ATV for Farm Stuff - need direction from y'all

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

Hijacking my own thread here

@wyoDreamer so, from a mileage perspective the trip wasn't really long, but the highlights of the trip from a sheer craziness aspect were...

1) The 626 rod (basically 2 miles) portage at the top of the screen. The last 2/3 were easier than the first 1/3, but it was still two miles of carrying a pack and a canoe.

2) The Stairway Portage, which is to the left of #1. When they give a portage a name and not just a number (#327 is the ID number for that one) you know there's something special about it. This one is essentially a 1200' / 390m uphill mental struggle. I walked to the bottom of the steps then looked up and had a good belly laugh before doing a "you can do this" speech and getting a move on.


Overall it was a good trip, but it was busy, so campsite finding was tough.

 

[SprigOfTheLivingDead]

A friend of mine went up there for a 4 day dog-sled adventure. She loved it!!

I don't have the chops for a winter trip up there. I'm a warm weather camper only

 

[flowerbug]

i lived in the UP of MI for 15 years and did a lot of fishing up in the Keweenaw Peninsula (i walked every stream or river i could get to). most fishing was stream walking, but in some years we also canoed or kayaked.

my fishing buddy and i had a trip to the BWCA all planned and were on our way when he blew out the transmission on his car. so we never made it. now i'm much further away and unlikely to make that trip, but it's a nice daydream in the middle of the summer heat to think of the northern cooler woodlands and streams. the nice thing about daydreaming is that i can forget the blackflies and mosquitoes.

 

[farmerjan]

We have a 4-wheeler.... had a honda Foreman that has done the job for years, bought it used and after several years of hard work the engine has finally quit. Using a friends for a few weeks until we decide what to do. We put a spray tank on the "luggage rack" and do all our spot spraying of thistles with it. Use it to go out in the field to get the cows in and check them. I personally don't know how to even drive it.... I have an older ford Ranger 4x4 little pu truck. But the 4 wheeler goes many places the ranger can't. The ATV's and UTV's are expensive and they really do different things. My son likes the atv but has expressed interest in a utv for me and I said don't spend the money. Says it would be easier for me to get in and out.... I will just drive my little truck.
Since we have tractors and such on the farm there is little reason for one to be "multiuse" like you want and need. I have a riding mower and there will be even less to mow at the house I am trying to buy as I will turn more of the useless lawn into production of garden and animals.
But we have been very satisfied with the atv overall.

 

[wyoDreamer]

We have Polaris Sportsman ATV's.
Our first one was a workhorse - 6-wheels, 4'x4' dump bed on the back, part of the dump bed could be changed into a seat for a second rider. Oh, and it had 4 wheel drive and Turf mode. It could carry a second rider and a couple of coolers for trail riding, or 800 lbs on the back for packing out an elk. Problem was that it was not fuel injected, so driving it the mountains was not good - the poor carberater couldn't breath. so we traded it in towards a Polaris 700 with fuel injection.

WE now have 2 of htem, a 700 and a 800. Both have 2-up, winch and dump bed.

For a workhorse that will double for fun, I highly recommend these.

 

[wyoDreamer]

Yes, that is it. It was about 13 years ago that we bought our first one, so it was sorta simliar to that but they have changed it up alot I see.

We were so disappointed to have to trade it in because it was so useful, but if it couldn't run at our new place which was at 7200 feet, then we really couldn't use it where we hunted and cut firewood, which was closer to 9000 feet..

The Sportsman that we have now are regular 4 wheeled ATV's.

The Gator is a bench seat UTV, isn't it? so sitting side-by-side instead of sitting behind the driver like the sportsman..

 

[the_whingnut]

i've used and worked with both ATVs and UTVs i would highly recommend going with a UTV and you can find good ones used if you can bump your price up another 750 it makes a difference on whats available plus there is always room for negoiations with cash in hand. ATVs are great if you are doing light work but they lack a bed and seating is sparse. UTV are also good for light to medium work (snow plowing) they tend to be heavier, have a bed, bench seat and a canopy (very nice add on). i used a polaris 400 in mid 90s to work on my Dads farm while it work well sometimes it just sucked pulling a trailer with up the hills (steep) and the truck couldn't get there either. while stationed in MS i used UTVs (cushmans) for equipment and ppl transport from the repair facility to the ships at the piers and we dogged these machines and they held up to Navy abuse well. for a while golfcarts were the thing to have on base but the UTVs have just out worked them (we killed the golfcarts). YMMV we have had Polaris, cushman, Gators, and Mules.

 

[Beekissed]

Go to YT and look up top ten four wheelers and you'll glean a lot of good info on features, the differences, what year to look for or avoid in any given model, etc.

We picked up a 2003 Honda Foreman 4x4 automatic, electric start(but also has pull start option on it) on FB Marketplace for 2K and I've since seen the same year or newer for less, but we needed one then and that was the best one we had looked at. There are literally scads of them for sale on there but those in the $1200 range were all 2WD and we wanted 4WD only.

We don't put a lot of wear and tear on a work vehicle but enough that we wanted to get something sturdy and good for a farm as opposed to a sport or muddin' ATV. Everything I read or saw of other farmers, most of them had Honda Foreman or Honda Ranchers, so that's what I started looking for...helped me narrow down all the many choices out there.

Here's a handy vid to show you how to shop for used ATVs:

 

[Mini Horses]

For me, it never gets past thinking "that would be nice" stage. Instead, I crank up the tractor and load the FEL with tools. But no mountains, rocks, heavy issues. I've even use the mower & wagon to transport around sometimes. Depends on job & power I need.

A few years ago I made the decision to buy into a compact tractor. It has a backhoe attachment. I have other pieces for disc, grade, bushhog. I've always been happy with the decision. A lot depends on your own needs and work to do at your farm. One size doesn't fit al. LOL A UTV wouldn't work enough for me. Would be nice but no $$ for both.

 

[Mini Horses]

shopping you go!