Hi, all. Farmr here, as if you didn't know.
The time has come for me to tap into the vast knowledge that is available to people such as myself in this forum. Anyway, here is my question:

Does anyone have any experience hauling stuff around in rugged terrain on a Sportsman??? I do quite a bit of weed spraying on the farm with a sprayer mounted on the rear rack. I go up & down hills, and along some pretty good sidehills. The main question I need an answer to is how stable it would be on sidehills with a load on top of the rear carrier, and how it would compare to other models you have or have ridden. The sprayer in question would weigh about 150# full. What worries me is how it will act when it is partially empty, like down to 125# or so, and the mix in the tank starts to 'slosh' over every bump. Do you think the stabilizer bar is stiff enough to handle it, or will it squash the downhill suspension enough to tip over sooner than my Xplorer or maybe the Magnum 500?
I really wasn't looking for a new ATV anytime soon, but my dealer had an ad in the paper for 2 leftover 2000 Sportsmans for $5800 out the door, or "make an offer". I was thinking, if they would take like $5500 cash...I just don't know if I could pass it up, but sure don't want to get out in the pasture next spring and upset with the darn thing. I have driven the SP around, but never loaded on sidehills. Thanks in advance.

 

Farmr,
I have never ridden my SP500 on offcamber trails with that kind of load, but Hydro rides his with his wife on it at Lake Greeson and the trails are primarily for dirt bikes. Some of the trails are very much off camber, and he has no problems. I tried following him and his wife back when I had the Grizzly, and I had to use my foot pushing on a tree to keep from flipping in some places. He had hi 120lb wife sitting on the back and had no problems. The SP500 is lot more stable in situations like this than you might think.

I believe that cost on the 2000SP500 is $5750 so if the goes below that, I would be surprised. Good luck.

Greg

 

I’ll try to answer your question, although it won’t be a definitive answer. I do understand your concern, especially with a partially full tank. It’s said that a partially full tank truck is the trickiest thing to drive, even with the baffles in the tank. Anytime you have an unpredictably shifting load you’re asking for trouble.

I’ve always ridden Sportsmans. Up until she fell in love with the DUSE my wife has always had a preference for Magnums. Some have described the Sportsman as tippy, while I’ve never felt it to be that way because I’m used to the way the IRS handles. In fact, I once got on one of my wife’s Mags to diagnose a noise and almost tipped it over making a U turn on a gravel road. The same turn in the same way wouldn’t have been dangerous in the least on my SP. They just handle differently.

The reality is this. Any machine ridden on an off camber with a tall unstable load is dangerous. With IRS and IF(ront)S your downhill suspension will give, and it will keep giving until you roll it. This would make for the definition of an “un-easy rider.” The swing-arm rear will not give. It may feel more stable in this situation but it’s either on or off. In other words, you’ll be confident of your control right up to the exact moment of your roll.

There may be a compromise if you really want to do this with a Sportsman (or at all). Polaris makes and sells a locker for the IRS. I think it’s designed to be used with the snowblower or 3-point attachment, don’t know for sure. And I don’t know what it looks like or how it installs. But theoretically you could use it to lock your IRS for spraying then remove it for trail riding. If you don’t do any trail riding then I’d just stick to the swing-arm machine but that’s up to you. Hope this helps.

 

We do alot of spraying with our sportsmans and
have yet to have a problem.If you don't feel
comfortable in off camber situations do the best you can to go straight down the hill.Also the sloshing in the tank is barely noticable.Just remember to strap the unit down super tight and you won't have a problem.Happy spraying!

 

One thing you might consider, you could switch sides on the rear tires and put the dish out, thus giving the rear a wider stance when your spraying.
Greg, I think his concern is, unlike having a person on the back that can lean the way you wish,(up the hill) the water in the tank will always be on the down hill side, wanting to tip you over.
I believe that if the price was right, there would have to be away to make it work.

 

I have been in several situations like you mentioned except with a lot more weight. I had a full elk on the back rack. One thing I did before I put the elk on was adjust the preload of the rear springs to help compensate for the additional weight. The Preload on a shock adjust the sag height of the machine. This helps the machine not sag as much and helps maintain your ground clearence.
As far as feeling like I was going to tip over It didn't notice it that much. The quad felt really stable. I did try and tackle the hills more straight up and down but I couldn't always do that.
Like someone mentioned you can always reverse the wheels to give you a wider stance and that would definetely help.

 

see i think that the sp500 would sell alot more if people knew what i am going to say.

it doesnt flip easier, it just sits so high that you will FEEL like you are going to tip, but most the time it helps you know your limits.

 

greg....greg....greg.... I dont think Mrs. Hrydro will like this comment. When will you learn?

 

asfastasu,
I was talking about a woman sitting on the back, and as most of us know, a woman's abitlity to lean the direction you need them to lean is very limited or nonexistent depending on the woman. I think the water scenario he described would be easier to deal with than your average woman passenger. At least you know the water tends to settle at the lowest point in the tank.

Greg

 

How about mounting the tank above the hitch, but below the rack?

Just don't back into anything!

Just how big/gallons is this tank?