Side by Side or 4x4

[YanmarFever]

For sport, those performance sxs look fun but I don’t have the property to justify the silly price point

The price is RIDICULOUS !! whos heard of a Cam am worth 42,000 dollars.
I don't know how they do it, but Cam an sells them like hot cakes, most of the neighbors around here have them or 2 or three, one for reach kiddo!

A year ago we watched one take a stop sign and broadsided an SUV, there was plastic everywhere, and he did walk away from it, thank God.

We owned a Yamaha rhino 700 special silver edition with all the bells and whistles, but it only held 2 riders.
We recently purchased a new Yamaha Viking vi, it holds 6 riders comfortably, and priced very reasonably and the grandkids love to go for long drives in it.
Top speed is 51 mph.

 

[DK35vince]

This will run circles around 99% of all jeeps


View attachment 786668

 

[YanmarFever]

Try THAT in a jeep!!
I used to have a 69 ford bronco with the 302 and it doesn't EVEN come close to that video.

 

[fuchifarm]

Everything everyone has been saying can easily be summed up as different tools for different jobs.
A tractor /jeep/ pickup all can do most the things a side by side can do just not as well but can do things a side by side can't do as well. It comes down to what one needs to do and what value you place on the time and energy spent doing those jobs as to how justifiable each option is.

I put off getting a side by side for a long time. I made do with the tractor or just walking. Today I was putting up some fence for my neighbor. I had my little tractor and gator both out there. I mostly used the tractor for putting in wood posts, carrying posts, and spooling out the wire. The gator carried the fencing supplies and tools. All the trips back to the house cause I forgot something the gator got me there and back in a quarter of the time. I also sent my neighbor back and forth to fetch cold water, check tension on the far end of line etc as we went. It saved lots of time compared to days where he would walk to get something for me. Or I'd take the tractor back to the house. Also the 6 wheel design of the gator is a much smoother ride at 15-20mph across the fields than the tractor at 3 to 4mph. I'd much rather run the gator checking fence lines and doing livestock checks than the tractor. Plus it can carry tools easily where I'd normally walk. I know it will cut down on the number of steps I get each day but chores are done quicker. I wish the gator had a bit more knee room when sliding in and out but that's just a me problem with most everything.

Most of the things I've been using it for is time savers where using a truck would be troublesome and using the tractor would be slower. For the money I spent on the gator it is plenty worth it. I don't think I could justify spending 15k on a side by side but 2-4k on a used machine that I will put a couple hundred hours a year on is well in my justifiable spending range. I plan to keep an eye out for another diesel utv for my other property. Diesel because I don't like keeping gasoline around and I always have diesel available for the tractors and skidsteer.

 

[RalphVa]

Bought a Kubota RTV 520. All Kubotas have a version of hydrostatic drive similar to our tractors'. Gives probably a lot more hill ****** than the typical CVTs in others. Hondas are different. Not quite sure what they have. The 520 is great. Will climb stuff the tractor cannot and is less likely to mark up the ground with tire marks.

 

[Shenandoah MF1760]

My wife and I have been looking at getting a side by side for running up and down the mountains in southeast KY. It seems the cheap ones start at about 8000 and they go up from there. The JD Gators can easily be 25000. Even used the resale seems fairly high for what it is.
My daughter was looking at a 2013 RAM 4x4 shortbed - 185000 miles. It was $6500. I took it for a test drive and it seemed fine - it needs a new heater core which I'm factoring in.

I can't really see why the side by sides are so high when a truck like this probably can about everything for just driving around the homestead - and maybe once in a while driving into town.

Why would someone get a gator/side by side if you can get a beater 4x4 truck for less money? What am I missing here?
What are you thoughts on this?

Grandkids.

I'll allow my grandson to drive the Kawasaki Mule, but I'd never let him try and drive my (or any other) truck.

 

[DK35vince]

Bought a Kubota RTV 520. All Kubotas have a version of hydrostatic drive similar to our tractors'. Gives probably a lot more hill ****** than the typical CVTs in others.

???
Hill what.

 

[deserteagle71]

The price is RIDICULOUS !! whos heard of a Cam am worth 42,000 dollars.
I don't know how they do it, but Cam an sells them like hot cakes, most of the neighbors around here have them or 2 or three, one for reach kiddo!

It is ridiculous! But too many people are willing to pay the price so they keep on jacking the price up. I bought my 2020 Can-am Defender with full cab (doors, windows, and heat) for $21,000 and now the price has doubled. Same with Jeep...I've been looking at Jeep Wranglers for a couple years now and the price has gone up $30,000 in that time...they've even started charging $500 for any color paint except white. But again, as long as people keep buying they'll keep raising the price. Check out this window sticker on a Wrangler Rubicon!

 

[plastikosmd]

^ plain silly!

My Willy’s cj5 was about 800$ a few years ago. I went to register it and I had to pay tax on its “21k blue book value”
My bill of sale was of no use. So I ended up paying more in tax/register than the jeep cost me(by almost 3x!)

I was told I could hire an independent auditor for $. I figured that would cost more than the tax savings, so I paid.

(But the jeep does rock after some work)

 

[deserteagle71]

^ I went to register it and I had to pay tax on its “21k blue book value”
My bill of sale was of no use. So I ended up paying more in tax/register than the jeep cost me(by almost 3x!)

That's the way it works in Nevada also. Doesn't matter what you actually pay for a vehicle, come time to register it they look the value up in the Blue Book and figure the tax from it. Sucks.

 

[ArlyA]

We do have a thread titled working atv's and utv's picture thread here. Work is what we use them for 99% of the time.

 

[mikester]

My wife and I have been looking at getting a side by side for running up and down the mountains in southeast KY. It seems the cheap ones start at about 8000 and they go up from there. The JD Gators can easily be 25000. Even used the resale seems fairly high for what it is.
My daughter was looking at a 2013 RAM 4x4 shortbed - 185000 miles. It was $6500. I took it for a test drive and it seemed fine - it needs a new heater core which I'm factoring in.

I can't really see why the side by sides are so high when a truck like this probably can about everything for just driving around the homestead - and maybe once in a while driving into town.

Why would someone get a gator/side by side if you can get a beater 4x4 truck for less money? What am I missing here?
What are you thoughts on this?

I wish I could find a $6,500 used pickup. Trucks in that price range are nowhere near roadworthy, rusted out POS (southern Ontario), multi wreck basket cases.

I'm stuck back in the 1990's for pricing and think prices these days are mental. Back then I could have bought a 20 year old Japan 4x4 mini truck for $4,500 with right hand drive. I now wish I did.

I settled on a brand new RTV-XG850 that weighs 1800lbs, 1,000lbs bed capacity, tows 1,500lbs, 4x4 billygoat. Full warranty. I just wish it had stop-start like my old golf cart.

 

[ArlyA]

View attachment 786907

I wish I could find a $6,500 used pickup. Trucks in that price range are nowhere near roadworthy, rusted out POS (southern Ontario), multi wreck basket cases.

I'm stuck back in the 1990's for pricing and think prices these days are mental. Back then I could have bought a 20 year old Japan 4x4 mini truck for $4,500 with right hand drive. I now wish I did.

I settled on a brand new RTV-XG850 that weighs 1800lbs, 1,000lbs bed capacity, tows 1,500lbs, 4x4 billygoat. Full warranty. I just wish it had stop-start like my old golf cart.

Same here. I buddy of ours had a dated chevy tracker as his UTV which sat in the repair shop with electrical grief. Great price!

 

[wolc123]

Same here. I buddy of ours had a dated chevy tracker as his UTV which sat in the repair shop with electrical grief. Great price!

My prior UTV was a Chevy tracker. That was ok, but I’m liking my current Dodge Durango a lot better. The tracker was a little narrower, allowing it to fit into more spots, but the suspension was not as good. The shift cable also broke on it, so I had to use a vise-grip on the end to get it in and out of drive and reverse.

The only trouble with my Durango has been a slow draw on the battery, which I corrected with a knife disconnect switch. I can’t wait for the fields to get dry enough to get it out back. I’ve been using it a little all winter, to jump start my tractor, when it’s real cold and lacks the cca’s to crank its high compression turbo—charged Diesel engine over on its own.

It works good for that, except for the big Christmas blizzard that we had, when it was trapped in the barn with a 6 ft drift blocking the overhead door. I had to shovel a path from my
daughters little car to the tractor that time, which took me longer than it did to dig everything else out with the tractor after I jumped it with her little car.

Now, I keep the 4x4 Durango parked straight out in front of the tractor, so I don’t have to deal with that bs again.

 

[jezreel]

It is ridiculous! But too many people are willing to pay the price so they keep on jacking the price up. I bought my 2020 Can-am Defender with full cab (doors, windows, and heat) for $21,000 and now the price has doubled. Same with Jeep...I've been looking at Jeep Wranglers for a couple years now and the price has gone up $30,000 in that time...they've even started charging $500 for any color paint except white. But again, as long as people keep buying they'll keep raising the price. Check out this window sticker on a Wrangler Rubicon!

View attachment 786891

Exactly. . . My neighbors just bought a CanAm Defender, 2 seats with full cab, air and heat. $40,000. With a few extras. Are You Kiddin’ Me!?!?!? That’s the price of a brand new pick-up. Wowwwww! ! ! Yep, I’d love to have a SxS, but Only if I had Totally Disposable income. But they are a handy vehicle to have. I reckon I’ll have to stick with my 1999 Dodge Ram 4x4. Maybe one day, the Money Man (wife) will give the OK for a SxS.

 

[5030]

We have both here, a Kubota gas side by side and a Honda Foreman quad. Each has their own uses and stengths.

 

[RalphVa]

???
Hill what.

Engine braking on a hill.

 

[DK35vince]

Engine braking on a hill.

OK. Thanks

 

[Jchonline]

I have a truck and a Kubota RTV cab diesel. It is as slow as all get out...but man is it handy. Honestly I put more miles on the RTV than anything else I own including my truck!

I was skeptical at first (ie do I really need a SxS if I have a truck and tractor) but the answer has been a resounding yes. Hard to live without it now. I can get it into so many more places in the forest and mountains. It is also very easy to work around..saves a bunch of steps compared to a truck (walking around it 100 times adds up).

 

[jb1390]

My wife and I have been looking at getting a side by side for running up and down the mountains in southeast KY. It seems the cheap ones start at about 8000 and they go up from there. The JD Gators can easily be 25000. Even used the resale seems fairly high for what it is.
My daughter was looking at a 2013 RAM 4x4 shortbed - 185000 miles. It was $6500. I took it for a test drive and it seemed fine - it needs a new heater core which I'm factoring in.

I can't really see why the side by sides are so high when a truck like this probably can about everything for just driving around the homestead - and maybe once in a while driving into town.

Why would someone get a gator/side by side if you can get a beater 4x4 truck for less money? What am I missing here?
What are you thoughts on this?

We bought some property in connecticut, about a mile from us. We bought a polaris ranger, used, for 7k. It will go places that no truck would be able to, especially crawling over rocks and roots. It also does better in the mud, and is far more nimble in the woods. Visibility is also much better. A truck might work for some, but our truck couldn't go all the places that the ranger will go with ease.