Advice for Buying a Four Wheeler and Trailer

My opinion only. Buy a bigger trailer than you think you need.

Watch tons of videos to see if there is something is out there that you possibly don't know about & discover hey I need that! Get your wheeler set up at the shop the way you want it. Lifted, portals stereo, winch etc. Before you leave with it. Pay the price even if it hurts. Providing your time is limited/valuable.

My experience with shops & aftermarket upgrades. Typically no matter what you're trying to accomplish or how fast you have parts/ideas/$$$$ your project will never move as fast as you would like it to or think it should.

Hotrods & Side by sides for me have been extremely frustrating. To the defense of any shop I have worked with I don't do several small projects. I tend to go big all at once & these things take time. I also tend to be patient but projects/shops test it fully.

You may have the skills but feel your time is more valuable than wrenching countless weekends/evenings & you just want it done. <-- me! However, I have found myself & friends as well, saying "I should have just done the shite myself & took the loss on my time vs the loss of time/frustration waiting for a shop to complete the job."

There are certainly exceptions. A fabricator/welder took on my custom boat project & he was so freaking fast he outran my wallet. Literally the only custom project I couldn't do myself LOL.

Good luck enjoy your new rig!

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1. What size tires do you have on your trailer you use to pull your four wheeler?

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Full sized tires are nice for getting the trailer to ride level but I haven’t had much trouble out of the little 12”s on my fourwheeler trailer either. Don’t overload them and they’ll be fine.

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. When buying a new bike from a dealership, is there anything specific I should ask for?

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There’s not a lot the dealership is going to tell you that will actually be binding aside from the out the door price. Make them put it in writing what you’re paying for including tires, options, etc and what the out the door price is. Some dealers will cover service for a time period as an incentive, some won’t, and if they don’t you can ask them to print a quote for the scheduled maintenance and they should be an able to. If they can’t that’s a bit of a red flag. They may try to push a dealer warranty on you, just have to read through and understand what it offers, but they usually aren’t worth it. Having a dealer close is nice in case something comes up, but the mfg warranty is going to cover you for the most part, it’s just going to depend on whether or not you abused the machine and the timeline. Do these things and you’ll be in good shape:

1) read the manual front to back, know what the mfg tells you to do regarding break in and maintenance. Follow it all to the tee and write down what you do in the provided space in the manual.

2) use the machine a lot within 90 days. Follow their instructions as above, but use it a lot, operating every function and feature multiple times.

3) if anything, and I mean anything, breaks within 90 days call your dealer immediately and send them pics, documenting everything.

I sign warranty claims for a heavy equipment mfg and not a lot of people realize this but a warranty claim within 90 days is fast tracked as a likely mfg defect unless there’s very obvious abuse, beyond 90 days and it’s going to get a little more scrutiny. The data says that after 90 days there’s usually some user error or neglect involved, and it’s true. If you use it and don’t find anything wrong in 90 days, odds are it’s going to last you a long time.

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1. What size tires do you have on your trailer you use to pull your four wheeler? I’m seeing 12 inch donut looking tires on most 5x8 trailers I’m looking at. Will this be okay for me to pull my bike on while driving 75 mph down the interstate?

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How much are you paying for the 5x8 trailer?
5x8 is tiny. I was about to recommend a 12' trailer but if you insist on a small trailer, then at least get the 10 footer.
Consider:
10'
3,500 lb axle (15" rims)
Dovetail - will have a lower tailgate for less wind resistance.

I would not buy 12" rims for interstate speeds.

Buy a 12ft (deck) trailer with an extra long tongue with tongue jack welded and centered and with a 3500lb axle. Get ST225/75R15 tires on a 5 on 5 set of hubs with automatic greasers (like “bearing buddy” brand. The license plate shouldn’t hang down past the frame. Full set of ground wires to each light and to the frame all the way to the 4-pin plug. LED lights. Put a small tool box on the tongue. D-rings all around for strapping shite down.

Now you can go 80mph with confidence.

4 wheeler - Honda (foot shift only) or if you want to have some power get a Polaris 570. Anything in the 850cc or 1000cc range will be fun as hell but also dangerous as hell. Whichever brand you get, get power steering and independent rear suspension.

I added a hitch extension to my 10 ft trailer with a 2" drop to make it ride level and moved it back and make it a lot easier to back it up.

You can pick the 7" or 9" hole to move the hitch back.

You can get em in 4" as well. Works great as it also moves my trailer crank back behind my tailgate so I can drop it as well as lowers it enough where I can put my four wheeler ramps and ride up the trailer and into the bed of my truck without the ramps hitting trailer rails when I want to carry two bikes.

One in the bed and one on the trailer.

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This is the trailer you want.

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Jack is in the way of the tailgate. Why do they build them like this?

A small trailer is fine for light loads and short distances. There are several caveats however. A 4’ or 5’ wide trailer will be wide enough (barely) for your ATV but what if you want to haul some stands, coolers, lumber etc with it?

My greatest problem with a small trailer is you can’t see it or most importantly can’t see the wheels in your mirrors. Get a 6’x 10’ trailer minimum. The other issue with small tires in small trailers is speed. That 12” tire at 80mph is spinning WAY faster than a 15” will be. Wearing out bearings quicker etc.

Definitely try to find one with a jack that will let you open your tailgate with the trailer hooked up without hitting.