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"Hi all,
Been Atv’g into my remote cottage for years in Ontario, Canada. Looking into an Argo or other alternative. I currently trailer to a entry point, traverse down a rocky rough hydro corridor, then 20k, then rough trail that gets swamped out by beavers/floods, park and then travel by boat around a short leg of water. It’s very hard on the ATV but part of the fun.
+ I love the idea of an AATV going straight into the cottage
+ believe I could take a more direct route across swamp but is this risky?
+ love the idea of my two dogs jumping in with me (could also do with a UTV)
+ love the idea of winter travel opening another season.
- concern that speed is way too slow for the 20k road
- concern with rocky trail/damaging bottom/repairs
Would love to learn more and hear your thoughts before jumping into a purchase!
Thanks!
Cam"
im into a similar situation to access our hunt camp,same power line scenario and all.weve used atvs to get to camp since the honda 4trax came out in the mid 80's.my argo hdi is hands down 3 times as good as the honda foreman.just gotta take it easy and dont get high centered.nice thing about the argo is that i dont need to haul a trailer anymore,you can pack a pile of gear into the argo.the argo doesnt even break a sweat or spin a tire if your carefull and you always arrive with dry feet.as for the water travel with the argo i rarely do that anymore but if you have no current to contend with,they move along pretty good.what area is your cottage in? im in the lost channel area.hope this helps.
My $0.02...From my limited experience....
Have an old MaxIV 6x6. It is:
- wide and long...5' outside edge of tire to outside edge of tire and 8' long tip to tail lights
-- definitely notice how much more width I need in a trail vs. an ATV
- I wouldn't call it a "graceful" machine. More of skidding through turns if you have enough speed (maybe dragging one side of locked up wheels during at speed turns is more accurate)...and (a bit over exagerated to illustrate) more of a series of zigs and zags vs. smoothly going through a bend when you're going slower. Skidding in place to pivot around a tree is possible as long as there's enough space to swing it around
-- if you have to take a sharp hook around a big rock or tree I do a good bit of rubbing on the body or else don't make the turn, have to back up/go forward/etc... Same turn with an ATV...no problem.
+ being able to drop 2-3' off the bank into a swampy bit of water is awesome...you don't so much as "hit" the water as just slide in floating (imagine sliding a bar of soap off the counter into a bathroom sink)
- moving on water is a riot...but slow when you're propelled just by the tire lugs. Novel...works...but slow. The old guy that I bought it from used to have a trolling motor on it for fishing.
+ 9" of clearance
-/+ "suspension" is all in the PSI of the tires. Very neat how on bumpy but level-ish ground you just sort of float (feels like a hovercraft ride) over the ground. Downside is when you hit a bump big enough for the tires/etc not to soak up you'll lift off the seat and slam back down.
+ basically a big HDPE (tough stuff) bathtub. As long as your axle seals are holding I don't see this thing sinking and it feels like it'd be pretty hard to tip it
+ "flat" grassy fields (just regular terrain lumps)...these things can really fly. You can definitely go faster than "I should slow down here" speeds. It can "creep" really well when busting through stuff or going through tight turns. Lots of drive traction.
+ if you get hung up/high centered, they're light enough to lever off of it or to just rock/tip/push by hand. I've gotten wedged on some downed logs that got hung up between the front and middle wheels. In a seasonal stream so it was all slippery. Hopped out..lifted a bit to take front weight off, pushed it backwards while it was in reverse and I gave it a bit of gas and it popped it self right off the log. Took 30sec.
+ slides right over any vegetation (grass, bushes, trees up to about 1" thick)...so great to bushwack through lighter stuff. I've gone right through/over thin stuff that was too thick/prickly to walk through.
- it basically has a 3x6 flat bottom (not counting the angled front/back or tires)...so, at least for me, I've gotten a good bit of banging/scraping underneath going over things that it didn't clear. Nothing that really damaged it though. I've definitely been hung up...trying to go over a big rock/log...but easy to get out of.
+ not sure about newer models...but the old one I have is basically cogs/gears/chain and transmission/motor. If you can work on a bicycle you can work on the drive train...takes small set of basic tools to do most of it.
-/+ probably more setting expectations...but (mine has a front and rear bench seating) there isn't really a lot of room to haul stuff around. If I'm driving in the center front, there's space for 2x smaller kids to sit on either side of the front bench (they're kind of perched over the front tirewell) and for two full sized people to be in the back sitting a bit skewed so they don't smash up their knees. If it's just me, I can put 3x 50lbs bags of corn into the back bench and have enough space for some misc tools. I don't like putting small things loose into the front foot well. 1) worried about it falling into the bottom with the gears/chains, 2) things that roll around end up under the foot break lever. A full sized cooler would take up most of the rear space. I've sort of juggled/held-onto lengths of lumber spanning the front to the back engine cover (probably really dangerous if it snagged on something, but I was in open fields...more problematic of not having them slide off).
-/+ Just the driver...I think that you'd be able to haul the equivalent of what you could strap/stow on an ATV w/ front/back racks. Probably a bit more. And it'd be easier (e.g. toss it in vs. tying it all down) and more flexible.
- pulling a trailer is possible...but much easier if you can drive on through or else have a generous turn around. I have not had much luck backing up a trailer with it (where it'd be easy with an atv/riding mower/etc).
Hello, The Argo is definitely going to take you awhile getting where your going. These machines are hard on the body. In Rocky Terrain they are brutal. They Have a great place in the wilds for sure. I would definitely look into the 6x6 atv’s available. The Polaris BiG Boss 6x6. Put a Yukon rack on back and the machine can haul a lot. Check em out. They are a great value and the ride is incredible considering how many tires. Can am makes 6x6 as well. Just a thought. They will cover ground exceptionally well, and they are extremely good on fuel.
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