Advice on UTV

[BeezFun]

My wife and I are getting older, we have 6 acres with horses, pasture is flat. Primary tasks are having a portable work surface and easy way to carry tools back and forth on property to fix things, haul a few bales of hay at a time from hay tents to the paddock area. We want something with seats as opposed to saddles, so that leaves us with something gator like as opposed to an ATV. It won't be used in the mud or any real rough terrain although the pasture was formerly crops, so it's still pretty rough. I looked at an older JD AMT 626 which has a nice big dump bed, but it's only about 8hp which seems small, also not sure about the whole belt drive thing. I'd like something that's a proven workhorse, low maintenance, easy to get parts for. I have a tractor so I don't need it to plow, pull trailers, or do anything heavy. Thanks for any advice.

 

[1969grandpa]

Have you thought about golf cart? I know a lot of horse people that bought used, refurbished golf carts with a bed for $2k and love them. It wouldn't be my choice because I use mine for camping, trail riding as well but if I just used it for what your talking about, I would, for sure have one.

 

[BeezFun]

Have you thought about golf cart? I know a lot of horse people that bought used, refurbished golf carts with a bed for $2k and love them. It wouldn't be my choice because I use mine for camping, trail riding as well but if I just used it for what your talking about, I would, for sure have one.

Yes I did think about them, but none seem to have enough bed for either a decent work surface or hauling hay. They're designed for loading golf clubs so the tail end is bobbed off kind of short. I thought of modifying the backseat to hold equipment and hay, but I'm not looking for a big project. I would prefer something electric anyway, one less engine to take care of. I did look at a used JD electric gator, big bucks and it needed new batteries so I couldn't be sure how well it worked. But I liked the idea.

 

[PapaPerk]

Take a look at the Kubota RTV500 and the Polaris Ranger 400. Those two I can personally recommend. The Polaris rides like a dream over rough surfaces.

 

[aczlan]

Two ideas (we have both):
1. Golf cart with a bed on it such as: Yamaha G2/9 Golf Cart Aluminum Dump Bed $500-$4000
2. Toro Workman MD/2100/1100 - (Our Workman 2100 cost $1400ish)

The Workman has a 4x4ish (inside dimensions) bed and will haul around 1000# in the bed. The golf cart has a 3x3 or 3x4 bed and will haul 400# or so without complaining.
We have stacked 6-8 bales of hay on a golf cart (5 stacked 2 per layer in the bed and one in the passengers seat) and it worked well. My mother in law prefers golf carts to the Workman as they are much quieter.

Aaron Z

 

[BeezFun]

Two ideas (we have both):
1. Golf cart with a bed on it such as: Yamaha G2/9 Golf Cart Aluminum Dump Bed $500-$4000
2. Toro Workman MD/2100/1100 - (Our Workman 2100 cost $1400ish)

The Workman has a 4x4ish (inside dimensions) bed and will haul around 1000# in the bed. The golf cart has a 3x3 or 3x4 bed and will haul 400# or so without complaining.
We have stacked 6-8 bales of hay on a golf cart (5 stacked 2 per layer in the bed and one in the passengers seat) and it worked well. My mother in law prefers golf carts to the Workman as they are much quieter.

Aaron Z

Never heard of a toro workman, that's slick. I like the plastic bed. Having seen that dump bed for the golf cart gives me new hope for golf carts. I guess now I have to go off an a golf cart research adventure. I don't have a clue about brands, motors, batteries, zippo. We're in a cold climate but it would be plugged in all the time so that shouldn't matter. If anyone has suggestions on golf carts, I'm all ears.

 

[BeezFun]

Take a look at the Kubota RTV500 and the Polaris Ranger 400. Those two I can personally recommend. The Polaris rides like a dream over rough surfaces.

I like both, I'm still struggling with whether to go full blown gas/diesel UTV, or scale back to a golf cart sized thing. I think the Polaris is right in the sweet spot if I decide to go fossil fuel. Although I have a tractor and snowthrower, who knows, maybe a plow would be more manageable at some point in the future. I also like that there are lots of accessories for the Polaris.

 

[hunterridgefarm]

I have a Transmule, 4 seater, and with the backseat folded up I have a large work space and tool hauling ability. It also works great for hauling lots of produce out of the fields, plus I usually pull a small trailer behind it for the produce. The ride can be rough if the ground is not smooth. I test drove the Polaris, JD, and the RTV900 but I needed the 4 seater to take people to the field. The Polaris (to me) was the most comfortable ride with JD second.

If you lean towards the golf cart you could put a hitch on the back to pull a small trailer with a couple of bales of hay.

 

[Biggreenavalanche]

I have a Polaris 800...the machine is a beast but rides better than any other I've been on/in...it will haul anything you care to put in it and will tow just about anything you can hook up to it...it is roomy, comfortable and VERY ease to operate...I highly recommend it, and a second choice would be the 500 series...one nice thing about the 500/800 is the turf mode drive selector, you can select turf, turf allows you to drive on surfaces without the outside tires skidding, ie...you won't tear up the lawn !, you can lock the rear tires or select full time 4wd...that's all at the push of a button...I have used (and been on the close edge of abuse ) with mine for over two years without a hiccup ! On one memorable occassion I hauled 19 fifty pound sacks of corn through a cutover, little over loaded but the machine handled the job with ease...there are literaly hundreds of aftermarket products available to customize the machine to tailor it to your specific needs...again, I highly recommend the Polaris 800 or 500 UTV...

Rich

Edit: The 800 is also available in a "Crew" configuration...the "Crew" will haul six adults with ease...

 

[BeezFun]

The Polaris (to me) was the most comfortable ride with JD second.

That's useful, if I had it to do over again I'd buy my tractor based on how comfortable the seat is, every other oddball thing on it I've gotten used to but discomfort never goes away.

If you lean towards the golf cart you could put a hitch on the back to pull a small trailer with a couple of bales of hay.

That's a good idea, might be cheaper than adding a rack and can haul more weight.

 

[BeezFun]

I have a Polaris 800......there are literaly hundreds of aftermarket products available to customize the machine to tailor it to your specific needs...again, I highly recommend the Polaris 800 or 500 UTV...

Yes one thing I would want on a UTV is a front rack, looks like there's lots of them available. Other poster commented on how comfortable the Polaris is. That's getting more and more important as my rear end needs more and more tender loving care.

 

[aczlan]

If you lean towards the golf cart you could put a hitch on the back to pull a small trailer with a couple of bales of hay.

We have a 1980s Yamaha cart with a non-dumping plastic box on the back and a hitch that will pull a garden cart. With the cart on the back we can haul about a dozen bales of hay between thegolf cart and the trailer.
Another option is a "flip seat" such as: Yamaha G14-G22 Steel Flip/Flop Golf Cart Rear Seat Kit which can ge either a seat of a flat work/hauling area.

Aaron Z

 

[Biggreenavalanche]

My rump likes comfort too ! If you look at the Polaris go with the ranger, as opposed to the razor ... Ranger is work oriented with dump bed whereas the razor is very sport orientated....add ons I'd recommend as a minimum are a 4000lb winch, roof and either a full or half windshield, you may want to consider a full cab for your area for winters...there are snow blowers and heaters available too ! Told ya, my rump likes comfort too ! Lol ! A good forum exists for ranger, PRC Ranger forum...

Whatever ya get, enjoy n be safe...

Rich

 

[big lar]

I have a kawaski mule; it is afull bench seat; it has 2 seats and box, the 2nd seat can be folded down and the box made bigger; its 4wd and pretty good, pricey though, around $10,000. One drawback though, it won't go through snow deeper that IT!

 

[grnspot110]

My needs are for a smaller size, I bought m 550 Mule 14 years ago. At that time all that was available around here was Kawasaki Mule & John Deere Gator. The size I wanted used same Kawasaki engine, even though I'm a JD man by blood, I went with the Mule because of the bench seat & overhead bars. If I ever decide I need a new one, it will most likely be another Mule! ~~ grnspot

 

[texasjohn]

I have a Kubota RTV 1140 .... it seats 4, rides very easy, has dump bed, converts to 2 person with longer dump bed, easy to get into and out of...a major plus for me and wife...I put a front rack on it, also put a front carrier on the 2 inch receiver, diesel, top, windshield, it will pull anything you will ever want to pull with it (over 10000 lbs for me), is a complete work horse, HST transmission. It saves me and my knee daily...I use it all the time. I think it would fit our needs perfectly, see one at a dealer,

 

[PapaPerk]

Best bang for buck if you want comfort is Polaris Ranger 400... IMHO!

Here's the link to mine...

http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/atvs-utility-vehicles/253586-my-new-polaris-ranger-400-a.html

 

[BeezFun]

Thanks for all suggestions, I've got a bunch of searches setup for craigslist and ebay to watch for various machines recommended here. Since I'm not in a big hurry I figure I'll bide my time and might find a really good deal.

 

[texasjohn]

seeking something like this on CL is a good idea.

HOWEVER

you need to know that there are scammers who use CL to entrap people.

Net...if you see a CL ad with no phone number....or a wierd city for "location", or reply to the CL posting id/email and get some story about selling this very cheap because of (insert suspicions reason here) and all transactions need to be done on line and item will be shipped....IT ISN'T FOR REAL!!!

They usually use some price number just under $6000 ... some law seems to be triggered if they price it too high....and such a price would be WAY below the actual value,.

These folks usually have numerous GREAT photos of the object/utv showing numerous upgrades/top of the line ... makes it look like there is something actually for sale.... they get these photos from elsewhere on the net and use them to their own illegitimate ends.

Just FYI...I know because I, too, looked on CL for a UTV type vehicle...and discovered that in numerous states, at any one time, EXACTLY the same ad would be on CL...except for the CL identification number, of course.

Not CL ads are scams, but some are.

 

[jinman]

BeezFun, I'm gonna have to recommend that you don't use a golf-cart for your needs. I don't know if any of them have differential lock. I surely doubt any of them have 4WD. Sure, you can modify a golf-cart with a bed and lift kit. Do they have good headlights and taillights standard? I don't think so. By the time you get all the stuff you can find on a UTV, you also are paying the same price. To add insult to injury, you have to deal with a lot of different third-party vendors for parts or go back to a dealer who often is no longer there when you need them.

Do you need 4WD on your flat place? Probably not. . . but it does give you much extra traction if you get into soft terrain or muddy spots. You want something with good ground clearance (6" to 9") and tires with aggressive tread for off road use. The ability to haul 1/2 ton is pretty important too. If you are hauling firewood, rocks, or even a few hundred pounds of hay, the extra capacity to do anything you need is worth the extra expense. UTVs have strong roll-cages and tough frames. Many of them have beds that are 48" wide by 54" long with a tailgate. Depending on what you prefer and your uses, you can get a strong steel bed or one with plastic panels. All these are standard parts from one dealership. If you buy a Kawasaki, Kubota, Polaris or other well-known UTV, you'll have one source for parts and service. Those big three names also have a well-established 3rd party add-ons network if you choose. They have manual or electro/hydraulic lift beds, cabs for bad weather, and heat & AC options. You can get the machine you can afford and add features at a later time.

I think you should go to some major brand dealers and look at their machines. After you do and see their features, go drive a golf cart conversion ad see if you think it is suitable. Once you make the hands-on comparison, you'll be happier with your choice. Like a lot of other folks, I have my preferences for brands, but I think there are lots out there that would fit your needs. With the selection available today, I hate to see anyone go for a make-do decision.