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).

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_1828a.jpg

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/medium/IMG_1829a.jpg

[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.

[Squamch]

Another thing to remember is where your tires climb an obstacle, your tracks try to dig under it.

In my opinion the best recipe for snow is a big, big block, 500+ cubes, and 46-54" tires spun on Gamma goat running gear.

https://goo.gl/images/iea3ca

But I guess sleds work too. Just no heater.

[Buckmeister]

Another thing to remember is where your tires climb an obstacle, your tracks try to dig under it.

In my opinion the best recipe for snow is a big, big block, 500+ cubes, and 46-54" tires spun on Gamma goat running gear.

https://goo.gl/images/iea3ca

But I guess sleds work too. Just no heater.

Here is what some of those snow beast can do. Please excuse the profanity in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvu1Y6hdDk

[David]

In my opinion the best recipe for snow is a big, big block, 500+ cubes, and 46-54" tires spun on Gamma goat running gear.


I remember some of those posts from back in the BC4x4 days... can you still FIND gamma goat parts???

[klondikemike]

Ive used tracks on an Arctic cat 500 for about ten years in Manitoba. A few years ago we had about 5 feet of snow without much wind so the snow stayed quite soft. That year I had to park my 500 polaris sled about January cause i kept getting stuck and having to walk back home to get the quad to pull me out and pull my sled back home. The quad could drive right past the sled hook on and pull it right out no problem. My polaris is not a mountain sled by any means but it does ok most years. Late March that year we went out across lots of small lakes that were slushed up and with that deep snow. Me on the quad and my friend with an old Alpine. The Alpine had lots of problems in the bush getting stuck so I made trail there but out on the lake in the slush I had lots of problems. As soon as the tracks dug down to the ice there i sat. The alpine could pull right up to me and tug me to get me out of the slush areas.

[klondikemike]

Theres lots of things about either that are better wheels tracks or sleds, and its nice to be able to go out with others that have experience with them. Those little trucks on Buckmeisters video sure look fun as well.

[Slinky Pickle]

Just to throw another wrench in the works, check with your insurance company and confirm that you are still covered while on tracks. Mine is void as soon as I put my tracks on and I've been searching for 5 years to find someone to provide me with liability insurance.

[Pioneerman]

There was a thread about this before Christmas this was my reply then..........................Tracks are amazing you will get to places you never thought you could go. I ran tracks for 15 years on multiple machines and never had any track related damage or wear. If you do have a machine with worn bearings and parts, yes you will see the problems come to light no question. Tracks do use more fuel no doubt, but you can save a lot more fuel when it sits cause you can not use it. so you can get to places it takes fuel but well worth it. I have been out in 5 feet of snow get to top of mountain and in timber there is less than a foot and tracks every where. So there is a major advantage in tracks on a well maintained machine Side by side and atv it is all the same.

They will climb stupid steep hills from dead stop they are quieter than a sled and more track on the ground. You can side hill but you are not able to use your body as you can on a single track sled. You can pack or drag a bigger load and animal up or down hill . There is nothing wrong with buying good used tracks, but get information about them, do not take sellers word that they will fit anything cause that is just not true, most times they do not know and that is what some salesman told them and they did not know much about tracks either. Tracks are weight rated so the newer systems are designed for UTV and ATV. If you find a good used set you are interested in ask someone who knows for sure how old the systems are and if they can even be swapped to your machine. If you can get a picture of tracks from inside and outside and if you can see serial # get that too. Tracks have changed so much in the last 20 years and they are amazing.

For the some of you that had problems I would guess they might have been older system and just worn out, possibly wrong machine for that track and tracks not adjusted properly , and if you put them on a tired worn out machine they will start to show you all the worn out parts pretty fast.

[plumbcrazy]

I have a set of Camoplast 4S with like 100km of snow use on them.$2500

[Pioneerman]

I have a set of Camoplast 4S with like 100km of snow use on them.$2500

What were they on ? Do you know the model of 4S or age ?

[Buckmeister]

Just to throw another wrench in the works, check with your insurance company and confirm that you are still covered while on tracks. Mine is void as soon as I put my tracks on and I've been searching for 5 years to find someone to provide me with liability insurance.

The asked the fellow I deal with to get my quad insured about tracks and he went and did his homework. My policy papers asks "Wheels" or "Tracks", but no spot for both. I explained I used both and wanted to know if I was covered. He got back to me a month later. He said to put down "wheels" as that is what is on the machine for the majority of the use, but he said I was good to go if tracks were on the machine. It is the open skies policy. Slinky, PM me if you want to know the office I deal with.

[plumbcrazy]

Mine are 2007 I think. Adapters for a kawasaki650 fixed axle

[Squamch]

Here is what some of those snow beast can do. Please excuse the profanity in the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRvu1Y6hdDk

A guy I know just went on the new years run with the kelowna snow wheelers. Check out big_skop on hipstergram. 70's ford with an LSX454 and 46" claws.
Its a baaaaadass truck. He wheels the piss out of it on 43" sticky sx's too. When the guy with the 454 has the small motor...Their fuel bills for one run could pay for me to wheel a 22re powered truck for a year!

David- I dunno if you can still get them, independent suspension has come a long ways since back then, top racers run IFS now, even in the rocks, I've been watching a 14bolt IFS build... I imagine someone will eventually build an axletech centered IFS or something like that. Rockwells wouldn't work with the center chunk...

[dino]

Try turning a sled around on a single track trail. Getting stuck on a sled is no fun aND for hunting the quad can go in reverse and get unstuck real quick. Steep hills on crappy snow are tough for a quad but we're talking hunting not hi marking for fun. I use a tracked quad in September to get to a hole that the tired quads just can't go. I have hunted off sleds and tracked quads. Tracked quad for hunting is a great tool for my style of hunting. Sleds are for fun and if you have never gone sledding before they are not fun when you get stuck and you will get stuck.
A tracked quad can be driven by any one and getting out of trouble in deep snow by yourself is easy.
If you do buy tracks make sure you have a 700 plus size quad.

[Slinky Pickle]

The asked the fellow I deal with to get my quad insured about tracks and he went and did his homework. My policy papers asks "Wheels" or "Tracks", but no spot for both. I explained I used both and wanted to know if I was covered. He got back to me a month later. He said to put down "wheels" as that is what is on the machine for the majority of the use, but he said I was good to go if tracks were on the machine. It is the open skies policy. Slinky, PM me if you want to know the office I deal with.

My issue is that I'm running tracks on a vehicle that is normally insured for street use. ICBC is quite specific that if tracks are added to a road vehicle then their insurance is void. I've looked into this pretty extensively. I just want to find some liability insurance that will cover me.

[Buckmeister]

My issue is that I'm running tracks on a vehicle that is normally insured for street use. ICBC is quite specific that if tracks are added to a road vehicle then their insurance is void. I've looked into this pretty extensively. I just want to find some liability insurance that will cover me.

I misunderstood, I thought you were talking about your SXS. From what I understand about why they won't insure a tracked vehicle is that there is little to no history for them to examine data about the risks involved of offering insurance.

[tipper]

I think i'm gonna to get some this winter. Built a poor mans cab with heat for the sxs.
Looking forward to sipping a cool beer in my tshirt heading to my cabin!

[rageous]

I had one bad experience with a tracked sxs breaking down 15kms from our vehicle.
I now have a skidoo tundra. Much better suited for my needs.

I am an avid sledder as well so knowing how to ride helps slot.

[tipper]

I had one bad experience with a tracked sxs breaking down 15kms from our vehicle.
I now have a skidoo tundra. Much better suited for my needs.

I am an avid sledder as well so knowing how to ride helps slot.

What broke on the sxs rageous? I used to have a tundra years ago

[rageous]

Blew the drive belt. Wasn’t my machine, I would have expected them to have a spare! Had to phone friends with sleds to come deliver new belts. We were in 2’ of fresh snow. Stranded for about 6 hours

My tundra is an 2007.

[okas]

I have a 8 wheel argo and leave the tracks on all the time as only snow or swamp . I hate snow mobiles way to old to get stuck every where unless pinned

[tipper]

Blew the drive belt. Wasn’t my machine, I would have expected them to have a spare! Had to phone friends with sleds to come deliver new belts. We were in 2’ of fresh snow. Stranded for about 6 hours

My tundra is an 2007. Well that's not too bad.I carry several spares and my particular ride is low geared with spot on clutching so i'll probably never have to change one but if I do i'm ready. Have a skandic and a summit for sale right now.

[Pioneerman]

There are certain machines that are prone to bad belts. I know I had a POS can-am for a short time and went through 3 belts in a few months. I have owned many grizzly ATV's and put 15000 kms on each and never had one belt slip ever. If you have something that is prone to break, pack parts, but they are not the fault of the tracks.

[okas]

can ams you have to put it in low as power when hunting I also use the low power key

[REMINGTON JIM]

There are certain machines that are prone to bad belts. I know I had a POS can-am for a short time and went through 3 belts in a few months. I have owned many grizzly ATV's and put 15000 kms on each and never had one belt slip ever. If you have something that is prone to break, pack parts, but they are not the fault of the tracks.

If you HAD ?? 3 belts go in a few months THERE was a Problem with the Clutch's Or CLutch Belt alignment ! Its NOT a inherent Problem with Can Ams Many go thousands and thousands of kms JUST like Yamahas and Polaris etc do ! JMO RJ

[Busterpayton54]

Def pros and cons. Everyone I know that's ran tracks on sxs's or quads have had broken diffs, cv's and belts but then again they rat bag the piss out of them.

As someone else mentioned steep side hilling is an issue.

On the other hand sleds don't reverse worth a crap and need a football field to turn around unless you can lay it on its side and power it through the turn, but you still need 15feet.

If long distance and open terrain is the primary features then a sled wins, but if tighter trails/roads will be more frequent then go tracks.

Then theres the big tire truck idea.. I have 2 Toyotas on 38" tires and they are almost unstoppable, especially chained up. I've yet to get stuck in snow or find their depth limitations.
Last winter I was out in 100mile, -35c on my sled, we were getting stuck on flat ground. The snow was dry and deep. It was over the sled, just bars poking out like a periscope. No exaggeration.
The next morning I took my Toyota out on the same route and just idled along like nothing.
I've even had to break trail for tracked quads and sxs's and it's not much bigger than a sxs, but with the comfort of windows, heater, music and a place to lay down for a nap.

I couldnt even imagine what it'd do on tracks.

[tipper]

Busterpayton some of those Toyotas I've seen with 38's + aired right down are pretty cool. They seem to go damn near anywhere in deep snow.

I forget who the guy on here is that built tracks for his jeep I think he's from salmon arm area?

[okas]

it is all fun till your way in there and things let go :shock:

[REMINGTON JIM]

Busterpayton some of those Toyotas I've seen with 38's + aired right down are pretty cool. They seem to go damn near anywhere in deep snow.

I forget who the guy on here is that built tracks for his jeep I think he's from salmon arm area?

Slinky Pickle on here has th KOOL Jeep TJ On Tracks ! RJ

[tipper]

it is all fun till your way in there and things let go :shock:

No different than a sled. Have been on many helicopter recoveries over the years for broken snowmobiles.

[Buckmeister]

Busterpayton some of those Toyotas I've seen with 38's + aired right down are pretty cool. They seem to go damn near anywhere in deep snow.

I forget who the guy on here is that built tracks for his jeep I think he's from salmon arm area?


Slinky Pickle on here has th KOOL Jeep TJ On Tracks ! RJ

Yep, Slinky Pickle, check post #7 on this thread to see his Youtube vid of the Jeep.