|
blade capacity on ATV's, question on using them
QUESTION:That's the problem. The barn was built for one size tractor that hasn't
been on the farm in 25 years. We made do with others, but it's such a major
production to get them so they'll fit, it takes about 3 hours or so to make
a tractor so it'll fit and then re-fit the parts you have to take out of
them.
I have found in talking to some of the folks that work at the dealerships
that few, if any, of them ever use ATV's to do "work" rather than to just
ride from A to B. Unless it's in the manual, most have no idea what towing
capacity is on any of them, and no one who works there can tell me how much
they'll push.
I'm running into the problem of what-I-need versus what-I-want. I think I
need something like a skid steer loader to do this, which has no use at all
as a hunting vehicle. What I want is an ATV, and I'm trying to justify
it...
ANSWER: To push things around you need three things. Weight, traction, and power.
Maxing these out will yeild the best results. The best quad I can think of
to do this would be the Polaris Sportman 700. As far as I know it's the
heaviest quad ever built. It's got a 683cc engine which should be more than
enough to power through anything in low range. As for traction, I hear it's
got descent stock tires, and with all that weight I would guess they hug the
ground pretty good.
If it's not enough, add a sandbag front and rear and it should haul pretty
good. Will it be enough for your need? I have no idea. It only depends on
how much crap you need to push around. I wouldn't expect to move more than
300-350 pounds or so at a time without having to ram into it... But then
again I don't have much experience with this, so it's just a wild guess. One
thing is sure, towing capacity is no indication of how much it can push...
The towing capacity is calculated with a load on wheels, having no
resistance more than the weight itself. When pushing stuff around you have
the friction of the load on the ground, as well as the plow. It's an whole
other story.
I don't like the Polaris because of it's weight, but in your case it's just
what you need. I'm sure it'll do fine in the woods when hunting. Be sure to
buy the winch cause if you get stuck with this one it's not a pair of strong
guys that will get it out of the hole.
|
|
|
|
