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Help my justify a new UTV

Around The Farm
#1

I’m shopping for UTV. I found a couple I like. I want one for spreading hay in a snowy pasture and maybe for cleaning stalls, pulling arena drag…

We currently have a 52 HP tractor with loader
a 500 ATV
dump cart for ATV (or the riding lawnmower can pull it too)
2 4x4 trucks, one shortbed, one long
really nice 2 wheeled cart good on most surfaces except deep snow.
Nice 4 wheel cart that can easily carry hay and grain on flat surface.
So I can do my chores with what I have

I mostly keep horses out so stall cleaning isn’t a huge chore
I feed a mix of big rounds and small squares, so getting hay isn’t that bad

But I want a UTV!
Give me more reasons to buy one :slight_smile:

#2

If you can, get one with (or add for about $1000) a hydraulic dump bed. It is like having your own mini dump truck that will go places where the tractor and loader can’t. It is like having a motorized wheelbarrow.

It is much easier to get on and off (or in and out) vs the tractor if you are picking manure piles or cleaning up tree debris in the pastures, and holds more than my tractor loader bucket.

Except an ATV, I have similar vehicles and carts as you. But my Kawasaki Mule is the only thing I can say that I use every day. It fills the usefulness niche between a tractor and a pickup truck.

#3

LOL me too. I mentioned it to my dad and now he spams me constantly with used UTVs all around the state. As if that would be easier - I’m not really going to drive 3 hours to test drive a used vehicle and then somehow organize it to be transported here. Only to save $200.

I can afford one but really can’t justify it. Maybe if I plowed with it; but it would be a big job to plow my whole driveway with one, so I’d still hire that out… sigh…

#4

If you can afford it and you want it to make your chores easier that seems like enough of a reason to get one to me.

I think having a vehicle that does the job you need done would be easier than having to use one of the various carts to do the job.
A UTV with a dump bed can do so many things.

Heck, maybe sell a cart when you get the UTV so you have less duplicate equipment if that makes it more justifiable.

#5

Well, apparently I will not get one. Nobody has them in stock and they are 3 months out…

#6

Looking at sales reports of the major players, it seems that demand is up, dealer inventory is down, as production is trying to keep up. It seems COVID-related, as people with money are looking at ways to spend more time outdoors.

So it seems that finding a deal on price is harder, even if you find the machine you want. I live in a large equine community, and I am seeing far more UTVs on the road now than a year ago (we have a central manure dumping facility). And a lot of them are not the usual base models, folks are spending much more on the higher end models of Deere Gators, for example.

The typical “farm” here is 5 acres with a big house and barn, and two horses on the 3 acres of pasture not built on, and to me it is hard to justify a six wheel diesel Gator, but they are appearing. It’s likely because that is one of the few remaining ones in dealer inventory, and most people here have really deep pockets.

Don’t give up, though, as production will eventually start to overcome the demand.

#7

You might look at a gas powered golf cart with a bed. I saw one at a local dealer with a legit dump bed recently!

I’m uncertain if it would have the tow capacity you need or if they do well in your climate/terrain.

I have one, with a regular (not dump) bed. It’s super useful. I can take tools, materials and a helper easily to any location on the property. I live on the flat coastal plain in the land of no snow so that may make a difference.

#8

The EVs are certainly interesting, but I don’t think a gold cart would handle the pastures in the winter. Thanks

1 Like
#9

yeah, I figure it will return to normal, but I’m impatient! :wink:

#10
  1. Your bank has alerted you that your balance exceeds FDIC limits
  2. There are not enough acronyms in your garage
  3. there just might be an occasion where every single piece of equipment has a flat tire on the same day and you only have 20 min to drag the arena before the BNT shows up
5 Likes
#11

LOL, thanks!

#12

Didn’t know banks would notify about having too much money. :upside_down_face:

Our gator is one of those things you don’t know how much you will use one until you get one.
They can have so many uses, reason enough to get one if it fits in the budget.
Here our JD dealer lets you use a demonstrator for a couple days, see if you like them.

#13

Get one! I looked hard ATVs and Golf Carts w/dump beds and ultimately decided to get the UTV and went with a used Polaris Ranger. Our’s is 800 with power steering and a few other bells and whistles; gas; and has a dump bed of course. It will tow up to 2k lbs which has come in handy when we’ve used it to pull our utility trailer to haul wood or pick up pasture debris post new fence installation. It’s also awesome for hauling two of us around plus all of our tools to do fence repair; or have my daughter go out and clean out the run-in shed and then dump the manure in a bare spot or wash. Have also used it to trim back limbs by standing in the bed to reach up with my nippers. This past summer it was our staging station hauling the big five gallon cans of paint while we weather sealed the new four board. Ours has a stereo, USB port, fans and LED lights. We bought a seat cover to preserve the seats since it stays parked in the barn.

We bought ours off of Craigslist and traveled a state away to get in without paying out the nose. A friend of mine also just picked up a really nice Polaris Ranger 500 that’s a 2016, I think, that has a stereo and blue tooth, because tunes while you’re working is important. She found it more locally than we did, but works from home and could go immediately to check it out and buy it, as nice used ones at reasonable prices, sell very quickly. We’ve had zero trouble with ours and have had it for three years now.

There are some scams on Craiglist for used UTV’s so if it sounds too good to be true, I’m sure it is. There are also some Chinese knockoffs that are junk, so I would stick with one of the better name brands, Polaris, Kawasaki, Yamaha, John Deer, Kubota. I think Honda makes one too.

2 Likes
#14

thanks, I pretty much decided on the Ranger, but can’t seem to find one…

2 Likes
#15

I checked my local Polaris dealer this morning. They have 54 vehicles currently in their inventory on site. Twelve of them are various models of side-by-side Rangers. The dealer in eastern Georgia.

#16

Just get one shipped in – this IA dealer has a bunch on the floor: https://www.mcgrathpowersports.com/Inventory/All-Inventory/Polaris/Utility-Vehicles

#17

Georgia is a little far… but I have a question. Is this info off their website? or confirmed with the dealer? I ask because many of the dealers here have them listed on their website as inventory, but they don’t actually have them. We went to one who told us Polaris is telling them to list them even if they don’t have them. He told us the soonest we could get one is 3 months and would not even guarantee that. Reading the UTV forums online this seems to be the common complaint.

#18

Iowa is not far, but unless I knew they actually had them on site (see post above)

#19

Heard back from this guy, he has 2. If they are the right model, I might go grab one!

#20

How do you tell on this forum where the folks posting questions are located? I don’t want to post any more geographically inappropriate responses. Thanks.

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