Hello!
Please forgive my complete ignorance on this subject, but I am not sure who to ask about this, and I am sure that the many experts on this forum will have an answer!
I am looking for a vehicle that can tow 8000lbs on wheels (an airplane). How do I know, based on towing specifications, if a certain ATV will have the capacity I need? I'm sorry this is such a lame question, but I appreciate your patience :-)
Any specific recommendations??? Thank you so much for your time!
Jennifer Robb

 

Hi! There are no atv's on the market that are RATED to tow 8000 lbs, but there are a few that WILL tow that kind of weight. (on level ground of course) I have personally pulled way more than that with my old quad: 01 Bombardier Traxter 500-pulled a 26 foot tandem axle car hauler with a 76 cordoba w/ 400 bb UP HILL.(4 guys sitting on the racks for traction though) This is probably the best work machine out there. Its a big, heavy tank, but it can pull your house across the street and not break a sweat. The other alternative would be to buy a small tractor or an old suzuki samuri or ****** jeep and have it set up to pull. Hope this helps!

 

In my opinion its not what it is rated to pull just a matter of traction. How far do you have to pull it? flat or grade? my guess is no atv would work very well. Probably better to look into large garden tractors, kubota, cub cadet, ect. more money but better preformance.

 

I thought I might pass along a reference that is germane to the discussion. I'm not advertising Bombardier, but if all is true in the article I'm impressed. I wish there were more details.

On page 133 of the August 2002 issue of DirtWheels there's a pic of a Bombardier Quest 650 pulling a semi (w/ trailer). Like I said I'm not advertising Bombardier, the story is not real detailed, but it is interesting.

 

I've heard that the Suzuki King Quad has pulled about 8000 lbs. If you get the traction almost anything is possible.

 

I have pulled 8,000lbs. + with my old King Quad. Not level ground and on dirt, not pavement. I had to add an extra 350lbs of people on the tongue to keep up the traction. The thing is, even though it did pull that kind of load (and push it backwards uphill) I would not recommend doing this on a regular basis. Even the heaviest quads with a rider will weigh not much more than 1,000 lbs. If you try to pull eight times your tow vehicle weight you are bound to get pushed around sooner or later. It's not so much a matter of getting it to move, your real problem will be in trying to get it to stop. With such a heavy load and such a relativly light tow vehicle it is almost a certanity - you WILL get pushed and you will jack-knife. To put it into perspective - Many small pick-up trucks are not rated to tow that kind of weight.

I would not recommend any quad for this.

Jaybee

 

I don't know what my Toyota Tundra weighs, not to mention when it was stuck in the mud, but my Prairie 650 YANKED that sucker right out!

 

I have to agree with jaybee. We have "nudged" full hay wagons around on my brother-in-laws farm with my Arctic Cat 400i. I have plenty of power to move the wagons all over the place, but I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to stop them in a hurry if I had to, so we try to avoid it as much as possible. My AC weighs about 600 lbs, and with me on it, it approaches 850 lbs. That's not much wieght compared to the hay wagon, which is lighter than your plane.

I would say that if you are towing it on a level surface, went very slow, and didn't turn, you might be ok with most of the bigger quads out there. I would recommend the Arctic Cats just because they have all disk brakes, which I think are a bit better. However, a quad isn't really a good long-term solution to this issue. I'd probably get a small farm tractor, better suited to dealing with this much weight.

Good luck.

 

I have pulled a 20ft hay wagon loaded. Which was around 8500lbs plus the wagon weight through a bumpy field and down a hill with my Vinson. It pulled it with no problem in Low 4x4.

 

That was not a Quest 650, it was a Traxter pulling that semi tractor, and trailer.