Garden Tractor died, considering options - ATV?

Thanks Dennis! Hoping to make the GTG so I can see your setup in person.

I just got back from a local shop that sold every brand of ATV under the sun. I found out that as a basic rule of thumb one needs to add about $1200 to the list price to cover all the additional fees. The salesman wanted to sell me a Polaris 570 Sportsman and when I pressed him why he was honest enough to say he would make a better commission and I really didn't need anything more than the Polaris 450 HO that I came in to look at. I was a bit shocked at how big these machines are - would require a bit more path width that I am used to with the old tractor.

$7200 for the Polaris 450 HO would be a hard sell with the better half.

For now I'm going to sit tight and keep my eyes open for something in the used market place. No need to rush with 7+ years worth in the stacks.

 

Hay, that's not funny!




As to a small footprint ATV that can do it all, I'd recommend a Kawasaki bayou 300 4x4. They are nearly bombproof. I use mine for everything.

 

ATVs are like cars in that if beat on them, they typically won't be as reliable.


We've had our 05 Polaris sportsman 500 ho ATV since new in 2004. It's been very reliable. It only has needed a starter motor so far, and a couple of batteries over the 12-13 years.

The belt drive works pretty darn well on these machines. They've got it figured out.

 

Hmm, around here we see them for much less

Yes there's setup and taxes etc, but when we bought our new sportsman it was only about $500 added. This new 450 is less $ than our 500 HO was over 10 years ago. It's pretty close to the same machine as ours too.

 

Wow-thats a huge price difference-looks like a road-trip is in order HarvestMan and a beer for Horkn for looking out for our brethren...This place is special...I trust all are well

 

$3-4k buys a very nice used 4x4 if you shop a bit. I like to purchase from private owners...no dealers for me. Anything 300 cc and up will do what you want.
I personally don't like full time 4x4, hard to steer, tears up the yard more, more wear n tear on the machine, lots of parasitic power loss, etc, etc.
4x4 that can be disengaged is a big deal IMO.
My $0.02

 

I don't know how Kawasaki did it, but the full time 4wd on the 4wd bayous doesn't steer hard, doesn't tear grass up, and certainly doesn't wear the drivetrain any more than selectable 4wds do. Maybe because it's a light machine at 300 lbs vs twice that weight for our 500 sportsman, the differential , or what, but it's so simple and works great. My bayou has been run hard, most of it's life, you can see that. But even still, over 25 yrs old and only one of the 2 u joints on the front driveshaft is getting replaced as the other one is on great shape.

 

I have a 700 grizzly that I bought new, I love it for hunting, trail riding etc, but it's a pain to use around the house, yard work, brush hauling etc., when my son got interested in atvs, I knew one of two things would happen, he'd ride it for 20 minutes and lose interest, or he'd be on it for hours beating it up, trying stupid stuff, and tearing it up, either one of those pointed me to the cheap and used market. I found a 98 Polaris 300 explorer for $1000. I went to look at it, it practically had slicks on it from lots of pavement riding, and decals half missing and very dirty. I offered the guy $800 and he took it. I brought it home, pulled the wheels off, trashed the tires, sandblasted the wheels and had them powder coated and put on a new set of mud lites, cleaned up the whole bike, fixed an exhaust leak, and put a new decal kit on it. I'm all in about $1300 for a 4x4 quad and it's very easy to use around the house, has hauled some serious loads as well. I'm not saying they are the best looking quads by any means, but the boy rides it a lot, and surprisingly takes very good care of it as well. It has went a lot of places my grizzly wouldn't go. I don't think I'd buy another new quad unless I was in a hurry.

 

I prefer to look for private party deals. Many people get into toys like 4 wheelers then don't use them much and unload them. I picked up a 2008 Polaris sportsman 800 with 350 miles on it last year, it was literally like new for $3900. Less than 1/2 of retail. Sounds like more machine than you need, but if your patient and ready to pounce when find the right deal you can save a lot of

 

I've got a 2000 Explorer 250 like hdtoolmkr765 has.
For a cheap quad, it has been great. They are easily found for around $1k.

 

You know you miss that old cub

 

I made the switch just in time I guess. I ran a 1517 Cub with a 20 cf craftsman trailer for years. I have a few acres of field that I'd drive the package to the wood line and then go in and cut. So I was lugging the wood out to the field by hand or shoulder and then cutting to stove length before loading the craftsman and hauling it up to the yard. The 1517 is my grass cutter too. So I was a little nervous I was going to loose my cutter and hauler. Maybe more importantly, I was tired of hauling wood that way knowing that I could actually drive in if I had a different vehicle. I bit the bullet and got the Polaris 500HO. That was 6 years ago and I'll never look back. Best thing I could've done.
I ran the craftsman behind the ATV until it said it had had enough wood hauling. Last December I bought the Yutrax duelly trailer. So far, it's a perfect match. The craftsman is still around for yard and garden work.

 

That is for sure! If I had a time machine, I'd go back and buy another one right now.

I did get a bit of good news yesterday when talking with the neighbor who lets me cut wood on his property. He asked why I wasn't cutting wood lately; explained to him my cub cadet died and he told me just to cut what I wanted and he would haul all the wood back to my house using his tractor and trailer!

I am going to give "micro hoarding" a try this year and see how it goes. I cut on the property behind me and can haul out the wood using my hand pulled garden cart for much of the property (that does leave out some really good wood at the bottom of a ravine on the property). As I cut, I plan to stack it next to the two main paths I use on the property. Every time I take my dog out for a walk, I'm hoping to bring back a cart full and see if I can keep that up throughout the season. I've had a lot of ideas over the years that seemed good in theory but turned out not so good in practice! We shall see how this one turns out ...

 

Aww man, don't give up on this perfect opportunity to justify a new toy...err, I mean tool.

 

Not so fast ... you underestimate my cunning spirit!
Whenever I get tired of this little experiment, all I need do is lament to my wife how hard and exhausting the manual wood gathering has become and she will tell me to go out and buy something. Before then I can suggest I purchase a new saw as I have saved so much money by not buying a new wood hauler!
So, it appears that one really can "have their cake and eat it too"!

p.s. This is not my plan ... but even a Saint entertains thoughts of sinning from time to time.

 

Nothing wrong with that! I have a little cart from tractor supply that has seen a many cord of wood. That same little cart will hold two days worth of wood three when it's not real cold. So if you pulled a few here and there you'd still be ahead. I bought the cub instead of a quad one for the bucket and two the price. You can still pick these old tractor up for a song if you keep your eyes peeled. Almost forgot my little carts handle will spin around so you can tow it behind the tractor. It's not any good for going in the wood but in the yard it works well.

 

I have a 350 rancher that i picked up 13 yrs ago. It hauled quite a bit of wood and only thing that has been replaced was the rectifier, a $15 part. Dont overlook the used hondas.

 

With the snow gone and the cold back I've been pulling out what I've been cutting yesterday and today. This rig is great for my woods. It's tight, rocky, sometimes wet.
The trailer rolls great but needs some add ons to keep all the wood in on rough terrain.

 

The boy and I drug this out of a barn about 30 minutes from home last week. Guy said it had a bent A arm cause it set very crooked in front after he hit a rock and put spare tire on. Got it home and found a worn wheel bearing, also his spare was a 23" tire, the other side had a 25" tire.




Good carb cleaning, flushed tank, new battery, new set of wheels and a set of tires I had in the shop, about 6-8 hours of elbow grease, the boy has himself his next quad, all in under $700. There are deals out there.

 

Got myself a couple toys in the same deal as well.