does anyone tow a small trailer behind their atv into the back country and what does it look like.

 

How big of a trailer are you looking for? What kind of payload? I've got a little 10cu ft. trailer like you would tow behind a lawn tractor that I use for towing fence mending materials in up at the ranch. It's one like you'd see at any hardware store or farm and garden shop. I got it free with a lawn mower I bought from a guy a few years back, that is the only reason I have it. It works good, but for my needs, isn't quite big enough. I'd like to build a bigger one, which hopefully could haul up to a ton, yet still be relatively small to tow behind the 'Cat, still follow it's tracks. Trailboss450 has pictures of one he built that looks pretty good as well, I believe he designed it to track directly in the atv tracks, so it pulls nice, and will follow easily through the thicker trees and such. Northern Tool and Supply has several different models and designs you could look at, as does other places like Tractor Supply Company, other ranch type stores. I can't remember who makes it, but I believe there is another trailer called the "mountain goat" or something to that effect, which has 4 wheels-one at each corner, the front two pivot of course. Seemed like it had something like 15" of ground clearance-was built specifically for off-road use behind atv's, but comes with a hefty price tag as well. You can get the smaller ones in the 10-12cu-ft size for anywhere from $100-$300 or so depending on quality.

Anyway, best of luck and hope that helps a little at least,

Mike

 

I recently got a Rubbermaid yard utility trailer from a local Polaris dealer. 1200 lb capacity, big 14 inch tires, quick release dump, 12 or 14 cu ft, all heavy duty molded plastic, side pockets for side racks if you need. Oh yeah the axle is 1" solid steel. I paid $150, I have seen these at TSC for $279. They said they had some more of these stashed away. Bridgeport Polaris.

 

Like Cowboy I have a lawn tractor trailer but I modifed the pin type hitch. I removed the plate for installing the pin.=, bought a 17/8" coupler @ Walmart for $8.00 and welded it onto the trailer tongue. I got the trailer used for $35.00 but if I were getting a new one I'd look at Northern Equipments Catalogue they have a similar (17cu. ft.) with ATV Tires for better ground clearance. I don't venture to far out with my trailer, but I put 18" plywood sideboards on it and fill the trailer with green firewood. I don't know what it weighs full but sometime I have to use low on my Kodiak to climb out of where I cut the wood. The trailer has never come disconnected and the coupler semms to work better than the pin setup. Good luck!

damguy

 

I found my trailer is particularly hindering when going over really long doubles or triples. [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

I had plans of locating or building a small trailer to tow behind my TRX 300 and was courious to find if it was going to be to much drag out in the hills. I figured I could build one that would weight a couple of hundred pounds. Most pictures I have seem of use wheel borrow tires and no springs. All the ground clerance is in the middle but axle area is still real low. I would use it light hauling and carrying game.

 

I am currently looking for a Bike trailer with a crate for calving new they cost $1200 which is too much and they are hard to come by secondhand and the ones you do see are in a bad way. But for a quad an ideal trailer I think needs no suspenision just floatation tyres this not only keeps it light but also keeps it low so I can throw the calves over the crate plywood floor and wooden side boards also galvanised to stop it rusting about 6 foot by 4 foot would be a good size I might even build one yet, I used to build them for a living so I should really!!
check out http://www.keatrailers.co.nz/

 

dave 350cc, you are looking for a trailer to haul new born calves that has side boards and a rear gate ? looked at the keatrailers and it looks like pretty good stuff.
I thought about the dead axle trailer with out springs but they bounce real bad and remember the old atv's without suspention. I figure that some of the items I would hall wouldn't take the beating, like my butt and the no suspention .

 

daves right on the mark

the kea trailers are great....my ole man has one

that is the first trailer our farm has brought in years.....we usually built them

usuing atv rims.......trojan stubs?....i thinks

....we usually built single axle ones.....to keep the weight on the bike a bit for traction, but last year built our first tandem axle.....which is used for carrying bins in my grandparents orhcard

the first trailer we built was our hay trailer.......had 9 inch rims, was 5ft wide and 6 ft long, relatively light for its size and had a tipping deck....

my recommendation is to weigh up how much ya use it to how much ya want a spend,

like dave our trailers are used every day in commecial operations, not uncommon for my ole mans 2 atvs to tow 3 different trailers each in a day......
so its worth us looking at built qualtiy

they have to be very robust

we ignore trailers with wheel barrow wheels (hey ride on mowers trailers only go at 9-10km)
on, the road we tow trailers as fast as the bike will drag em.....smaller the wheel....the more revolutions etc

.....to keep the height down we use trailers which have the wheels to the side of the deck, conisdering we do do a lot of hill work it is important!.....me just have to put up with trailers wider than the bikes

galvanised dipped trailers are proving themselves, our latest trailer is dipped

.....but that may not be the requirement of the weekend warrior

 

Greetings,

I use a trailer from the Northern Catalog. They have a bunch of different models -- this is the red one with 22" tires. Cabelas has what looks like the same one in black. The big tires are the key -- they carry the load up over logs and ditches, it rarely drags its tail. Its also well made -- good axles, simple dump mechanism, and lift-out tail gate. No suspension so its a bit noisy when empty. Also, its rated for about 700 pounds but doesn't have the volume for serious firewood hauling or brush clearing. But the deep body keeps the load inside and its size allows it to follow the quad through the woods and around tight turns (don't discount this factor if you're thinking of getting a big trailer because, with the hitch and tongue added to the length of the thing, it can get tough to find a path through the woods).

I try not to scratch it up a lot because rust is a common enemy at our place. So I have some pieces of old carpet that I use as a bed liner. Along with protecting the paint, it can act as a cushion for tools and chainsaws and such. Just today's handy tip from the country-side.

Thanks,

Rod