ATVs and UTV's What accessories are essential?

[Philip Glass]

Good tires are a must out here where the mesquites are endemic. I run the Tensor Regulator A/T, the 8ply Radial has served us well.

Never used the Schaefer tire sealer but Genesco Tire Co, has a great sealer product we use in cart and tractor tires. Has to be bought by the 5 gal pail as well.

Thanks. I am always interested in what people are using. The Schaeffer has fiberous material in there that turns to a solid when it finds a hole. Most others are just slime.
We also deal with bad mesquite everywhere. It is amazing to be in other countries and see guys driving over all kinds of thorns and not getting flats. There is nothing like a mequite to puncture a tire!

 

[Inline6]

Thanks. I am always interested in what people are using. The Schaeffer has fiberous material in there that turns to a solid when it finds a hole. Most others are just slime.
We also deal with bad mesquite everywhere. It is amazing to be in other countries and see guys driving over all kinds of thorns and not getting flats. There is nothing like a mequite to puncture a tire!

Or the bottom of your feet!

 

[Wyatt Smith]

Around here locust thorns are terrible in areas. Tube type tractor tires are awful to keep up. I have no experience with radial ATV tires but as a rule radials handle thorns better.
Most tire shops keep the good sealant in the bucket if you don’t want to buy the whole bucket, also you normally can’t pump that stuff through a valve stem, so it’s better to have the tire shop do it anyway.

 

[mdwest]

Something else I think I'll add to my list (recommended by a buddy that isn't a member here).. a fold up gambrel... (one that is compact and stores easily in the "box" on the buggy)..

I hadn't thought about the benefit of a winch/rope/gambrel combination on wheels... typically I just gut on the ground, load the deer up, haul it back to camp, and do the rest of the work in camp..

but there have been times that hoisting the deer up in a tree close to where it was taken would have been a nice option...

 

[Brent in Az]

I outfitted my Sportsman with a 3500lb winch, a rifle scabbard, and a lockable accessory box that had a built in back rest.

 

[Brent in Az]

An extensive tire repair kit, with Co2 cartridges for filling tires is a must.

 

[mdsalern]

So far, she has only asked for a Bluetooth speaker and Slime…already has the Yeti. Texas Hill Country.

 

[mdwest]

I think the ride is officially pimped..

added the cargo rack that was recommended.. installed the winch and the light bar.. Also installed a "holder" that a Garmin Etrex GPS fits into on the dash..

added as a lockable hard box to the bed and filled it up with winch essentials (tree saver, snatch block, clevis, etc), a well-stocked medical kit (boo-boos and trauma), a small tool kit, flashlight, a small tarp, about a 20' length of 550 cord, a small (cigarette pack sized) air compressor, a tire repair kit, and a few other odds and ends... also found a nice, compact, foldable gambrel and put it in the box..

slimed all of the tires as well...

Im considering MAYBE putting in another small (maybe 8-12") rear facing light bar as well.. but am putting that on hold for a while until I figure out if that's really something I'll ever use..

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

 

[mcaustin]

Im considering MAYBE putting in another small (maybe 8-12") rear facing light bar as well.. but am putting that on hold for a while until I figure out if that's really something I'll ever use..

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

I have a pair of rear facing lights on the back of my Ranger, and love them for field dressing and loading deer in the dark.

 

[Inline6]

I think the ride is officially pimped..

added the cargo rack that was recommended.. installed the winch and the light bar.. Also installed a "holder" that a Garmin Etrex GPS fits into on the dash..

added as a lockable hard box to the bed and filled it up with winch essentials (tree saver, snatch block, clevis, etc), a well-stocked medical kit (boo-boos and trauma), a small tool kit, flashlight, a small tarp, about a 20' length of 550 cord, a small (cigarette pack sized) air compressor, a tire repair kit, and a few other odds and ends... also found a nice, compact, foldable gambrel and put it in the box..

slimed all of the tires as well...

Im considering MAYBE putting in another small (maybe 8-12") rear facing light bar as well.. but am putting that on hold for a while until I figure out if that's really something I'll ever use..

Thanks for all of the suggestions!

At the DSC show in 2020, a vendor had a rack that attached to the front of a SXS. A winch hooked to it, it could handle up to elk. You lowered it, drive it under the animal, use the winch to lift it up. It looks just like a front rack/bumper.

That would be the only other thing I would look at.

 

[aknome]

My 6x6 Can Am has larger tires, 4500 lb winches front & rear. Land Anchor, HiLift jack, wooden blocks, tow straps, 150 psi air compressor, tire sealant in tires, tire patching kit, tool kit, jumper cables, shovels, axe, bow saw, first aid kit, Inreach (no cell phone service). Overhead double gun rack, fire extinguisher, extra fuses in cab along with a small tote bunjied in center seat for hunting essentials.Water, filter, food, tent & sleeping bag in a Rubbermaid tote in the bed. More Hunting gear in another tote. Have used every item listed at one time or another.

 

[Tra3]

We added a grate for standing on the back and a homemade rack for the top. It works well to put two people on back and look forward above the cab. You can hold on to the roof rack and put scabbards up there for quick deployment. Kids love it!

This ranch dog spent a day following us while we walked and then Hitched a ride back home. With a look like that, it was hard not to share snacks.

 

[mdwest]

as a follow up to this older thread... many of the ideas/recommendations provided have already come in handy... thanks to all that dished them out! you saved my bacon twice at this point (and I am sure will save it again in the future )...

as stated early on.. Ive been driving my 570 Ranger for years as a "stock" vehicle with never a single problem... but always worried about "what if" type scenarios..

sure as hell.. back in March I got it stuck for the first time ever.. I high centered on what I didnt realize was a VERY deep and very wet mud hole....

the little 2500lb winch with all of the appropriate tackle added did the trick and I was out of the hole in less than 15 minutes (without a tree saver, snatch block, etc.. it would have been a much bigger challenge)...

this past weekend we went on a hog hunt... I found myself sitting on a flat at the top of a rocky hill, a little less than 1/2 mile from the lodge (easy walking distance.. but much further than I wanted to drive the UTV sitting on its rim, down a steep, sharp rock covered road)..

a can of slime combined with the little cigarette pack sized compressor and about 5 minutes of time, and I was fixed back up and able to get down the hill and back to the lodge where better repairs could be made (I also keep a patch and plug kit in the "oh shit!" box on the UTV these days)..

the little 300lb cargo rack added to the trailer hitch has been exhaustively used.. I've hauled a half dozen pigs ranging from 50-200lbs in size from the woods back to the coolers without having to throw out my back trying to lift them up into the bed of the UTV.. Im sure it will get used a million more times over the next few years.. a simply AWESOME accessory that I dont know how I got by without prior...

And I added a mobile 20 watt GMRS radio to the UTV to go with several 5 Watt GMRS hand held radios that I already owned (yes, I have a GMRS license and can legally operate at 20 watts.. )... Where I have had comms issues at the places I frequently hunt for years (cell connectivity is spotty at best and completely unavailable in some places), I have been very easily able to talk over distances of 3+ miles now (huge safety/security concern prior as well as a general PIA when the group of 10+ hunters get separated during the day.. i.e. guys out running around in the woods with 10" knives chasing pigs.. the group often times gets separated (2 pigs bayed at once.. or a group of guys heads back to the lodge to fetch lunch and cant locate the group that stayed in the field to hunt, because the dogs moved, etc..)..

The light bar has been a huge improvement.. the headlights are OK in the early morning or late evening trying to get out to stands prior to sun up or get back to the lodge after sun down.. but the light bar has made navigating really crappy roads and trails, washed out bridges, etc MUCH easier (and safer)..

The GPS was a much bigger "improvement" than I expected as well... Ive been hunting one particular 26,000+ acre location for years.. where I know about 1/3 of the property well.. but the rest always requires me getting directions.. which usually results in some smart ass telling me "drive until you see the bent pine tree.. .take a left.. when you see the oak tree keep going straight until you see another oak tree.. then take a right" lol... Last month I spent a few hours on the property and marked about 30 stands/feeders/key locations... While there are probably 30 more places I need to get logged in the GPS.. this is a huge improvement.. now if I need to get to "Hill Top Stand", which is about 3.5 miles straight line distance from the lodge.. that Ive only been to twice in my life.. and requires me to take about a half dozen different trails to get there... All I have to do is pull it up in the GPS and start heading that way....

I could go on and on.. but... just wanted to share a big THANK YOU for all of the recommendations, thoughts, ideas, etc.. hunting with the UTV has been much more enjoyable! (not to mention its been getting a serious work out this year hauling the daughter around during all of her sporting clays tournaments.. we'll never need the winch for that (hopefully).. but she sure looks a lot cooler scooting down the road in the pimped out UTV than she did prior to all of the pimping

 

[Inline6]

We need pics of ride....

 

[mdwest]

We need pics of ride....

I literally just dropped it off at our storage facility last night after we got back from a weekend hog hunt...

I am getting it back out again this weekend to clean it up a bit and maybe reconfigure a few things.. will take pics when I get it out

 

[Troubleshooter]

Oh, and plenty of bungee cords in varying lengths along with a small tarp to keep things clean and secure.

Add a couple of light-duty ratchet straps for items that are too bulky or heavy for the bungees to handle.
And depending on conditions in your area, I would get a heavy chain and padlock. Around here, ATVs seem to be a target for thieves. Probably not necessary while actually out hunting, but good to have when it's parked at the house. If nothing else, it will slow them down some.

 

[mdwest]

Add a couple of light-duty ratchet straps for items that are too bulky or heavy for the bungees to handle.
And depending on conditions in your area, I would get a heavy chain and padlock. Around here, ATVs seem to be a target for thieves. Probably not necessary while actually out hunting, but good to have when it's parked at the house. If nothing else, it will slow them down some.

I keep a lock on the actual trailer connection (both when its connected to the truck and disconnected) and I keep a lock on the rear ramp of the trailer as well (cant drop the back of the trailer without taking off the lock)..

Easy enough to defeat if you bring a good sized set of bolt cutters with you.. but you'd have to be prepared.. and it'll slow them down at least a couple of minutes..

I use ratchet straps to stabilize the UTV on the trailer when its in transport (5x of them).. once the UTV is offloaded and being used those ratchet straps go into the "equipment" box.. so they are with the UTV wherever it goes (in addition to several bungees)..

 

[JimP]

I keep a lock on the actual trailer connection (both when its connected to the truck and disconnected) and I keep a lock on the rear ramp of the trailer as well (cant drop the back of the trailer without taking off the lock)..

Easy enough to defeat if you bring a good sized set of bolt cutters with you.. but you'd have to be prepared.. and it'll slow them down at least a couple of minutes..

The new tool of choice for crooks is a cordless 4 1/2" grinder with a cut off wheel on it. It'll zip through just about any lock or chain in seconds. And it is fairly quiet.

You also mentioned Slime in your tires. Most don't know that it only has a lifespan of a couple of years, so in my ATV tires I'll put a new 16oz into them every couple of years.

 

[Lone Star Bluegrass]

A good cooler for obvious reasons.

 

[rookhawk]

In another recent thread I posted a link to a cargo hauler I recently picked up for my UTV.. It makes a world of difference with my buggy.. Not only does it give me a lower level place (less lifting) to put game than the tilt bed, its easier to clean up, and leaves me the entire bed space for hauling other stuff (packs, rifles, etc..) without having to worry about keeping them from getting covered in deer blood, poop, fur, etc when coming out of the field..

Ive got a Polaris Ranger 570 mid sized buggy.. Its been just about perfect for my needs as a basic vehicle.. plenty of power to get wherever I want to go, even in the worst conditions I care to get out in.. more speed than I'll ever need.. reliable.. comfortable... etc.. and can haul myself, another hunter, all of our gear, and a couple of animals out of the woods without much effort..

All of that said... I've begun the process of pimpin' my ride.. and adding on some accessories that I haven't found absolutely necessary (been running the basic buggy for 4 years at this point and had no problems), but that I think will make it even better and/or reliable..

I added a 20" Rough Country LED light bar this past weekend to the roof... while the headlights give me enough light to get around at night, there have been times I wished I had a bit more visibility both while driving, and while parked and trying to see something (clean a deer at dusk, etc).. the light bar is compact.. but I'd guess provides almost 4x the amount of lumens I had previously...

Ive also got a small UTV winch added on.. just 2500lbs.. but I think that's more than what I'll ever need.. I don't go "mudding" with the vehicle.. and dry weight on the vehicle is 1700lbs.. it should be more than enough for self recovery if I ever need to do that.. especially with the snatch block added (takes winch capability to 5000lbs).. .


Im now thinking about other things I might like to add.. Ive considered a pair of the hard plastic kolpin gun cases mounted to the vehicle for transporting the rifles (right now I just throw them in the bed of the buggy in a soft case), and maybe some sort of a hard, lockable box that I could keep "stuff" in (handheld flood light, some basic tools, tarp, etc) that would mount to the bed...

Who else has what accessories for their UTV's and ATV's that they cant live without.. help me further pimp my ride...

It depends where you live of course, and it depends on if you want to drive your vehicle on the road, to dinner, etc.

For me, the #1 accessory is tracks. When every vehicle gets stuck, mine does not. Mattracks and Camso tracks are both good. #2 is a good quality winch with a 4500 pound rating. Mile Marker and Warn are very useful. #3 is a windshield and doors. #4 is a heater, mine is an aftermarket. #5 is a USB charging plug. #6 is a a power lift gate. #7 is a trailer hitch. #8 is a battery trickle charger.

The other stuff is personal preference. I want to buy a chainsaw mount for my battery Stihl for cutting brush and getting shooting lanes addressed. Same for a luggage rack for my pole saw. Other people want rifle or bow racks. Bedliners. Floor mats. Radio/Stereo.

Next year I think I might put a plow on mine to save money, touching up my very long driveway between plows (I pay $125 every time 3" of snow hits, so a plow to deal with 1" snow would pay for itself in a year)