Gator vs. Mule vs. Ranger

Anonymous Poster · Feb 28, 2002

We have about a dozen of those mules where I work,we run the guts out of them day in and day out very reliable too.Not near as much plastic either.

Devildog · Mar 1, 2002

Steve, The only experience I have is with the mule. You can get the Kawasaki mule in either a gas or diesel version, We have the 3010 gas. The mule does have a rollbar and a macpherson strut front suspension. Its locks into 4 wheel drive with a flip of a lever and also it has a differential lock so you dont tear up your rear tires. the rollber system is also intregrated with the breather system and it pulls air in about 5' above ground. As far as stability goes there is no problem there, its wider than a 4 wheeler. We tend to call it an ole folks 4 wheeler/w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif it fits two good size people comfortably. It has a manual dump bed. If you have anymore questions feel free to email me. You can also get more info here Essex Make sure you try all the utility vehicles and pick the one best suitable for your application, They are all good utility vehicles. Hope this helps
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Take care, Jim

Bird · Mar 1, 2002

<font color=blue>It has a manual dump bed</font color=blue>

Or you can get it with a power dump bed. I believe they have a hydraulic dump available, although my brother's Mule had the electric screw type dump and it never seemed to strain anything when we loaded dirt on it until it was falling off the sides.

cowboydoc · Mar 1, 2002

Bird,
Yes you're right you can add either the hydraulic or the screw type to either the gator or the mule. I know with the gator you can get it from the factory as an option. Not sure on the mule.

San Diego Kid,
They both have way too much plastic on them. I looked at mine this am when I was feeding and they both have about the same amt. of plastic. Not defending them because I don't like it either on either one. I had to replace fenders on both of them.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 1, 2002

Doctor,
Do you work in sales for John Deere or something,I have been on the sidelines reviewing your posts and if it aint Green it ain't good,at least that is the vibes I am getting.John Deere does make good stuff so don't get me wrong. Do you have a John Deere chainsaw?Just curious

Anonymous Poster · Mar 1, 2002

Devil,
That is an excellent link to Essex.Never heard of them before.This is also a decent web page. I like it !!
Thanks
The Kid

Anonymous Poster · Mar 1, 2002

Are you sure those Mules have as much plastic as those Gators??

Bird · Mar 1, 2002

San Diego Kid, I haven't looked closely at a Gator in a long time, but on the Mule, the bed is all metal, but the fenders, front end, etc. is "plastic". Personally, I generally prefer metal, but after seeing the things my brother and my rancher neighbor have put their Mules through, I'm sold on the plastic for the Mule; very tough stuff to scratch, and if you do, the color goes all the way through instead of being painted on, so scratches don't show much, and I've really been surprised that neither of those machines has broken any of that plastic so far.

Anonymous Poster · Mar 1, 2002

Thank you Mr. Bird,
I appreciate your input.Do you think the Mules hold up well mechanically? From what I have seen of them,they seem to fair quite well.

gerard · Mar 1, 2002

Has anyone seen the polaris 6 wheel ATV with dump box? I just went to the Polaris site and the Ranger is NOT what I'm talking about. I just saw one at the farm show in Syracuse last week, It was only $6000, was 6 wheel drive but only seated one and had a dump box. Looked more heavily built than some of the gator/mule/etc types and was something I would consider too......