Farm UTV/RTV Purchase

[LD1]

Another Kawasaki Teryx here. Mine is a two seater with a manual dump bed. I bought it in 2013 and have used the dump feature exactly twice.

The tractor bucket is for dirt, and the Teryx is for most other things.

The Teryx four seater is on the same wheelbase as my two seater. I think the long wheelbase of some of the competition would be problematic.

That was exactly my thinking.

Get hung up easier, harder to get around in the tight areas of the woods, take up more room in the garage, etc etc.

Most of the others, the 4-seater add the length of the extra seats.

I think the terex just shortens the bed to accommodate the extra seats.

Within a mile of me here in farm country.....neighbors have the following: that I have been around and rode in:
Kubota 1100c
Kubota RTV500
Deere 825i
Polaris RZR 800s
Can am defender 1000
Yanmar Bull
YAnmar longhorn (same as bull but 6-seater)

Of all of those, the polaris rides the nicest. It should....made for sport and cannot really haul much.
MY Terex is probably second in ride comfort.....but can handle alot of weight since its actually made for 4 adults.

I like the can am defender too...its a 3-seater. Can fit 3 adults pretty comfortable or two adults and two kids.

I guess the question for the OP is how much you value the dump bed over ride comfort and speed. Because the dump bed ones are made to haul a fair amount of weight, and as such....they ride like log wagons compared to other sxs's.

 

[LD1]

Own a Kubota tractor but no interested in the RTV.Have owned and used all the major Japanese machine and currently have two Yamahas.They have the best engine braking system in the industry.
Belt life is guaranteed for ten years.
I have a three seater but they do make a six seat Viking.Put many miles on mine for personal use and business.
Never a problem.

I just mentioned the Yanmar Bull (3-seat) and Yanmar longhorn (6-seat) in my previous post. Its worth noting that they are the same thing as the vikings. I think yamaha builds them for yanmar (but I could have that backwards)

 

[AGreenFarmer]

I bought an Hisun E1 electric UTV. There are other brands just as good or possibly even better. I love the electric UTV over a gas rig because you just hop in it and go, whenever. No starting issues, no warm-up, little or no maintenance, highly reliable, lots of torque, 2 or 4wd, winch, good ground clearance, adequate cargo capacity. Even my wife will drive it. (she wouldn't touch a gas powered UTV) No drawbacks really. I plug it in at night once every few days to recharge (it usually doesn't need plugged in yet). Never have ran out of battery. I use it for several things that I used to use my tractor (drag harrowing, pesticide spraying). It is the most frequently used vehicle on my place, by far, including our automobiles. If I was using it to go hunting or exploring out in the woods I would probably prefer a gas powered rig for better range and higher top speed. But around the farm, I would consider a gas powered rig to be substantially inferior. It is sort of like a golf cart on a heavy dose of steroids.

Interesting... haven't thought about Electric UTV.

 

[AGreenFarmer]

I have a full size ranger 570, it has been great for us. They do make a larger crew version which seats 6 (4 comfortably) and does have a lift bed. My 570 does about 53mph, plenty for me, but they do make a 1000cc crew model, which is more expensive if you need a more capable unit. The 570 is great bang for the buck, no regrets.

I was actually researching and came across these. Thinking hard about it.

 

[shooterdon]

If you only need something for the property, I would suggest a small beater pickup truck for $3-4k. That is based on having owned three UTV's (Kawasaki Mule, Polaris 850 Ranger, and Polaris 570 RZR). Plan on $500/year to keep the beater running well and you will be ahead of getting a $20k UTV. (Not hard to get 6% return and 6% of $16k ($20k-4k) yields $960/year....so you keep over $15k in the bank and net about $500 in interest after expenses)

I bought the Mule because we do a bit of trail riding on logging roads where a pickup can be problematic. We use it to pick up mail (mail box is 2.5 miles away) and visit the locals (1-3 miles away) in good weather. It gets used for light work on the 20 acres we have. I got it for $8.2k new in 2020.

I had a beater truck and it was great but plates and insurance added over $800 a year in expenses. Plus I was spending $800/year keeping it road worthy. I sold it for $2700 so the Mule cost us 5.5k. Insurance on the Mule and ORV tags cost $300/year. So the Mule saves us $1300/yr. But I could take the PU to town if I needed and I could use it year round.

Kawasaki in the only UTV that has a three year warranty...something to consider if you go that route. My buddy owned a Polaris dealership at the time, and I still wound up getting the Mule.

Most folks I know who have a UTV use it as a toy 95+% of the time, regardless of the "justification" as a work vehicle. My Mule is not a fun toy as it has a top speed of only 25 mph. But is suits our needs for light duty work and for putzing around. BTW I am on 20 acres so 25 mph is fast enough LOL.

 

[AGreenFarmer]

I have operated several "side-by-sides" over the years and in general have not found anything they are an absolute must-have for and found some other piece of equipment to do a better job at whatever I was doing. The bed capacity is similar to a wheelbarrow or compact tractor bucket on the smaller beds and a utility tractor bucket or hand-pulled utility wagon on the larger ones. None are anywhere near the volume or weight capacity of even the miniscule 5 1/2 foot half ton pickup truck beds of today. If you can get a two-row side by side somewhere, you can get a tractor or a pickup truck there too. But you are on only 22 acres of mainly open ground, so it's unlikely to be very far to walk to get anywhere on your property. If you are looking for something fun to ride around on, a dirtbike is a whole lot more fun than a side-by-side. You also get to dispense with the terrible slippy-grabby centrifugal clutches side-by-sides have in favor of an actual clutch you can feather in a dirtbike. If you want to ride around for fun on the back roads, an enduro/dual-sport motorcycle would likewise be much more fun than a side-by-side. If you want to ride around on the roads not strictly for hoots and grins, a pickup truck or Jeep would be far more sane.

For what most people would use a side-by-side for, a pickup truck is really a better tool, either that or a tractor. If you don't already have a pickup truck or it's a newer/fancy/expensive one that you don't want to use on your farm, I'd personally recommend a farm truck- a well worn pickup truck that still runs well enough to go around on the farm but isn't too nice that you worry about getting it dirty or beaten up. You will probably be in it about what you pay in sales tax on a two-row side-by-side if you don't/can't get an ag exemption (I am not familiar with Texas laws regarding this.) When it dies, haul it off to the scrapyard. That's what everybody used to do before the toys started to show up in any quantity, first ATVs in the '90s and then side-by-sides in the 2000s.

Interesting advice. Part of the plan for the side by side is let me teenage daughters drive around the property... a bit safer then a dirt bike. However good thoughts to think about.

 

[shooterdon]

Interesting... haven't thought about Electric UTV.

Do some research. Battery powered golf cart batteries last about 6 years and are not cheap to replace. I do not know what UTV's are using for batteries.

We looked at an electric golf cart before buying the Mule and a decent one was $5k with no warranty. The Mule was $8.2k with a three year warranty.

 

[TractorTYMe]

How about an 4wd Japanese Mini truck? 92 Suzuki Carry Japanese Mini Truck 4WD, Diff Lock, 5 speed

 

[LouNY]

Good thread...from my research so far, finding a UTV is harder than finding a tractor right now. I'd rather get a name brand, but may go with Massimo or Benneche (assembled in DFW area) due to price/availability.

The Massimo / Benneche get a lot of flack from people that don't own them.
And the people suggesting a beater pickup, no way in heck will a pickup get anywhere close to many of the places the side by sides or ATV's
go on the farm. For that matter there is not a tractor on the farm that could go many of the places the SxS's go, they would be buried and
laying on ground with the bellys buried.
Two mules on the farm, 5 atv's, thinking about another mule likely a Kawasaki Pro.
Then my Massimo, heavy wide but still fairly fast when needed, 45 mph on the road easily but with diff locks front and rear she'll go places niether a pickup or tractor will and get back home.

seats 3 easily

 

[Snobdds]

The Kubota RTV-XG850 uses belt drive and goes fast. Too fast at times.

They finally saw the light...