Of all the outdoor recreational vehicles, the most universal is the all terrain vehicle also known as an ATV or a Quad. Along with these all terrain vehicles another outdoor recreational vehicle has become increasingly important and that is the go-kart. Both of these vehicles are relatively safe when handled or driven properly along with wearing appropriate gear such as helmets, gloves, and proper footwear. In this article I will focus on the ATV or Quad.

An ATV is an all terrain vehicle that has four wheels making it safer than the previous older styles with three wheels. These vehicles can travel through water, mud, snow, rock, sand, and over or through almost any kind of terrain imaginable. You can get an ATV that is automatic, standard, 2 wheel drive, or a 4x4. They come with a chain drive, belt drive, and some come with a shaft drive. You can choose which one you feel the most comfortable with. They also come in different sizes ranging from a 50cc for small children to a large 950 cc in one particular brand. This large 4x4 quad produces an amazing 188 ft-lb of power. The price range is from $445.00 for the 49cc to over $10,000.00 for the 950cc.

Because of their versatility, these all terrain vehicles make an excellent all year work or sporting vehicle. The main purpose of these vehicles is for transportation. Transportation for off road purposes such as on a farm, for hunting or simply for enjoyment. I came from a small Canadian town that was the snowmobile capital of Canada and during most nights in winter you could hear the hum of snowmobiles as riders just rode around the countryside enjoying the thrill of their outdoor vehicles.

These ATVs, just like snowmobiles, can give a person a thrill just riding across a field, in the ditch along a road, riding alone or with a group of other riders. They also provide a very suitable vehicle for hunting. They can transport a hunter to the areas that are inaccessible by car, truck, or SUV. Along with transporting a hunter to his hunting site, they can provide a suitable off road vehicle for transporting the hunter's game back to his vehicle.

These vehicles can be used for utility purposes such as cutting grass, pulling a utility trailer, garden work, pushing or blowing snow and almost anything that you would use a garden tractor for. When I grew up we lived on three acres of land and we had a garden tractor. There was not too much that we could not do with that garden tractor. Today with the advance in technology these ATVs provide a more advanced vehicle with more power, stability, and versatility than the previous generation of yard equipment for every season.

ATVs can provide hours of fun both for the individual and for a family. One friend of mine who is married and has two young boys owns two of the vehicles. He an his wife regularly take their young boys, one on each ATV and spend hours each weekend driving with their friends in derbies, or just for fun. I used to drive these boys on the school bus and they would come on the bus and tell me about the great time they had with their dad and mom driving their ATVs on the weekend. Their fun not only included driving on their ATVs, but also camping, having wiener roasts, and cooking outdoors in the summer.

Some are made in North America, and some are made in China. The machines built in China have to meet the same specifications of safety and technology as the ones built in North America, but they are much cheaper in price bringing a great savings sometimes in the hundreds and even thousands of dollars to the customer.

Because of this, a consumer can purchase a machine made in China with confidence knowing that the same specifications are required on these imported machines.