Hi - I'm desperate for some advice and you guys seem like the place to go. I need a utility vehicle to help manage small ranch chores on my 5-acre horse spread. I'm on a hilltop (1500 elev) doing things like hauling rocks and wood, tending to gardens and an orchard, taking trash down a 1000 foot driveway with a 20% grade, etc. For a horse arena, I need to pull a discer and a box scraper. I would also like to mow with it.
So far, Ive decided on minimum 500 cc, 4 WD, hi/lo, automatic trans, IRS & red. Looked at Kawasaki Prairie, Honda Foreman and Polaris Sportsman. Any suggestions? Please answer the following questions while you are at it -
1. AWD vs 4WD - same?, which do I want?
2. Dump bucket as an option on the Polaris - useful?
3. Is IRS the way to go for my hilly, rocky, soft, powdery dirt terrain?
4. Any maintainence experience with one brand over another?
5. When I negotiate with the big dealer in my town, how much off list can I push for?
5. Can I do this for under $6000?
Thank you so much for any help - - Lisa

 

I prefer sportsman but that is just my opinion I have had four different polaris atvs and ruv love them and wouldnt want to change

 

Most people like 4x4 vs AWD. AWD is similar to limited slip. IRS is your best option for your terrain. You should be able to get a nice utility quad for 6000 and down I cant comment much on the brands you looked at, except for hondas reliability, and kawis power. I have an Arctic Cat, and it does any work i want, and has speedrack options for the ability to attatch many different tools to your atv. Check my pics, and check out arctic cats website for more details. I would say AC, Honda, and Polaris are good farm machines. And of course AC is my first choice! Good Luck.

 

I also lean toward Arctic Cat but your dealer can make a huge difference on how you like your machine. Find a unit that fits your style and do some research on the dealer. If you get a ATV and dealer is only worried about getting it sold you won't be happy with it no matter what brand it is.
Good Luck, TORK.
P.S. This is a great forum with a lot of help out there, Welcome.

 

Under $6k might be tough but with 07's coming out might find some deals on 06's.

It's not a 500 but consistently ranks right with them in shootouts is the Outlander 400, most powerful engine in it's class and will do everything you want for about $6K. 4WD,low gear, engine braking, IRS(very unique IRS btw) will go anywhere.

The Kodiak is a 429 and should do what you want.

I don't think Honda offeres IRS until you get to the Rincon.

Suzuki has the Vinson which is a very good quad but I think it's a 5 speed.

I'm just not sold on Polaris, too many "former" Polaris dealers have warned me to stay away as when they carried the line they had too many quality issues and stopped selling them (but STILL stocked parts for loyal customers).

My advice would be the Outlander, Kodiak or Vinson(not sure about IRS on the V though).

Good luck and smart move seeking advice FIRST LOL, read my previous post to see why.

 

BTW, HOW desperate? he he...........nevermind.

 

Lisa

Unless you have your heart set on having an ATV I would suggest you look at a small tractor with a front bucket and blade on the rear. Kaboto makes some that would be ideal for your use. An ATV will not do a good job of cleaning barns and correls for you. We have a farm and I use our P360 a lot around the place. It's great for moving cattle and more nimble than a small tractor but there are many things that a tractor will do that an ATV will not. Nearly everthing I do on the ATV I could just as well do with a small tractor except for trail riding and maybe some of the fence building and working cattle in the mountains.

Not attempting to rain on your parade but I would suggest you step back and take a close look at your options. Consider moving hay bales around and stacking them in a barn or on a truck. With a tractor you can do the lifting with the machine and not your back. Same way when cleaning barns and such. I have the Swisher bucket and front blade for my ATV and it is more of a toy when it comes to real farm work. I also have a Swisher "Rough Cut" mower but for the same money could have bought a brush beater that runs on the PTO drive on a tractor. More power and the job is done faster. Reason I went for the Swisher is because I wanted ease of mobility to haul the Quad and mower on a lite weight trailer to take it to distant properties.

Good luck with whatever you decide on.

 

I agree about looking at a tractor in stead of an atv. Disking and stuff like that does not work well with an atv unless you have already broke it up with a tractor first.

I use my SRA Kawasaki BF650 on our ranch and it works great. I had a Honda Rancher 350 4x4 MS before that and it was a good bike too. I use my bike to cover alot of ground quickly and to get into places where trucks and stuff would have a hard time When it comes to real work there is no replacement for good tractor.

 

I have to agree with my esteemed colleagues. A compact or utility tractor would probably be far superior to an atv for your purposes. While ATVs do some tasks around the farm better than a tractor, when you try to do a tractor's job with an ATV they really come up short. Tencubed really hits the nail on the head when he mentioned prices concerning implements. For the price of a ATV mower you can buy a PTO mower for a tractor that does a better job. You can find a used one for a fraction of the price. ATV implements like disks and and harrows etc are very expensive while their used tractor counterparts can be bought at auction for next to nothing. A swisher front dump bucket is a nifty toy for sure but a front end loader on a tractor is one of the most useful tools you can have on the farm I think and worth every penny.

The ATV has it's place on the farm for sure. It can go places you can't take a tractor. You take it to check fences and do chores and do all manner of useful tasks. It also makes for fine recreation when the chores are through. A tractor it is not though as much as we may try to make it one.

 

That's funny. I bet there are a few stories behind that statement. I know I have a few. Most of them start with," I wanted to see what it could do"........ or......... "We had just gotten a good rain"........... or ......... "Well, my buddy..." and they all end with "We burried that SOB,,,, had to get my neighbor's 220hp John Deere to get it out."