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Post by coyotewhisperer on Jun 19, 2007 17:54:30 GMT -6
Ok gonna get a 4-wheeler in the next couple weeks. What brand/size do you guys recommend for a durable long lasting 4-wheeler. I don't think I need 4 wheel drive on it and want to keep it on the smaller size so if I got stuck I could get it out with muscle power. I've got to curb gas costs next season and a 4-wheeler is my answer plus with it I can access alot more cats that are not accesible in a truck.
Jeff
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Post by coyotewhisperer on Jun 19, 2007 17:56:14 GMT -6
And box set ups for carrying gear and animals would be greatly appreciated. Pics even better
Thanks Jeff
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Post by coalminer on Jun 19, 2007 18:04:34 GMT -6
We run Honda here. Had a Foreman 450 es, great machine 5000 plus miles, nothing but gas and tires, 1 spark plug. traded it on a Honda Rubicon, so far great. If I was you, Honda rancher 4wd. Does it snow where you are, if so 2wd, you might as well walk.
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Post by mattduncan on Jun 19, 2007 18:18:24 GMT -6
i've got a yamaha bigbear 350 bought it new in 96 and it's seen a lots of miles with little work on it 4 wheel drive wouldn't be without it could't crawl up greasy river and ditch banks after crossing without 4 wheel drive and like was mentioned about the snow also looks like lots of runnin on it here this year also with the price of fuel
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Post by coyotewhisperer on Jun 19, 2007 18:19:07 GMT -6
This year was the worst for snow and Ice but generally it doesn't snow too much here and generally doesn't last long.
Jeff
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Post by bobwendt on Jun 19, 2007 18:50:23 GMT -6
jeff, watch the section on the fox dvd again showing my trailor and honda 4trax. I`ve had them 25 years or so and more reliable than a ford or chevy. for mud only no 4 wheel drive is needed. only way you can stick it is bottom it out, and themn matters not if 2 or 4 , you are stuck. snow and climbing 4 wheel drive, but I don`t believe it would be worth the extra grand in your country. back here with 2-3" of rain every other day, trapping would be impossible without one. highly recommended. ck out that trailer of mine. the gate system and fast on/off is the key to you liking it or dreading it.
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Post by coyotewhisperer on Jun 19, 2007 18:53:55 GMT -6
Thanks Bob I'll go pop that in the DVD player again now. Everyone else is telling me honda also Thats what I'm looking at now.
Jeff
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Post by mostinterestingmanintheworld on Jun 20, 2007 0:39:45 GMT -6
Honda baby!!
As far as 4wd goes let me tell you a story about a truck I bought once.
It was my first brand new truck and I ordered it the way I wanted it, 4-10 rear end heavy duty everything etc. etc.
When it came to air conditioning I decided to go cheap, heck I was tough, I could drive with the window down in the summer besides that I was saving $500.
Well when it came time to sell it no one would buy it. I could have gotten 2-3 grand more for it if it would have had air.
Don't cut your nose off to spite your face and step over the dollars to pick up the nickels.
Get a 4wd.
Joel
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Post by musher on Jun 20, 2007 4:39:13 GMT -6
Honda's are good. Suzuki's are good. My Suzuki's are 250 4wd's are from the 80's. They just don't quit. They have worked VERY hard. They rarely see 4-5 gear.
Buy good tires for them. It changes everything. Tractor type tires eliminates the need for chains.
Large engines means that you'll be toting gas. I never bring gas for the bike. I just tank up before I leave. The larger sizes also mean that you're stuck when you're stuck. You can wrestle with the smaller ones.
I'd check out an older model before I would buy new. All the new bikes have gizmos. Fuel injection, push buttons for shifting gears etc. When they break, which they do, it's shop time. If I have a bike that won't start (extremely rare but it has happened when I left the bike in the snow bank, unused from December to April!) I can check the spark plug and pour gas down into the engine. If there's any fire, it WILL start.
Milk crates wires to the bike make excellent totes. I just saw a pic of an ATV trailer, made with an empty house fuel tank sawed in half, that seemed excellent. The axle goes inside the tank. This results in a perfectly smooth bottom so the trailer slides over rocks and stumps.
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Post by sawdust on Jun 20, 2007 4:43:00 GMT -6
ditto on the snow comments. 2wd is worthless in more than 3 or 4 inches of snow.
i have a kawasaki bayou 250 which is a great little machine. i'm not at all a large guy (6' 170lbs.) and can pick up either end when mud stuck. i built a wood equipment storage box for the front end. made the box wide enough and tall enough that it keeps the wind off my hands. cold hands are the biggest issue for me when riding a 4 wheeler in the winter. wear some safety glasses or your eyes will water terribly and eventually you'll get a rock or mud ball in the eye.
my machine is 2WD and worthless in the snow.
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Post by robertw on Jun 20, 2007 6:48:19 GMT -6
I use an add on windshield on my bike, really helps against the rain and wind, well worth the cost.
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Post by Bob Jameson on Jun 20, 2007 6:59:36 GMT -6
You can get a good view of my rig on my fox video/DVD. I have had 3 quads in the last 30 years. Suzuki and Honda .Very durable if not beat up and used for this purpose. Should last a long time with reasonable maintenance. Any one with 4 wheel drive will serve the purpose that gives the ability to attach boxes in the front and back and carry a reasonable amount of weight. I prefer the mid size due to manuverability advantages makeing turns and getting through tight spots.
My honda is the oldest now, 1985, and my suzuki is newer a 1988. Still runs like a champ and goes about anywhere as long as you use good sense and dont bottom the frame then you may bet stuck. Winches will help alot if you have an anchor point or carry a 3/4 30 inch rebar to drive in for your attach point. Usually enough grab to pull you free.
CV joints have been my biggest expense over the years. Water and grit works them pretty hard when your CV boots get torn. Arkansas was hard on my bikes , alot of water, sand and mud, freeze and thaw exposure.
If you are in open ground primarily as you most likely are, any 4 wheel drive model will work. I rigged a trailor for mine when I trapped the river bottoms of Arkansas for years for beaver and cats. Too much weight to haul out on the quad alone most of the time on a long run out and back.
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Post by SteveCraig on Jun 20, 2007 7:39:04 GMT -6
Finally bought a Polaris OHV Ranger. I can go anywhere out here in this mountain country with this thing. Can haul out an elk with no problem. Can drive over 200 miles on a tank of gas. Goes over about any obstacle with ease. Mine has 1 wheel drive, 2 wheel drive or 4 wheel drive at the touch of a button for whatever situation i am in. Wish they had had these things 20 years ago! Mine is the 500 cc with carburator . I didnt want FE or the bigger 700cc due to fuel concerns. Steve
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Post by bill1306 (Phil) on Jun 20, 2007 8:27:35 GMT -6
I use a Polaris 500, rides great and has a lot of room to haul dead stuff. Out of state in Feb and March I rarely shifted it into four wheel drive and I was in the mountains and it snowed while I was there. When I did use it, I was busting through a snow drift that were melting and I was going uphill at the time. Maybe I should say up the mountain side. Around here our snow either blows away or gets crusted very fast. Last year in Ks I only used the four wheel drive once. The year before I never shifted it into four wheel drive. After being on your line with you, I personally don't think you would need the four wheel drive. We just don't have that much snow or wet weather here until Bob shows up and brings the wet stuff with him. Jeff, I was thinking, don't you only trap when the weather is nice? lol
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Post by romans117 on Jun 20, 2007 8:34:49 GMT -6
I have a 2003 Kawasaki Prairie 650 4x4. It serves me well training dogs and trapping. I am not that impressed with the MPG maybe 40 miles to the gallon. I drive as fast as possible. I have never been stuck, but don't go looking for trouble and never run it in 4x4 unless stuck stuck. I would have never been able to get in and out of several places during last season without it. But, the amount of time it took me to unload, drive in, and drive out was not efficient. I had to many places that required that. They were sweet areas and produced some nice cats but I lost 30 to 45 minutes per day. Time is money!!! My rule for this year is if I can't drive through it in my truck I am not trapping it. I understand wet weather and snow will require it. Hauling the 4 wheeler greatly reduces my MPG in my truck by almost half. Polaris is hard to beat. Honda number two. Kawasaki three. P.S. Sure wish I could get some good pee.
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Post by bobwendt on Jun 20, 2007 9:58:51 GMT -6
romans, I can load and unload my rig as fast as you can open your truck door. you need a different trailor.
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Post by jim on Jun 20, 2007 10:07:42 GMT -6
Rode onto the edge of a lake that had glare ice with a dusting of snow with my 84 two wheel drive, the front wheels just slid,wouldn,t steer itself off the lake had to turn it around by hand to get off. Jim
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Post by romans117 on Jun 20, 2007 10:26:16 GMT -6
romans, I can load and unload my rig as fast as you can open your truck door. you need a different trailor. From the back of my truck. I am fairly quick at it. It's the driving off the beaten path, no easy way of driving it in my truck without taking my drive train out. That's where the honey holes are, right? The muffler and exhaust pipe were gone on day two. LOL
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Post by bobwendt on Jun 20, 2007 11:06:36 GMT -6
they have to get from honey hole to honey hole. those big deep white rock box canyons south of you. watch the next snow, the cats will run from rim top at the end (top) overland across the flats to the next canyon. or the top lips around them. there`ll be atrail there, for sure. no need to go to them unless camping on a sow and kittens. those old toms will make it to you just fine. they are the ones you want anyway.
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Post by romans117 on Jun 20, 2007 12:05:51 GMT -6
they have to get from honey hole to honey hole. those big deep white rock box canyons south of you. watch the next snow, the cats will run from rim top at the end (top) overland across the flats to the next canyon. or the top lips around them. there`ll be atrail there, for sure. no need to go to them unless camping on a sow and kittens. those old toms will make it to you just fine. they are the ones you want anyway. Why are you broadcasting my locations? I got up in them holes this last year because I was afraid I was going to miss something. Now I know the only thing I will be missing is nothing. The best tom I caught last year was on top of one of them canyons that was 100 foot from top to bottom. I had been on my boy for not looking for sign on the rim and only interested in throwing rocks off it and he says look dad a fresh cat turd. I set on that spot and had the tom the next a.m. Nice blue tom brought 450 in Feb. Sure is nicer than John Morgan's creek bottom.
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