quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:

My dad's twin bench Mule takes up the same trailer space as my MG Midget

That said, they are great.
IIRC the Mule Pro uses the 3 cyl Cherry engine. With a timing belt. My dad had one & traded it for the standard Mule Trans.

Yes the ones with 2 sets of bench seats that haul 5-6 people are fine out on open trails or the road but not on wooded property, they're simply too large.

The MULE Pro series is interesting in that it fits between the work MULE SX and 4000 series, and the sportier machines. They're made to work but offer more compliment suspension for trails as well as more power and speed

The larger Pro FX (64"w x 133" long) used to use a Chery 3-cylinder engine but a couple years ago changed to an in house Kawasaki made 2-cylinder engine with more power.

The smaller Pro MX (60"w x 110" long) uses a 700cc single cylinder made by Kymco in Taiwan.

I have a Pro MX but didn't bring it up to ThunTiger due to the 60" width, he was asking about ATV's and wanted to keep it small. When I got the MX it fit on my trails except for 3-4 tight places where I had to cut small trees. One advantage of the 60"w Pro MX over the narrower SXS's is ride quality from its longer A-arms.

how about a used SXS?

So…time to eat crow.
Old Rugged Cross was 100% right.

I want a small simple quad but it’s not going to cut it. I have way too many trees to not take advantage of some PTO accessories.

A 25hp 4x4 that has a lower center of gravity and wide track would be perfect. I have some research to do…looks like I’ll be checking out the local auctions. I am deep in Deere country, but, the Kubota dealer is solid. The Deere dealership moves a lot of 1 and 2 series.

Gator might be a viable option then, if you don't need a ton of power.
The basic utility models can take a beating.

quote:

Originally posted by ThunTiger:
So…time to eat crow.
Old Rugged Cross was 100% right.

I want a small simple quad but it’s not going to cut it. I have way too many trees to not take advantage of some PTO accessories.

A 25hp 4x4 that has a lower center of gravity and wide track would be perfect. I have some research to do…looks like I’ll be checking out the local auctions. I am deep in Deere country, but, the Kubota dealer is solid. The Deere dealership moves a lot of 1 and 2 series.

If your land is not too hilly for a tractor after all, what kind of PTO accessories are you looking for?
Are you also looking into a grapple?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Jupiter,

While you at it look at used skidsteers too. Go to macinery trader and look at them in your budget range. Also a mini excavator. Then start looking for a bigger piece of property. Let me know if you need any other suggestions

I have a couple nice ATVs, a SxS and a JD 3046R tractor. The tractor is the way to go for any serious work. You can do a lot with a loader, bucket, grapple, forks, chipper, etc. There are always going to be places you just can't drive with the tractor. That's when you break out the G70 chain and drag whatever it is out to where you can work on it.

quote:

Originally posted by ltz400:
Yamaha Grizzly with EPS (electric power steering) and a good winch. Front and Rear lockers, Independent suspension all the way around. Very tough units. Tons of after market support. They will fit in a standard pickup bed with the tailgate closed.

I 2nd Yahmaha that fits you best. We have a Kodiak that is probably 18 years old and going strong.

If you can get relatively close with a tractor, this would be nice. I would love to have one but they are not cheap.

Clearing Logs with a PTO winch - Wallenstein Tractor Winch

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vnhPiSfr8ss




How to Use a Wallenstein Skidding Winch | A bunch of Rope Pulling

I had a Honda fourtrax 300 and currently have an older (2006) Honda Foreman ES. The smaller Hondas are more maneuverable but the larger have bigger engines. I use it for hunting. Never have added any of the attachments you listed.

If I had to do it again, I'd consider skipping the electric shift (one more thing to go wrong) and go back to standard shift. If available for the model you pick, I'd add a "toe heel" shift lever. (With a toe heel shifter, you push down with you heel to up-shift and you push down with your toe to down sift. I find that easier than getting my toe under the shift lever to up-shift - especially with bulky hunting boots.)

definitely looks like 4 wheeler territory, not SxS, imo. I use a Yamaha 250 for all kinds of stuff. Small enough to get everywhere and I guess I don't ask it to do too much heavy duty stuff. It won't plow but it'll pull a rake or chain harrow or something like that. It's 2wd and manual shift (auto clutch.) I mostly use it for toting feeders and feed, pulling deer out of the woods, and just generally moving me around the farm.

I also have a Polaris Ranger crew for more serious things, but I can't drive it around in the planted pines. Maybe after thinning it'll get to more places. It's wider, but really it's the turning radius that sucks.

Each of the above mentioned machines have strong points AND weak points for their usage and what they can do.
That's why I have two Kubota BX diesel 4x4 tractors, one Honda Pioneer 520 side by side, and a Honda 250 ATV. And three trailers.
Each machine is better suited for a particular job or purpose.
The user has to figure out what will work best on their piece of property for the particular jobs they are attempting.
It's foolish to even think one machine will do all the tasks.

ok I get that no single option is perfect for the OP. But for a property this size the budget surely matters. So you have to pick something.
I have a decent sized forested property with varied terrain and mixed uses and I have lots of choices to pick from. to name just a few Yamaha ATV, Gator, Mule, Kawaski rtvx1100c, JD tractor, tracked skid steerer, excavator, backhoe, loader and a couple of bulldozers. Probably missing something in that list. But take away all the choices to match the equipment to the job and the one that I will pick to keep is a decent sized 4wd tractor. simple as that. And if I had a decent sized project that doesn't work for just go rent what you need. But you will be able to do most of what you need with that suggestion based on my experience. FWIW>

A SXS is larger than an ATV but more useful for property chores. More useful yet might be a sub-compact or compact tractor but they can't get into or go the places a SXS or ATV can. Or play around on trails and be as fun. For light duty work such as carrying your saws, firewood, dragging things, winching logs, getting around, a SXS excels.

If you want to run implements that do things you'll require a tractor. A tractor itself isn't much use, it's the implements and attachments that can be added to it that make it useful. But each one costs money. Start with a loader and bucket for moving dirt, gravel, etc. but to utilize it you need to ballast the rear with a ballast box or another implement. A tractor fills up a garage and the implements take up more space yet.

A tractor can drag things like logs but I very seldom do that because that imbeds dirt and grit in them that ruins chain saw chains when you later cut them into smaller sections say for firewood. Might as well section them where the tree's cut and toss the pieces in the bucket or SXS bed.

On my wooded property a grapple is maybe my most used attachment but that's another few thousand dollars by the time you add a 3rd hydraulic function to the front of the loader. The attachments you can add to a tractor are almost endless; mowers, cutters, rear blades, pallet forks, box blades, on and on but each one is pretty costly.

It sounds to me like you really need to sit down and decide just what tasks you want to do on your property initially such put in a driveway, culvert, contour and fill, clear trees including the roots etc. which might be better to be hired done. And what tasks you'll need to be doing on going.

I have one of the mid-size SxS - a Polaris Ranger 500. My property is about the same as in your pics and I can travel between the trees just fine. The SxS is around 52 inches wide, I believe, and it is just a 2 seater with a dump bed. It is not as maneuverable as an ATV but I can carry a lot more with me.

Of course I also have a compact tractor with a loader and a backhoe on it. It is much harder to move through the woods due to the length of the backhoe behind me and the bucket in front.

Update…

I was able to have a neighbor bring his 2 series JD over. It is just too much machine for use everyday. But, he is cool and it’ll be there if I need it.

So, a utility ATV is what is going to be the platform. I can’t afford a skid steer and once I get the worst of the trees dealt with I won’t need the extra capability. I don’t want a SxS at all because they’re just as big as small tractors. All the beds are tiny.

The quad is going to need to have power steering and enough power to
- push snow
- drag box blade
- haul a trailer of yard waste
- yank dead trees
- pull a leaf vacuum

I’m back to the Honda Foreman EPS or another Foreman variant. Any thing bigger is unwieldy.
As soon as my JD LA145 dies it’ll get replaced by a used JD zero turn. I don’t need a huge deck to mow a little over an acres

Everything other power equipment I need I can rent……



So new question is:

Those of you that use quads for property maintenance, what do you ride?

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
I had a Pioneer 1000 deluxe. I found it too large for navigating my property. I ended up selling it and getting a Honda Rubicon 520 Deluxe. It's a great machine. I use it for work all the time.

Do you feel like the 520 has enough power? Do you spend a lot of time in first gear? Mine will be pulling things slow a lot.

My desire for the big Polaris 6x6 was ended when I tried to turn around in the dealers lot.

All of the big quads are now CVT transmissions, with exception of Honda, which is an auto double clutch with shaft drive. that being said a cvt will pull with the best of them until it goes under water. Quads do not have enough weight to do any serious pulling and are generally limited to around 1500 lbs. you can however tie them off to a tree and use the winch do the heavy lifting. I use a Yamaha Grizzly (698cc) with a Warn 2500 lb winch mainly because it was cheaper than the Honda and a little tougher when it comes to work. Either machine will serve well in that terrain as long as you stay within their capabilities. learn to use block and tackles for heavy loads. It really depends a lot on which dealership and parts dept is prominent in your area.(I don't know where you are located).

quote:

Originally posted by ThunTiger:
Do you feel like the 520 has enough power? Do you spend a lot of time in first gear? Mine will be pulling things slow a lot.

My desire for the big Polaris 6x6 was ended when I tried to turn around in the dealers lot.

I guess "enough power" is very subjective. For the way I'm using my Rubicon, it's been great. I can get into some really tight places. I have the DCT transmission that I can switch to manual shifting if I feel the need to. With the Warn winch, I can get it out of some bad situations.

Which ever one you choose, Rocky Mountain ATV will become your best friend for all ATV things.