You get points for admitting you did not really want our opinion, you just wanted us to tell you that your idea is right.
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Nope, not that my idea is right, just looking for experiences and information on ATV’s. I do appreciate all of the posts I’ve seen, and am taking it all in. Thanks!
Clearly you need a Unimog. Go here for examples http://www.unimog.net/exchange/
This will allow you to have one vehicle that will do the jobs of three. I can function as an ATV, going about anywhere an ATV can go. It can be equipped with front and rear PTO and hydraulics (slowing mowers, FELs, backhoe attachments, snow plow, etc.). It can be made road legal and you can take it to the co-op, Home Depot, grocery, feed store, etc.
They are not cheap but you get a three for one deal.
What more can you ask for?!?!?! 
And before you think this is a joke it’s not. It’s a serious suggestion.
G.
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Or a Bobcat Toolcat:
https://www.bobcat.com/utility-products/toolcat/features
I know some that have those hybrids between an UTV and tractor/telehandler and really like them for small acreage.
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We have a Bobcat 2300 UTV with a FEL–much lighter duty that the Toolcat. As far at the FEL goes it’s practically useless compared to the one on our compact Kubota. Really, I wish we had gotten a gator or something a little more nimble since we use it mostly for hauling and dumping manure, brush, leaves, etc.
To the OP, if you have really decided you don’t want a tractor, I would definitely get a UTV with a dump bed. I can’t see an ATV as being very versatile.
Also an ATV user. We opted for a commercial grade zero turn mower and an atv. We originally had a gorilla cart and opted to upgrade to a larger cart from Northern Tool. It’s hard to find on their website but it’s a 1200 lb rated dump cart by Strongway. You can fold down the sides and it has good high sides. Plus it was about the same price as the gorilla cart.
We bought a sprayer from tractor supply and use it to spray the fields and it has a boom to spray round-up on the fence lines. We also got a fertilizer/grass seed spreader. All saves us money and works great.
The atv is handy and easy to use. Sometimes I wish we had a tractor but you don’t have to have it.
Yes!! Me! I have usually 2-3 horses and two donkeys.
We do not have a tractor. We have a 2001 Polaris ATV 325cc. It was owned by a cattleman who gently used it to go check on his cattle once a day and then my parents bought it and when my brother (the ATV driver) went to college and we bought 9 acres, we got it. We work the crap out of this thing, it would ideally have a much larger engine, but it was only valued at $1,100 when we got it!
Snow removal: I hire this out. It is very cheap to pay someone else to plow our gravel driveway–much less then a monthly tractor payment. We take care of the paved areas with our snowblower. It’s awesome, because my husband leaves for work at 6:30 and our snow guy has always already cleaned our driveway. Who wants to go plow a driveway at 5 AM when it’s 0 degrees?
Mowing: I use the atv to tow my field mower, which is a rough cut or brush cutter. Our riding mower takes care of the yard and we have a weed-whacker for the trim work. We mow some wet, thick areas and the rough cutter is awesome.
I have a wagon I tow behind the atv to bring poop to the manure/compost pile. This is where a UTV with a rear dump would be SO helpful. This is the worst thing I do. This summer I’m getting a manure spreader to spread my compost.
Fence work: Once a year we rent a skid ster for a weekend. This is when we would drill fence posts, clean out the run-in sheds from winter, re-level the dry lot, add landscape rock or gravel, and do any other big jobs. A skid is AWESOME and so maneuverable in tight areas. Last year we landscaped all the rock around our house and graded a patio with it. Frankly, if they weren’t so expensive, I would get a skid before a tractor or an atv/utv.
Arena: My arena is grass. I drag it with the ATV, BUT the biggest issue with my atv is it is only air cooled. It is not meant to tow things for long periods of time at slow speed. You need to get a fluid-cooled higher cc ATV if you want to pull any kind of drag that really engages the earth. Not a big deal.
Hay: I feed small squares. If you are going to feed round bales, then you need a larger skid or tractor.
Weeds: I have a really nice sprayer I put on my atv that I picked up at an estate sale. Cheap sprayers suck. Get one with good components.
We talk about getting a tractor, but have lived here 6 years and haven’t done it yet. My next ATV will be a UTV with a dump bed and higher towing capacity. It will happen when the real arena goes in.
Last thought. I can fit my atv and my mowers in my garage. I would need another shed for my tractor. $$
Another thought - we have a the tractor, an electric golf cart with a lift kit, knobby tires and a folding seat back, and an ATV. The ATV is a very recent addition.
We opted for the golf cart over the ATV when we bought the property for a couple of reasons: 1.) we didn’t want another gas or diesel engine to maintain 2.) we wanted something everyone, including our kid, could operate safely 3.) we wanted a passenger vehicle - four people can ride in the golf cart.
With the lift kit and knobby tires, the golf cart goes just about anyplace an ATV can, and it’s been incredibly useful. Besides just being a people mover, it carries feed, hay and tools everywhere. I have used it to harrow the paddocks when the ground was wet and the tractor would tear things up too much.
If I walk out the door, and the ATV and golf cart are parked outside, I gravitate to the golf cart. Sometimes my husband and I fight over it, and who is going to get the ATV.
No tractor here. It would be nice, but it’s a big expense.
I have 4 horses and just under 3 acres of property, in an area with lots of trees and snow. We roll round bales off the truck into the paddocks and sometimes roll them from the driveway if need be. I use an old fashioned wheelbarrow in the barn and same thing for cleaning out the horses shelter. We do use an ATV occasionally, it has a plow on in winter and it’s convenient to stand on when putting fence posts in.
We just bought 5 1/2 acres. Will you tell me how many hp your Kubota has? We’re stuck between the 25 and 33. While I don’t want to undersize, I don’t want to pay for more than I need also. Thanks!
I would not know what others have, but I would go with the 33 HP tractor.
Any less is about what a larger mower has and that is just not enough for real tractor work.
We had long ago a 36HP Massey-Ferguson industrial FEL tractor that was a little powerful monster.
It could do just about what a bigger tractor did.
When we sold it some years later the resale value was more than we paid for it new.
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I have a 23hp BX-22 (current version is the BX25, I believe) which is the sub-compact version of Kubota’s TLB (tractor/loader/backhoe) There are a few times when I have wished for the next size up, but I’ve beat the living daylights out of this machine and it keeps on ticking. The only service it’s required is normal fluids/filters and I’ve had to replace hydraulic hoses over time…they wear out on tractors, especially those parked outside. You can’t go wrong going to the next size up if you can afford it.
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Kubota has excellent financing. My L3301 with FEL and rear blade is 325 a month for 5 years, 0% financing, and that includes insurance. And in a year and a half when it’s paid for, it won’t be worth all that much less than I paid for it.
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Whatever tractor anyone gets, consider very seriously 4x4, it is really worth the extra cost.
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I have a 22 horsepower JD 445 with an FEL that I have been abusing for 21 years now. I don’t think I’d go any smaller. I started on 5 acres and still use it for various jobs on our current 69 acres.
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Go for the 33hp Kubota. The frame and engine are exactly the same on the 33 and 39 hp…it’s the programming that makes the difference in hp. And I wouldn’t go smaller than 33.
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ATV-only here on a 35-acre farm. About half of that is timber, 5 acres of pasture that needs mowing, 13 acres of hayfields that our neighbor sharecrops (so we don’t need to mow those). And then the yard, which Mr HH maintains with a push mower. While a tractor with FEL has many uses, I believe you are 100% right to consider how often you NEED all of those features, and whether it makes sense to just rent equipment or hire contractor on those occasions you do need it. You just need to commit to doing that, rather than letting problem areas fester because you lack the equipment (otherwise the farm will start to get shabby).
We have a Honda Rancher 450, and it’s been a solid performer for 12 years at least. Do not buy a used ATV, you have no idea how many times its yahoo owner has rolled it.
It’s got a pin hitch that works for our main implements, but we can just put a ball hitch on when needed. Our key implements: [LIST=1]
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We use an ATV at the farm I work at/board at. We don’t own a tractor. If you’re wanting to keep paying a local to mow, I think an ATV is a good option. We use a manure spreader hooked to ATV to spread manure, we have a drag that attaches to the ATV to drag as needed, various attachments to perform various things (carts, etc). The only other equipment we have besides the ATV and it’s attachments would be the 70" deck Mower. Again, easily avoided if you’re going to keep paying someone to mow. Otherwise, might need a mower in addition to ATV (maybe they make a mowing attachment for atv like they do tractor?? not sure).
Anyhow, ATV for the win. I wouldn’t touch the tractor at my old barn, I did everything manually. The ATV at this barn makes everything so easy. Drive right through the center aisle of the barn and stop at each stall to clean/feed/whatever. It’s faster, more agile, and more versatile. Just my honest opinion.
