here we go

[proffessor]

ive been riding bout 4 yrs now on the quads..been running 4x4 trucks up until then,,,i've seen a lot of carnage.well recently we went out with a bunch of guys and i won't mention what kind of machine it was,,,but it broke a front balljoint.let me tell you,,what a pain in the ass it was to get him back to the truck{bout 3ks}.not to mention the damage to my machine.anyways was thinking of a way to tow a disabled machine.it had to be portable{strapable to the rack}light,and easy to hook up,adjustable to accomadate different machines.what i've come up with is since most tow trucks use some form of wheel lift.i was thinking of the same thing,,obviously on a smaller scale.insted of picking up the wheels,,,it could contact the frame.sound feasable??????
your input would be greatly appriecated,,,,


proffessor

[800Stealth]

I saw a guy that had a simple T shaped bar that went into the receiver on his Sportsman, on each end of the cross bar was a curved plate to rest the front tires of the disabled quad on. Very simple and seemed to work well for him, he was using it to move quads from the parking lot to his shop, but he said he had recovered quads from out on the trail with it also.

[Rubberdown]

You need to talk to Souther Test Pilot about this idea, he has always wanted to design something like you are talking about and maybe you 2 guys could compare thoughts and come up with something good...and affordable. I wsh someone had something like that when i tore my handle bars off out in the bush, it took us a long long time to tow it back to the truck with a guy on either side kicking the tires to keep them aimed straight. We tried to piggy back it on another machine but it wasnt working on this rough of a trail, that and I have a polaris, they are known to be extremely heavy LOL.

[proffessor]

that 't' bar idea sounds good,,,but i don't think it would work very well,since you can't turn very well on the trail...i was thinking 2 steel bars to go under the machine to hook the frame behind the front wheels.therefore it would pick up the front tires,but allows the front tires to dangle.then have a trailer type hitch at the end to hook to the good machine.since most machines i've seen have a trailer ball .it would look kinda like a triangle .??????

[littlegrasshopper]

I did something similar to that on a brute with a broken tie rod. We ran a 25ft strap up into the foot peg and up under the front axle then onto the towing quads rack on the far side and snaked it through the rack and out the other side then back under the other axle and up through the foot peg. When I started to go it would pick the tires off the ground and it pulled pretty straight. Even through the twisted trails it worked okay but when you stopped the pulled quad wanted to roll. We zip tied the front brake to make the pulled quad stop when it was not being pulled and this helped alot.
Pretty good design. Usings so bars may be good but hard to carry around. A chain would probably work better but the chain rubbing against things would not be good. I got the idea from a portable building plant that I worked at for a whlie. They used chains with some funny looking brackets on the ends that wouuld lock into the skids in the floor and pull the front up as you went forward. Seemed pretty simple enough that it could work and did! Alot better than walking beside it the entire time!

[cd]

the problem with an underlift/wheelift on a quad is they have such a short wheelbase and you are really going to be unloading the front end, something like a truckbar or sling is what I would do and would be easier to secure a machine with something like a missing wheel or flopping wheel. What you have to watch with the sling idea is your pivot/mount needs to be higher than the business end, so you would have to mount high around the rack. I've been on this kick for a few years so maybe some day I will build some nice universal thing.

[proffessor]

hey guys,sorry bout the absence,,been busy,hope everybody had a great holliday.anyways i designed a towbar setup,that works.rough measurments are, 1st section is 18'' long with upside down "j'' hooks that attach to the frame with large wingnuts,which grab the frame behind the front or rear wheels{depending on which way you pick up the machine},at 14'' is 2 large rubber pads that the front part of the frame sits on,then the 2nd section, is 30'' with a trailer coupler at the end.in between the 2 sections is a large lockable hinge which can be adjusted for varying heights.all the bars are 2''x2'' heavy wall tubing.dosent sound like much,,but i've towed a 07 artic cat 700efi 12 kms through the trails at the welland canel with my little 350 honda with no problems at all.the unit folds and is 34'' long when folded and weighs 27lbs with all the hardware and chains.i'm in the proccess of discusions with my lawyer to see if its worth seeking a patent on this.will keep in touch,

[Rubberdown]

pics pics pics, post up some pics....

Are you riding welland sunday?

[Turk]

I wsh someone had something like that when i tore my handle bars off out in the bush, it took us a long long time to tow it back to the truck with a guy on either side kicking the tires to keep them aimed straight.


I gotta know how the heck you managed to tear the handle bars off.Details please,very curious as to how that went down.

[proffessor]

hey rubberdown,,how you doing???ya i'll be there on sunday,,minus the ballast{wife}...so i'tll be fun,,the tow unit is at a local metalshop for testing.guess they want to check for maximum weight capability.i'm guessing atleast 800lbs befor she bends,but if it lasts till 500lbs that'll be fine..so we'll see you sunday.


proffessor