We recently purchased our property from the friends we were renting it from. 4 acres of dense timber and an acre of grass. It’s very hilly for our area and is a great place to shoot.

But, the topography makes it difficult to maintain the timber and grass. I was set on a little Kubota until I realized how clumsy it would be in the timber. The yard doesn’t have a straight edge so a dedicated mower is much better in our case.

So…utility quad it is!

I haven’t looked at quads in twenty years and knew SXS are king. But, I had no idea how the bottom of the Atv market dropped. I get people want to sit in a seat and the manufacturers are making dough off them but damn. They’re priced like cars and the cheap ones don’t have any real power. I’d love to have one but just not appropriate for my application.

So, it’s looking like a new Honda Foreman EPS. The Polaris 6x6 is neat but I think too big for my application.

I need it to
- navigate timber and trails
- pull fallen trees and brush from the timber
- pull detacher, aerator, roller, sprayer
- push snow
- haul dirt


Does anyone else have a 100% utility quad?

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

I have a friend with a couple hundred acres that wanted to replace his old worn out Honda 300 2WD. I strongly suggested a utility SXS as being far more useful but he felt he still wanted an ATV. After looking at a few he decided on a Forman Rubicon 520 with IRS, power steering and DCT. He and his wife like that it has PS, plenty of power and it rides better than the old one. His wife says it feels tippy, probably just because it sits higher. He was enjoying the 4wd feature this winter, says it goes a lot better than his old 2WD in snow.
I think he's starting to realize that a small SXS would have been more useful because he said that's what they'll probably look at when they go to replace his wife's old ATV. Maybe a Honda Pioneer 520 which isn't much larger or more expensive than the Rubicon yet it has a dump bed and they could both ride together on it.

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.

Rubicon's like Jupiter and my friend have are nice, if I were getting an ATV that's what I'd buy.

As Jupiter pointed out most of the SXS's are large (and expensive) and for wooded property can be pretty cumbersome. Honda's Pioneer 1000 is 64" wide and some are larger yet. There don't seem to be a lot of small utility SXS's but there are some.

Kawasaki MULE SX is 52" wide and is a good little work horse and with its low gearing puts a lot of torque to the ground. But it's top speed is only 20 mph, less up hills, so it doesn't have much fun factor.

Honda's Pioneer 520 is 50" wide, only 2.5" wider than a Rubicon so it fits on tight ATV trails yet seats 2 comfortably, has a dump bed that's useful as heck, and is probably a little safer with its roll bar and doors. It's also easy to slide in and out of. It uses the same 520cc motor as the Rubicon and a wide ratio 5-speed transmission with automatic and manual mode. Top speed is around 38-40 mph.

The Kawasaki Mule is a good work vehicle. Not fast, but reliable, tough, and capable. We have the 4010 4x4 diesel 2 or 4 seat version. Will tow 1500 lbs, has high and low range, selectable 4x4 and a rear locker. So long as you don't high center it, not much stops it.



Neighbor has the smaller gas 4x2 version.

Those Pioneer 520s are nice machines. Being only a couple of inches wider may be the ticket.
One thing to consider is your ability to stand up on an ATV and finesse the machine into places a SXS just will not go. If that is not a factor, I would go with the Pioneer 520 all day long.

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
The Kawasaki Mule is a good work vehicle. Not fast, but reliable, tough, and capable. We have the 4010 4x4 diesel 2 or 4 seat version.

Those are also great machines, ArtieS.

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

One thing to consider is your ability to stand up on an ATV and finesse the machine into places a SXS just will not go. If that is not a factor, I would go with the Pioneer 520 all day long.

I agree. If you need to get into the worst places an ATV with a shorter wheelbase will be a little more capable. I believe the front differential can be locked on Rubicons for more extreme crawling. The Pioneer 520 of course has 2wd/4wd with the rear locked and the front having a limited slip (not lockable). These things go great even in 2WD though, TBH on both my MULE and P520 I'm in 2WD probably 90% of the time.

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.

My wife and I both have JD Gators to deal with here on the land.

I get in some rough and nasty places and these things are well built.

Good luck!

A 4wd tractor with a front end loader is really what you need to do the type of work you want to do.
An ATV down the road would be good. But not to get it going.
A tractor is and invaluable asset for what you are wanting to do.

I believe the OP mentioned it was very hilly. Using a tractor in those conditions is extremely challenging, even for seasoned operators.

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
I believe the OP mentioned it was very hilly. Using a tractor in those conditions is extremely challenging, even for seasoned operators.

Yeah unfortunately a simple compact tractor would be very cumbersome and unsafe. My area is so steep, for the mid West, that they flooded the area to the south of me for a cooling pond. The park across the way has people come to train for events elsewhere due to the cumulative change in elevation (up and down). The guys that mow our ditches have serious balls IMHO.

My neighbors all have large tracts tillable acreage so I luckily have access to their BIG JDs of I ever need real tractor stuff done.

SxS are too wide unfortunately. The Mule checked off all the boxes until I took a tape measure to where we would be going.

I’m really staring to lean towards a used Polaris 6x6. I like the integrated bed and I’m warming up to the transmission. This thing will only rarely go over 25…

If I had the $$$ a walk behind skid steer would be nice….

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
I believe the OP mentioned it was very hilly. Using a tractor in those conditions is extremely challenging, even for seasoned operators.

No their not. What are you going to do with an atv other than drive over timber? . I get an atv is supposedly a more exciting vehicle. But pretty much useless as far as getting real work done.

Here’s a better idea of the density of the timber that’s not grass. This is what has been cleared of the invasive honeysuckle and goose berries.

Nice looking property! I see some hills there but none of the 4x4 ATV or SXS's should have any problem there.

When we bought our wooded property years ago the first things I bought were a Stihl straight shaft Kombi System (which accepts blades as well as string trim head and other attachments) and an old ATV. We went to work making walking trails through the woods that the ATV could also fit on. I strapped my saw, gas, bar oil, and the Kombi on the ATV racks and went to work every weekend. Surprisingly we didn't have to cut many trees and the ones we did were just small ones, mostly we went around them. But there was a lot of brush in places as well as briars, and small saplings that needed cut and the Kombi worked great for that.
When I later got the little MULE SX it was just more convenient being able to just toss stuff in the bed, as well as haul firewood.

quote:

Originally posted by old rugged cross:

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
I believe the OP mentioned it was very hilly. Using a tractor in those conditions is extremely challenging, even for seasoned operators.

No their not. What are you going to do with an atv other than drive over timber? . I get an atv is supposedly a more exciting vehicle. But pretty much useless as far as getting real work done.

I think it's great that you can use your tractor in very hilly conditions with no problem. For most people, especially less experienced operators, it can be extremely dangerous. Don't get me wrong, If I have a way to get my MX5400 and chipper into one of these locations, I will do it. I've spent the last few years clearing overgrown timber in locations a tractor couldn't come close to reaching safely. Are ATVs useless at getting any real work done? Hardly. I use it to carry my Chainsaws, clearing saws, gas, oil, sharpening tools, loppers, water and countless other equipment into hard to reach locations. The winch even comes in handy. I just used it to spray 30 gallons of round-up. It's a vital piece of equipment around here.

quote:

Originally posted by ThunTiger:
Here’s a better idea of the density of the timber that’s not grass. This is what has been cleared of the invasive honeysuckle and goose berries.

I invested in a Stihl FS561 clearing saw a few years ago. It has been invaluable at clearing blackberry, honeysuckle and small trees up to 4" or so in diameter.

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:

quote:

Originally posted by ArtieS:
The Kawasaki Mule is a good work vehicle. Not fast, but reliable, tough, and capable. We have the 4010 4x4 diesel 2 or 4 seat version.

Those are also great machines, ArtieS.

But they're quite large.
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.