Wood cart for use with ATV

[MJFlores]

My old wood cart is on it's last leg, and am hoping to get recommendations on replacements. The cart I have now is one of the metal dump cart types, with ATV style tires. I have been very hard on it. I pull it behind an ATV out onto the woods (no trails) and load it with logs cut to 4 foot lengths to get it out to the house. I actually broke it once and tried to retire it and bought a similar looking cart from Lowes....the new cart lasted, and I'm not kidding here, ONE trip to the woods (chinese crap). I dragged it back out in pieces, returned it and bought a welder to fix my old cart. I learned how to weld and got my old one back in action but it's looking sorry this year. The bed is rotted out, both tires are junk, the rims are pitted, and the axle is bent LOL. Hopefully someone has bought a new cart they like and find rugged enough for guys like us. If so I'm all ears!

 

[BrotherBart]

Can't help ya. Bought this Agri-Fab at Lowe's twenty years ago and it has around a hundred cord under its belt hauling out of the woods and ain't dead yet. Probably the same one you broke.

(broken image removed)

 

[hankjrfan]

At least the older ones were made of a heavier gauge metal. If a fresh start with an older lightly used cart obtained from cl or somewhere isn't good enough, you may have to step up to a bigger axle with lug wheels. My boy used ours our older model cart like you're talking about to round up T-posts ouf of the garden, and stacked so many on the thing he bent the tongue. Good thing about these little things though, they can be bent back. They're handier and more agile than a real trailer. Not sure if there's anything available kind of in between them and a legit trailer.

 

[BobUrban]

Dennis has one with dual independent axles and ATV tires I believe he got from Cabelas - sweet unit but pricy. I want one - my budget is complaining.

Currently I am using a trailer - works well in open spaces but I would like something more narrow to follow the bike through tight spots and wider tires to get through muddy ruts w/o digging in and over logs. One cannot have too many trailers, or saws, or chains, or....

 

[maple1]

I would highly recommend a walking beam trailer for any kind of woods work, unless you are working on very smooth ground. They can't be beat for load handling ability & quality of ride over rough ground. I found a home-built one last year on Kijiji - whoever made it really liked to weld, it should outlast me.

Maybe you could McGyver one up out of the two trailers you have?

 

[firefighterjake]

Our ATV Club has a trailer with a walking beam suspension built by my cousin who is a professional welder . . . it's the cat's meow.

For my own use I have an older metal cart that my cousin mounted on a short axle with two Saab car tires attached to it . . . it works pretty well for most of what I need.

 

[SKIN052]

Bought this one of a guy a couple years back, tough as nails. Best bet would be to look into a homemade job or build one yourself since you seem to know how to weld and what not. I had to change out the tires today actually but knowing a few people it cost me $33 for 2 newish tires, including mounting on the rim.
This is a load I hauled out today with it. My father would call this a "lazy man load" lol.

 

[D8Chumley]

I got lucky and grabbed this one from a guy I work with. Its an old military trailer and for the $100 I paid for it I have gotten my moneys' worth out of it for sure. The hitch can be a pain in the butt, some day I'll get a modern one from TSC and have my buddy weld it on

 

[SKIN052]

Nice, looks like an old Iltis trailer.

 

[D8Chumley]

Its a beast, takes a beating in the woods and its a good size for the 650cc quad to pull. I used it last weekend to get 3 loads of free mulch from the compost here in my township. I was told from a policeman buddy that it "should" be tagged but I only use it on the road 2-3x a year behind my pickup and its narrow enough you can easily see my tail lights so I haven't bothered. The front top corners are starting to tear from throwing rounds and splits in it but thats nothing a little welding can't take care of

 

[SKIN052]

Would love to get me hands on something like that. I put a beating on my gear and that would last awhile I am sure.

 

[D8Chumley]

Heres the hitch I'm referring to, it can be a PITA to unhook from the ball on the quad most times

 

[SKIN052]

Yes I remember those style hitches, pain in the ass for sure. Actually ran over one of those trailers once while backing up one of these.
(broken image removed)

 

[D8Chumley]

Haha I bet! Its kinda hard to see if its behind that mammoth

 

[SKIN052]

Happened after a 3 week Maximum effort exercise. We were all dead tired and were putting all the gear away in the back compound. The Sargent Major watched me do it! He came over, looked at me and said, "It happened in the field, right?" Yes Sir. No body felt like doing paperwork, what gets broken in the field is always kind of a write off, lol.

 

[D8Chumley]

Nice! I just went and looked at the tag on it, says "Bantam" by American Bantam Car Co, Butler PA. Thats out around Pittsburgh

 

[D8Chumley]

Happened after a 3 week Maximum effort exercise. We were all dead tired and were putting all the gear away in the back compound. The Sargent Major watched me do it! He came over, looked at me and said, "It happened in the field, right?" Yes Sir. No body felt like doing paperwork, what gets broken in the field is always kind of a write off, lol.

I'd "like" this but apparently I'm over my daily limit

 

[SKIN052]

lol.