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Moving a trailer with my XP 1000

573 Views 16 Replies 9 Participants Last post by  bubblegumshrimp
Hey guys! I'm trying to figure out the best way to solve a problem, I'm hoping this community will be able to help. I have the following trailer:

12' Jumping Jack w/ 8' Tent - 2 5/16" Ball Hitch, 1950 lbs but probably ~2100 with my bedding and kitchen gear. I wish it was only a 2" ball hitch, but I guess because it can technically carry up to 5k lbs on top it could be 7000 lbs so they went with 2 5/16.

What I want is to be able to load this up with my wheelers on top, drive to a campsite, unload the wheelers, and use one of the wheelers to maneuver the trailer into a good spot (rather than use my truck). There are times when I need to turn the trailer around to get back out and don't have space to use my truck, and it's way too damned heavy to do by hand.

PROBLEM: I want to move my trailer with my 2022 Sportsman XP1000. I know it's over the weight limit, but we're talking about maybe moving it 30 feet at most on relatively level ground. As we all know, Polaris refuses to put a 2" hitch on their machines for some damned reason. And no manufacturer makes a 1 1/4" receiver hitch that will accept a 2 5/16" ball, from what I can tell. So, I figure I have three options:

1) Buy a clam shell adapter for a 2" tow hitch I already have that will fit my 1 1/4" receiver. Cheap and should do the trick, right? Just worried about durability.
2) Buy a 2 inch receiver hitch for the sportsman, and use the hitch from my truck. Pros, only 1 hitch to worry about. Cons, I'd have to remove my rear bumper to install, though I don't really know how much good that rear bumper is doing aside from looking cool.
3) Scrap the whole idea and just accept that I need to use my truck to move my trailer.

Just curious what your thoughts are and what you'd all do in this situation. Or if I'm just being an idiot trying to go 500# above the towing limit of the machine.
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if it has tounge weight set it on the 2 inch ball and run it if you are only going a little ways and slow you should never have a problem
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if it has tounge weight set it on the 2 inch ball and run it if you are only going a little ways and slow you should never have a problem
I hadn't thought about that. There wouldn't be any risk of damage to the trailer hitch with a smaller ball banging around inside? I would be going under 5 mph and mostly turning. It is a tongue-heavy trailer since that's where the tent is
pulling ,might be ok , but backing up it might unhook, don't know if I would recommend towing that trailer , I did one similar to yours , kept on blowing the seals out of the shocks , and even in low , smoked a belt
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I've used a clamshell on my Sportsman 500 hitch many times to move my 3000# boat between its storage garage and where I'm going to prep it. Probably 10x the distance you are talking about with a small hill on the way. It didn't rip off and I didn't tip over. Just go slow.
You will probably be OK. But! SH^T Happens. Where I work, there were some guys that tried to move a trailer with a ball that was 2" in a 2 5/16 hitch. No safety chains. After all it was only about 500 feet. It was a tandem axle. Well, there was a small hill with a hump in the center of the hill. The trailer came off the ball and rolled down the little hill and rolled right into the gas meter on a steel work building. Lucky it didn't catch fire but it did screw up the meter and cause a gas leak.

D
You will probably be OK. But! SH^T Happens. Where I work, there were some guys that tried to move a trailer with a ball that was 2" in a 2 5/16 hitch. No safety chains. After all it was only about 500 feet. It was a tandem axle. Well, there was a small hill with a hump in the center of the hill. The trailer came off the ball and rolled down the little hill and rolled right into the gas meter on a steel work building. Lucky it didn't catch fire but it did screw up the meter and cause a gas leak.

D
Yeah I'm not screwing around with that. I bought the clam shell, I figure what's $20 if it doesn't work out
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Unofficially you can tow more (not recommended), its more about other factors like tongue weight, hill grades, braking, throttle. I would pull a 3000lb boat and trailer with 100lb tongue weight on my flat driveway in low gear, taking it easy on tbe gas and nit be concerned at all. Opposed to a surging 1300lb sled up and down hills, driving really fast, mashing tye gas from a dead stop. catch my drift? Just be smart about it. Horrible advice but I am just being realistic because I know lots of people in all kinds of vehicles over load there vehicles anyways, so if your going to do it at least be a little smart about it.
My hyundai sante fe 2.5 turbo can tow 1650lbs, and 3500lbs with trailer breaks. The crossover truck version sante Cruz with the same engine can do 5000lb with trailer breaks. So 1650lb-5000lb with the same engine. So it's all about breaks and suspension in that scenario.
Unofficially you can tow more (not recommended), its more about other factors like tongue weight, hill grades, braking, throttle. I would pull a 3000lb boat and trailer with 100lb tongue weight on my flat driveway in low gear, taking it easy on tbe gas and nit be concerned at all. Opposed to a surging 1300lb sled up and down hills, driving really fast, mashing tye gas from a dead stop. catch my drift? Just be smart about it. Horrible advice but I am just being realistic because I know lots of people in all kinds of vehicles over load there vehicles anyways, so if your going to do it at least be a little smart about it.
My hyundai sante fe 2.5 turbo can tow 1650lbs, and 3500lbs with trailer breaks. The crossover truck version sante Cruz with the same engine can do 5000lb with trailer breaks. So 1650lb-5000lb with the same engine. So it's all about breaks and suspension in that scenario.
I'm definitely most concerned about tongue weight. I know if I keep it in low my 1000 will have no issues moving the trailer itself, it's just the fact that the tent on this jumping jack is set in front of the axle and adds a bunch of tongue weight. I don't want to bend/snap the dinky little 1 1/4" hitch that polaris chooses to use for whatever reason
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I’d bet you’d lift the front tires off the ground before you bent/snapped the hitch
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I’d bet you’d lift the front tires off the ground before you bent/snapped the hitch
I guess we'll find out tomorrow! I'm going to give it a shot with the clamshell and just move the trailer around my yard a little, see how she goes.
I built one of these to pull my welding trailer around the farm with so I didn’t have to use a tractor. Keeps all the weight off the atv


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I built one of these to pull my welding trailer around the farm with so I didn’t have to use a tractor. Keeps all the weight off the atv


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That’s pretty slick, I like it.
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I built one of these to pull my welding trailer around the farm with so I didn’t have to use a tractor. Keeps all the weight off the atv


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
I've seen those - that would be perfect if I was worried about moving it around my own property. I just don't feel like lugging something like that around with all my camping gear 😆

I tried out the clamshell over the weekend, and it worked... a little. It's not ideal and I still have to be careful getting it into too tight of a turn because I could hit my rear bumper. That said, it's good to know that it'll do in a pinch if I have to. Definitely a lot of sagging but I figure if I still try to use my truck as much as possible and maybe only finesse a little here and there with the wheeler I should be good.
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2" receiver hitch for 1000. I just bought a 2023 1000 Ultimate Trail and it looks like you have to remove the rear bumper for this to work. I am debating on if I need a rear bumper. Polaris Sportsman XP 550/850/1000 2" Receiver Tow Hitch - Quad Logic
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Personally, I don’t like the Polaris rear bumper, one medium bump into it and the lower mount might shear off and get shoved right into the rear gearcase. It has happened before. But if you want to keep it, you could get a moose 2” adapter.
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2" receiver hitch for 1000. I just bought a 2023 1000 Ultimate Trail and it looks like you have to remove the rear bumper for this to work. I am debating on if I need a rear bumper. Polaris Sportsman XP 550/850/1000 2" Receiver Tow Hitch - Quad Logic
Yeah if I decide I don't really like this option, I'm just going to remove the rear bumper and install that same 2" receiver. I had that (or a similar) receiver on my 570 X2 and it definitely felt a lot more solid than my current jerry rig solution.
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