I have looked at the old threads and it seems like there is a slight preference for Kawasaki mules. The Gators seem to have lovers or haters.
My husband wants a Polaris Ranger but I will be using it 99% of the time so want to make sure we get the most farm friendly one. Main use will be for pulling manure spreader, so definitely want a 4x4, and fence repair projects, so a bed. Thank you !
We have JD by default, local dealer, all others are towns away.
We have a 4x4 gator with electric bed and pull our ground type spreader with it, pull the welding cart, the roping dummy, the paint sprayer in it’s little wagon, check water and cattle, go along fences in places where a regular pickup can’t go, in fields and canyons.
Others around here use Polaris and Mules and other brands and we can’t see that much difference, so the close dealer is what we decide on for our machinery.
I have experience with Kawasaki (mule) and Deere (gator). My preference was for the Mule. It sat up higher and had a better turning radius. You may want a lower riding farm-whip.
Can you go see each one?
The Polaris ones look nice but WOOF on that price tag. If you ever want to pull an arena drag with it, pay attention to the CCs.
I would go with a smaller tractor, with a FEL. We have several tractors, some bigger ones. But the little 32 horse Kubota is my favourate. It does a lot of things. Has a PTO. Can take many implements, post pounder, pasture mower (and we use it for some haying implements too) For a small farm, it’s great. We’ve had it a long time, had it before we moved to this larger farm where we cut hay. It’s dependable and cheap to run. Small enough to be handy. Diesel fueled.
we have two Mules, a 1999 and a 2019. We didn’t plan that, the 99 was in the shop due to part backorder and we were so aggravated by that we bought the newer one, figuring we’d sell one or the other once the 99 was fixed. Didn’t happen. We use both a fair bit, one daily.
What I love about both is the bed is lower and bigger than I see in many other brands. We use it for a million things, among them loading it with firewood that we split in the barn. That the bed is a user-friendly height and very spacious is important for such a heavy task. It is also painted metal, so it takes a beating. We did put a piece of matting in the floor to protect it a little, but I knew I didn’t want a plastic lined bed that gets dinged and roughed up over time.
We also appreciate the bench seat in both and the glove boxes. No doors so it’s easy to get in and out smoothly. They feel very stable, I think they may be wider stanced than some. If I didn’t have these it would be a Gator. One of them has a windshield, the other does not. I LOVE the windshield when we need to do winter chores, and the bottom of it is adjustable for summer time airflow. We routinely need the 4WD and locking differential- we live on rough and rugged land that requires it for what we do.
Neither has a hydraulic bed, we just didn’t want it and don’t miss it. I pull the harrow with it, and use a tow behind manure spreader. I wouldn’t use mine for spreading manure. Half the time there’s a wad of tools, a helmet, some halters, and other misc lifethings in the bed. And 3 or 4 doggos.
Oh and one tabby cat.
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Mule 4010 owner here. There are smaller Mule models but I’d go with the 4000 series for its 800 pound cargo bed and 2,000 pound towing.
When I was shopping in 2019, the Mule price was more than $3000 lower than the Gator model with almost identical specifications. Though I am a Deere tractor owner, I went Kawasaki and took my $3000 savings to add an optional roof, windshield, and power dump bed. I would not want to dump a full load of manure or dirt manually at my age. It is such a pleasure to just back up and flip a switch to dump.
i forgot to mention that the Gator:Mule price difference was such that I also had enough money left over to also pay about half of the cost of a 16 foot tandem axle flat bed trailer to tow the Mule home on. But that was 2019 pre-Covid when a decent equipment trailer was much less expensive than now in 2024.
We inherited a gator on our new property. I love it so far, and runs well despite seemingly lots of hours on it. It has a dump bed which I find invaluable, and is 4x4. I wish it had doors (we don’t have indoor parking yet so the seats get wet in the rain), and windshield wipers. When it’s raining and dark you can barely see out the windshield.
A UTV is on my wishlist someday but our neighbor has a Polaris Ranger (as do my parents) and my neighbor puts on the snow tracks during the winter. Expensive but THAT is handy!!!
I get by right now by fixing fence on foot, and digging my arena with the pickup. But someday, it’ll be great to have a UTV.
Could it be because the Mule 4010 and comparable Gators have their top speeds governed to 25mpg and the Polaris Ranger will go 40mph?
Sometimes in my Mule I wish for more top speed while I make my daily 5 mile drive on an asphalt road with car traffic to our development’s disposal site. Maybe a Honda Pioneer side by side UTV with its 70 mph top speed.
But don’t worry, the speedometer on the Polaris reads up to 120 mph.
I’ve always found that entertaining…
We have a gator, which was purchased used at a great price, and it’s been amazing. No complaints. 4WD, power dump bed, roof and windshield. It’s been an awesome addition. We use it mainly as a run around, and to move firewood.
Do check out what service options you have around, and how much they suck or don’t. A bad service center is definitely a reason to choose a different brand.
I’m wondering if you have any first hand experience with these, specifically how capable they are in “off road” situations on farms with terrain? There is a guy near me importing these, and if I understand him correctly they can only be imported if they are 20+ years old, which means a significant amount of prior use even on ones which have been well maintained. Some have a mechanized dump bed. The engines seem pretty simple and manageable if you have someone who likes working on engines (which we do). Plus of course, they are totally adorable! What’s giving me pause is our farm has three levels of roadway - paved, crushed stone/millings and dirt track and varying topography. The CanAm we currently have handles all of that with no issues and has never gotten stuck. Are these little Japanese trucks as capable?
I don’t have one but use a Gator and a Polaris regularly. The Gator is at a farm I sometimes pet sit for. It has an electronic lift bed and is super awesome for cleaning stalls and dumping onto their manure pile.
The Polaris belongs to the non-profit I work for. It was donated by Polaris, but had a MSRP of something ridiculous like $35k. The thing is a beast, though. We take it up steep, rocky mountain trails, and have used it to get other vehicles unstuck. Basically, we beat the crap out of it, and the only issue we’ve had is the latch on the tailgate.
Thanks for the explanation!
I love my Gator. (I’m sure I would probably love the others as well!) And my "mali"Gator approves as well.
Used to haul hay … and dogs. 
I love my mule. Use it for weekly arena dragging, dragging my pastures during the summer, seeding, pulling a small trailer, and picking kids up from the bus stop! I no longer use it daily and debated selling for the cash but when we need it it is so handy. Upkeep has been super simple too.
I’ve worked on farms with a gator before and that wasn’t my favorite. A polaris is fun to drive but I don’t see it as a workhorse. Kubota was great on another farm I worked at.
Honestly my favorite was a Daihatsu Hijet - when it came to stall cleaning and farm chores this was my number one choice. Pretty hardy little things.
I have an old Gator Turf TX and an older Polaris Ranger 700. I greatly prefer the Gator for daily use. It is quieter, has a motorized dump bed and is bone simple to fix. The Polaris is loud, is more complex to fix and is just a lot bigger and less convenient. We use the Polaris to plow our driveway, drag the ring, and to get around in the snow. We use the Gator for everything else.
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