When it's 100 degrees and 90+% humidity, and you've been out riding all day, it's nice to clean up and cool off. The best thing is you can stop on the way home and have dinner indoors without offending the other patrons.

 

Trailboss,
Thanks for your detailed answer.
Query- Have you considered or actually installed a second battery on your machines to help run all the after market stuff?
I'm thinking about doing this myself, as I will have radio, GPS, spotlight, laptop computer, possibly a shower pump needing to be hooked up, and so forth. Yup I did purchase a new 500HO this week, and so did Wildbill! We are going for it!
Outlawd

 

You're asking yourself questions about hauling your quad while you own a Hummer? Get real! Put the quad on the roof rack!!
If I had a Hummer, this would be the first thing I do!!ahah

Seriously, why don't you get an off-road trailer? They exist, and do not limit too much the offroading abilities of your truck (especially if you get a trailer with big tires).
I don't know if or by who they are sold in the US, but in France, Switzerland... lots of serious escapers (like you seem to be) have one to carry all the necessary stuff. I'll try to find at least the name of the company that makes them.
You should have got a Polaris Diesel...same fuel for the truck and the quad...eheh.
I really think the offroad trailer is THE deal to your problem...or make your SPHO street legal...it will be as fast on road as the hummer, and will perform much better off road...hehe

 

<<<<You're asking yourself questions about hauling your quad while you own a Hummer? Get real! Put the quad on the roof rack!!
If I had a Hummer, this would be the first thing I do!!ahah>>>

Zorro,
Ha! That is too much weight to put up on top of a Hummer and not seriously alter it's center of gravity and thus impede my primary performance requirements from the Hummer. :-D



<<<Seriously, why don't you get an off-road trailer? They exist, and do not limit too much the offroading abilities of your truck (especially if you get a trailer with big tires).>>>

Yes, this has been considered and we know we could trailer the atvs and drag them to remote areas that would *probably* be safe-
The simple answer is we do not want to leave Hummers unattended (anywhere) for days on end. We would be not only risking the unpleasant possibility of theft and vandalism, but suffering from loss of peace of mind while out on the atv camping trip. Either way we lose.




<<<You should have got a Polaris Diesel...same fuel for the truck and the quad...eheh.>>>>

Interestingly, a dealer told us the diesel Polaris is too sensitive to impurities and differences in fuel, thus most dealers were not carrying them in stock. We opted for the 500HO.




<<<or make your SPHO street legal...it will be as fast on road as the hummer, and will perform much better off road...hehe>>>

I suppose it depends on one's definition of performance :-) For example, my truck carries on board 65 gallons of diesel fuel. Bill's carries over eighty gallons. This means there would be no contest of performance, as any atv would have long before run out of gas, on or off road- and thus not even be around to pound its chest. The tortoise and the hare? :-D
Thanks for your post!
Outlawd

 

I have thought about a secondary backup battery but so far have never needed one. Only a couple times have I gone too far and ran my battery dead but with the ability to manually start the quad it wasnt a problem. I generally run my GPS all the time. Winch, hand warmers and lights when ever necessary. If you think about it, the GPS current draw is very minimal. The radio, especially when not transmitting really doesnt use much either. The laptop will probably be on for short periods and could survive on its own battery for a while. Also the shower will only run for a few minutes at a time and not draw nearly as much as winching your quad even 1 or 2 times for a minute. Once parked the only thing I use battery power for is either for a shower or camp lights. These are run off a "hot always" accessory jack so the key need not be on. If I have the camp lights on for a long time I sometimes start the quad to charge it up for 5 minutes or so. It hasnt seemed to have any adverse effect on my battery though. My last quad was over 4 years old when I sold it and it still had the original battery.
Are you going to use the laptop for mapping? We have thought about carrying one, but with the extremely wet and rough conditions we ride in I dont want to take the chance of wrecking one. I already have ruined a cell phone and a camera so now I pack those in waterproof cases.
One suggestion you could try if you want to be extravigant is to buy a 12 volt "dry cell" battery to mount in your quad trailer. Many of us use them in racing applications. The are usually smaller, lighter and dont have corrosive acid in them that would harm the other contents of the trailer should it leak. And they are not as prone to internal damage in extremely bumpy or vibrating conditions. You could then have a hookup to plug in and charge it while you ride and have the extra capacity of a larger battery while you camp.
Good luck! Hope the new HO works well for you!
Trailboss450

 

Now I really understand your problems...
Get a pickup. You can haul the quad in it, it won't be too bad in offroad (don't compare it to a hummer though). I'd say the Toyota Tundra is better than the americans, it should be more fuel efficient (more modern engine) than a Dodge Ram V10 (for example ). On the other side, there are tons of lift kits available for the Fords, chevys and other Dodges. Don't know about the Toyota.
If you want all the possible comfort, then, no hesitation, a motorhome+big trailer (that can be used as garage)...you will BTW loose any will to go on anything else than highway.

Seems to me that the pickup is one good choice. Not bad offroad abilities, you can carry more than your ATV in the box (especially the "big" 8 feet). But I'd love to have a motorhome with trailer. Go very far, in all comfort, and once arrived, go riding, with no butt pain after a 1000 miles drive...etc. And after your 3 day rough ATV ride, maybe you'll enjoy a nice sofa, with a/c, a shower...no mosquitos/flies/bees (choose your favorite).
You're a tough adventurer, go for the pickup, you're a chicken, go for the motorhome!!

PS. With a street legal SP, you can tow a trailer, with 400 lbs of fuel...ahaaah, who says any better?

 

<<<One suggestion you could try if you want to be extravigant is to buy a 12 volt "dry cell" battery to mount in your quad trailer. Many of us use them in racing applications. The are usually smaller, lighter and dont have corrosive acid in them that would harm the other contents of the trailer should it leak. >>>>

Are these dry cell batteries the same type as installed on the atv?
Outlawd

 

The batteries are the same in that they are 12 volt but the similarities end there. They are a "dry cell" battery, (like used in a flashlight) not a sealed wet type battery as used on a quad. They are larger (More like a standard car battery) than a quad battery by about 2 times, but not as heavy as a car battery. So containing no liquid they can be mounted in any position. The battery will however recharge just as any other vehicle battery. They are also much more resistant to vibration and shock damage.
I dont have the specs handy as to the cold cranking amps and such but they do seem to have a good capacity and charge life.

 

<<<The batteries are the same in that they are 12 volt but the similarities end there. They are a "dry cell" >>>

Speaking of electronics, what GPS unit do you think is best for the atv application? We want the unit to be computer compatible for down loading waypoints, mapping, etc., but still be tough to take the pounding.
Outlawd

 

The unit I use is an older model (1995) Garmin GPS45. It has been dropped, dunked, frozen and covered in mud at different times and it still works flawlessly. The only thing I have done to it is replace the antenna (external type) once. My next unit will definitely be another Garmin but will have an internal antenna.
Many of their units have software and cables available to connect to a computer for mapping and such. I think one of the important things to consider when you get one, is that it is small and easy to remove and take with you when you want or have to. I use a small cell phone mount to hold my GPS. I have it mounted in the center of the handlebars. I will e-mail you a picture!