Where the road ends..

[fishbone]

When I drive out to some of my haunts or new areas. I tote along my Honda XR650 Baja, to take me deep into the back country. When trails end, I go on foot. I dont "trailblaze". When the road or trail ends I go on foot.

I am seriously considering getting an ATV (finally) to get me to those hard to reach kickoff points. The ATV does have a lighter footprint than my Bike. And I can haul Camp gear and a dredge, in pieces). BUT... Most of all, It allows me to take my Detecting partner further in with me. My 3 1/2 yea old Rhodesian Ridgeback. My back country eyes, ears and nose. A good insurance policy. (and Mr. Ruger Blackhawk)

Most of my prospecting friends use quads. But for detecting I haul less gear so I still use a Dirtbike. I did go down once, and did injure my GP Extreme a while back.

Besides foot power (lots of it ) , what do you use ? I did borrow a Rokon 2x2 for a couple weeks once.. It was like a Mule.

Anyways , I was wondering.

Cheers , John

[Beeper Bob]

Hi Fishbone, Nice looking Ridgeback. When I had my Ridgeback, Rama He would ride on the back of my big red three wheeler in the desert. I had a aftermarket rack that was expanded metal from rear wheel to rear wheel he was 120Lbs. and it held him just fine. My quad has a similar rack with a basket on the back and my dog loves to ride on it. My Ridgeback made it to 13 years old he was a great dog. Bob

[nuggethunting]

Hey John,

For the last 6 years or so I told myself I was going to get a quad and stop tearing up my full-sized vehicles for prospecting. I finally broke down early this year and purchased a new Polaris 500 EFI Deluxe with all the bells and whistles. Man, I have no clue why I waited so long, I love this quad! I'm now able to access spots I've been wanting to for years, just too far to hike into.

Today a few friends and I traveled over 50 miles on quads hitting some old spots and searching for new areas. I ended up finding four small gold nuggets during the venture.

I would highly suggest a quad. You can carry a lot of gear, even a drywasher or dredge.

Take care,

Rob Allison

[T-BONE]

Hi john,

Where the road end's is just the begining,how you get there the choice's are abound,my way is an 06 polaris sportsman 500 x2 this way i can share,or when i'm solo i can pack it in with plenty of room and storage ect;

[nuggethunting]

Hey T-Bone,

Pretty hard to top those Polaris quads. What I noticed on mine since I got the "Browning Package" is the camo color is different than the stock plastic. It seems as if the camo color is already fading. Someone mentioned some type of solvent you can use to keep the color bright and conditioned. Anyone heard about this?

I have the quad stored in a garage, so the quad don't sit outside. Someone also mentioned I need to clean the quad to keep it clean!

P.S. Those Mountains in the background look familar. Are they the Laguna's?

Talk with you soon,

Rob Allison

[rockhead]

Rob you can use a heat gun CAREFULLY and it will back color. I would try some simple green first with one of those green scrubby things lighty in an area you don't look at a lot. Or I've had great luck with Plexis (motorcycle shop) if they are not too faded.

Fishbone I rock a klr out to some old spots to detect sometimes. The qaud thing is little tough for me to put together right now but certianly understand how you feel. The darn detector is worth more than bike. Good luck One of those polaris's with the racks and boxes is the ticket for sure.

[fishbone]

Yes , I do like the Idea of being able to pack in more gear on a quad. I do pack in bare essential gear on my bike. But , simple things like a camp chair, and chainsaw are nice. my dog will appreciate it more to.

The expanded metal idea should work fine. I can weld up something no-prob for that.

I have looked at the Polaris, and Can-ams'. Ridden the Kawi' Brute' 650 and 750, as well as the Suzuki Kingquad 750. They all put out nice machines.

Im going to make my first dedicated trip to Az this Winter/spring, and want to be outfitted by then, with all the kinks worked out.

Nice pics T-bone, and nice set-up, I like the idea of 2-up . Hmmmm.

cheers , John

[T-BONE]

ATTENTION ROB*****CAUTION*****CAUTION***** Rob stay away from any solvent's your browning package is clad ie; (tape) and any nick's or cuts in the clading will allow the solvent to penatrate under the tape causing the tape glue to start seperating.this is factory installed clading and is covered under your warranty and fading is covered.Any wax with (UV) protectant will aid in keeping the color from fading and give you that show room look.i use (lemon fresh pledge) after i wash my quad Just don't use it on your seat Also good call on the mountain's they are the trego's and the gila's.

Terry.

[rockhead]

Crap sorry Rob didn't know it's tape. Shouldn't use the simple green and never the green scrubby deal. Lemon pledge does work good on plastics too.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Guys,

You had me concerned, so I went out and looked at the camo plastic. I highly doubt it's some type of tape, there are no seams and it seems like just one big piece of plastic with the camo painted in.

Will call Polaris tomorrow and see what they say about it. I heard that "Wax" is the best thing to use on the quad plastic.

Talk with you later,

Rob Allison

[rockhead]

No doubt polaris will have a recommended product for sure. Good luck. But might want to try the pledge or plexis if it is not too faded. Like T bone said don't get it on the seat or it will be slicker than goose poop on a pump handle(not real good for staying on)

[rockhead]

On a side note here Rob a Prospecting/ Atv /Motorcycle shop would be pretty darn cool. I've heard sales of motorcycles are up 30% due to gas prices.

[nuggethunting]

Hey Rockhead,

The quad I purchased is only about 6 months old and I keep it covered in the garage. I just don't want the camo to fade too much. I heard this camo plastic can fade after some time.

Thanks for all the helps guys.

Rob Allison

[T-BONE]

Hey Rob, I thought your quad was clad tapped (sorry),the care information though still holds, i talked to a polaris rep this morning and he was happy to explain (The Browning Package) process.and yes the camo on your polaris is a paint job, of sort's.The process is called (water transfer) or Camo Dipping.Polaris out sources all the parts to be camouflaged and tag's the Browning name to the paint job.And fading is still covered through your warranty, scratches and gouges are not covered.Do not use any solvents to clean your paint job as this will only speed up the fading process.The paint used is like auto paint and they use a clear coat as a finish, so using a wax w/uv protection is a good way to protect your paint finish just like on your truck. Google Camouflage Dipping and you will find there are a few sites that cover the camo dipping process. This site is cool (www.camosolutions.com).

Terry.

[DigDeep]

I bought a beater Jeep Cherokee for under 2k, it gets about anywhere. It was ugly when I bought it so I don't mind the dings and scratches. It has A/C, heater and keeps the water off the equipment if it starts raining. I am looking to get some lockers for the diffs than it will be hard to stop.

[Cooter9761]

The lockers are worth more than the Jeep! But its paid for so moot point! Have fun!!!!

Cooer

[nuggethunting]

Hello Guys,

Thanks T-Bone for contacting Polaris and finding out the details on the Camo Dipping. I pretty much knew it was not tape, but didn't know what type of process was used to get the camo on the plastics. I will find a good wax to keep the plastic conditioned.

DigDeep - Yep, Lockers can be expensive, but are worth their weight in gold if you're going to really get serious about off-roading and back country exploring. I used to have lockers on my 85 Toyota 4x4 and it would practically climb straight up a vertical cliff. Without the Lockers I would have been stuck in several locations!

Take care,

Rob Allison