All Terrain Vehicles

Most of them are motorbike type. I mean you ride ON them. Very few a "car" type where you ride IN them like this one



I have no experience with them and have several questions

First, are they any good as BOV ? Espeically the "car" types as they seem to have more load capacity.

Second, I have seen some variations that are close to dune buggy designs and I think they maybe safer ( lower center of gravity, rollbar offers better overall protection for rider) but they are few in numbers compared to the motorbike type. Why is that?

The type you’re showing in the picture I ruled out as a BOV.
1. Limited speed- when your bugging out traffic will be bad but there are times when you want and need to get out of the area fast.
2. Little or no protection from the elements and or bad people.
3. Limited range - small gas tanks mean stopping to refill a lot further limiting speed.
4. Traction - While they are marketed with hunters and farmers in mind they have little traction in serious mud we had them on a construction sight and spent more time pulling them out of the mud than riding them after a big rain.
I have seen some of the kind that is designed for heavy off road use that claims 40-70 MPH that might work but numbers. 2,and 3 would still apply and they have an extreamlly limited payload. With all that said any motorized vehicle would beat walking out.

My parents have somethng like that, a John Deer Gator. It can move quite fast and haul quite a bit, but its also heavier and wider than an ATV so its a little less manuverable and has less suspension travel.

Proper tires make all the difference on any ATV, especially in mud. The stock tires shown above, usually Dunlops, are not-so-fondly referred to as "bologna skins." They are worse than useless in the mud, so unless you are planning to bug-out around the back yard you should replace them on any new wheeler ASAP. Quality all-terrain or dedicated mud tires like Dirt Devils, Sur Traks, Mud Lites, or Titan 589's are available for $200-$400 for the set, and will turn any decent sized 4WD ATV into a mudding machine. It's the very first accessory I buy for any new quad.

As far as your other points go it really depends on what the situation is. I ride a Yamaha 400 Kodiak. My top speed is 52 MPH and my buddies newer, bigger bikes are considerably faster than that. The on-board 4 gallon gas tank will take me about 85 miles and if necessary I can easily carry 4 more gallons on the rack--not to mention what I can tow. While nowhere near as good as my truck I can forsee situations where bugging out in my truck--or any car for that matter--will not be possible. Then, as you say, I'll be mighty glad to be riding rather than walking.

The next ATV I buy will be a Yamaha Rhino 660 , which is similar to the one pictured. We have several in our circle of hunting buddies and they go everywhere the regular ATV's go, and a lot more comfortably to boot.

the answer is ..it depends. Where are you? Where are you bugging out to? How many folks involved?

If you need to cross 10 miles of farmlands -- this is a great choice. On the other hand if you need to drive 300 miles of highway, then no.

Something I looked at was my old 1988 Chevy S10 (small truck) wasn't much wider and with the 4x4, 5 speed and 4 banger could go just about everywhere one of these could and still hit 30mpg on the road.

http://i77.photobucket.com/albums/j54/quackhead100/thad6.jpg



http://www.gatortraxboats.com/Mini%20Trucks.htm

Another possible option