Four Wheeler Instead of Tractor...More questions please 12-3-16

[fergusnc]

So our two hay fields are completely managed by "our guy"...grading company owner full time, but farmer with experience on our actual property, and a horse guy, sort of Jack of all trades, so not knowing a term that does him justice, I just call him "our guy". He is here a lot for various projects...every few months I would say...and he will push/flip the manure pile at that time. We pay him to dig post holes as we put up fence. The horses keep their pastures "mowed" on their own. We mow other areas with a riding mower...yards, around pond. No arena yet. Our guy will do all our fertilizing and spraying as needed, for a very reasonable price. I scoop all the poop piles in the two acre pasture area by hand right now.

I am happy to save money by avoiding a big purchase and just pay our guy hourly as needed....if it makes sense. To drag the fields for breaking up poop, and for dragging the eventual arena I need something....I just assumed I needed a tractor, but in talking it over with some friends and our guy we really feel like we could do the dragging with a four wheeler. And not a mule or gator or Polaris type vehicle...an actual four wheeler that people ride for fun in the woods and such. Our guy mentioned something like 350 in relation to size/power...I am clueless in that but think that was the number he said.

Anyone do this? Thoughts? For the mowing, we couldn't get a tractor everywhere anyway...but our riding mower does well. Takes a long time, but that's no big deal. Our guy says he is on board and has time...his family lives on our road so he is out here almost daily.

It seems to make sense to us, but wanted to see if I was missing anything.

12-3-16...so when asking our "nanny" (who was my old barn manager where I boarded two barns ago and who cares for several barns as her occupation) about people who use 4-wheelers for barn chores, I found out her awesome DH rebuilds them as a hobby. He actually was working on two at the time, one of which they thought would be a good fit. He is very knowleagble on different brands, different years, and even comparing/contrasting 4-wheelers and what they call side by sides (gators, mules, etc). Last weekend they hauled a 4-wheeler out to our place for a tutorial...I have never even sat on one, lol. And they were so great with my novice status and nerves. Anyway, after talking it to death, AGAIN, and revisiting costs related to all the equipment out there, we decided to buy "Bee"...this 4-wheeler is bright yellow and black and reminds me of Bumblebee from the Transformer movies. We will probably get him tomorrow. We talked about the small drags from Tractor Supply for dragging the pastures to break up poop, but I would love feedback from those of you who have successfully used 4-wheelers for farm chores...or have friends who do...as far as brands, things to consider, avoid/seek out, etc for getting a sprayer and a spreader for fertilizer/seed. Maybe a manure spreader someday. Bee has a ball for attaching things behind, in case that affects rec's. The ball could also come off allowing for use of a cotter pin set up too, per our friend. And totally unrelated...it was FUN to drive, and I laughed the whole time realizing I was looking into my corners, keeping my heels down, and going into modified two-point at times. Once I even gave it leg and clucked at it over some ruts, forgetting I needed to use GAS.

[Chisamba]

Does it get muddy, do you get snow, will you need to clear paths or gates in the winter?

[fergusnc]

Does it get muddy, do you get snow, will you need to clear paths or gates in the winter?

Very very rare that snow happens, and rarer that it stays around into the next day. We get rain in the winters instead of snow, and it can get muddy for stretches of time in places where grass isn't established (just a few patches or trails where lines have recently been buried, or run off happens). We get storms in the summers and it will be very muddy for 24 hours and then bake away in the sun. My "poop road" down to the manure pile is a dirt road, packed. But I only go down in with the wheelbarrow…when "our guy" works the manure pile with machinery, he is just mindful of conditions. We have a riding area all around the perimeter of the pastures that we mow with the riding mower….tractor couldn't get in there. As far as "clearing gates", I am not sure what you mean? We have 12' gates everywhere, some with good grass at the threshold and some with dirt/driveway at threshold.

What do you think?

[Chisamba]

I have a tractor. It is not practical for me to pay a considerable amount of money for something that does only one job. If i am buying something, i prefer to get something that can carry, dump, drag and spread. If you do not want a tractor, i would recommend at minimun, a working four wheeler.

I would not walk to the manure pile with a wheelbarrow while the four wheeler sits idle. Why not get something that will carry your manure, shavings, hay, weeds, buckets etc etc, also drag?

If you want to go.four wheeling, and do not.mind spending the.money on a vehicle rhat has limited purpose, go with a four wheeler.

I personally would prefer to be.less dependent on "a guy".

That is just me.

[Canyon]

A friend of mine uses an ATV to drag her sand arena with a small harrow similar to this and to pull her small manure spreader. Many people around here use ATVs for farm chores.

FWIW, my FIL had a blade on the front of his teeny riding lawn mower that did an adequate job plowing up to maybe 5" of snow, but he had to make quite a few passes with it!

[fergusnc]

One of the points of the 4-wheeler would be putting an end to me taking a wheelbarrow down Poop Road…once i have it I will drag the pastures at least weekly to break up poop. Right now only about 2.5 acres are fenced as pasture, with maybe 1 more acre to be fenced in the next 6 or 8 months. I am holding off on fencing hay fields to make it easier for haying. The rest of the property is front/back lawns, woods and grassy areas around the pond.

I only have 2 horses and can't imagine having anything more than possibly a 3rd critter…maybe a donkey as opposed to a third horse…ever. I have 2 stalls set up in the barn, and my horses are out 24/7 unless the weather is really bad or there is unsafe mud, and for feedings. So there isn't much to transport in the wheelbarrow from the stalls once I have something to break up the poop in the fields. Right now they use the bigger stall as a run in, but DH is in the process of finishing an extension to the barn that is a run-in, and when he is done, no more stall access/poop and pee potential during turnout time.

I don't mind relying on "our guy" for now…he has been great for quite awhile, seems to love being back on our place, works like a dog, and is really close. If it ever happens that I can't get him to do the very few chores we seem to need a tractor for, or if he stops haying for us and we can't find a replacement person, I figure I can buy a tractor/bush hog then…if I can't find anyone to bush hog for me for money. We are surrounded by neighbors with tractors, though I know they have a lotto keep up with at their own places.

I have heard that a utility 4 wheeler does not hold up as well to dragging things behind as does a plain 4-wheeler…something about belts vs whatever if the opposite of belts. Heard that from a couple farm/mechanic types. Thus the plain 4-wheeler plan. You can drag a (manual) dump cart, a spreader (if we want to do the horse pastures or other grassy areas for lime, fertilizer, etc), arena drag (for poop and arena), can use for putting up the no-climb horse safe fencing we have (a friend brought his 4-wheeler over for pasture #1) and can get one that has a sort of shelf thing on back to transport some things. So lots more than 1 function on a smaller property. Plain 4-wheelers are a lot cheaper than even used tractors, and I think cheaper than the utility 4-wheelers like mules, etc.

One of the problems is finding a used tractor around here…the hobby farm size we need…even having auction-savvy farm folks on the look out for us, the prices just aren't great, and new tractors are really not great. And we have heard from lifelong farm folks how much better the older tractors are than new ones, in their humble opinions, lol.

We, and every neighbor and horse friend involved in the conversation, just took it as a given that a tractor was a necessary item in a 12 acre place. But after a little over a year, we started looking at things from different angles, and were surprised that this seemed like a viable, affordable option. And more surprised to have a farmer/our guy familiar with the work load and plan for future projects change his mind about need of a tractor. I know of 1 horse friend who does what we plan to do with it, but didn't know how common it was in the horses world.

Thanks for the input guys!

[kande50]

One of the points of the 4-wheeler would be putting an end to me taking a wheelbarrow down Poop Road…once i have it I will drag the pastures at least weekly to break up poop.

We're equipment junkies so have quite a few tractors and 4 wheelers, and the biggest 4 wheelers have a hard time doing what the smallest tractors can do, which includes dragging the indoor. I used a 4 wheeler for awhile, but it really had to work to pull the harrow around.

Part of the problem with 4 wheelers is traction, and part may be a torque problem, but I just bought a small Kubota tractor with a york rake because I wanted something that would fit in the run-ins better, and I like it better than any other piece of equipment we have on the place. No bucket though, because we already had a couple of tractors with buckets and they're just one more thing to keep track of when I'm trying to maneuver in tight spaces.

[fergusnc]

Kande...what "size" 4-wheeler had trouble dragging? I don't know how they are sized but feel like they are numbered, like 250, 350, etc and I feel like we were told 350 as a guess for us but I have seen bigger "numbers" on ads and online. Do you think a bigger powered one would have worked better?

I think the arena we will be able to fit where I want it will be about 85'x135' or so at its biggest. I was wondering about maneuverability of a tractor in that space...if we did end up getting a tractor we would get a bucket on the front...and thought maybe getting into corners would be easier with a 4-wheeler?

I have ZERO experience with 4-wheelers and only very second hand experience with tractors, so....how would a 4-wheeler have trouble with traction? Isn't that the point of them that they can take you anywhere? Or do they gain traction in a messy way?

Thanks all! Trying to avoid regrets with lots of info gathering, researching and polling of people with personal experiences before making a purchase!

[kande50]

Kande...what "size" 4-wheeler had trouble dragging? I don't know how they are sized but feel like they are numbered, like 250, 350, etc and I feel like we were told 350 as a guess for us but I have seen bigger "numbers" on ads and online. Do you think a bigger powered one would have worked better?

If I'm remembering right it was a 350, 4WD. I had to keep it revved up to pull the weight, so it was working.

[/quote]I think the arena we will be able to fit where I want it will be about 85'x135' or so at its biggest. I was wondering about maneuverability of a tractor in that space...if we did end up getting a tractor we would get a bucket on the front...and thought maybe getting into corners would be easier with a 4-wheeler?[/quote]

It would, as the bucket is a pain. It can be taken off, but the arms still stick out I use a york rake more than anything else though, and need a 3pt hitch for that so a 4 wheeler wouldn't work for me.

I have ZERO experience with 4-wheelers and only very second hand experience with tractors, so....how would a 4-wheeler have trouble with traction? Isn't that the point of them that they can take you anywhere? Or do they gain traction in a messy way?

4 wheelers can go fast over rough terrain, but aren't very well designed for pushing or pulling weight. Having a 4 wheeler would be like having a little tractor with no pto or 3 point hitch. You could pull things around and push a plow, but it wouldn't be set up to add a bucket, york rake, mower, back hoe, or any of those nifty attachments that make tractors so useful.

[Chisamba]

So long as you drag is as wide as the tractor you can get as far inro the corners, , further with a tractor and a york rake because you can raise the rake, back in and drag forward, although I do some hand raking too.

Its not the size of the riding area that matters, 4 wheelers do not pull well in sand. They also tend to make wave patterns with a drag. The tractor at our indoor was out for two weeks and the 4 wheeler left the footing very wavey. And did not smooth out the track around the edge. I go to teach at a friends house, and her arena is also very
Wavey and uneven. She uses a four wheeler and a drag.....now that you mention it.

Perhaps it is not a "powerful " enough 4 wheeler.

[NancyP]

We have 3 ATV's and a MF Farm tractor. We're in Ontario and get SNOW.
The bucket on the tractor is handy for toting firewood and scraping mud. The rear hydraulics are good for our 5' snow blower... but we get SNOW. And have a large circlular lane plus the big lane to the barn.
We rarely use the bucket for pushing snow.
We also have a bush hog which is a very handy piece of equipment...but... used only a couple of times a year.
DH does blow out other peoples snowy driveways and mow their over grown yards fields. And totes firewood.
LOL... I think he's a bit like the OP's 'guy'
We also use the tractor to pull hay wagons for a couple of days in June.

I use the middle-sized ATV for dragging my ring. I believe it is a '400' maybe a '450'.
It is a 1999 Honda ...we've had it for at least 10 years and I love it. You could have a small tow-behind cart for manure. I just use a wheelbarrow for stalls ...but my guys are out pretty much 24/7.

Our other ATV is a '600' or '650' and it is too big for me.
The other one is a '50' and it is useless other than to trail-ride. Slowly. Our 8 yr old grandson can handle it fairly well.

Our neighbour has a plow on the front of his ATV and he does his driveway with it, but it is not a very big driveway.

[Sue B]

We have a tractor ('61 massey-ferguson 30hp with pto, 4wd) and no 4-wheelers. We have a bush hog, a harrow, a rennovator and a box blade for it--the only thing that would make it better is a bucket, but it really isn't powerful enough. We also have a sprayer with a pump that runs off the pto, pretty handy when you have a large pasture like we do. Lots of folks around here use 4-wheelers though but mainly for running around to irrigate, burn weeds and spray weeds. You can go lots faster on them and they can get in smaller spots than we can, but lots of folks also get in bad 4-wheeler accidents; so if you get one, please be very careful. Count me amoung those who are not fond of using them in the arena; our tractor does a much more even job than a 4-wheeler can.

[Fatcat]

Yes, we got by with a Honda 250 Fourtrax for our 5 acres until just this spring. We used it to drag the arena, the fields and it even pulled the manure spreader. However, We did have access to my dads big 1959 MF tractor for mowing, post hole digging, bucket work, and all else.

I must say we were so amazed how much nicer it is to have our own tractor after all these years. We will be using it this weekend to remove a stretch of fence that's going to be replaced over Labor Day weekend. We use our tractor all the time now that we have one readily available.

[Quelah]

A fun forest running quad won't have the lower gearing appropriate for slow heavy work like dragging a ring unless drag is very light. Super for poop runs and feeding though.

[redsoxluvr]

I have a spring tooth harrow and a fixed tine manure spreader for arena drags. I drag my sand arena primarily with our lawn mower. The mower will not pull the fixed tine drag in the arena as it does not have enough power. The drag weighs around 100 pounds. The spring tooth drag is around 40 pounds and it does fine. We live in the desert and the arena can get very hard as we do not get much rain. Once or twice per year we pay our neighbor to drag the arena with the heavy drag or a box blade. We thought about getting a tractor, but for the few times per year we use one doesn't justify the price tag. We have used a 350 ATV for our arena with the light drag and it does fine. Caveat - our sand is not horribly deep. IF you have a very soft sand arena you will need more horse power.

[Tarlo Farm]

I have about a 24 Horse M-F. In the span of 24 hours I just used my cultivator, back blade, landscape rake, seeder, and drag. In the weeks before that, I used the cultivator and chain to pull underbrush and debris out of the woods to pile and burn. A good tractor is so expensive because you should only buy one once - unless you change size.

[fergusnc]

12-3-16...so when asking our "nanny" (who was my old barn manager where I boarded two barns ago and who cares for several barns as her occupation) about people who use 4-wheelers for barn chores, I found out her awesome DH rebuilds them as a hobby. He actually was working on two at the time, one of which they thought would be a good fit. He is very knowleagble on different brands, different years, and even comparing/contrasting 4-wheelers and what they call side by sides (gators, mules, etc). Last weekend they hauled a 4-wheeler out to our place for a tutorial...I have never even sat on one, lol. And they were so great with my novice status and nerves. Anyway, after talking it to death, AGAIN, and revisiting costs related to all the equipment out there, we decided to buy "Bee"...this 4-wheeler is bright yellow and black and reminds me of Bumblebee from the Transformer movies. We will probably get him tomorrow. We talked about the small drags from Tractor Supply for dragging the pastures to break up poop, but I would love feedback from those of you who have successfully used 4-wheelers for farm chores...or have friends who do...as far as brands, things to consider, avoid/seek out, etc for getting a sprayer and a spreader for fertilizer/seed. Maybe a manure spreader someday. Bee has a ball for attaching things behind, in case that affects rec's. The ball could also come off allowing for use of a cotter pin set up too, per our friend. And totally unrelated...it was FUN to drive, and I laughed the whole time realizing I was looking into my corners, keeping my heels down, and going into modified two-point at times. Once I even gave it leg and clucked at it over some ruts, forgetting I needed to use GAS.

[Rockabilly]

I have about a 24 Horse M-F. In the span of 24 hours I just used my cultivator, back blade, landscape rake, seeder, and drag. In the weeks before that, I used the cultivator and chain to pull underbrush and debris out of the woods to pile and burn. A good tractor is so expensive because you should only buy one once - unless you change size.

Or have a wreck!

[fergusnc]

"Bee" arrived yesterday afternoon and is tucked in a designated spot in a newly re-org'ed spot TLGB. Even just driving him down to the barn was fun!
If anyone had brand info or thing she to consider for the implements to pull behind based on personal or semi-personal experience, please let me know. I haven't started my research on that yet.

Thanks!

[Kyra's Mom]

Just "bee" careful. I swear the 4 wheelers rival or exceed horses for admits to our trauma center. You don't want one rearing up and coming down on top of you.

Other than that...enjoy.

Susan

[fergusnc]

Won't gen playing..just working. The fastest I have dared go so far MAY be 5 mph.