Need opinions

[44man]

I want to buy a 4X4 ATV with 2 seats and a bed like the Deere Gator or Polaris Trail Rover.
I need something to pull a trailer load of firewood up my hill or go anywhere to haul out deer.
For the money what machine should I look at? I am not too enthused about Honda.

[waksupi]

I used a Kawasaki Mule when I was managing ranch wild lands. It would go on some scary steep places. The ranch hand wouldn't ride with me on some of them.

[Mal Paso]

Gator is better than the Mule and was the choice of a professional caretaker I work for over Kubota and the rest. Maybe it was the owners (nobody here) but every Mule I've driven had issues.

Plus, them Mule Drivers are just plane crazy. [smilie=l:

[Ed Barrett]

When I worked at the Dept. of Corrections we used Kawasaki mules, several farmers around here have JD Gators, can't see much difference as far as where they will go. Only problem I had with the K mules is getting them into 4wheel after they get a little older.

[danski26]

I used the Polaris on my elk hunt last year in Colorado and it worked very well. I've haven't used any other brand so i can't compare...sorry. Although 6 inches of snow limits the Polaris and 12 inches makes it about useless. Mud, sand, rocks, steep incline, over logs.....good to go. Snow though, not so much.

[firefly1957]

+1 for the Gator I have never used one but my daughter is a industrial engineer there so I have to give it my vote.

[DanWalker]

When I was killing pigs on catalina, one of the girls in the eagle rehab program was almost run over by her own gator during a clifftop eagle nest survey, when the parking brake came un-set. I'm guessing she just didn't engage it properly. Either way, she said she heard a "pop" behind her, and jumped out of the way as it came zooming down the hill at her. It launched off of a cliff, and landed about 400 feet down on some rocks at the edge of the ocean.
We called the dealership that had donated it to us, and told them we smashed it up. They insisted that we send it back to them. They were pretty sure they could fix it. I would've loved to have seen the faces at the dealership when the pile of mangled wreckage we sent them, arrived via ferry.
Anecdotes aside, my best friend has a Polaris Ranger and it is a phenomenal machine.

[runfiverun]

i'm a fan of polaris atv's but it seems the rest of the world has caught up with them recently.

i partially followed a john deer utv up the canyon last year in my bronco ,right after a sloppy wet snow storm that felled trees everywhere.
the deer went right up the canyon in that mess and went over some trees i wasn't too enthused about driving the bronco over, soi got out the chain and pulled them paralell to the road.
I lasted about 1 hr worth of that and come back down.
i was pretty impressed after that.

[Lloyd Smale]

If your looking for reliability id look seriously at a yamaha 450 rhino. If you want to use your wrenches buy a polaris. The mule and gator are rugged but fit and finish is kind of rough. The kawasaki terex is another decent one.

[gmsharps]

I have a Kubota that I use on my property in TX. It has a Diesel engine in it and so far I have no issues with it's performance. I do not do the hot rodding that I see a lot of folks do on some of the ATV's. I'm satisfied to be able to get to where I need to and get back at a leisurely pace. I got the hydraulic bed option that has come in handy on several occasions. One thing that depending on the person that could be good or bad is when you let off of the accelerator it stops. No need to use the emergency brake. There are a lot of machines out there today some relatively cheap and most are I thnk more than they are worth. I'd say go to all of the dealers and sit on each one and compare the features and see how well they are built and see what your wallet will allow you to live with.

gmsharps

[41 mag fan]

One thing I found about the ATV's like the gator or Mule, if you live in an area like me, where even in winter the woods are thick, a four wheeler is much better at getting around.

[44man]

Thanks guys, gives me things to think about.
I am tired of the machine I bought from an old man uptown. It has done good duty but is useless in a few inches of snow or any mud. It is a Brister Chuck Wagon. Two wheel drive with no posi traction. Centrifugal clutch and the engine is governed so it gets very slow up hill and if there is any dust in the air cleaner the engine will slow so the clutch kicks out.
It is not rough here and I go slow anyway. I am getting too old to drag deer a few hundred yards to the machine and want to go deeper in.
I cut firewood down my hill and speed is not important but power is. I don't want to have the engine slow and one wheel start to spin.
Some dealers are very far away too.
I want the lowest price for dependability.

[Mal Paso]

This Gator is a firewood hauler. I made this Rack to hold tools and protect the roof when hauling long stuff. It bolts to the ROPS so as not to weaken it or scorch the paint by welding.