Surveyor, I agree completely. Different tools for different jobs. Sometimes Bigger is Better, sometimes smaller is better. One of the weak points (although I heard it has been improved) in the 6x6 especially when in 6WD is the machine will not turn worth a darn. 6 Wheels going forward seem to want to continue going forward. Its not a big deal around here, but if you were in a place where you had to wind around a lot, I think you might be better off with the 4 x 4 Ranger. I work out of mine alone some, but usually we have a 2 Man crew and obviously you can't carry both on a standard ATV. We do a lot of GPS stakeout stuff and it really helps to have that second man for that, but I know one guy that does everything alone. He has a Robot and GPS and I am not sure what model ATV he has now, but he carries it around in the bed of his truck and it works nicely for him. I have also been told that the Rangers and Mules are a lot more unstable on side hills than the smaller one man types. I have never tipped my over, I have gotten in some positions where it sure seemed like a possibility. Does anybody have any info on stability of Ranger type vehicles compared to smaller ones. I think just the fact that you can manipulate the smaller vehicles so much makes them more stable in that regard, at least I would think so.

 

JonC,
well you gessed pretty good, I don't do gps, but run a robotic gun, (the gps would be great especially for elevations that would take a lot of effort to run in, & control over long distances, I guess depending on the tree cover & satellite visibility they would be good for stakeout/topo..)the good thing I like about the robot is the direct read on elevations..real helpful in running Mean High Water Surveys on the coast here.. GPS is still a little pricey for me to play with now. sidehills are not a big deal on the prarie with the solid axle. (of course in Fla we don't have a whole lot of them..I'm mainly in 0-250' elevation range) the smaller size is mainly a benefit on most jobs, it turns well, & reverse is easy to get into..the tight firebreaks are not that bad, as well as taking shots along fence lines. . but the drawbacks are you have to have a quad with large racks & at least 3-4' tubes on it for flags, so clearance is reduced a little..if you plan on carrying all the stuff you need to. a medium size quad gets cramped in the rack & seat area quick..I have worked off a beartracker before, but much prefer the prarie. I was thinking about putting a poly front trunk on the back..for the radio modems, tapes, prisms, ranger, plans, etc..IF they are waterproof..presently I use a plastic cooler, & with the flip top lid every time it rains, it gets soaked on the inside,it would be nice not to deal with that problem. the tubes are ok & work well..For mean High Water surveys, the small size is a plus if I have to run some ground control, & run a point out to the islands as well at the same time, I can put the quad in the back of the truck,still have my toolbox in the bed, & pull a boat behind me. it is a tight fit, but it works.

like you said, diffrent tools for diffrent jobs. I have the prarie so I don't need a 4x4 truck. that makes up for it. top speed is about 53 loaded, so if I need to run, I can. (there have been times when this was real helpful especially with a strobe light flashing on the rearof the quad for added visibility) also I can crawl & pick my way over fire breaks with the gun on the front as well, so I like the automatic instead of manual transmission.
the racks & tubes can be removed in 3 min if I so desire..or need to do a small job without the quad.

I have a friend who also runs robotic, he works off a grizzly 600, & does mainly construction stakeout. It works well for him.

I didn't really mean to get off the original topic here..
thanks for the reply