Recommend a UTV for Farm Wo

[Tensaw]

I will be in the market for a side-by-side UTV sooner than later. The array of choices is a little overwhelming so I am hoping you guys can narrow things down. Intended usage will be hauling things around a ~15 acre pasture to do maintenance type stuff (maintain fence, gates, etc.); also hauling firewood from the big woodshed to the house in the winter; and just generally getting around on the property. The pasture is hilly in places, but mostly flat. I would like to be able to hook a good sized trailer to it if needed; like for hauling firewood for instance. Secondary usage would be tooling around the road within a 1/2 mile of the house to visit neighbors on occasion. Lastly, another 15 acres of my property is wooded and hilly. I would consider cutting some trails through that as some point in the future. Basically, off-road capability would be nice to have.

The idea of electric-powered UTV is attractive to me from the aspect of low noise during operation, and not having to mess with gas. Would be correct in thinking that the power train would be pretty low Maintanence with the exception of having to replace batteries at some point?I have a pretty nice, large shop and I would set-up a dedicated spot to store and charge an electric UTV when not it use. That said, I anticipate using this almost daily. Long run-time would obviously be desireable, but if I can get through most of a day messing around the property, that would be fine.

I would like the powertrain to be durable, long-running, with enough power to pull a decent load. All that said, if a gas burner is a better way to go, I would do that.

I know so little about the UTV market, I would appreciate any general guidance in addition to specific recommendations of UTV models.

[NGP]

Can't help on the electric front, but after contemplating the same question for my own similar uses, I've decided to buy a Suzuki samurai. The samurai is just about the same size, street legal, can get parts from a junkyard or OEM, no drive belts to deal with, similar HP and TQ to current SxS offerings, and you can find them all day for 3-6k depending on condition. Being street legal and cost were the two biggest factors in my decision, if they're not issues for you the Polaris Ranger is the easy button.

[OlongJohnson]

Can't help on the electric front, but after contemplating the same question for my own similar uses, I've decided to buy a Suzuki samurai. The samurai is just about the same size, street legal, can get parts from a junkyard or OEM, no drive belts to deal with, similar HP and TQ to current SxS offerings, and you can find them all day for 3-6k depending on condition. Being street legal and cost were the two biggest factors in my decision, if they're not issues for you the Polaris Ranger is the easy button.

This is an excellent idea. The maintenance requirements per mile should be much lower than for a SxS, too.

[LOKNLOD]

I've been in the Samurai game since the '90s, and known a lot of guys that fed cows and used them like a side-by-side before SXS's were really a thing yet. Just don't trash the Samurais. They're getting hard to come by, and have a loyal cult following. They are tough, and easy to work on, but they're getting long enough in the tooth that if you don't want to either pay too much for one that is going to be "too nice" for farm duty, or buy a junker and enjoy fussing with it, I wouldn't get one for this purpose unless I just lucked into one and was already a fan.

If I needed something that size but really wanted to work it, I'd want a bigger bed anyway. You can get one of the mini-trucks fairly cheaply (less than a SxS), they've got a big workable bed, can be made street legal (not street enjoyable, perhaps, but legal) in most places.

Is a beater 4x4 pickup out of the question?

[mdf9183]

I don't know how much you want to spend but about a year ago I bought a Kioti Merchron 2000 which is a 20 HP 3Cyl. Diesel which has been very good so far. I bought a demo one that had 27 hrs for $10,000 but you can get a gas one a lot cheaper. This is my third SXS and the other two were gas and only lasted a couple years.

[rjohnson4405]

Have used and abused a Yamaha Rhino 700 for years and we can't kill it.

It's been left out in weather, used to plow snow, pull trailers, recreational trail riding and racing (and rolled about 5 times), and besides normal maintenance items nothing special has needed done.

We bought it because it was the same engines as some four wheelers we had. Very impressed with it, the dump bed is big enough to be usable unlike a Polaris RZR.

We also have a RZR that is just for fun.

The Yamaha Rhino is fast/nimble enough to be enjoyable for recreational use and reliable/strong enough for using around the farm. Can't recommend it enough.