Farm Vehicle?

[Reed68]

I was just wondering what everybody uses for a feed/working vehicle. I see most use a Polaris Ranger, but I know there are others out there. Which one do you use and what do you like and dislike about it. I guess my question is, what do deerfarmers feel is the best utility vehicle for deerfarming? Direct your aswers to Carl, because he needs to get us one!:p

[IndependenceRanch]

We use this here at our place. It is a compact tractor with a mower deck under it that has a 63" cut. I use it in the deer pens with the deck in about the mid height position. We also have a tiller attachment for the 3 point hookup to till in the pens to reseed. We have a snowblower attachment for the winter that works well plowing around the gates and feeders and water units.
In this picture you see it with the lift I designed that goes on the 3 point hookup. The lift as you can see is made like a bench for people to sit on and I drive them around the farm to see the deer. It really does work well for this. We toss bags of feed on the lift and anything else we want to carry around.
The bottom part where the dog is laying is where I can set a deer that is tranq'ed to carry him around to another pen or up to the shop for a semen collection. What I usually do is screw a piece of plywood to the place where the dog is laying that sticks out about 20 inches. I lay a pillow on one end and that is where the bucks head is. This can be seen in the second pic. Then just lift the unit up with the 3 point and drive around.
This works very well for us here.

[ANTLER VALLEY]

I use a Japanese mini truck. I'll try to get a picture tonight when I do chores. I know everyone has seen these things. I looked at all the utility vehicles on the market and most were $8K or more and had no heat, no cab, no air, etc. I bought my truck for less than half and got it all, including 4x4 and a water-tight cab. It seats two, and is not made for big boys. I'm 6' tall and it is a little struggle for me to get in it, but it hauls 1,00 lbs, has a 4x6' bed that has three sides which can all fold down to make a flatbed. It has a thin roll bar which works well for tying things to it. It does about 40 mph and I use it daily-only needs 8 gallons of gas about every 6 weeks. Only had it stuck once, and had a good reason for it. Will hold about 20 buckets of feed or 10 bales of hay. Trust me, you won't be sorry for using one to do your chores!

[ANTLER VALLEY]

Typo-meant to say it hauls 1,000 lbs.

[CurtisLloyd]

I have a polaris ranger 6X6 it works well , I also have a quad with a cart that works better for some things, and for big stuff I have a 4x4 truck, I am going to build a hopper for the back of the ranger to feed with, loading from the bulk bin will be with a 12V powered auger.

[Droptine]

I use a Japanese mini truck. I'll try to get a picture tonight when I do chores. I know everyone has seen these things. I looked at all the utility vehicles on the market and most were $8K or more and had no heat, no cab, no air, etc. I bought my truck for less than half and got it all, including 4x4 and a water-tight cab. It seats two, and is not made for big boys. I'm 6' tall and it is a little struggle for me to get in it, but it hauls 1,00 lbs, has a 4x6' bed that has three sides which can all fold down to make a flatbed. It has a thin roll bar which works well for tying things to it. It does about 40 mph and I use it daily-only needs 8 gallons of gas about every 6 weeks. Only had it stuck once, and had a good reason for it. Will hold about 20 buckets of feed or 10 bales of hay. Trust me, you won't be sorry for using one to do your chores!

Those are pretty neat. There's a guy just down the road from me that sells them, but at 6'4" 300 lbs that was out of the question :D

Right now, I'm using the Kawasaki mule. I traded in my 04' for an 09' and it's much better. The power steering on the new one makes a HUGE difference.

[PaintedMeadowsBJs]

Steve you made me laugh with that thought...My dad passed a few years ago and he was 6'5... I had sport cars all my life when I was 16 I bought a triumph spitfire convertible you should have seen him get in and out of that.
We use 4 wheelers and a tractor we have been thinking and talking about getting something for a while...But we need something that sits high and 4x4
Gator makes a nice one... but you will run into a lot for each attachment...And of course I want all the toy that can go on them:D
Get the books and specs on everything and what the attacments you can get and their cost.

[Isaac@AppleCreek]

We use an Arctic Cat and a kabota RTV.

[virgil]

I use a skid Steer to haul my feed plus you can use it to do many other things. Get any attatchments you want just about to do multipal jobs on farm.

[Mitch P]

Those are pretty neat. There's a guy just down the road from me that sells them, but at 6'4" 300 lbs that was out of the question :D

Right now, I'm using the Kawasaki mule. I traded in my 04' for an 09' and it's much better. The power steering on the new one makes a HUGE difference.

Steve you can fit.. I spent 3 years in Japan many years ago and that was my only choice to drive and if they are all tight choose the one that looks the coolest. What was tough was learning to shift a 4 speed on the column with my left hand. :( Great little trucks. Now a days a prefer a Polaris Ranger.

[thunder]

Honda Big Red or a Kawaski Mule

[Wild Rivers Whitetails]

We have a kawaski mule that is about 14 years old and still going strong. It was a good investment and a good vehicle.

[allenb]

We use a Kawasaki mule trans 3010 , The one with the back seat that folds down to make the bed bigger. It lives up to its name for it will haul or pull just about anything.It is also nice to be able to flip the seat back up to haul 4 people. Or six if they are kid size.

[ddwhitetails]

We use the Kabota RTV With a cab.......it has all the good stuff....heat, air, stereo, cd player, hydralic dump bed.....plus I use it to plow in the winter.....I really like the machine for around the farm......it is deisel and 4wd....however, it has grass treads and does not do well in the mud.......It also does not go super fast about 30mph tops......but for around the farm and for feeding the deer it is great!!

[Rustyblaster]

Hey Carl, Lowes has wheel barrels starting at $31.97.:D Jay can manage! He's an Okie! Sorry Jay, door open I walk through!

[Reed68]

Rusty! He dont need any of that!

He has a Polaris Sportsman 700, and 500. Just think "One" Ranger would be better.

[ANTLER VALLEY]

This little truck still fits in my stock trailer and I can take it to work, hunting, etc.

[Reed68]

Rusty, If he gets a wheel barrel, the next time you come down for a farm tour, guess what your riding in?

[foodplot]

Polaris 700 and a 95 hp Kabota tractor.With those 2 I can do everything I need.

[WICKED WHITETAILS]

Hey antler valley do you have any pics of your mini truck. Looked them up online and some look sweet! Plus cheap!!

[ddwhitetails]

This is the vehicle we use....does all we need.....the truck would be to long to fit down our runways.....thats why we have this.....just like a truck......but fits in smaller places.

[virgil]

Hey Reed i would make him wheel you around in it while giving the tour. That way your hands will be free to piont and show different things as you ride around.

[Reed68]

Heyyyyyyyy! Rusty, Thats a good idea now that Virgil thought of it.

[J&L Whitetails]

I have a Polaris ranger, It is one of the best tools I own. Use it for an array of projects. great for spraying / fence maintenance / yard work at house. It is also a blast to go and play with, put a beverage cooler in the back and a pal alongside and go on tour. It is amazing where you can take these things.

[Rustyblaster]

If I'm gonna be toting Reed around than maybe we need to skip the $31.97 models and go for the super capacity ones.:D:p

[ANTLER VALLEY]

Wicked, I'll try to take some pics today. The price is right for sure. Nothing like having that heat when the wind hits fast and the temps bottom out.

[ANTLER VALLEY]

This is my chore truck. I was wrong on the capacity. You can haul 24 buckets without stacking. Yesterday I had a bundle of steel on it that I hauled about 1/4 mile from the road to where I'm building an outdoor handling facility near my chute barn. We estimated the bundle weighed about 1300 lbs.