Utv

[Rockarosa]

Sawyer. I have a 4x4 30 h.p. New Holland and a wood wagon. I have an out door Cozeburn that eats wood. So I cut around 12 -14 cords a season. Thinking about a side by side for work and pleasure. Thank you all for the replies!

 

[Greenthorn]

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Sawyer. I have a 4x4 30 h.p. New Holland and a wood wagon. I have an out door Cozeburn that eats wood. So I cut around 12 -14 cords a season. Thinking about a side by side for work and pleasure. Thank you all for the replies!

That changes everything...

I would WITHOUT A DOUBT, for THAT use, get Yamaha UTV!

For work and pleasure, they are the best all around UTV made, and compared to most of the other choices, they have a history of being much more reliable.

SR

 

[Greenthorn]

My view on the teryx, it is one tough machine, the frame is a lot sturdier than most others.
Biggest complaint I have with the teryx is the engine noise and heat. I have not had 1 issue with the cvt belt or tranny. As you can see I pull a lot of weight with mine. I've actually pulled a lot of cars and trucks out of mud holes too. I originally bought this thing just to go fast, and it does go fast....I had it up to 65 mph, still had more pedal, but that's fast enough for me. My teryx is pretty modified, have a four stroke tech big bore kit, v-force jon clutch, muzzy headers and mufflers. I have 6285 miles on this machine.
Now that I bragged about it, I will say that I would not get another one unless Kawasaki has done something different. My next UTV would either be a Mule or a Ranger, more work utility style.
I will probably get another UTV next year.

 

[NSMaple1]

All I can say is, you must not need much firewood, because you just can't haul much firewood on a UTV, without making MANY trips. That is the reason my UTV isn't my firewood hauler!

A tractor and wagon is the way to go, and you don't have to spend anywhere the cost of an UTV to get a good "wood hauling" tractor!

SR

Not necessarily - depends on your situation.

I use an ATV & trailer. I can get to a lot more places than I could with a tractor, 99% of the time I am driving right thru the trees to a windfall & processing right where it lays, with trailer & splitter in tow. Small footprint & no damage. And I can go much faster with the ATV than with a tractor & wagon. A UTV should be able to handle a fairly well loaded trailer - plus more in the bed.

A tractor also isn't much fun to take trail riding.

 

[msmith]

We have the Kubotas where I work. We have them in several different locations. You couldn't pay any of the employees to buy one. Ours are slow, heavy, and not real intuitive to drive. They are hydrostatic like a tractor and it's hard to get people to drive them like a tractor.

I have a Polaris 700 and love it. I have a 8'x16' flatbed trailer that weighs about 2200# when empty. I shuttle it around the barnyard, empty, with my Ranger. I also used it to pull the tractor about 50' off of the road last winter when the fuel gelled and it shut down on me.

 

[Rockarosa]

Not necessarily - depends on your situation.

I use an ATV & trailer. I can get to a lot more places than I could with a tractor, 99% of the time I am driving right thru the trees to a windfall & processing right where it lays, with trailer & splitter in tow. Small footprint & no damage. And I can go much faster with the ATV than with a tractor & wagon. A UTV should be able to handle a fairly well loaded trailer - plus more in the bed.

A tractor also isn't much fun to take trail riding.

That's a good point. Most of the easy to get to wood is gone and I am cutting down trees and carrying the wood up hill. At 63 years old a few trips and you get winded. Thank you, I am definitely buying one.

 

[Greenthorn]

See a lot more pictures here at google, pretty funny my pictures came up at the top when I googled them, it was when I was on a forum called teryxhq.....

https://www.google.com/search?q=fir...AcQ_AUoAmoVChMI6fuis_TnxwIVhVc-Ch2MCg7z&dpr=2

 

[NSMaple1]

That's a good point. Most of the easy to get to wood is gone and I am cutting down trees and carrying the wood up hill. At 63 years old a few trips and you get winded. Thank you, I am definitely buying one.

Gotta be careful on the hills though - a loaded trailer behind an ATV can have it's way with you before you know what's going on in the wrong circumstances, especially going downhill over rough stuff. The wrong wheel gets light at the wrong time and bad news. Goin up, I've spun out a few times trying to crawl up thru the trees - just had to stop & throw some off & get next trip. A UTV should handle that better - then there are tire chains, they can help too, I don't have any. But I've likely been a few places with it I shouldn't have been...

 

[deerehunter]

Use my ranger a lot for firewood.

 

[Hinerman]

We have the Kubotas where I work. We have them in several different locations. You couldn't pay any of the employees to buy one. Ours are slow, heavy, and not real intuitive to drive. They are hydrostatic like a tractor and it's hard to get people to drive them like a tractor.

I have a Polaris 700 and love it. I have a 8'x16' flatbed trailer that weighs about 2200# when empty. I shuttle it around the barnyard, empty, with my Ranger. I also used it to pull the tractor about 50' off of the road last winter when the fuel gelled and it shut down on me.

Interesting about the Kubotas. Kubota would be my first choice. I have only used a Kubota,,,borrowed from a friend. It seems like a workhorse to me. How do the plastic beds hold up on the Polaris?

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Not necessarily - depends on your situation.

I use an ATV & trailer. I can get to a lot more places than I could with a tractor, 99% of the time I am driving right thru the trees to a windfall & processing right where it lays, with trailer & splitter in tow. Small footprint & no damage. And I can go much faster with the ATV than with a tractor & wagon. A UTV should be able to handle a fairly well loaded trailer - plus more in the bed.

A tractor also isn't much fun to take trail riding.

There isn't anyplace an UTV can go, that a small/med sized tractor can't also go... BUT, I bet you there's places the tractor can go that the UTV can't.

I have owned/used both for many years, so I know this from experience...

SR

 

[deerehunter]

The difference for me Rob is I own both and its very common for me to hop in the ranger and drive to the woodlot 10 miles away to cut on sunday morning for something to do whereas Im not going to drive the tractor that distance. They all have pros and cons and everything serves a purpose. Theres also a lot of places I go in the winter with the ranger when im cutting that I wouldn't ever attempt with my loader tractor (frozen creek bottom for instance)
I would also suggest to anyone considering a utv for around the farm type use to not rule out geo and chevy trackers. I have owned a couple of those and they are very handy too. My newest one was a 99 that I bought for $300 needing some work. They can be found much cheaper than side by sides and have a heater! Just a thought

 

[NSMaple1]

There isn't anyplace an UTV can go, that a small/med sized tractor can't also go... BUT, I bet you there's places the tractor can go that the UTV can't.

I have owned/used both for many years, so I know this from experience...

SR

Your experiences don't universally apply to everyones situations.

 

[zogger]

The difference for me Rob is I own both and its very common for me to hop in the ranger and drive to the woodlot 10 miles away to cut on sunday morning for something to do whereas Im not going to drive the tractor that distance. They all have pros and cons and everything serves a purpose. Theres also a lot of places I go in the winter with the ranger when im cutting that I wouldn't ever attempt with my loader tractor (frozen creek bottom for instance)
I would also suggest to anyone considering a utv for around the farm type use to not rule out geo and chevy trackers. I have owned a couple of those and they are very handy too. My newest one was a 99 that I bought for $300 needing some work. They can be found much cheaper than side by sides and have a heater! Just a thought

That's my thought on UTVs, there's one here, but..for what it cost, 13 grand I think, (boss bought it) you could have a nice compact 4wd buggy, a CJ, Samurai, Cherokee, old Bronco or blazer, etc, etc, lift it a little, put pure full v tread oversize ag tires on it, have something that works really well offroad, with full windshield wipers, heater, etc and ability to get any part at the nearest auto parts store. And then leave thousands in your wallet.

ME, I am even cheaper, for 13 large I could get a decent little car, work truck, motorcycle, nice boat and trailer, or decent used nice truck, nice trailer and compact tractor. Mix and match to taste there. Heck, 13 grand, that's an army deuce in decent shape and a used forklift, nice setup to go get wood, then process it and stack and later deliver.

 

[deerehunter]

Zogger I 100% agree. I bought this 2000 jeep tj with a hurt motor and rebuilt the engine for a total cost of about a third of what my ranger cost me. I am just as guilty as the next guy for jumping on the side by side bandwagon and have got a lot of good service out if it.......but...... I live in a county where we can operate them on the road so we use it for various activities. If I had a large chunk of land to operate on right at home I would spend less money and set up an old tracker or willys jeep just for the novelty of it. I'm not knocking guys for enjoying using there utvs (especially since I own one) but I just want to show that there's some way cheaper alternatives out there.

 

[msmith]

Interesting about the Kubotas. Kubota would be my first choice. I have only used a Kubota,,,borrowed from a friend. It seems like a workhorse to me. How do the plastic beds hold up on the Polaris?

My BIL and MIL both have Kubotas and they are tough reliable machines. They are great around the barnyard and fairly level ground. The hydraulic dump bed is also sweet. They both love theirs.

Our company used to get the Kawasaki Mules, back when them and Polaris was some of the only choices. The Mule was tough and we beat it bad. We put chains on all 4 wheels and the thing would go up some very steep power line right of ways. When it quit going, we just pulled the winch line out and winched it. They replaced it with a Kubota and it was a disappointment. Underpowered, heavy, and the suspension doesn't articulate much. I have had it hung up on dry ground. We were going up a rather steep drive to a hunting camp. I was straddling a rut that had washed out and the Kubota got to teatering on two wheels. (one front and one rear) The one front wheel that was not touching was spinning, the back wheel that was not touching was spinning, and the other back wheel was spinning on dry hard red clay.(I had the diff locked) It was the only drive wheel that was on dirt. My Polaris goes places like this in 2 wheel drive as would most UTVs because their suspension would put all 4 wheels on the ground.

The hydrostatic drive on them is another thing that can be good, but it lends itself to being less than intuitive to drive. While the throttle pedal is a blend of hydrostat and fuel, to get the most power, you have to manually engage the throttle then feather the foot pedal for hydrostat like a tractor. It's hard to get all the guys on board with this. They just stomp the pedal and say it won't go. Our company is now buying Polaris Rangers.

The bed on the Ranger is my only gripe...it is too small for the capabilities of the machine. Other than that, the plastic is tough as nails, and doesn't rust. If I drop the tailgate, I can put a 4x4 round bale in it to feed remotely when the weather is bad and I don't want to cut up the field with the tractor. Our right of way cutting guys have the two seater Rangers and they don't like them at all either. They say they don't go so well and would rather have the single seater ones.

Last Sept. I went on a benefit trail ride that was 45 miles long through the woods over some pretty rough terrain. 80 of the participants had Polaris RZRs or Rangers. The other 20% were a mix...no Kubotas but a Kubota would not have made it very far at all. The Kubotas are great machines and reliable, but they have to stay in the barnyard or on farm roads, at least in hill country.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Your experiences don't universally apply to everyones situations.

That's for sure! There's no way in he!! I'm driving ANY ATV/UTV 10 miles to get some wood! A trip like that, has to be worth it, and it's just not happening on a tinker toy wood hauler!

SR

 

[deerehunter]

Wondered if anyone on here hauls wood with their UTV and what model they have. Been thinking about buying a UTV and trying to decide what model. Kubota's look good but pricey.[/QUO

Rob we are just trying to answer the mans question about using a utv for hauling wood. I don't think anyone here is saying that is our only way to get wood home. Many of us have different rigs for different situations. If your tractor and wagon works good for you that's great. Sometimes I just like to take my kids for a ride to the woods on my "tinker toy wood hauler" and sometimes I take a gooseneck to get a bigger load. different strokes

 

[NSMaple1]

Tinker toys are awesome.