ATV Review: Bosski 1600 AL

By Robert King

I have used many ATV trailers in the past to do countless chores around the yard, ranch, house, etc. For handling chores around the yard, those trailers seemed to work just fine. But, when I would try and take them for an ATV trip and strap the gear down on them, the weaknesses of these other trailers would start showing through. Now, I know that taking a lot of gear on the trail isn’t for everyone, but then again, without the right equipment there has never been a good opportunity to do so. That is until now. The Bosski 1600 AL has just been introduced into the lineup. I first saw this trailer in an ad and thought to myself that this looked like a pretty nice trailer. But, I also had concerns that it might be too big, heavy, hard to pull, and so on.

We, here at King’s, made the necessary arrangements to get our hands on one of these trailers so that I could put my curiosity to rest. The trailer was delivered to our office in a crate. We needed to put this thing together - which was a good thing so that we could see what it was really made of. For the rest of you, you can get one all ready to go at your local dealer, no assembly required.

The Bosski 1600 AL is a large trailer with extremely heavy axles. It has a heavy–duty undercarriage, but the box is very light. After spending some time putting together this trailer, I wanted to wait for the right moment to test it out. This test-drive couldn’t be just a Sunday drive; it had to be a hard-core, in your face, dirty test. The elk hunt in Utah was going to be the setting.

My brother, Alan, was coming along for the three-day trip that would eventually take us over 115 miles of the most grueling ATV riding roads in our area. When Alan showed up, I had the trailer almost ready to go. For some reason, the snicker on his face didn’t give me much confidence. The look on his face seemed to say, “We’ll be lucky to get the trailer out of the driveway, let alone up the mountain and through the woods to elk country!”

The big Bosski was hooked up to one of my trusty steeds, a 2007 Yamaha Grizzly 700. My brother would be riding alongside me with another Grizzly 700 - but with a few added goodies like bigger tires and a winch. I could have hooked it up to my other Grizzly that has big mud tires and a winch, but I wanted pull it with a stock machine.

Alan was impressed as I made it out of the driveway. I had the trailer loaded with everything - including the kitchen sink! I had packed ten gallons of water, twenty gallons of gas, and all the camping equipment I could stuff into that trailer and on top of it. Smooth and moving was how it all started. I happen to live about one mile from the main canyon road. We drove on asphalt the first mile and the trailer pulled like a dream, but that was on asphalt. Now came the dirt road. We still had over four thousand feet to climb before we got to the top of the road where we would then go another forty miles one way.

I was smiling all the way up the canyon as my Grizzly purred along the trail, pulling the trailer with style. I hit a few bumps pretty hard and was worried that I would lose my load or, worse yet, that the trailer would take me off the road, but it kept true and straight the entire way. When we got to the top, Alan and I both got off and were very impressed. I couldn’t believe how solid the Bosski was and how my load didn’t shift or move. The only thing I was wishing for was some mud flaps. The trailer was becoming a muddy mess, but everything inside was good and dry.

Now came the true test. There were still many miles of rough, muddy, rocky road ahead. I started to head out and began to pick up speed. I hit 49 mph pulling the trailer on the flat dirt roads! So, for all of you that thought I wouldn’t break a sweat, here was proof. The trailer pulled amazingly well, beyond what I had ever conceived of. We hit some really nice holes and rocks and the trailer never faltered. Then we came to some pretty good hills. I thought I was in trouble with all that weight behind me. Once again, the ATV and trailer climbed the hills without breaking a sweat. With the trailer brakes on this rig, I slowed to a perfect speed and kept things in control. Even when I started riding like I was on a sport bike and neglected to remember that I couldn’t come into the turns at full speed, I was able to slow the rig down and keep it together.

We finally made it to camp and unloaded the trailer with smiles on our faces. I brought out the kitchen sink and sofa (just kidding) that we had brought along and made a very comfortable camp. The next day we went and loaded the top of the trailer with firewood for camp and realized how versatile this trailer really was. One of the greatest features of the trailer is the side rails on the top. You can put gear and stuff on the top of the trailer that you would never want on the inside to spill or smell things up like gas and water. What is even better is that you can open the lid with everything on top so that you don’t have to unload anything to get inside of the trailer.

After about sixty miles we were now ready to head back. The weather was changing quickly and we were sitting at nearly 10,000 feet in elevation. We needed to get off the mountain. The fifty miles back home was done through snow, hail, sleet and everything else Mother Nature could muster up. All of that precipitation made for some exciting road conditions. Mud, deep water holes, slippery greasy roads. Perfect for what we like. The trailer performed perfectly.

If you purchase a Bosski 1600 AL, I would suggest that you use a 4×4 ATV with at least a 500 cc engine. I can pull my camper trailer with a smaller truck, but I prefer to pull it with my diesel engine truck. The same logic applies here. You can get the job done with a smaller ATV, but the bigger bore ATV’s sure make the trip more enjoyable.

In summary, I would have to say that this is the best trailer I have ever used behind an ATV - period. There is no other trailer on the market, at this point, that can compare. The money that this trailer costs is worth every penny if quality and ruggedness is an issue. Give your local dealer a call today and get one of these trailers for your next outing; you’ll be glad you did. If the big tandem axle is too big for you, there is also a single-axle trailer that is much smaller. But in my opinion, bigger is better!

Tags: ATV, Bosski 1600 AL, Robert King

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