I guess I should back up...I've never personally seen the slime in an indoor tank, that "data" came from our fuel guy at work. We have a large portable genny with a 200 gallon tank...it's always been treated with an enzyme treatment that is supposed to cure all the world's problems...which the genny has indeed always start/run fine. But last year our fuel guy pulled a sample and it looked like a combo of diesel and muddy water (but no actual water was seen) so we opted to suck that fuel out and burn it in something less important than the genny, then genny got a fresh tank...we will do a better job keeping an eye on how it looks from now on. This is in a heated garage too...but I'd hafta to think an unheated garage, although a lot better than outside, could still have moisture issues, with the temp swings n all...
I have both. A 2004 Honda Foreman and a 2013 Kubota. The ATV is more nimble-but when it comes to work the RTV wins hands down. No racks or trailers needed-for firewood put all your supplies in the bed and go. Hauling wood-with racks I can get close to a 1/3 of a full cord in The bed-and then pull a lever from the seat to dump it. Both units have been trouble free and bullet proof. The Kubota has had annual oil, filter, and air filter changes, and I change all other fluids every 5 years. I replaced the battery after 10 years. It’s loud, slow, and not fun to drive-but if you want a work machine….
With the dense jungles of New England I’ll vote for the ATV. Throw a log arch on back or front and it’s a game changer. Our woods are just a little too dense for a UTV and an arch. The arch means I’m lifting nothing. The UTV will certainly win in a pulling contest with extra weight, power and more aggressive tires. The ATV makes up for it with its ability to go into tight places a UTV can’t. 50% of the time I enjoy bushwhacking, just going off any trail at all and exploring little bits of forest I would never have seen from any trail. With the front hitch you can really thread your way into a mess without cutting saplings. We have a long tradition of trying not to cut any saplings down just to retrieve a downed tree. I have bum legs and back. Quite often sit side saddle to back up with the arch or trailer. A tree surrounded by saplings I grabbed from a neighbors property. Granted driving an atv or utv on a public road with the log arch in front is not for the feint of heart LOL. One wrong move and you’ll be eating it. Not highly recommended.
I have 2 JD 825i’s, one with a canopy & the other is enclosed but no ac/or heat (plenty of heat off the engine once it warms up ). They both work great for what I do. I wouldn’t go back to an ATV. Bought both used. My Dad & brother both have enclosed 835’s & use the heck out of them for choring with cattle.
I've had two ATVs and two UTVs here over the years and have been using an ATV since 2019. While I agree that the UTVs are an upgrade, and there are things I miss about the Rangers, my woods are too constrictive for a UTV unless I want to cut a lot of unnecessary trees/saplings down (which I don't). Even when I had the UTVs, I was still often pulling a trailer so the ATV/trailer combo doesn't bother me. If I had more open acreage, I might opt for a UTV again, but otherwise the ATV is more than enough. (The pic below isn't on my property but was an area where I used to have access to scrounge dead and down. There were trails/roads there that were great for a UTV but the ATV did everything I needed it to do. My woods are much more constrictive.) Regarding getting on/off the ATV versus getting in a UTV - since I'm having a similar hip issue and also pending hip replacement surgery (as we discussed in another post), the ATV is 100% more comfortable for me at the moment. Sitting in a vehicle is excruciatingly painful because of the hip angle, regardless whether it's a car, truck, tractor, etc. Other than some twinges when climbing on the ATV, I can sit on that with no pain because the seating position is much different. Just something to consider.
You will like that Honda, we got the 1000-5 Pioneer, Trail Edition. It has full bench seat up front, with 2 fold down seats in back. That way, still has bed for hauling and it's not so big. Also shaft drive.
We have a motorsprts mechanic around the corner. He says they are very good machines. He is unbiased because he dislikes all off road machines regardless of brand. He's a street bike and drag car guy.
Im partial to a UTV but I also use ours to plow our driveway and private road. Also to grade it sometimes to and of course work my food plot. Honestly you'd be well served with either but the UTV is much more comfortable and can obviously accommodate a second person.
At our family property "up north" we have both. A small fleet of ATV's and one UTV, a John Deere Gator. For firewood collecting I prefer the Gator. It has a dump box. I can take two people and sawing equipment into the woods and come back with a load of firewood that is quick unloaded using the dump box. The ATV's we have also used and we had those first. We have a small trailer that can be towed behind and probably holds more wood than the dump box but it is a pain if you need to back up and/or turn around. Both work though. We have made an extensive network of trails over the last 40 years on our 160 acres.
