Heavy towing with a Kodiak or other ATVs...
#1
06-05-2001, 12:06 AM
Join Date: Jan 2001
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What's the heaviest thing anyone has pulled with your ATV? I'm just curious as to what kind of heavy work people are doing with their atv's?
Here's a photo of my Kodiak hitched up to my utility trailer.
Towing
This weighs around 900lbs unloaded and my atv moves it fairly well. Mainly I just move it up or down the road a few hundred yards and mostly unloaded. Since it weighs nearly twice as much as the Kodiak it won't stop very well! In fact if you go too fast it won't stop at all! We have a smaller wagon (maybe weighs 100lb empty) we use for firewood etc. I thought this would be a interesting subject since I havent seen many posts about towing or hauling-nice change from all the talk about racing and jumping. So let's hear it or see it... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Here's a photo of my Kodiak hitched up to my utility trailer.
Towing
This weighs around 900lbs unloaded and my atv moves it fairly well. Mainly I just move it up or down the road a few hundred yards and mostly unloaded. Since it weighs nearly twice as much as the Kodiak it won't stop very well! In fact if you go too fast it won't stop at all! We have a smaller wagon (maybe weighs 100lb empty) we use for firewood etc. I thought this would be a interesting subject since I havent seen many posts about towing or hauling-nice change from all the talk about racing and jumping. So let's hear it or see it... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
#2
06-05-2001, 12:31 AM
#4
06-05-2001, 04:43 AM
Hillhound:
Great Post! You're right, it is definately nice to see some real working conditions for a change. I regularly use my 'Cat for towing/hauling stuff. Mainly large logs, or smaller bundles, but I do have pictures of me towing our '91 suburban with the 5x10 trailer we haul both 'Cats on uphill in about 2' of snow. I don't like doing it, as it is kind of tough in the deep snow, but with Dad continuing to drive the damn thing into the ditch, I have to call on the 'Cat to get him out. Thank God for 4wd and low range! And you're right, I'd like to see a 2wd or sport bike do something like that if need be! heh heh heh. As soon as I find the address to those pictures, I'll make a link for you to see them-some look pretty sweet!
Best of luck, Long live the Utilities!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Mike
Great Post! You're right, it is definately nice to see some real working conditions for a change. I regularly use my 'Cat for towing/hauling stuff. Mainly large logs, or smaller bundles, but I do have pictures of me towing our '91 suburban with the 5x10 trailer we haul both 'Cats on uphill in about 2' of snow. I don't like doing it, as it is kind of tough in the deep snow, but with Dad continuing to drive the damn thing into the ditch, I have to call on the 'Cat to get him out. Thank God for 4wd and low range! And you're right, I'd like to see a 2wd or sport bike do something like that if need be! heh heh heh. As soon as I find the address to those pictures, I'll make a link for you to see them-some look pretty sweet!
Best of luck, Long live the Utilities!!! [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]
Mike
#5
06-05-2001, 07:59 AM
lol.....great post
remeber a trailer we were trialing, built to feed pumpkins to our cows....
it had a car diff under it twisted up.......so it could run off the ground and we put a disk like a food processor on the top and fed the pumpkins in onto it slicing them about an inch thick
......the trailer was interesting to tow empty
we filled her up with about a tonne of pumpkins..........couple goooood loader bucket fulls.....and headed to the paddock.......problem was the farm is not flat......to get into the paddock we had to honda 300 4x4 chained together under tow......
that was the deciding factor!........we decided to build our own for behind a tractor!......and it works well
New Zealand farms are the main buyers of ATV over here........its common for an atv to do 35km a day.......and around 14000km a year.......most towing trailers.......which they are great for but more and more i wonder why.....cause they are just getting too dear......and with lack of respect from farm workers they become an expensive means of transport
the new 650 kawie is $20k here in NZ
for that i can get a 30hp chinese tractor, 4wd, loader, and 1.2 metre wide mower!.....brand new
it ain't an atv.......but its built too tow
with intensification of farming.......demands of resources become greater........we are no longer feeding 15 small square bales at a time.......but 2 round bales at a time.....thats 30 small bales.......basically 90% of the year......you can buy round bale feeders for atv......but to me they are just to hard on the bikes...too heavy to tow all the time
the one thing about heavy towing and using them in commercial operations....you soon learnt which ones shone above the others......remeber seeing a honda350atv with a drawbar just about worn off it......seen lots of big bears doing diffs (soft axle).....big bears with extra oilcoolers to keep temperatures down in heavy tow.....yet honda 300 has been NZ's biggest seller.....despite the fact there was better towing atv's round!
anyway....
catchya
pudding
remeber a trailer we were trialing, built to feed pumpkins to our cows....
it had a car diff under it twisted up.......so it could run off the ground and we put a disk like a food processor on the top and fed the pumpkins in onto it slicing them about an inch thick
......the trailer was interesting to tow empty
we filled her up with about a tonne of pumpkins..........couple goooood loader bucket fulls.....and headed to the paddock.......problem was the farm is not flat......to get into the paddock we had to honda 300 4x4 chained together under tow......
that was the deciding factor!........we decided to build our own for behind a tractor!......and it works well
New Zealand farms are the main buyers of ATV over here........its common for an atv to do 35km a day.......and around 14000km a year.......most towing trailers.......which they are great for but more and more i wonder why.....cause they are just getting too dear......and with lack of respect from farm workers they become an expensive means of transport
the new 650 kawie is $20k here in NZ
for that i can get a 30hp chinese tractor, 4wd, loader, and 1.2 metre wide mower!.....brand new
it ain't an atv.......but its built too tow
with intensification of farming.......demands of resources become greater........we are no longer feeding 15 small square bales at a time.......but 2 round bales at a time.....thats 30 small bales.......basically 90% of the year......you can buy round bale feeders for atv......but to me they are just to hard on the bikes...too heavy to tow all the time
the one thing about heavy towing and using them in commercial operations....you soon learnt which ones shone above the others......remeber seeing a honda350atv with a drawbar just about worn off it......seen lots of big bears doing diffs (soft axle).....big bears with extra oilcoolers to keep temperatures down in heavy tow.....yet honda 300 has been NZ's biggest seller.....despite the fact there was better towing atv's round!
anyway....
catchya
pudding
#6
06-05-2001, 08:40 AM
I haven't really towed or pulled anything to brag about with my new wheeler yet. But with my old wheeler a 1998 Yamaha Big Bear 4x4 I use to pull down the woods roads and fire lanes 1500# of pine boughs. For those of you who don't know pine boughs are what people make Christmas wreaths out of. Companies around me buy the boughs to make wreaths that they ship across the USA. It might not be a lot of weight to some. But I was pretty impressed with that little 350cc wheeler. Can't wait till this fall to see what my new one will do. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-cool.gif[/img]
#7
06-05-2001, 07:20 PM
Greetings,
I drag a lot of logs and brush around with my 450ES. The heaviest thing I tried was a spruce trunk over three feet across and nearly five feet long -- just a great big cylinder of wood. The tree cutters left it in the yard when they dropped a trio of over-sized spruces that were causing a bit of roof decay (they took the rest of the trunks for the timber value, not a bad trade). I had this vision of moving it up the slight hill behind the cabin and standing it on end for use as an outdoor work bench of sorts.
Not to digress too far here, but the usefulness of an outdoor work area is far too often overlooked. I'll bet most of us in here would find it useful to have a relatively clean, level place to set our tools and parts when we are changing oil, fixing something or doing most anything. I'm always dropping something in the leaves or losing a glove etc. It just seems reasonable to have a worksite available outside the garage/shed.
OK, back to our story. So I layed the log over on its side and drove a big 10-inch spike into the center of each end. This acted as an axle. Then I hooked a chain over each spike and hitched it to the hitch on the quad. My real concerns were that it wouldn't turn corners with me or it might start rolling backwards and drag me along (so I had a helper stand by with a big split log to throw in as a brake). Also, I don't think I would do this going down hill as it might start to catch up with you. Anyway, it rolled a little rough -- not being perfectly round -- but it rolled and I took it right up the hill to the clearing in front of the shed. End of story.
Thanks,
Rod
I drag a lot of logs and brush around with my 450ES. The heaviest thing I tried was a spruce trunk over three feet across and nearly five feet long -- just a great big cylinder of wood. The tree cutters left it in the yard when they dropped a trio of over-sized spruces that were causing a bit of roof decay (they took the rest of the trunks for the timber value, not a bad trade). I had this vision of moving it up the slight hill behind the cabin and standing it on end for use as an outdoor work bench of sorts.
Not to digress too far here, but the usefulness of an outdoor work area is far too often overlooked. I'll bet most of us in here would find it useful to have a relatively clean, level place to set our tools and parts when we are changing oil, fixing something or doing most anything. I'm always dropping something in the leaves or losing a glove etc. It just seems reasonable to have a worksite available outside the garage/shed.
OK, back to our story. So I layed the log over on its side and drove a big 10-inch spike into the center of each end. This acted as an axle. Then I hooked a chain over each spike and hitched it to the hitch on the quad. My real concerns were that it wouldn't turn corners with me or it might start rolling backwards and drag me along (so I had a helper stand by with a big split log to throw in as a brake). Also, I don't think I would do this going down hill as it might start to catch up with you. Anyway, it rolled a little rough -- not being perfectly round -- but it rolled and I took it right up the hill to the clearing in front of the shed. End of story.
Thanks,
Rod
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#8
06-06-2001, 01:50 AM
Join Date: Jan 2001
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Man some of you guys have pulled some serious weight with your atvs! That's really wild when you think about it that a 600lb or so machine can move a ton or more! Anyone know if Polaris still makes the diesel atv? A few times I've tried to pull a wagon of wood (maybe 600 or 700lbs) up a hill when the ground was wet my Kodiak could'nt get enough traction to get started but does fine when it's dry. My guess is because it's too light and my stock tires ain't the best.
#10
06-06-2001, 07:32 AM
I have a 1998 Sportsman 500 and a 2000 Kodiak.
There is no comparison! The Polaris is by far the better quad for towing. The Kodiak just doesn't have the power or traction.
Some of the stuff I've towed include:[*]pick-up bed trailer with 25 bales of hay @ 70 lbs each[*]empty 18' dove-tail car trailer (heavy son-of-a-gun!)[*]16' ski boat[*]every car in the yard, including the 1979 GMC 3/4 ton 4wd Suburban and the 1957 Chevy Station Wagon loaded with spare parts.
There is no comparison! The Polaris is by far the better quad for towing. The Kodiak just doesn't have the power or traction.
Some of the stuff I've towed include:[*]pick-up bed trailer with 25 bales of hay @ 70 lbs each[*]empty 18' dove-tail car trailer (heavy son-of-a-gun!)[*]16' ski boat[*]every car in the yard, including the 1979 GMC 3/4 ton 4wd Suburban and the 1957 Chevy Station Wagon loaded with spare parts.