Four Wheeler

We use Polaris Grizzly and I have had no problems with them.

IW-

Keep it a light as you can to enable you to hand wrestle it out of mud, over low fences etc.

Our Honda 4-Trax is circa 1990 and with a box I built for the front, carries me and two assistants very well.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=honda+4+trax&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Syn1Uo_zFIis2QXM0YC4Dw&ved=0CEgQsAQ&biw=1111&bih=606&dpr=0.9

4WD is advised.

Cheers,

Derek

Honda Rubicon 4x4. Has a grandma speed and is durable.

Go with the most basic Polaris Quad YES 4*4 with Carb pass on fuel injection

I have in the past 1 honda Okay
1 Bomabardier AKA Can Am
Lately a Polaris 400

Just go get a Polaris Sportaman 400 and keep your
money in THE USA,

Note I at one time raced X Country Dirt bikes and
on a good day crossed the line on two flat tires and
dragging the muffler and rear fender

AND with out a doubt A Polaris Sportsman 4X4 will
not break down heck of good machine.

Peter K

I have an old Honda 200 from 1984 that carries a good bit and is easy to manhandle around. But 95% of the time I use my Kawasaki Mule 610. The bed, steering wheel, and bench seat make it easy to drive around and there is plenty of room for everything.

Kawasaki has held up better for me. I still use the first bayou model I bought in 1999.

I have another prairie model and it is a beast of a machine.

A little leg work on craigslist usually finds a good one for a good price.

I had a polarsis once and I ended up getting rid of it, too many days in the shop and was just not doing it for me.

Randy

> Any recommendations on a four wheeler for surveying.

Yes. Don't get a 4wheeler. Get a side by side. Get the second seat. Get the roof. Get the windshield. You won't be disappointed.

Are you driving through open woods and field or navigating thicker vegetation. Make a big difference on whether to get a side by side or a wheeler. I could use both.

Buy new with fuel injection if your not using it a lot, you won't have to worry about cleaning carbs ect.

what's the budget?

I have had a Polaris 500. Good machine.
I now have a Polaris 800 with 2 cylinder, EFI. It will top out at 70 mph.
My average speed on the machine went from 14 mph on the 500 to around 24 mph on the 800.

If I were to buy another, it would be a monster, Polaris 850 with power steering. Or one of those side by side "UTV" types. Kawasaki makes a good one, that will fit in the back of a truck. It has a speed limiter, that keeps it below 25 mph or so.

Maybe a Polaris Ranger, side by side. Trouble with that kind, is you have to cut out a bit of the roof, and fill the sides with padded foam, so the GPS can stick up.

But, whatever you do, get 4wd. That way you can go slow through the bogs and puddles. With 2wd, you will be tempted to go too fast.

N

I agree with FLS,

Around here with all of our cursed nasty cedar, a side by side just will be more trouble than its worth on most jobs.

We use the smaller 4wheelers, the biggest I have is a 450cc and we get around pretty good, but still seem to walk a lot on rough projects.

For me, a side by side would just be a hunting or playing rig, not a working rig.

Randy

Disagree. We have the small side-by-side without the second seat and I can take it everywhere we took the Polaris 300. Way safer and easier on the gear.

I agree to disagree 🙂

Randy

Agreed. 🙂

I got the Polaris Sportsman 850 twin 4x4 but without the power steering. Many folks that have ridden it have thought it had power steering because of the ease of turning. My son and his cousin rode it together down the Farm to Market Road doing 75 mph - something is just wrong with that boy... I've ridden it out of a tract before carrying 5 people and it wasn't loaded down in the least.

I bought a Yamaha Rhino 450cc side by side with the top and a winch in 2006. A windshield may be nice, but we would have broke it out several times, no doubt. Next to RTK gps, its my favorite tool. We use it almost daily, and haven't had hardly any problems. I bought the extended warranty with it, which has long expired, but I never needed it.

Me & helper can both ride comfortably, and haul our equipment, stakes, everything we need. We haul it on a trailer with hinged tailgate, loads and unloads quickly. If I were buying again, I would buy the same thing except maybe a bigger engine. I thought the 450 was big enough, and it was about $900 cheaper, but there have been a few times I wished I has some more oomph to climb hills. In flat country, probably big enough.

Definitely get the winch with a side by side. I've only used it half a dozen times or so, but without it I would've been stuck big time, far from the beaten trail. and throw some extra tow straps under the seat for length.

The Rhino has been the second best investment I've made in Surveying.

I have a 04 Yamaha Grizzly 660. Has worked well for me for the past 8 years.

Speaking of 4-wheelers..
Did anyone hear about this:

http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/01/chipper-jones-freddie-freeman-atlanta-braves-snowstorm-atv/

Just a suggestion. Go get your cheapest atv, (like a 250 cc 2wd light one) and pay some 1200-2000 for it. Now, you are in the game.

You will from this vantage point, see if you want to move up to more ATV, or sell it, and keep doing it on foot.

For me, 500cc 4-wd is kind of the minimum for a surveyor.

N

Independent rear suspension (for your back)
Automatic (you will be getting on and off all the time)
4x4
Minimum of 400 cc
Aftermarket winch (cheap insurance)