UTV's and ATV's general discussion.

[CloverKnollFarms]

I'll have photos of a December mowing job at a warehouse this weekend. Latest mow I've ever completed!

 

[jjeff]

Got my cheap Chinese ATV snow blower somewhat functional again. Moved some snow banks back with it. Disassembled, all internal electrical connections and cleaned with Emory cloth, electronic cleaner, and liberal amounts of dielectric grease, plus various dry lubricants so discharge hute rotates again. Definitely not worth the money if you can't tinker with it or in heavy snow areas and due to the weight, tire chains and extra weight are useful if for some reason you went this route.

 

[John_Mc]

Got my cheap Chinese ATV snow blower somewhat functional again.
... Definitely not worth the money if you can't tinker with it or in heavy snow areas and due to the weight, tire chains and extra weight are useful if for some reason you went this route.

Glad someone tried it, and thanks for reporting on your experience with it.

I'm sticking with the plow on my Honda Pioneer 520. The rear-mount snowblower on my tractor with the loader on the front is great for the really heavy snows, but I wanted something faster for the lighter storms.

 

[jjeff]

Glad someone tried it, and thanks for reporting on your experience with it.

I'm sticking with the plow on my Honda Pioneer 520. The rear-mount snowblower on my tractor with the loader on the front is great for the really heavy snows, but I wanted something faster for the lighter storms.

Yeah I definitely put some time, scrap steel in reinforcement of the mounting plate and frame reinforcement of blower itself, price has went up substantially since i bought it several yrs ago. Even a bigger 4 wheeler 700 cc is to small to utilize it like I initially thought. It does throw snow a decent distance though until you try and clear deeper snow, can't count how many times I stalled it in deeper snow worst is when you slide off initial cleared path and your back dragging in deep snow with blower frame, definitely need to be aware at all times of what your trying to do and clear with that blower and ATV setup. I think somewhere on a different thread I posted what I tried to do to make it better with some minor success.

 

[RayIN]

A few more classic machines at work. View attachment 785058View attachment 785060View attachment 785061

How many do you own?

 

[ArlyA]

How many do you own?

We own one atv, which is a 6x6. I have used many versions over the years not owned by us. I used them at my job.

 

[RayIN]

We own one atv, which is a 6x6. I have used many versions over the years not owned by us.

All the different pictures had me wondering.

 

[ArlyA]

UTV's and ATV's at work over the years.

 

[ArlyA]

A 6x6 at work.

 

[Runner]

Another trip with the Mule and trailer to pick up some firewood cut in the pasture reclamation project. Followed a flock of about 15 turkeys out to the work area. Pick shows the last of them escaping over the neighbor's wooden bridge.

 

[ArlyA]

No new snow here but the neighbor girls (Mi tech students who are away) snow came off their roof and filled two of there parking spots. No problem with pods and 85hp to spin them. Its been warm here for days and this snow was full of rain water.

Suppose I should add that its illegal to park in the street here, over the winter.

 

[ArlyA]

Looked at a 6ft snowdogg plow today. Never seen one before and it did look nice. We're should I post my review and photos of it?

 

[Code54]

Maybe a new thread would be good for that - I would think others are looking for plows and it would show up in a search.

 

[Xfaxman]

Looked at a 6ft snowdogg plow today. Never seen one before and it did look nice. We're should I post my review and photos of it?

How about here, Forum to discuss snow removal equipment and techniques Snow Removal

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

Training in new operator, 2nd photo is why I like the visibility on a atv. View attachment 1939961View attachment 1939962

Pretty cool setup you have there. Makes me almost wish we actually got snow like that... Almost.

 

[ArlyA]

Our machine grooming in new snow today. Coming down pretty good now but was not, when I was taking these photos. With the teeth engaged in the hard pack, its 85hp was grunting. Snow plowing does not do that.

 

[Duds13]

Another trip with the Mule and trailer to pick up some firewood cut in the pasture reclamation project. Followed a flock of about 15 turkeys out to the work area. Pick shows the last of them escaping over the neighbor's wooden bridge.
View attachment 2071056
View attachment 2071057

How do you like your Mule? I'm considering getting one. Do they go basically anywhere? Climb well?

 

[part-time-Farmer-NC]

How do you like your Mule? I'm considering getting one. Do they go basically anywhere? Climb well?

Sorry, saw your post about the mule. Sorry to intrude, but just had to say what great machine this has been.

I have the 2012 4010 transaxle 4x4 diesel 4 seater mule. Love it. Bought it new has about 1000 hrs/3000 mi on it. Wife drives it daily on our farm March - Sept I drive it weekends Sept-March hunting, farm and garden work.

I just replaced the original battery about 3 weeks ago. It has always cranked right up.

I did have a few bolts back out of the supports the rack an pinion steering that I needed to tighten. It was causing the steering to get reel loose. This thing sips fuel with me usually having to fuel up about once a month normally or bi monthly in our peak season. Only got stuck, stuck twice. Had to winch it out/pull with the tractor.

 

[Duds13]

Sorry, saw your post about the mule. Sorry to intrude, but just had to say what great machine this has been.

I have the 2012 4010 transaxle 4x4 diesel 4 seater mule. Love it. Bought it new has about 1000 hrs/3000 mi on it. Wife drives it daily on our farm March - Sept I drive it weekends Sept-March hunting, farm and garden work.

I just replaced the original battery about 3 weeks ago. It has always cranked right up.

I did have a few bolts back out of the supports the rack an pinion steering that I needed to tighten. It was causing the steering to get reel loose. This thing sips fuel with me usually having to fuel up about once a month normally or bi monthly in our peak season. Only got stuck, stuck twice. Had to winch it out/pull with the tractor.

No need to apologize, I appreciate the info! That's great it's been a nice machine for you, exactly what I wanted to hear. I've read a lot about them and bad reviews are hard to come by.

 

[Runner]

How do you like your Mule? I'm considering getting one. Do they go basically anywhere? Climb well?

You kind of have to know where I'm coming from when I say this, so basically my Mule is taking the place of a lawn tractor, i.e., I use it to run around the yard with a trailer to do chores. In that respect it is OK. I don't use it for "trail riding" or any kind of "four wheeling" type activities, so not really sure how it would be in those kind of situations.

Again, I haven't really tried doing anything too radical with it, just driving around the yard, but it doesn't feel terribly stable laterally, so for trail riding or operation on steep hills, a wider unit might be better.

I will say that it seems to get good traction, especially with dif lock and 4WD engaged. I like the fact that it is small and can fit in tight spaces. It is supposed to have an 1100 lb tow rating and it seems to tow my utility trailer (full of trees/logs) just fine. It seems silly to me that they tell you the tow rating, but there is no tow hitch from the factory and they don't even offer a receiver hitch as an option, you have to get one on Amazon. They do offer a kind of cheesy looking ball mount as an accessory.

Some things I don't really like about it:
CVT transmission - is clunky to shift and freewheels going down hills so you have to ride the brakes. I assume this would make it a pain in the neck for trail riding.
The bed is too small to be of any real use. If I need to haul anything more than a few tools, I have to use the trailer.
Non-power steering. It's not horribly heavy, but once you get used to a tractor with hydraulic steering, it's kind of a let down...
Noisy - I heard people say this about the Mule before I bought one, but never thought it would bother me. It's not so much the noise, but the thing feels like it's revving it's guts out all the time just to get and keep moving.

If I were buying another UTV, I would be looking closely at the Kubota RTV models with hydrostatic drive. I've never driven one, but I really think it would be a better fit for my use. Also, I think the Kubota RTV's are all liquid cooled so would be a little quieter and more refined.

I will say one other thing, in my state, any UTV less that 50 inches wide has to be registered and you have to pay property taxes on it. The Mule is 48 inches wide (track) so it will fit in a pickup (which I don't care about). I think this is really stupid and I can't for the life of my figure out why this is so, but it is. Units over 50 inches wide don't have to be registered or pay tax. It's not that there is much tax on it, but it is the priniciple of it that pizzes me off the more I think about it.