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I'm fairly new to the forum (although I've lurking in the background long enough to read quite a bit of the advice and have learned a lot already) and would like to get a few thoughts. I would like to get a 6 wheel (or perhaps 8) ATV primarily to get into a cabin I have in Colorado at 10,000' in the mountains. I have a half-mile of steep (about 15% grade) gravel road (including several tight switchbacks) that isn't plowed... it's not uncommon to get 3 feet of light powdery snow. I know I'll need plenty of horsepower and pretty wide tracks (I'm thinking 24"... maybe more?). Of course in the summer I'll take the tracks off and run around on lots of jeep trails in the area. I don't really care about using it in the water... because I probably won't do more than cross a few streams. My priorities are 1) reliability over the long term (I'm very good about doing simple maintenance but not too mechanically inclined), 2) enough power to do the job (10,000', wide tracks, haul a 600# load), 3) big enough for 4 people or 2 people and some gear (although the smaller the better... the back seats don't need to be too big), 4) prefer something quiet since I'll use it for hunting and don't want to disturb the peace and quiet anyway. 5) oh yea... then there's price... I realize I'm asking for a lot here and I'm willing to put some money into this project if I can find the right vehicle but anything over $20,000 isn't really a possibility. I'm making a short list of candidate vehicles and I realize opinions will vary considerably on this but would really appreciate any thoughts because I could easily have overlooked something or have a few things wrong. Thanks for your thoughts!
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The first thing that comes to mind for me is a used Argo Avenger with tracks. When I was looking for one over the past year or so I came across several good deals. I think if you were patient, you could find one with less than 100 hours on it that had a top and tracks for around $10,000. That would save you a lot of cash compared to the upper limit of your budget while still being so new that you would just have to perform regular maintenance. On top of that, it would be the workhorse that you needed. The key again, is that you have to be patient and check for deals on a regular basis. I came across three different ones over the past year that met the criteria above.
On the flip side of that, you could go more toward the upper end of your budget and get a much newer Avenger with the HDI transmission. You've got a lot of room to play with that budget. Heck, you could get a used Avenger 8x8 for working with and still have enough left over to buy a nice 6x6 to play around with. -
Mike... thanks for your reply, I really appreciate the advice of others who have been at this for a while. After much reading, I'm beginning to see the wisdom of your advice. Can you tell if you believe there is a big difference in the various transmissions for my application. I have heard a lot of conflicting information about pre-2010, versus the newer Admiral. Thanks again!Comment
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terminator - you must use extreme caution if your going to be looking at a used machine. Ive been an argo mechanic for 2 years and i have had a lot of new customers come in and say that they just bought this used unit and looks to be in great condition ... but ... they have run into a lot of problems aka bad axles, bearings, seals, gaskets, sprockets.
the pre-2010 transmissions vs. the new admiral can be hit or miss ... some of the old transmissions operate just as easy as the new ones and vise-versa. Also keep in mind that the admiral transmission isnt perfected yet ... your better off to stick to the pre-2010 transmission.
All in all I would look into a new 650 8x8 in my personal opinion.Comment
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