Quad or SXS

[Bearkat]

Looking into riding trails in Colorado and doing some elk hunting in national forest next season. I know the trails in the NF are limited to 50". I thought it might be fun to go up this summer and scout and spend week riding trails and fishing. I was thinking on getting a Can Am Maverick Trail. Problem is is seats 2 and my son (who's is a 21 broke college student at TAMU) wants to go. So I thought maybe be better to get (2) 2up Outlander Max's. About same price either way but then 4 could go. My wife likes the safety and feel of the maverick and is uncomfortable on the quad. I like the thought of having 2 rides incase something happens. I like both the quad and maverick. I never hunted up there so not sure about the trails. The maverick has a large turning radius. Not sure if that would be problem. Any suggestions are welcomed.

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[canny]

Why not the Can Am defender Max, carry up to 6 ppl, have a bigger bed than the maverick and it’s about 5-6k cheaper


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[TX03RUBI]

Looking into riding trails in Colorado and doing some elk hunting in national forest next season. I know the trails in the NF are limited to 50". I thought it might be fun to go up this summer and scout and spend week riding trails and fishing. I was thinking on getting a Can Am Maverick Trail. Problem is is seats 2 and my son (who's is a 21 broke college student at TAMU) wants to go. So I thought maybe be better to get (2) 2up Outlander Max's. About same price either way but then 4 could go. My wife likes the safety and feel of the maverick and is uncomfortable on the quad. I like the thought of having 2 rides incase something happens. I like both the quad and maverick. I never hunted up there so not sure about the trails. The maverick has a large turning radius. Not sure if that would be problem. Any suggestions are welcomed.

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I’ve ridden a lot of NF, and only found a few trails that were 50” limits. I’ve put a couple thousand miles on UTVs in Colorado, and I’d recommend a full size UTV. Personally I prefer the Can Am Defender Max.

[Bearkat]

Only thing is where I was told to go was down a 50" limited trail that is maintened by atv club. I have been looking at getting a SxS for a while and was looking at 4 seater until I started reading about the 50" rule. I read every NF trail had 50" limit, so I guess that is not the case? Looks like I could get defender max for about same price, but I don't want to limit my hunting options. Some guys I talked at work acts a though the trails or barely wide enough for a quad. They then told me stories of rolling them over the side. Never having gone on the trails I am sure what to get. I was set on the maverick until the salesman started talking about 2 quads instead and the guys at work was saying what they did about trails being narrow and sharp turns on the switch backs. I was wanting to camp along the trail for couple days. Think that would be fun. The defender would have a lot more room and be more useful around the house.


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[TX03RUBI]

Download the OnX Offroad app. It’ll show you the limitations of 99% of the trails out there, as wel as give you maps etc. Very handy if you plan on running mountain trails you’re not familiar with.

[Bearkat]

Download the OnX Offroad app. It’ll show you the limitations of 99% of the trails out there, as wel as give you maps etc. Very handy if you plan on running mountain trails you’re not familiar with.

I saw that the other day. I was planning on getting On-X for hunting next year, but didn't know if the hunting version would have the same information as the trails
or if had to get two separate subscriptions?

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[TX03RUBI]

I saw that the other day. I was planning on getting On-X for hunting next year, but didn't know if the hunting version would have the same information as the trails
or if had to get two separate subscriptions?

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I’ve got them both. The Off-road has considerably more information regarding trails. If you’re going to spend any amount of time on them it’s absolutely worth it.

[jkg2003]

I second the Can Am Defender Max! Paid $14k for this one so honestly, it’s not that more expensive than a quad.


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[SB09]

Comfort and Utility factor will be way more with the UTV... Also, I wouldn't worry much about turning radius. Most of the approved trails are going to accommodate the UTV just fine.

As someone who has done an extensive amount of trail riding on both type machines, the UTV is the way to go. You can haul more, you're protected better, more comfortable, and all around better off with the UTV. The benefits far outweigh the cons between the two in my opinion.

[wytex]

Look over the MVUM for the forest you'll be riding. It shows the trails and roads open to riding and their restrictions.
MVUM maps are free from FS offices and some stores.

Look this over: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE...rdb5437261.pdf

You will find some trails for 50" and under, don't ride them if you're in a bigger side by side, not worth the fine at all.

I will say for hunting purposes up this way, atvs are better for getting around the forest. More trails open and easier to maneuver on some smaller roads.
For reference, a Polaris 500 will haul out a whole elk with 2 riders but it's sketchy on rough terrain.

[Bearkat]

Thanks! That helps a lot.

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[westtexducks]

I would get the UTV if it was me personally. I am looking at the Honda pioneer 500 when I get around to purchasing one. The four wheelers work and are nice, but there is a lot to be said about having a windshield and the ability to sit up right in a normal chair.

We went up this year on a less than 50" trail and seen lots of utvs that were the trail models and lots of 500 size quads. But those UTVs sure were nice and made me jealous as they went up the road, dry and warm while my legs were wet and muddy and I was freezing.

You probably can hit most trails in a normal sized UTV in Colorado but would be nice to have that ability to hit the small trails as well when needed. Get you a small trailer to drag behind you as well with it and should be able to do everything you want and need.

[Bearkat]

I have a 2017 Pioneer 500 I use for work to ride pipelines. It will go anywhere. For the work (mapping) pipelines it is the idea utv. That was my first option, but started looking at jump seat for it. Then I found out that the 2021 models Pioneer 520 are going to have a standard dump bed instead of the rack and will be 518 cc instead of the 475cc like the 500. My only issue is that it is slow and not very comfortable all day long. With that said my local dealer doesn't not have one yet and the hard bench seat may have got better. Not sure how much the extra 63cc will make a difference in speed and power. I am fond of Honda as I still have an 84 200m three wheeler that is all stock except a choke cable and carb. I also like the transmission in the Honda as opposed to the belt drives. Just wish it had better seat and was 800cc and a way to add jump seat.

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[Bearkat]

Do you recall what type of 50" utv that you saw? We're the more of the Pioneer style or Maverick/rzr?

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[westtexducks]

Do you recall what type of 50" utv that you saw? We're the more of the Pioneer style or Maverick/rzr?

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We saw the Honda, can am and polaris rzr models with most being the rzr. But of the bunch I liked the Honda the best. You could fit a whole mule deer and most it not all of an elk on the back end of that Honda I think, if you added a front rack would for sure get the entire thing out quartered in one run which was my plan.

I looked and researched for a solid week when I got back to find which one I wanted. I personally didn't like the bed space or capacity of the more sporty models. That new honda 520 looks like it would be a winner. A 500 cc engine should be plenty for most anything you could want in the mountains. I ran up and down that mountain on a little single seater 05 250 bayou quad just fine. Was a little under powered for the really steep stuff but a 500 class would have 0 issues. My 2 buddies rode tandem on the 550 artic cat quad and they never had a single issue with power even when dragging out half an elk and 2 people.