Go with Honda, you cannot beat the duribility and the longevity of a Honda quad

 

Even though I own a yamaha, I would reccomend a older honda 300 4x4. Light and pretty damn tough!

 

You might also want to check out Yamaha's new Rhino side by side machine... talk about a perfect farm/hunting vehicle that will do exactly what you are looking for, and that little dump box/bed on the back is great for hauling a bale of hay or two. I realize the rhino isn't exactly a quad, but it has a lot of advantages (Grizzley running gear, and it has a roll cage... and you can take your favorite dog with you in the shotgun seat...

Also, Bombardier sells a traxter model with a smallish dump bed on it too.

 

Big Bear is a cost effective approach. I still have my 96 bear, don't use it on the farm much anymore since I bought an Arctic Cat 500i - now there's a serious farm machine - but the bear just keeps on running. Bears can be had for reasonable prices used, and they're not hard to find. $2k should get you a clean and reliable Bear, enough to find out if a quad can help you enough to justify something fancier.

The quad on the farm is a real handy thing to have. You can haul your tools with you, but it doesn't tear up the ground the way a truck will. I have used the winch on my Cat as a wire stretcher when doing fence repair. Main advantage of the quad for fence repair is clearing off whatever knocked the fence down, usually a tree in my case. Saw it up, and drag the logs and branches out of the way.

 

If price it the driving factor, you will save money generally with a 400 versus something bigger. However there are a couple of things I think a lot of people have not touched on... First, you usually get more bells and whistles with the larger machine. Things like Liquid cooling versus air cooled motors mean increased longevity... and, although a 400 can probably pull the same loads, it will undoubtedly be working harder to do it, generating more heat in the engine... over time that could be an issue... maybe not today, but down the road it may be.

Also there is the question of control. The larger machine will without a doubt be heavier, and in some cases larger in size. Depending on your trailer and loads, you might find that the trailer is driving the ATV, not the other way around in some conditions... mainly when you are stopping or trying to come down a slippery hill. Which whether you have a real tractor, or an ATV, the laws of physics will still apply... and you need to be very careful. I believe this type of accident is very common on farms... with deadly results.

I recently purchased a new Rubicon that Honda had offered significant reduction in price incentives to my local dealer, who passed the savings on to his customers. I basically got one for $1200 under retail. At that price, it was less than the rancher. Easy decision for me to make.

I am very pleased with the purchase.

 

You can't go wrong with a Honda 300. We bought a new one for farm use in 1998 (we have an 80hp tractor for small jobs) and it's been used daily since then. You don't really need all the power that so many of the new utilities have, or all of the extra junk on modern quads that gets in the way of reliable daily operation. Keep it aircooled, manual shifted, and 2wd.

If tomorrow I had to get a new farm quad, it would be a foot-shifted Rancher 2wd.

 

Ditto on the Honda 300 4x4. With some good tires (like my Dirt Devils) you can do some real work with one of these things. You can drive forever on a tank of gas, too.

 

Sportsman 700, or 500ho.....they have lots of power and the ride(which sounds like you want) is unbelievable, we have a 700 and it has twice the ride that my pred has.....You don't even feel the bumps....I love that machine, and I'm a sport quad fan.

 

A lot of recommendations for the big quads, but if you don't want to break your wallet, consider something in the 300-400 range. 4x4 would be preferred; the extra traction makes a lot of difference when pulling. People greatly underestimate what the smaller cc quads can do, even older ones. My step-dad has a 94 Kawi Bayou 300 2x4, and all he uses it for is farm work. The suspension is crappy, because it is older, but it is a workhorse. We have pulled a trailer loaded with fencing supplies and equipment that I would estimate weighed 1000-1200 lbs or so for miles through creek beds, up hills, you name it. I had about a 92 Bayou 220, and I pulled a small trailer with 6-8 square bales of hay or 10-12 sacks of feed around with it all the time. You can get something in the 300-400 size that is a few years old for probably 1500-2500. A used 500-700 is gonna cost at least twice that. You don't really NEED a 50 horse atv because you have a tractor to do the larger stuff with, but if you want it, go for it.

 

We have a Polaris Trailblaser 250 and a Polaris Sportsman 500 for our farm. Both can do just about whatever we need done. TB is fun and light and Sportsman is heavy and 4X4, will go anywhere. Made a custom rack for the back of the TB and it works out well at the farm. The Sportsman does not do more, it just does more . . . easier.

SLG
200 Acres