Does anyone have experience using an ATV to cultivate food plots?
I am interested in using an ATV to cultivate food plots that are too small to use a tractor or are inaccessible to a farm tractor. I wonder what those with experience consider minimum displacement necessary to pull implements such as a tow-behind sprayer, a small cultivator, a small set of discs and a tow-behind fertilizer spreader. I presume four-wheel drive is a necessity.
Where do those who use an ATV for such work source the implements described above?
Recommendations on an ATV which is reliable and easy to service would be appreciated. I consider Honda products to be reliable and I looked at specs for a Honda Fourtrax Foreman 4X4. It has a single cylinder 518cc engine which seems to uninformed me to be impressive, displacement wise. I am aware there are other brands out there which nay serve me well,
I last owned a Arctic Cat 375 ATV years ago before I switched to side-by-side UTV (Kawasaki Mule) and it seemed to be at least acceptable to pull a tow-behind sprayer. It had a Suzuki engine which never gave me any trouble but one of my gripes with the Arctic Cat was how hard it seemed to me to access the engine area for service.
Thanks in advance for guidance.
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ATV Use
Re: ATV Use
I have a very dependable 2004 Polaris Sportsman 400 that I have used for snow plowing, towing a 25 gal sprayer, towing a brush hog and many other hard uses. While it’s great for towing wheeled equipment I wonder if it would have the umph to tow an implement that contacts dirt such as the disc you mentioned. It’s been wonderfully dependable for the 20 years I have worked it hard. It’s currently retired from snow plowing but it still pulls the sprayer and the brush hog.
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Re: ATV Use
Hatchdog -
I agree with you about wheeled implements being easier to tow than a small chisel plow or a small set of discs although such implements are made for ATV's. I am trying to get a feel for minimum power needed to pull those.
By the way, you sure live in a beautiful area. Is that your view in the morning? Wow!
I agree with you about wheeled implements being easier to tow than a small chisel plow or a small set of discs although such implements are made for ATV's. I am trying to get a feel for minimum power needed to pull those.
By the way, you sure live in a beautiful area. Is that your view in the morning? Wow!
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BrokenolMarine
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Re: ATV Use
You might want to look at the UTVs before making a hard decision on the atvs. We started with a Polaris Ranger 500 in VA mainly to run around the 20 acres to check the property and run up and down the 250 yard drive to check the mail. It had 4wd, a dump bed, windshield, rear window, and roof. Bench seat, and was easy to get in and out of. Once we had it, we found we used it, a lot. I sold it with the farm. New, it was about the same price as an atv.
When we got here, we bought a Ranger 1,000, more power, and winch on the front. You can add a snowplow, and we have a very nice sprayer that fits in the bed of the Ranger. Holds 65 gallons, pump runs off the Ranger's battery. It has both a wand for precise distribution, (Weedkiller) or a rear multinozzle boom for fertilizer.
We haul all kinds of things in the Ranger, and tow lots. We have pulled out buildings into position. I haul targets and supplies to and from the range, Tina hauls supplies to the barns. We run to the pond in the evening to fish.
The thing about the utvs, they are easier to enter/exit. Easier to drive. More comfortable, have the options for the roof, doors, heat, ac, to keep you out of the weather. Depending on the options and trim level, the cost of the larger utvs are in line with comparable atvs.
When we got here, we bought a Ranger 1,000, more power, and winch on the front. You can add a snowplow, and we have a very nice sprayer that fits in the bed of the Ranger. Holds 65 gallons, pump runs off the Ranger's battery. It has both a wand for precise distribution, (Weedkiller) or a rear multinozzle boom for fertilizer.
We haul all kinds of things in the Ranger, and tow lots. We have pulled out buildings into position. I haul targets and supplies to and from the range, Tina hauls supplies to the barns. We run to the pond in the evening to fish.
The thing about the utvs, they are easier to enter/exit. Easier to drive. More comfortable, have the options for the roof, doors, heat, ac, to keep you out of the weather. Depending on the options and trim level, the cost of the larger utvs are in line with comparable atvs.
You can tell a lot about the character of a man...
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
I don't look back at the things I can no longer do, I just look forward to the things I still can.
by the way he treats those who can do nothing for him.
I don't look back at the things I can no longer do, I just look forward to the things I still can.
Re: ATV Use
Devil Dog -
I own a Kawasaki Mule 4010 and for the majority of times, it is great. More comfortable than an ATV as you said above and the ability to carry a load in the bed is valuable.
There are a couple of problems, however. I tow a small (30 gallon) sprayer and it cannot be seen behind the Mule. It makes backing almost impossible. Reminds me of trying to back a Deuce & A Half with a water buffalo in tow. Also, I can't see the tank so I don't know it is empty until the spray wand dies.
More importantly, I want to create food plots in areas where the Mule is just too big to go.
I'm starting to run out of excuses to buy an ATV.
I own a Kawasaki Mule 4010 and for the majority of times, it is great. More comfortable than an ATV as you said above and the ability to carry a load in the bed is valuable.
There are a couple of problems, however. I tow a small (30 gallon) sprayer and it cannot be seen behind the Mule. It makes backing almost impossible. Reminds me of trying to back a Deuce & A Half with a water buffalo in tow. Also, I can't see the tank so I don't know it is empty until the spray wand dies.
More importantly, I want to create food plots in areas where the Mule is just too big to go.
I'm starting to run out of excuses to buy an ATV.
Re: ATV Use
I have a Polaris Sportsman 500, along with a 6x4 Gator and a Cub Cadet Volunteer. We use all three but for weaving through the woods trails, the Polaris is the most capable. That thing just wont ever get stuck. The Cub Cadet has 4wd and the diff lock, so also very capable, and either would probably pull an implement if it wasn't too big. Both have good ground clearance, which is what the Gator does not. I think the gator is easiest to get in and out of, and it's pretty capable too, but the lack of any suspension and little ground clearance hurt.
You can find a solid ATV for a couple grand, and by me they're running half or less what a UTV would cost, but the UTV holds more and another person too if you need to. I find that I use the Polaris going in and out of the woods hunting, or to just make my rounds, but if I need to get a deer out, or do any work, the Gator or the Cub Cadet get the nod.
For your listed purposes, only the cultivator and discs need any real power, and the ground you're working is a big factor too, but I think an ATV in low would pull either.
You can find a solid ATV for a couple grand, and by me they're running half or less what a UTV would cost, but the UTV holds more and another person too if you need to. I find that I use the Polaris going in and out of the woods hunting, or to just make my rounds, but if I need to get a deer out, or do any work, the Gator or the Cub Cadet get the nod.
For your listed purposes, only the cultivator and discs need any real power, and the ground you're working is a big factor too, but I think an ATV in low would pull either.