Learn me on Utility ATV's

I'm shopping for an ATV to replace one that is worn out, and was undersized for the job at hand. The job is towing around the Atlanta Region SCCA cone trailer -

Fully loaded, it has several hundred traffic cones, a dozen fire extinguishers. timing equipment, a couple of 5 gallon buckets of sheetrock pieces, and several 50# bags of flour. All told, I bet it's the better part of a ton.

The current ATV is a Kawasaki Bayou 220. In general it has worked well, but it is not the hero it once was with the big load. I think it's time to move up to a newer / bigger one. Probably the biggest weakness of the Bayou has been the clutch. It has a manual gearbox with a centrifugal clutch. It is the wrong setup for trying to creep a heavy load up a steep incline at slower than walking speed, which is what we do at the end of an event when we are loading it into the big enclosed trailer. Having a clutch that depends on RPM for crawling just doesn't work.

So, more than size, CC, etc. - I want one with the ability to crawl with a heavy load. This may mean low range. It could just mean a manual clutch. It may even be a real planetary automatic with a torque converter. I'm not real picky - I just know that I don't want a cetrifugal clutch.

So, can anyone give me some leads on where to start looking?

Why not one of those little Diahatsu micro-trucks? I have seen them used for similar prices as well.

http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1135650120.html

Poifect.

I have a Polaris Scrambler 400. They are still in production (in 500cc trim) so there are a lot of them out there and used ones can be found cheap and parts are plentiful. It is a sport/utility quad with an automatic and on-demand 4WD. I use mine to tow my trailer around the property, pull small stumps...stuff like that. I am not sure what type of transmission it has, and it does not have a low range, but it pulls like a mule. It also came with a rear trailer ball hitch, so that helped. I have nothing to compare it to of course, perhaps something else would be much better. But for something in the $2000k range give or take, it is a great quad and would do the job.

JFX001 wrote: http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1135650120.html Poifect.

Simply awesome.

Any other input? Everything I'm finding in utilities has a centrifugal clutch. Is that just the way it is or am I looking in the wrong place? Surely I can't be the only person who wants an ATV that is strong at creeping speed.

How about an electric golf cart. We use one to put a 14' aluminum john boat over board and tow a 4 X 8 trailer picking up yard trash. It pulls pretty good. It will also creep along as slow as you want. The other advantage is other than topping off the batteries every six months or so, no maintenance.

Honda is the only one to make a "real auto tranny" in a utility quad.

What about the Polaris Variable Transmission?

We have a Polaris Ranger 6x6 at work. It's been very capable at hauling heavy loads (1000+ lbs) uphill on dirt paths. I'm always amazed at what it can get through.

Ignorant is right that Honda has the only ute (Rincon) that doesn't use a cent. clutch. Problem with Rincons is that they don't have a low range or a locking differential ( at least as of '07 models). It's either forward, neutral, or reverse. I had an '05 and while it was a great trail machine it lacked in the power and torque dept. My wife on the other hand had an '05 Arctic Cat 500 auto. I'll tell you of the 12-15 people that we rode with through out the years hers was the only one that didn't have any issues. Were talking newer King Quad 700's, Grizzly's, and Rincon's. It wasn't the fastest of the bunch but it had power. It became the unofficial "tow vehicle" when somebody got stuck in a mud hole. Comes with a built in 2" receiver in the frame, low range, and locking dif. It was based around the Suzuki 500cc motor that's in the Vinson but has a heavier towing and rack capacity. I would highly recommend looking at Arctic Cat's Starting with the 400cc models.

why are you stuck on an ATV? I'd recommend a UTV if you can afford one. a polaris ranger or similar would be far more useful for the job you are describing (and you can even get em street legal in some states).

Centrifugal clutch is great for low speeds, I'm not sure why you think otherwise. I've ridden a lot of big 4wd's and the best of the lot is the can am V twin... that thing is amazing, handles great, good power down low. Next is the grizzly, which my brother has. The suzuki kingquad would come next. The hondas are pretty crappy. That would be my recommendation, in that order: UTV, Can Am, Grizzly, King Quad, question mark.

Also, as a side note, tractor supply sells those two wheel drive utility type vehicles that have no roof, sort of an all terrain golf cart, for relatively cheap (few thousand bucks IIRC) and if all you really wanna do is haul stuff on paved surfaces they would be cheaper and do the job better. they have a flatbed and can tow like 800 or 1000 lbs.

I would try a polaris with the centrifugal clutches, or an artic cat. They are good and tuneable.

andrave wrote: Centrifugal clutch is great for low speeds, I'm not sure why you think otherwise.

If I want to creep along at 800 RPM but the clutch doesn't engage until 1200 RPM, then I end up jockying the throttle and riding the brakes to slip the clutch so that I'm not going faster than I want to.

andrave wrote: Centrifugal clutch is great for low speeds, I'm not sure why you think otherwise.

If I want to creep along at 800 RPM but the clutch doesn't engage until 1200 RPM, then I end up jockying the throttle and riding the brakes to slip the clutch so that I'm not going faster than I want to.

UTV's are too big.

I've never had that problem. maybe yours wasn't adjusted correctly? thumb throttles are pretty darn easy to manipulate.

Buddy of mine used one of these to move cars around his property. Pretty stout and would snatch a car with flat tires out of the grass.

DILYSI Dave wrote:

andrave wrote: Centrifugal clutch is great for low speeds, I'm not sure why you think otherwise.

If I want to creep along at 800 RPM but the clutch doesn't engage until 1200 RPM, then I end up jockying the throttle and riding the brakes to slip the clutch so that I'm not going faster than I want to.

I think your atv had something borked in it.. like a fried belt. You can tune those clutches to engage whenever or wherever you want. We ran polaris clutches on our Mini baja car and were able to get them to work with a 10hp briggs quite well.

Wait.. Let me back up the truck. A good Garden tractor (not lawn, but garden) from the 60's -70's or early 80's will be better and cheaper in the long run than the a quad. A proper tractor will have a good low gear and move less than 2mph with ease....

hydrostatic drive excels at low speed

Or a pimp kubota like this..

http://cgi.ebay.com/Kubota-B6100E-Tractor-w-John-Deere-finish-mower_W0QQitemZ110384972105QQcmdZViewItemQQptZTractors?hash=item19b3750149&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A7|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50 <--- In atlanta as well.. you won't slow it.