Texas Hunting Forum

2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ???

Posted By: HLo

2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/04/17 02:59 AM

I currently own and like Mule 610 XC. Want to upgrade to double seats for hunting lease. Are you happy with your Mule Trans. I know the FXT Crew is better but also costs more. Also, will it fit on a 5' x 10' trailer? I do not really want to upgrade trailer also which would be needed going to FXT. Are the tires that come with it terrible? Duro tires. Does it ride smoother than a 610 mule or rougher?
When you test drive them at the dealer it is usually in the parking lot. Hard to judge.
Posted By: TXranch56

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/13/17 09:24 PM

I have a mule trans and it has been bulletproof. It isn't as fast or fun to drive as the FXT but it's more than enough to carry 4-5 people and some gear in the back. Being governed at 28 mph, the trans is also a lot less likely to break due to abuse. It all depends on what you want out of the machine. If you want to rip around the ranch/lease, I'd go with the FXT. If you want something a little more tame and more reliable go with the trans.
Posted By: scalebuster

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/13/17 09:29 PM

I bought one last year. I like it so far. It's smoother than the older mules. The bed is narrower than the single seat mule by about 4". The only complaint I have is that I didn't know this and my custom dog box won't fit in the back.
Posted By: NorthTXbirdhunter

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/13/17 09:59 PM

Originally Posted By: TXranch56
I have a mule trans and it has been bulletproof. It isn't as fast or fun to drive as the FXT but it's more than enough to carry 4-5 people and some gear in the back. Being governed at 28 mph, the trans is also a lot less likely to break due to abuse. It all depends on what you want out of the machine. If you want to rip around the ranch/lease, I'd go with the FXT. If you want something a little more tame and more reliable go with the trans.


This^^^^^^^
Posted By: HLo

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 01:41 PM

Thanks,,,I bought one and it is coming this week. Filling the tires with Berrymans sealant and will accesorize it before taking it to the ranch. Really happy about my purchase. I test drove the FXT, yes smoother, more room, faster, but a lot of plastic. I was very surprised that the Mule 4010 Trans was much smoother and quieter than the 610 XC I purchased 2 years ago. Can't wait to use it. I am probably going to make a custom wood roof for it as well. Trying to stay away from plastic and $800 metal roof. Any pictures or suggestions would be appreciated.
Posted By: ZK-315

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 03:19 PM

I built the one for my 3010 trans out of plywood and some scrap 2x4 and 2x2 I had laying around. Excuse the long post, but hopefully it'll help.

You'll need at least 2 full sheets of plywood. I THINK I used 1/2", but cant remember off the top of my head.

First I figured the width I wanted it to be and had to rip 2 sheets of plywood, since 1 wasn't wide enough. In the pic below, you can see the 6" wide strip of plywood down the center, I used that to join the two together. I used one on top and bottom for a little extra strength. The other smaller strips of plywood were spacers to touch the roll bars. First pic is of the underside of the roof.



I had some scrap 2x4s laying around and cut a 45* angle to attach the front brow to. I also angled the face of the brow to fit against the roof a little better.



Once I got the brow in place, I mocked some side-rails out of cardboard, then went ahead and cut them out of plywood and attached. I used some pieces of 2x2s attached to the roof to attach the side rails



Just another pic of the 45* cut 2x4s looking at the brow..nothing too special here.



Sanded it all down and filled any holes with wood glue and/or putty, then painted it.



Picked up these clamps from Home Depot to use. They didn't fit very well, but the next size bigger were too big. Hindsight, I should have gone with the bigger ones and put some sort of foam padding on tope of the roll bars. The ones I used work well, but it squeeks from time to time. On the side part of the roll bar, I couldn't fit this style clamp, but HD has some that don't have the second flange for a screw to go through, that's what I used.



I picked up 4 of the Auxbeam flood lights off Amazon for around $36 and put 2 on the back. No pics of them installed though.



Finally finished



Posted By: HLo

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 07:58 PM

Looks great! Thanks for sharing. Yours looks way nicer than I was thinking but gives me some good idea what to different.
Posted By: ZK-315

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 08:08 PM

I'll be honest, most of it was done on the fly. 1 sheet of plywood was way too narrow, which lead to the strip down the middle joining the two together. Threw it up on the roll bar and realized the center was a high spot and it teetered back and forth, so that's why there's the other strips of plywood.

I don't have the measurements handy, but if I could change anything, it would make it a little longer where the front brow would be farther forwards. Unfortunately I don't have a windshield, but man it sucks in the rain roflmao
Posted By: TxAg

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 08:32 PM

That is a good looking DIY roof ZK.

I built one out of 18ga diamond plate, but it leaves a little to be desired as well.
Posted By: ZK-315

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 09:51 PM

Thanks TxAg. My neighbor was getting rid of some of his wood working tools and asked if I wanted them. I gladly accepted a free table saw and miter saw and have learned a few things from him in the past couple of years. Not saying I completely know what I'm doing, but my OCD on some things tend to get the better of me at times. I was pretty impressed with the roof and wasn't expecting it to turn out like it did.

Now metal...someone else will have to do that.
Posted By: Navasot

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 09:53 PM

How much you think that roof weighs?
Posted By: ZK-315

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/16/17 10:09 PM

If I had to guess, around 80-90 lbs. It's not quite 2 full sheets of plywood, with some extra pieces of 2x2's, 2x4s, and probably way too many screws.
Posted By: Navasot

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/17/17 03:17 PM

Originally Posted By: ZK-315
If I had to guess, around 80-90 lbs. It's not quite 2 full sheets of plywood, with some extra pieces of 2x2's, 2x4s, and probably way too many screws.


cheers looks stout you should tap some rails on top and cage it in would be a great space for cargo
Posted By: ZK-315

Re: 2016 Kawasaki 4010 Mule Trans Owners ??? - 01/17/17 05:22 PM

It's plenty stout. I've had a few hundred pounds up there a couple of times filling feeders. Only problem with a cargo rack is it wouldn't fit in my garage. I've got about an inch or two to spare currently.
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