I'm very interested in staying out in the backcountry longer than one day and camping out of a Polaris. Out here in the west, I will have to carry much more water, maybe a gallon per day in the desert. Which style aftermarket racks do you use to pack gear for extended stays in the backcountry?


Are the flat shaped plastic water and fuel containers durable and do they leak?

Trailboss, thanks for your detailed post; I'm curious do you use soft bags for all that gear or hard boxes and why?

outlawd

 

My wife and I did the same thing twice this past year. Went for a long 4 day/3 night weekend both times. I bought an extended rear drop rack just for that purpose and take it off when we return home.

We stayed out in the middle of nowhere along the riverside with a tent. Nice and peaceful. Beautiful scenery. Didn't see another soul. Going to do it again this year.

I hadn't realized just how much you can carry in one of those racks!! Kind of had a hard time getting to the campsite (approx. 5 miles through several creek crossings and what not) because I had the front end too light. Once we unloaded, though, it was great!!

Have a good time,

Mike

 

My preference is to use a hard box on my excursions. My brother has a soft pack on his and has only once had an instance where he had a small branch poke through. Both types work fine! The reason I use a molded tool box on the rear is that I have made "compartments" in it to keep everything in its place and for quick easy access. After a long day of pounding up and down on rough trails I found many things got beat up and sometimes damaged. So now everything is put in place and is kind of held in with pressure. Any extra space is taken up with a spare towel if necessary. All the things I need for easy access are in the rear box. I also have a small soft pack that straps on over the top of that if I need the extra room. I made a canvas cover for the whole thing to keep the mud and stuff off everything. I also keep my small camp stool, rain gear pouch, spare gas can and a small Playmate cooler on the rear. On my front rack I made a custom size box to hold all of my emergency gear. It contains all my survival gear that I might need for an unanticipated stay in the woods. Change of clothes, extra food and water, space blanket etc. The contents of the front box are in plastic bags and the front box is sealed from water also. On the side of that I have a 4 inch PVC tube to hold my propane canister and a spare quart of water. I also have a couple fender pouches. One on each side to hold my tow strap Leatherman tool and other miscellaneous stuff. Overall the poor thing resembles a packmule when we venture off, but we usually want for nothing once we set out. I guess I am of the feeling its better to have what I need and not need it then to wish I had it.
One of the guys in our group uses one of the fuel pak containers you asked about. He has had his probably 3 years and has had no problems with leakage or anything. One of those for the amount of water you need to carry would work out pretty well I would think. The only thing is they are a little pricey but when you are in the desert and thirsty the price probably wouldnt mean much.
Good luck on your outing!

 

trailboss450,
I would Love to see a piture of your bike, do you have any posted?
I have a custom box on the back of mine. I made it with a 2x2 frame and 1/4" plywood. Covered it with black leather-look vinyl. It looks ok, and cost about $15 (I had the wood in my barn) I have had soft packs in the past, I just don't care for them.

 

I have seen both in magazines and once at my polaris shop. those large metal baskets. The one for the rear is quite large and it drops down behind the rear rack. Allot of stuff can be put in it. Then there is one for the front. The other option is to get a small trailer that you can pull
behind your atv if you have a ball hitch. Just using the stock storage racks, just can't hold much, so I would say, one of the options above is needed. What I don't like is that these large metal basket racks are not cheap. And I don't think a person would want to leave them on permenantly. You would bolt them on when going on a camping trip but remove them afterwards.

rangerchet

 

I wonder if the trailers can be towed using a mini-pintle(if there is such a thing) hook and lunette ring instead of a ball hitch?
outlawd