So my husband has been spending a lot of time stalking polaris side by sides online. We have a small farm and a tractor, so I don’t think we really need one of these things. However, if he’s going to buy one, which is actually the most practical? Can I use it to drag rings (drag n fly drag) instead of the tractor? Do we need the little bed in the back and should it lift? Recommendations?
https://www.ruralking.com/drag-n-fly…RoCzzMQAvD_BwE
If this is what you have, it states that it can be pulled behind an ATV, golf cart or small tractor.
We have had a UTV of some sort for a long time. They are great for getting chores done. I prefer to have a dump bed, but have had nondump beds and managed.
If possible I would go check out different brands and see what each one has to offer. We have had Kawasaki Mules, John Deere Gators, a diesel Kubota, and now have a gas Husquavarna. We like the current one, but REALLY wish we hadn’t sold the Kubota. We sold it, because (at the time) it was the only diesel equipment we owned. Now we have more diesel than gas equipment on the farm.
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I have a dragonfly and pull it with an ancient JD Gator. I love the Gator… it has a dumping back deck that a previous owner made longer. I have to be careful loading it, and reaching under to use the hitch is a gymnastic exercise… but I use it all the time.
I originally had a quad – fairly usefull on the farm – but after I got a Polaris Ranger the quad immediately became obsolete and I sold it. Ranger is far more versitile and a real workhorse. I vote UTV over quad.
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The barn where I board has a Polaris ranger with a dump and they use it all day, everyday. I wish I had one for my little farm.
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I vote UTV.
My parents actually turned a 1989 Suzuki Sidekick into a “dunebuggy” or UTV. Stripped it right down and put a roll cage and a large dumpbox on it. My sister and I both learned to drive stick with it. We tore a hole in the muffler one day clearing trails so now you can hear from a mile away, but it’s still pretty awesome.
We have a six wheeler with a dump box. It’s ok for our property, but a UTV would be more useful. SO likes it for taking to the hunt camp.
UTV all day. It’s made for work NOT play. Kubota have all sorts of useful attachments too.
(Kubota diesel with dump bed)
If you have a quad you are constantly looking for ways to carry the stuff you need.
We sold the ATV, it was fairly useless, as Equibrit mentions, hard to carry what you need. We bought an old small toyota truck (which is now my DH’s pet truck, he is a Toyota worshipper, and has nursed it back to health) instead, for $1000 from a neighbour, who had been abusing it. It does everything a “gaitor” type vehicle can do, can pack a lot of stuff, 4 wd, is comfortable, has heat and radio. It is also road worthy, and we license it to use it for firewooding as well, because it is small enough to fit where we need it to go on our firewooding excursions. We find it far more useful than a gaitor type vehicle, and way cheaper to buy.
I had a UTV as my “work truck” when I worked at the sanitary district (that was a WILD job, but boy did I have fun). Ever since, I’ve been eye-envying them online and whenever I see them.
UTV, hands down, no question.
I’ll put in a (half-hearted) plug for the ATV. Ours has been a reliable workhorse for years-- pulls all manner of implements including a self-powered trail cutter mower and ground driven manure spreader. Front-mounted snow blade to clear the driveway. I’ll trust the people who say a UTV can get anywhere an ATV does, but it’s a little hard to believe–that ATV will truly get me through anything.
Agree that you need a solution to carry tools, etc, but easily accomplished with bolt-on basket. For our farm setup and typical tasks, the small bed of a UTV would be really inefficient to for all but the smallest tasks. When I need to move materials, we pull one of these - with its 1500lb, 22cu ft capacity you can get a LOT done in one trip. Highly recommend this dump trailer. Just like the ATV can get me anywhere, this trailer gets there too.
There are some downsides of the ATV, and they’re pretty big: it’ll carry two passengers, motorcycle style, but it’s annoying to have to climb over one another to get on/off. And for a long workday it’s quite tiring to use-- the handlebar steering requires real effort with both arms, esp in 4WD, and the throttle lever (on ours, anyway) requires constant tension with your thumb. The UTV would be more comfortable, for sure.
Bottom line, if budget forces you to the ATV option, don’t despair. It’s a great tool too.
Where do you put the 16 ft fence boards on an ATV ?
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- On the forks attached to the front end loader of our tractor, because I don’t think anyone here has said that the ATV is the only tool on any farm, or
- towed behind the ATV on the utility trailer
Unless someone’s UTV has a 16ft cargo bed, I imagine the s UTV solutions for transporting long boards aren’t all that easier than the ATV-based solutions.
Just some 2 cent brackets !
UTV! Has done wonders for our farm. Definitely recommend getting one with a bed, as you will have times when you really need that space! The bed in the back of ours doesn’t lift, and we really haven’t ever needed to have a bed that lifts, so it has worked great for us. It depends on what you are planning to use it for though…
If you already have a tractor, then it sounds like shavings, manure, etc. are dumped from there. If you would like to use it for carrying and dumping, then by all means, purchase one that lifts/dumps! We have a drag and tow it on the back of our UTV for dragging both the fields and rings. The vehicle is also great for moving jumps, tools, water, feed, etc.
Best of Luck! 
Well, we actually have several ATV’s, a UTV, and a golf cart with a dump bed. I use the golf cart every single day. If that were out of commission I would use the UTV, but using an ATV would be a last resort. My golf cart is battery powered, so is quiet. I like the fact that it doesn’t make noise and that I can jump in and out of it without taking it in or out of gear. I do have a power lift on my dump bed, which is handy.
Before I got my current golf cart I had a standard golf cart that I used for chores. I laid the back seat flat and transported manure in muck buckets. Not as convenient as the dump bed but I still prefer that to the noise and bulk of a UTV.
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I have a gas gator with (manual) dump bed. I use it every day for various things, barn, garden, yard work, etc. I have a long driveway so it brings back the garbage cans, check the mail. Also excellent to zip around the neighborhood and visit at a distance now. But, I still long for a minitruck.
That’s great. All I’m saying, is the ATV can be super useful too. If one’s budget does not permit spending thousands more (plus 2 cents for brackets) for a UTV, then a lot can still be accomplished w/ an ATV.
I just bought a Kawasaki Mule. No way could I be doing what I’m doing without it. We are moving to a friends property on some steep hills. The mule has been going up and down steep driveways and hills toting augers, gas driven T post pounder, big fence posts, t posts, cooler, three people, etc. It’s also going to be how I get hay easily from the hay stack at the bottom of the steep drive up to the top where my horses are. I can drag the arena with it, bring horses in with it, easily feed hay and grain and bring it out to my herd. I love it. I got the full size one so I can stack several west coast bales in at a time and handle all sorts of equipment.
I completely disagree with this. We have a Polaris Ranger side by side with a backseat and we use it at home, at the farm AND on the trails up north! We also have a 4 wheeler which sits in the garage and hardly gets used and a John Deere Gator which I use around the yard, but it’s not as fun as the Ranger!
I have a quad. I’d rather have a UTV.
