Upgrading the ATV is part of the offseason

I’ve mentioned the side-by-side, 6-wheeler I bought a couple of years ago several times along with some of the modifications I’ve had done to it. I thought now might be a good time to summarize things in case anyone is looking to buy one during the end-of-year sales.

I have a friend who bought one of these units several years ago and I’ve wanted one ever since. When my wife suggested I might want to get one while I was still physically capable of using it, I immediately went out and bought one. Because of the timing, I took advantage of an end-of-year clearance sale.

After running the machine enough to get the engine and transmission properly broken in, the first major addition was an aftermarket, heavy-duty skid plate to protect the underside. CAC Plastics, LLC, of Wasilla did the installation. They removed the factory skid plate, which is thin and flimsy, and replaced it with a half-inch thick piece of heavy plastic. The aftermarket skid plate protects a much larger bottom area than the OEM skid plate.

As an aside, I ragged on these folks some in my column because it took about five weeks for them to complete the work and I was in a hurry to use the machine for bear baiting. At the time, they were experiencing employee hiring concerns and several sick employees and I should have just kept quiet.

As a way of apologizing, I will say that skid plate has saved the bottom of the machine on numerous occasions from rocks, ruts, and other trail hazards. If I did nothing else to the machine, I would have that skid plate installed. These folks really are good people to work with and they did a very professional job.

The next major addition was a rack mounted on the rear dump bed. I wanted something to allow carrying large, bulky loads, a place to mount a Handi-Man jack and a space for carrying additional fuel cans and a spare tire. The Fence Emporium of Alaska, located in Palmer, had been recommended to me since they had designed and constructed racks for the same model machine I had. I contacted them about cost, time of construction, and exactly what features I was looking for.

Using standard steel galvanized fence posts, they welded together a great rack incorporating all the features I had requested. It only took them two to three days, as I recall, from when I brought the machine over to when they called and told me the rack was done and I could pick up the machine. They also suggested several options where the rack could be easily modified for carrying plywood, ladder treestands or whatever up on top. I am quite pleased with the way this rack turned out.

The last major addition is still in progress. Since I drew a DC485 caribou permit and planned to use the machine on the hunt, I decided I needed a cover over the rack to protect the bed contents from the inevitable rain and possible snow which are standard for the season. I contacted Laurie at BluSkye Industrial Sewing in Wasilla about making the cover.

I had a heavy-duty canvas tarp I supplied, and she designed and constructed the cover. We did learn there’s better material than the canvas tarp (it shrinks, a lot!). Based on how much the tarp cover has shrunk while being out in the weather, I think I may scrap this material and use some waterproof stuff BluSkye has in stock. Laurie had previously made some modifications and repairs on a boat cabin cover I have, so I was familiar with what she could do.

Some other, smaller modifications to the 6x6 included adding a small LED light bar on the front for additional lighting after dark and having a ventilation fan installed in the cab to blow air over the engine on hot days. I learned how warm the enclosed cab can get during a hot and dusty moose hunt. The cab is mounted over the engine and heat rises. The cab got uncomfortably warm! Since the exhaust fan was installed, the cab has been comfortable, even when I’m working the engine on a warm day!

You may not want or need all these various add-ons, but they do make using the machine more comfortable and pleasant. Fair warning: none of these modifications are cheap! However, I think they are all worthwhile!