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JD Gator, Kubota, Mule?

I have an old Gator. I will probably need to replace it some time this winter…
I use it to haul cuttings and sometimes stall cleanings (altho I do have a spreader) and Drag my arena with a dragonfly drag. ( I usually pull the spreader with the zero turn… )
I have no idea where to start. And I know dealerships are, well, difficult for women, especially those of us not motor-wise!!
All the models I see have much smaller rear tires than this one and I’m not sure what the benefit might be.
I know I need a decent turning radius to drag arena, UNDER 5M.
4WD and Gas not diesel…
Advice?

Well, we always look at people who have purchased Gators or “side by sides”, or ATVs for farm use, and we decided to do something different. We bought an OLD (1993?)Toyota truck, 4 X 4, stick shift. We bought it locally, for $1000. It isn’t pretty, but it runs. We use it around the farm, taking tools out to work on irrigation issues, taking fence posts out to a fencing job, or just about anything. It has a heater, is waterproof and wind proof, and a radio. It’s comfortable. It’s also road worthy, and we use it as a wood truck in the fall to get firewood. A whole lot more useful, more comfortable and cheaper than buying a gator, side by side or ATV. Carries more stuff too. Could easily pull harrows in a ring… or whatever you want done around your farm that doesn’t require a tractor. A neighbour has a “side by side”- he paid $22,000 for it. Not as nice as our little farm truck. DH put a new fuel pump in it last year, got it off Amazon for $200. Balked on spending the money on it, but still cheaper than other alternatives. Look around, and think outside the box!

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I only have 5 AC, and there is no way I could groom my dressage arena with a truck. Turning radius is too big. Half of that 5 AC is a forest, while somewhat open not really “drivable” for a truck.
Glad a truck works for you but it is NOT what I need.
I have a big truck for big truck jobs.

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We’d always buy a small pickup instead of a side by side… for same reasons above. Barring that, we have a 4 wheeler. Probably no help for the OP but Nancy I hear you. lol

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I just got a Gator TE, which is electric. I absolutely love it. I get about 40 miles to a charge I would guess. That’s 3 weeks for what I do with it. Plugs right in to a 3 prong outlet. Has turf tires.

I don’t drag with my Gator though, I prefer my little tractor with a 3 point hitch. So I’m not sure about that. You will have to ask someone that drags with a gator.

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Get an electric Golf Cart.
(edit) Or a compact tractor. A mid-sized compact tractor is a very useful thing Down on the Farm. I know; diesel, sorry. I don’t like Diesel-stink either, but they don’t make 'em in gasoline AFAIK.

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Tow capacity only 600# probably not enough to use a drag on fiber footing.

Last farm had a Kubota UTV that dragged the ring, moved manure, and toted all manner of things. The hydraulic dump bed was my favorite part. (It was diesel, though. Not sure if there’s a gas model – I didn’t buy it.)

Current farm has a Honda Pioneer side-by-side. I find it less functional than the Kubota. The bed is smaller, higher, and not hydraulic, so it’s just harder to get things in and out. It’s great for running around the farm, but we essentially use it as an expensive golf cart.

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I used a gas Mule as a vehicle at a job I had in college. I beat the everliving snot out of that thing, and it started every morning looking for more. I’d buy another one in a heartbeat.

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We have a 1999 and a 2019? Mule. Use them both extensively. I don’t care what anyone thinks if they aren’t paying my bills :wink: drag the driveway, spray pastures, pull trailers around the place, feed horses out of, move stuff, get stuff, drag the arena, go to the pond, go to the neighbors, go over there go up there, get outta here. 32 hill acres and stuff to do. Girl bye.

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Turning radius on a little Toyota truck is about 30 feet. About the same turning radius as my 32 horse Kubota, which I use to groom my arena. I like the tractor better, because the harrows are able to be lifted by the 3 point hitch, but if I didn’t have a tractor, our little wood truck could drive around in there all day with drag harrows hooked onto the back bumper. It’s ability to fit in very tight spots is what makes it so useful as a wood truck, we drive it down trails that are not actually “roads”, more like ATV trails to get to dead trees. The truck is only a wee bit wider than most of the other options you are considering. But if you think you need something fancier, go for it! It’s only money.

I have an electric golf cart with a dump bed. I do have the motorized dump for mine. Mine is a club car brand and is the heavy duty model (most often seen on golf courses). It is awesome. Great for dragging pastures, pulling my Newer Spreader, taking stall cleanings to the compost pile, moving hay and feed, and pretty much anything else you can think of. It is by far our most used piece of farm equipment.

We do also have a JD Gator, but I find it’s noisy and not nearly as maneuverable as the golf cart. My husband uses the Gator for hunting and skeet shooting, but we never use it around the farm. It’s much easier to hop in the golf cart for farm chores.

I also really like the quiet of the electric golf cart. I find doing farm chores is peaceful and sort of zen for me, and an idling motor ruins it for me. The electric cart is very powerful, too. I can’t tell you how many times we have pulled our zero turn mower out of the mud with that thing.

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“Its only money”. How rude.
Have you been to my farm? No, you have not. Do you know how hard it would be for me to get even a small truck on to my arena? No you do not.
Have you tried to drive a truck on my arena? I have. You have not.
Have you tried to get a truck into my forest? No, you have not. I have.

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I do find it bizarre that the OP is asking about what has become a very standard piece of farm equipment and is getting judged for it. :woman_shrugging:

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Thanks. and some seem to think I do not know what I need.

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It’s not like you are asking a bizarre question, especially not in 2022.

I live in an “equestrian neighborhood” (ha, a very low key one) and I think I’m the only one on the street who doesn’t have some sort of side-by-side UTV for their farm.

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I mean who doesn’t want a dump bed?

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My place is made for Billy goats, let’s invite her and her truck over :wink:

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Not to keep being an ass about this, but @NancyM have you seen used truck prices in the states lately? I just checked a couple websites for 1993 4x4 Toyotas. The cheapest non-scraped one I found was $7k, yet some brands of 4x4 side by sides sell for not much more than that new.

It’s a good idea. We had a fabulous “farm truck” 20 some years ago— it was an International Scout modified to be a flatbed and it was unstoppable. But that isn’t what the OP wants/needs.

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Mine is cooler than yours :slight_smile:

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