Tracks on an ATV??

[mod7rem]

Anyone use tracks on their ATV for snow and if so how do you like it? I’m trying to decide whether I should spend money on snowmobile or buy tracks for my quad. Not looking to do anything extreme, just something to use for lynx, coyote hunting or ice fishing and not have to be so limited by my snow shoes. I have a Polaris 500 HD. Thanks

[Shashlik]

Hi everyone happy new year its my first time posting on hunting on hbc. I was wondering the same thing about tracks. Was talking to one guy who used tracks on his razor and he said going through fresh snow wasn't easy as tracks would dig in instead of floating on top. But he also said his experience was very limited. Would be good to hear from someone who spent more time with tracks. Thanks

[Haddy]

My cousin bought a Grizzly 700 with the tracks and it's awesome. We took it out on logging roads in a couple feet of rotten spring snow and it had no problems at all. Even climbed out some gnarly hills with ease. Me on the other hand on the canam with tires had to keep it pinned on the roads and had no chance on the hills

[Buckmeister]

I've run them now for about 3 winters on my 2008 Honda Rubicon 500. My tracks are not aggressive at all, but they do surprise at where they can take me. Deep fresh powder snow is nice and light to move through, but there are limits, check out my picture at the bottom of this post. Heavier wet snow has better flotation, but is stickier and offers more resistance so the engine has to work harder. Snow that is about a foot deep or more is the nicest to go through and feels comfortable and smooth. You will be able to do what you want, but a small sled like a Tundra II will go further and faster.

Cons:
- they are NOT fast, unless using on hard pack. Most tracks give about a 30% reduction in speed
- you will be running around in low range 95% of the time
- tracks add a bit of weight to the machine
- because of the above three cons, fuel consumption goes WAY up, my fuel economy is cut in a least half
- if your machine has too much horse power, you WILL break components (axle shafts, cv's, etc)
- I haven't been stuck yet, but I don't know what I would do if I did get stuck and was alone, a winch is a must
- not so great on ice

Pros:

- incredible traction in snow. where other machine begin to spin out or bog down, tracks will casually walk on past, kinda like throwing a 2wd into 4wd with lockers
- machine feels way more stable with tracks, less tippy
- towing power is increased
- if tracks can handle dirt or very little snow, great for hillclimbing, feels and moves like a tank
- haven't really tried it myself, but good flotation/traction in boggy, muddy stuff
- a lower horsepower machine has a hard time breaking components, engine will bog down when resistance is met
- once you've broken a trail, getting around is WAY easier

I usually put my tracks on for muley hunting when the snow gets too deep for tires. The pictures below is from this last November when we had the big early snow. This was about the limit for my machine, any deeper and I would be bogging down. I wasn't stuck here, but the machine used a lot of power to move and the moving was slow. The snow was very light and powdery with no base. The tracks packed down about 8 inches of snow underneath them, and I had a big wake building up in front. When I got off the machine, I dug my boots through the snow till I was standing on dirt and the snow was about 3 inches past my knees (just over about 2 feet deep).

[RackStar]

Waste of money, too hard on your machine.

BUY A SLED and get the real deal. Quads are meant to operate with TIRES. them tracks are silly. you see lots of them for sale with 1 year on them for a reason.

JMO.

[416]

Asked my Polaris guy about tracks for my 800 side by side, his advice....... for similar money, he could get me into a second hand sled and l'd never look back.

[Slinky Pickle]

I agree with everything that Buckmeister said. I ran tracks for years on my SxS for years and now run them on my Jeep. They aren't as speedy as a sled but they definitely have their uses.

https://youtu.be/fHZTWdPJLdM

[358mag]

They were the ticket for early spring grizzly bear hunting .........

[mod7rem]

I agree with everything that Buckmeister said. I ran tracks for years on my SxS for years and now run them on my Jeep. They aren't as speedy as a sled but they definitely have their uses.

https://youtu.be/fHZTWdPJLdM

That looks like a fun ride. But sounds like maybe for the price of tracks I would be better served trying to pick up a used smaller snowmobile. I guess if I could get tracks for a decent price it would be worth a try, but it looks like I’d be in the $3500-$4500 range for tracks.

[mod7rem]

Thanks everyone for the comments.