Customer Reviews

Polar Sport Off-Road ATV Trailer - 1500-Lb. Capacity, 22 Cu. Ft., Model# 8233

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

If you buy an ATV for anything other than blasting around in the dirt, it will probably be to haul stuff around your property. Up to now, there were two primary options for ATV trailers (carts). You either dropped $100-150 on a cheaply made sheet medal box with small wheels at the local home improvement or hardware store or you paid up to $1,000 for a better constructed, but sometimes unstable trailer (many are reported to flip easily).

After playing out the above mentioned options in my head, I stumbled upon the Polar 1500 Lb. trailer. At $450+, it isn't cheap, but it is very well made, holds 3/4 ton and is very stable while pulled over uneven terrain. Many trailers have a dump feature, but few also swivel to allow you to "broadcast" soil or bark over a wider area than simply out the back. The wheels are wide, there is no axle running under the box and you can easily bolt on a 1 7/8 or 2" hitch coupler. This is a very good trailer.

I've owned this for 3 years now. It has been a very good trailer with a couple exceptions.

First, the good:
- The tub has held up nicely after many loads of firewood, dirt, and large rocks. The large rocks are the hardest on it. They will scratch the tub but not cut through. The trailer is very stable.
- The wheel base is about 2" wider than my Polaris sportsman so it tracks very nicely on trails.
- I purchased the side rails as well which I think are a must - especially for firewood or other lighter weight cargo.

Neutral: As advertised, it won't "clean dump". You have to manually remove much of the contents after you tilt the tub. Just recognize that before buying.

The bad:
- The original tires fell apart after 2 years. I had them replaced with some Carlisle highway rated tires from Discount Tire for about $100 and they seem to be doing well.
- Load distribution is extremely important with this trailer. A) If you put the load too far back, the tub will pop off the bolts holding it to the frame. I remedied this a bit by placing very large washers on the bolts that attach the tub. You could go a step further and fasten some square tubing along the length of the tub on each side. It would sit recessed in the grooves of the tub, not interfering with cargo. B) If you place too much weight on the tongue, the hitch tube will irreparably bend (especially on rough terrain). A replacement tube is about $60 after shipping.

My suggestion to Polar Sport: Improve how the tub is attached to the frame, beef up the hitch tube, and ship it with good tires. That would make a much better trailer for a small incremental cost.

Very good construction and will haul heavy loads. Problem is it will not dump the load cleanly!

This trailer works as advertised and seems pretty stable. I also purchased it with the tandom wheel option that is good for the rougher terrain. A little pricy, but better than the sheet metal type (so far) - this replaced a sheet metal one that I previously had. The dump feature is a little awkward - the back lip of the trailer set flat on the ground when in the dump positions so you manually need to remove a lot of material from the back of the trailer. I purchased it more to haul wood and brush, so that is a small negative for me, but maybe not for others. I gave it 5 stars because it does what it is suppose to do as advertised and I like it a lot better than those flimsly sheet metal kinds.

Note: Some parts and accessories are made in China. I expected different as when I researched it, I saw it was an American manufacturer.

I bought this trailer for my wife's November '09 birthday, and we were at first impressed. We used it mostly for bringing in small loads of firewood from our own woodlot with our ATV. Our trails are mostly grassy or leaf-covered, and not unusually rough. The ride on the ATV is fairly comfortable. The original tires on our 2004 ATV are still holding up well. Our second ATV is even older, and its tires are fine also. However, the tires on this trailer simply disintegrated after a season of use (we don't use it during the snow months). They have no brand name and just say "made in China". They have tubes in them, and the tires cracked and split exposing the tube beneath. There appeared to be no dry rot. The current model at the big box store where I purchased it had another brand of tires on it, and it appeared to be a tubeless tire from the look of the valve stem.

So, after trying the store w/o a receipt to no avail, I E-mailed the company. After sending them photos, the response I got was "We have determined that this is not a manufacturer's defect." They would not make good on the two $40 tires.

Don't buy this trailer. The company is bogus w/ respect to their warranty. They do not stand behind their product.