For those who may have had both of these at some time, which vehicle do you find better when working with firewood?
Depends a lot on your wood lot...how open is it? Tight trails kinda stink with a UTV IMO...I personally prefer an ATV just in general...
Buggies offer more utility for me. Enclosing and adding heat was an absolute game changer. If I were still trying to mix recreation and utility I may favor a quad.
My wood lot is long and narrow with hills. I would estimate the woods to be 300 yards long and up to 100 yards wide. I do have a trail cut thru the woods and I use my garden tractor to do the hauling. I don't know if an ATV or UTV would be any better. A UTV would give me the benefit of not having to use my trailer to haul saws and other equipment.
Erik B ... have had a couple atvs... last one with tracks, sliding logs out in the winter. After one drive in my son's utv... (I'm now 71)... I wouldn't even consider climbing up on an atv again. Loading & dumping loads at the back, and stepping into a comfortable ride, sure would be nice. Many run tracks on utvs too. They become tanks then. Have fun.
I'm 78 and going in for hip replacement next month, so there is that. At this point I don't know how much I would use it during the winter. I have been trying to get all of my wood work done during spring, summer and fall.
Same here, agree with the comments. UTV has a dump bed, so I can double how much I carry vs ATV. UTV can pull more weight. UTV is covered in weather. If you have tight trails or a small woodlot, ATV is good. Other than than, UTV is better.
You can have both rec and utility in a UTV. Everyone makes their own version of these now. Hybrid between the sport models and utility models. Has a dump bed, tows 2k lbs, sporty suspension to handle trails with ease, can get up to 70mph.
Fully aware at attempts to comingle. Gotta give up stuff on either side, so I choose utility. Nice ride.
All of my experience is with the Kubota diesel utv with a cab. I would recommend it if you don’t mind noise and being slow. Typical Kubota durability. Shifting is clunky. If you have saws, gas and bar oil in the bed, you better be pulling a trailer, if you want to haul wood home. If I had 30k to burn and 50+ acres in the foothills, I’d get one.
I wouldn't be looking at spending more than 15K. We do have a Honda dealer not far from here and they have a great reputation. I bought my Ariens snow blower from them.
Just one guys opinion, but I would not get a diesel UTV. They are louder, slower, drive worse, and more expensive than they need to be compared to a Japanese gas unit. My uncle has a Kubota RTV and I have a Kawasaki FXT. I would get in the Kawi every time for every task over the Kubota.
I have experience with the Botas. Comparitively speaking in terms of performance, they are easily over a decade behind. BUT...and it's a big but...aside from maintenance they will ask for nothing...over a very long period (more than a decade), so there's that too. Example would be the long term unit I know. Two decades of use. The only real failure the machine has had was that the rubber on the front CV shafts broke down and rotted. Never needed brake pads or anything. It does work but is not abused. Nobody will ever be impressed by a test ride. Very undewhelming. They will just go seemingly forever, just not very quickly or comfortably. Uncommon in today's world.
They still are buying Mule 4010s, which is just an upgraded 3010 that came out in 2001. I can see that side of things, though I'm not absolute. It's nice when stuff just works.
If you look at them strictly for moving firewood I would go with atv all the way. Perhaps the biggest thing for me is that the bed is higher and that means more lifting. When you are young that is not such a big deal but as you age and the body begins to let you know the work is harder then you will notice even an additional foot to lift things; that is a lot. Think in terms of how many pieces you have to lift per load and it adds up quickly. Another thing is getting around in the woods. Not only are atv's smaller they are also not so tall, which means less work keeping trails open. It is a lot of work in most woods keeping trails open so why make it more work trimming up high. I also think of the times a log or 2 needs to get dragged out a bit. Backing up a utv and seeing how close you need to be... You just don't have as much vision backing up a utv. An enclosed cab (costs much more) but are wonderful when it is really cold and windy or it starts raining or snowing (but hotter in summer). They are also good if you have a passenger. They are more expensive and take more room in barn or shed. To me, another drawback is the noise factor. In the cab, they are very noisy. All in all, like anything else, you look at what your circumstances are and go with what is good for you. I also think it seems to be a prestige thing with folks. I could care less about that. If that means a lot to you then go for it. FWIW, because I've attempted to put on paper some of my feelings, my choice is a Yamaha 650. The extras I have is heated handlebar grips, a winch and snow blade. Tires are showing some wear but I do not use it for recreation except for an occasional ride down the road and back. I bought it 16 years ago. Very little repair at all.
Ive driven both the original and the X variant. The X variant is more comfortable with much more suspension travel. They look far better to in my opinion. Still slow but as you stated, they are very reliable.
