Hey all, not trying to bump my own thread or anything but I was given three reasons not to tow with an SRA and just wondering if there is any validity to it.
(1) Sometimes a Sra will bend while towing and the trailer tires hit pot holes, small logs etc. Also excessive tongue weight will bend an axle. Irs absorbs alot of this.
(2) When towing in rough terrain and the trailer tongue is bobing up an down , the rear axle is raised loosing traction. The Irs will leave rear wheels planted on the ground. Much like trailering with an automoble.
(3) The ball mount is higher on the IRS than on the SRA allowing level trailering. The lower mounted SRA causes fishtailing and a light front end, as a result worse traction and worse handling.

Just wondered what the opinions of others were. These are not necessarily my opinions, they are of sales people.

One more question- I was told that there is some torque loss With IRS due to severe angle changes, The SRA
looses less torque and is more reliable. Any truth to this?

 

I'm going to talk about a totally inclosed axel like Bomb has. This is a garbage statement. They are built exactly like a truck axel. How many trucks do you see with an IRS? There is a reason for this. I can't comment about "stick" type axels.

A very small amount of slanted truth to this statement. Who would be silly enough to have 0 tongue weight on a trailer? Bad news for any type of towing!!!!!

Another garbage statement. How can anyone say how high the tongue of a trailer will be. With my SRA and adjustable hitch my ride heighth stays the same unlike an IRS.

This it true. An IRS will chew "slightly" more power because of the angle and the joints. There is no joints or boots to fail on a SRA so yes, they are slightly more reliable.

They are both great systems if used in the right context. They are used for different conditions and both work great!!!!

 

I have IRS and my max tongue rating is 135lbs. What are the rest of the manufactures Tongue ratings. The last time I looked they were from 35lbs to 60lbs. Also my tow rating is 1250lbs. Now the 600-800 has 150lb tongue and 1500lbs tow, all with IRS. Why? If you stay within your tongue and tow rating it shouldn't matter if you have indepentent or solid rear axle. I just know we sometimes don't have a scale around to check. I also use my ATV with a log choker to pull downed trees (small trees). I've had no problems so far. "Knock on wood."

 

Barbwire, sounds like someone really wants to sell you an IRS machine. The three excuses you mentioned are outright lies.

First of all, remember you are talking about weight on the back due to the trailer... the answers the IRS guys are quoting WOULD be true for an unloaded ATV... but NOT when talking about towing with weight ont eh rear.

Yes it is true that all the weight is on the axle/tires, which tend to stay in contact with the ground because of the weight. However, the weight only effects the axle/tire. It is not transferred to the chassis, and does not adversly affect the handling and stopping capabilities of the SRA quad.

IRS mounts it's hitch on the chassis, which does transfer the weight differently. Mainly it will UNLOAD the front end, which can adversly affect braking and handling. Shock adjustments on todays machines are not adequate to handle all the different rider weights now, how can anyone believe they can adjust them enough for a heavy trailer?

IRS system is far superior in normal riding conditions.. however add a heavy trailer and the tide swings to the SRA. You must decide how the machine is going to spend most of it's time being used and choose accordingly.

 

Tell me if this makes sense? Quote " I have a SRA and it tows better than a IRS because IRS squats. With SRA I can put 1000lbs on the tongue and tow 15,000lbs at 70mph. Even though my tow rating is 1050 and my tongue rating is 60 lbs."


I'll bet any ATV that stays within their capacities would ride just fine. The IRS squating myth is just a myth that you hear on ATV television. Any ATV is going to squat if you go WAY over the max tongue rating. I would rather buy an ATV based on what kind of riding you do because both SRA and IRS will tow just fine.

 

Thanx for the responses, Yea articat wants to sell me a 400 bad, they knew I had my sights set on the Eiger. Ive always exceeded towing capacity., dont know anyone that hasnt. Got snow yet Dragginbutt? We got a dusting, as usual chesterfield shuts down for a week at the first sign of the white stuff.

 

the rincon is the softest sprung IRS machine i know of and is not adjustable. that said i have pulled a 16ft dual axle trailer and it only squated so that the a arms were level
if your so worried about it move some of the load to the rear of your wagon

 

Being that the hitch on a prairie connects to the rear diff the suspension will never squat.Only the tires will.
I honestly think you should buy what you want. I am sure any quad will do a reasonable amount of towing.
I personally have way overloaded mine I would be more worried about the stress put on the drivetrain the bending axles.
not sure what the tongue weight would be on a prairie but I know I have exceeded it.