to get around in muddy fields with up to a foot of water. Speed or manueverability is not an issue nor is price. Also, less maintenance is obviously better. Thanks guys!!!!

 

I have the same requirements, without the water, and purchased the King Quad.

 

I have had good luck w/all 3 of my Polaris', and I have rode the 500 and 700 hard. I hunt and both of mine are camo'ed. Welcome to the forums.

 

I've got a 450 ES Honda for the farm work.It hauls everything from firewood,to christmas tree bailers.Mud,snow,water...it takes it all.It has over 8400km on it,and I've only done the rear bearings once.

I change all fluids every other month as well.I take care of it,it takes care of me.

 

i ride a 650 brute loads of power i also put the mud lites on it stock tires are not verry good use it for hunting gardenig and pulling big trees out of the bush for fire wood.

 

I bought my AC for many of the same reasons. It has been very reliable; no issues what so ever other than a very minor shifter adjustment when new that I took care of myself. It has great gound clearance, and a 2" reciever so I can use the same hitch that I use on my truck. I have the push-button on the fly four wheel drive and the auto tranmission. I wanted the auto do to all the work, and didn't what to have to shift constantly. It is rode by everyone from my teenage nephews to my 65 year old father in mud, snow, water, even on the hi-way!!!

 

you want one machine for all the wild terrain for hunting there is only one machine and that is arctic cat. i ride with people that have every brand and none of then can touch me in the mud and other unfriendly places. their lil heavier weight makes them more ideal for pulling heavy trailors and only the polaris is heavier. arctic has more ground clearance and they have full front diff lock and they are very reliable, plus they have the multi rack platform option so you can buy hookups for the racks for different needs such as hunting or farming or ice fishing.

 

Been doing a bunch of hunting, deer, duck, and elk. My AC650 has been great and goes over or through anything. Another buddy has a AC TBX and it might be the near perfect hunting rig. That cargo box on the back has me thinking about that Kolpin dump box for my AC650.

We hunted with some guys with a Honda Foreman, Polaris Sportsman 500, Polaris Expedition, and a Grizzly.

The Honda was the smallest and couldn't handle as much but it was best when having to thread between trees etc. It wasn't as good in the deep stuff because of no locker and lower ground clearance.

The Sportsman kept getting hung up over logs and bottomed on rocks with a load. And had to be pulled out of the mud about every other trip by the rest of us.

The Expedition was a good reason why Polaris should stick with automatics. The manual tranny on this thing was horrible to shift. Stuff kept breaking on it too. However, it actually did quite well in the nasty stuff. Better than the Sportsman.

The Grizzly is a pretty good all arounder too and I rated it right up there with the AC650 until the terrain just got horrible. Then the AC seemed to have the advantage. The AC has a few features over the Grizzly but the Grizzly is better handling and turns tighter. On decent trails, the Sportsman, Grizzly, and AC650 were the most comfortable riders. The Honda and Expedition were OK but naturally, being smaller, you could feel the bumps a lot more.

Keep with IRS and you should be fine.

 

I prefer the Grizzly because it had all the features I was looking for but you really can't go wrong with any of the big bore utility quads on the market right now.

 

just picked up a new 2005 400 tbx[had originally wanted a bombardier traxter XL, but by the time i got off my dufflebag to buy one they stopped making them], anyway the ac is close, and the smaller engine is enough for my use. love that tilt bed,and yeah that kolpin box doesnt look too bad, if only the price were a little lower and i dont think it has a droppable tailgate