So, this summer I had the opportunity to do a bunch of dip netting down at the Kasiloff up here in Alaska. My 6x6 was an absolute blast in the sand and made moving gear and such a breeze. It also proved very helpful in helping people get out of the sand. With a tiger tail and my low gear I pulled three diesel trucks, two regular gasser trucks, two cars, one minivan, a Polaris SXS, and two small RWD quads:th_smiliewoo:. Tried helping a fella in a box truck buuuutttttt, found out after the failed pull that his truck was VERY much full :th_smiliepissed:and while gravity was with him on the way in, it was not our friend on the way out. I definitely smoked my belt on that pull. Fortunately, my driving habits are not extreme and everything has been very good. Sorta until now.
Recently got done with a fantastic moose hunt. Our trail in is usually 35 minutes from the vehicles through some mud and gunk to our camp site. Sadly, there was a significant amount of rain the prior month and while my ATV was rocking it through the gunk with the bed loaded. My buddies ATV was not having as much fun and was pretty much floundering the whole time. It turned into me hauling a load, and pulling my buddies ATV with his trailer. Went pretty good until the trail got REALLY interesting. Then I had to winch my self out two times in order to get to a site with enough traction to pull my buddy out (as he had just burnt his winch out 5 minutes prior). Fortunately, with a 150 feet of rope, patience, and an atv weighing almost a ton. I got my buddy through, but smoked my belt a second time pulling him through the last hole of mud (that went up to his front low ride bumper) and up an muddy incline. Our 35 minute trip turned into 4.5 hours of mud sucking fun. The great part, though, was we went to bed, woke up, and walked out of our tent to see our moose standing right in the middle of our camp. Never thought I'd shoot a moose from the door of my tent in just my skivvies and a pair of socks. :grin
The ride home was a lot more time consuming. My belt was a concern from the previous day and my buddies ATV was acting up even more. We think it was bad gas in his ATV. Long story short, 3.5 hours of blazing a new trail around the suckfest. Next year, I am investing in a small chainsaw to keep with my ATV as the hand sawing got real old real fast.
Now to the point, I am going to have to replace my belt, no doubts about that. I am curious if anyone has upgraded their ATV belts or gone with a different manufacturer other than Can-AM. I know Can-am has a "heavy duty" belt for the 1000 cc, just don't know how it would compare to others, if there is something better out there, or if upgrading is even worth the extra dollar signs I am seeing on some of these belts. Thanks a bunch!
