Got a question for you "King of the mud" riders. Went hunting this past saturday took my son with me and we drove down one particular loging road that the loggers have been down about 2 weeks before. We went down saturday and it rained that same week so the road was very muddy. My question is has anyone every been in mud with there SP 500 and have mud build up so great that you couldn't turn the wheels at all. Now I am not talking about sinking up in mud, The Polaris SP 500 didn't have the mud over the rim of the wheel or about rim deep. I had to back up many times and a large ball(it looked like a block) of mud rolled out of the front end. I was going slow as i didn't want mud all over my hunting clothes. What got me was my son has a Honda 250 recon 2wd and he had no trouble at all. There where times i had to put mine ("99 SP500)in 4wd to get going again. Need wider fenders on the SP 500 . Any helpful comments on why i was having so much trouble getting through this mud?
Thanks......

 

A low to the ground Recon had no trouble with this mud but it stop your SP 500 so the wheels would not turn! I never ran into that kind of mud but it sounds like it defies all the laws of physics.

 

This is just a thought but, The Recon weights about 400lbs compared to 700lbs for the Sp500 plus the front end on the Recon is very lite. Plus any wt. difference between you and your son and any accessories like a winch an stuff.This could be from 300 to 500lbs difference. I am not about to tell you that a Recon will out do a sp500,but I do belive that the mud must have been just firm enough that the lite Recon ft end did not break through and just kinda floated across the top. 1995 MAG.425 4x4

 

If you were on a heavy Sportsman in 2wd the Recon should have been better. The Recon front end is very light and wouldn't drag like the SP. Sometimes 4X4 riders forget what a good 2X4 will do. I had my Recon in a lot of crazy situations after I put mud tires on. It always surprised me. My Trail Boss is the same way now. I have always owned 2wd so I have had to learn to get the most out of them (a $ issue, not preference). One good thing about 2wd: when you get stuck, it is much easier to get unstuck!

 

I had put on wider fender flares on my SP 500, but they were too heavy (machinery rubber/tire belting material) about 1/2" thick. Polaris should come out with a ligghtweight rubber conmposite flare to put on. Bigger tires mean lots of flying mud, not fun when your wearing it.

 

BK... did you change tires on you TBoss?? If so to what kind? I'd imagine that different tires would make a huge difference, the stocks don't seen to grab very well.

 

Tim1, What I meant by my wheels not turning was, not turning from left to right or right to left. They where turning over as long as i was in 4wd, when i went to 2wd the front wheels turned over until the mud build up and then the front tires would just slide. The recon didn't have this problem. This is the first time I have been in this type of mud that just sticks to every thing. The only thing that i could see that might make the differance between the SP 500 and the recon was the strut and the CV joint shield catching the mud and keeping the wheels from turning side to side. the recon doesn't have these. What do ya think????

 

Actually the stock Titans are one of the best "stock" tires. But compared to full mud tires, they are a little weak. I went with a pair of Duro 243 "mud and sand" tires. They look exactly like Wooly Boogers but are much cheaper ($78 for the pair from Dennis Kirk). I had Wooly's on my Recon and it REALLY improved my traction in all conditions. Mud, hardpack, or whatever.They are much flatter profile tire, so they put much more tread to the ground. A side benefit is they also improve stability on off cambers and turns. I'm sure there are better pure mud tires out there but you usually get a lot heavier tire whereas the Duros are only one pound heavier than stock and still very effective in mud. I will know better after this weekend just how much they improve the T-Boss. So far I have only had them in snow but I will find mud this weekend, for a true test.(statements made about effectiveness were speaking from experience on Recon)

BK 2001 Trail Boss

 

I have had similar problems at my hunting camp in Thomasville, AL. The mud there is red clay gumbo, and will stick to the tires untill it binds the tires up on the fenders, frame, etc,. The funny thing is if you try to walk on it, it's slicker than owl snot on a glass doorknob... Getting the stuff off is another problem altogether.
I've had to run the thing hard ( High tire speed )for a minute or two to get the mud to clean off of the tires, then when they pack up again, high wheel speed again. I know it's a pain when you're trying to be quiet in the woods, but it keeps the quad moving.