# ATV vs. tractor for small homestead



## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

Not really a versus tractor thread. I have 5 acres my family and I are going to convert to food production. Large vegetable garden, orchard, grapes, some pasture. Problem is it is a fairly steep ridge up and then down the back. I am not very comfortable on a tractor on a rigde so was thinking of an ATV. The needs will be mowing, pulling a small hauling trailer and plowing snow. 

Does anyone use an ATV with a pull behind mower as a primary homestead utility vehicle and if so any recommendations on a brand you have found to be better to use. I will be looking around for a decent used ATV if no one has any contraindications for this. Thanks!


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Used. 
That's MY favorite brand of 4wheeler. lol
Yes, you can get all kind of attachments for them so you can essentially use it like a tractor. It will wear out far quicker with this type of use as that's not what they're built for. 

Which goes back to my favorite brand. 
Get a used one. If you're going to overwork it, you probably don't want new.

Oh, so far as brand, we've had a lot of luck with Polaris and Hondas. Look for something like a Rancher.


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## Ramblin Wreck (Jun 10, 2005)

I'd still recommend a low sitting tractor with a wide track for what you say you want to do, but if you want to go the ATV route, I've had good luck with Hondas. A Foreman I recently sold could actually pull a good load, but it was a little cold natured.


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## wyld thang (Nov 16, 2005)

ErinP said:


> Used.
> That's MY favorite brand of 4wheeler. lol
> Yes, you can get all kind of attachments for them so you can essentially use it like a tractor. It will wear out far quicker with this type of use as that's not what they're built for.
> 
> ...


this. make sure it has a cage(do they really have steep slopes in Ohio???:icecream:jk). always wear a helmet:nono:. You will trash it with this work so yes buy used and expect to be handy to replace parts. vigilant regular maintenance always is golden with atv's(clean airfilter, change the oil etc). Don't let mud stay caked on them year round.


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

The one problem is a mower generally needs to travel pretty slow, and an ATV/UTV has a slipping V belt that gets better wear if you tend to go a little faster than walking speed.

The mowing will be a little hard on the ATV. It works, but as mentioned, wears on them a bit more than normal. You'll need to maintain the ATV & the mower engines, those little engines can be a pain to keep up.

With my 700 foot long driveway on the wind-swept plains of Minnesota, an ATV/UTV is a joke as far as trying to move 4 foot drifts of hard packed snow; but your snow conditions are likely quite different so my thoughts on that do not apply.

For hauling stuff around the homestead, the more expensive UTV (2 or 3 seater, with a bed in back) are really really handy, don't need to pull a trailer around. Toss your tools/ produce in back and go. Of course, most of the time more money.....

I'd prefer a small tractor with many slow gears with a tiller to prepare 2-4 acres of ground for planting if you are serious about a big garden. Loader would be really really handy on it, rember to carry it low on hills and weight the rear end of the tracotr to keep it stable. Something like an old Kubota B7100 with only 15 hp or so, can be had for under $3000.... Ford/NH and JD are also good brands in older models. These things do work all day long, power stuff, haul heavy loads, travel very slow if you need. They aren't as handy to get on & off, and don't buzz here & there as easy.

ATV's are known to tip over because they are so nimble. The bigger UTV's have roll over bars and are wider, but often go faster so you can get yourself in trouble with speed. A tractor you drive slow & are pretty stable. Guess I don't see much difference as far as a hill. If one can travel it, they all can. If one can tip on the hill, they all can...

UTV is so easy to get on & off, love it for picking rocks, probably real easy for checking garden crops, harvesting, etc. ATV's are sporty puddle jumpers, but you gotta straddle them, little more effort by the end of the day. Neither is a good puller for a mower or tiller or the like. They transport & haul, not 'work'.

ATV/UTV are 'fun' with a lot of work thorwn in. Tracotrs do a lot of work, with a little 'fun' thrown in. Not sure which you need.

Just random thoughts. Not telling you what to do. don't think I really made any conclusions at all! Just different ways to look at it 

--->Paul


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## CrashTestRanch (Jul 14, 2010)

maybe a side by side or gator?


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

Though once you start getting into the "fancy" options, like gators and rhinos, you might as well get an older tractor. You'll save more money and have something that fits your needs better... :shrug:


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## CrashTestRanch (Jul 14, 2010)

could get a small JD garden tractor


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## rambler (Jan 20, 2004)

ErinP said:


> Though once you start getting into the "fancy" options, like gators and rhinos, you might as well get an older tractor. You'll save more money and have something that fits your needs better... :shrug:


Well, yes. But - isn't the fun of the intenet that we get to spend other people's money? 

--->Paul


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## ronbre (Apr 26, 2009)

Our tractor does way more than anyATV could do..so I vote Tractor..we also use our riding lawn mower kinda as an ATV to get to places fast on the property.

But the tractor is the real work horse of our property..wish I could drive it, i'm way too short


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## olivehill (Aug 17, 2009)

We have a dedicated "farm ATV" that I wouldn't trade for the world. I use it with a small trailer to haul things around, it has a plow for plowing paths to pens and coops for feeding in the winter, etc. I do not, however, use it for mowing. I really wouldn't think it'd work very well, personally, the ATV works best at a faster pace than a mower needs to go. 

That said, imo, it's not really an ATV vs a Tractor kind of comparison. They do entirely different jobs here. The tractor handles bigger, heavier, slower jobs; the ATV is used day-to-day for the smaller, quicker, lighter things. And then the mowing, we do with a rider mower -- that and geese. LOL!


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## badlander (Jun 7, 2009)

We have two Iseki 19 horse power tractors. One is two wheeled drive, great for flat areas and small rises. You wouldn't want to use a two wheel drive anything on a sloped surface. Just asking for trouble and roll overs.

The other is a four wheel drive with a bucket on the front. Decisively more stable on slopes and doesn't protest going up and down hills, which we have plenty of.

Both of these tractors are small, and were bought used for under 10,000 dollars. We want to add a roll cage to the 4 wheel drive unit as it is being used on hills.

I want to pick up a nice used four wheel drive ATV for my own use around the farm and timber. I just am not crazy about driving the tractor around the farm.

I have ridden in the Mule. Great work workhorse.

Good luck in your search.


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## Witterbound (Sep 4, 2007)

I sold my pull behind atv mower because i couldn't go vary fast on the atv when pulling it, and because my thumb got sore holding the throttle on for a long time. I also have a small trailer I pull with my atv. If there's much weight on it, it either won't go or the belt slips. You'll be much happier with a tractor.


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## doc623 (Jun 7, 2004)

Tractor.
Ofcourse this all depends on how steep your hills are and what you intend or need the piece of equipment for.
Forget about an ATV.
I live in a very hilly area of the same state as your self.
I have both an ATV and a compact utility 4x4 tractor.
Get a small farm tractor that can be set up for hilly terrain, i.e., wide front end; fluid filled and reversed hub rear tires; and etc. A front end loader would make a tractor more stable and is like having two more sets of hands to help with what ever. Also consider a 4wheel drive. You will have the weight and power.
A tractor will last longer; do more; and will probably cost less in the long run. 
A ATV can't compare for working. I like my Honda rancher and it has its uses and I know its limits but an ATV can't compare to a tractor.


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## travis91 (Jul 26, 2005)

Stay away from artic cat four wheelers


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## palani (Jun 12, 2005)

4wd ... Percheron

If you were in Missouri mules would be more PC.


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## RonM (Jan 6, 2008)

get a tractor


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## HoosierHog (Apr 23, 2010)

I Vote tractor 

sounds like you could use a low prowfile tractor with 30-35hp with a loader and a 3pt tiller and 5ft bush hog as for a farm run around vehichle i say go buy a gas golf cart from a garage sale for a few hundred thats what my neighbor did and ive been after him to sell it to me. He even pulls a big dump cart behind it and he made the little bed bigger so he can haul more stuff. hes only got 300 in it and its awsome. but as far as a work horse get a tractor you will never regret it.


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## derm (Aug 6, 2009)

Thanks for all the information gang! I actually would prefer a tractor, just have never driven one. How hard are they to operate? I would hate to croak by rolling my new to me tractor on day one on the steep hills. The only reason I have not gotten one yet.


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## Kris in MI (May 30, 2002)

derm said:


> Thanks for all the information gang! I actually would prefer a tractor, just have never driven one. How hard are they to operate? I would hate to croak by rolling my new to me tractor on day one on the steep hills. The only reason I have not gotten one yet.


How hard to operate? Well, I learned to drive tractors on an old Ford that had a front end loader but no power steering when I was just a 100-pound 18 yr old girl, lol. A 100-pound girl who could beat teenage guys in arm wrestling after a few months of driving that tractor  So not hard to operate. And the new hydrostats are even easier, just like driving a go-cart: push this pedal to go, let up to stop (or let up plus use brake if you need to stop on a dime).

As far as rolling, mow up and down the slope, not sideways. It really depends on how steep the slope is.


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## artificer (Feb 26, 2007)

derm said:


> Thanks for all the information gang! I actually would prefer a tractor, just have never driven one. How hard are they to operate? I would hate to croak by rolling my new to me tractor on day one on the steep hills. The only reason I have not gotten one yet.


What are you considering steep? 

If you get a modern tractor, they all come with ROPS (rollover protection system). You can can compact tractors tractors that are low and wide. They're much more stable than the Mitsubishi we have. Its only 4' wide and fairly tall, but I intend to make hub extensions to take the wheels out to 5'. Should help with stability. Its the same idea as someone mentioned with the wheel flip.

So... I would go with a low and wide compact tractor. 4wd if you can afford it, along with a loader. With the tractor you don't have to have an engine for every piece of power equipment. (mower, tiller, etc.) There's just too many things a tractor can do that an ATV can't. Not many things the ATV can do that the tractor can't, even if its a bit slower.

Learning to use the tractor is fairly simple. A few basic lessons, some common sense, and you should be good to go.

Michael


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## Silvercreek Farmer (Oct 13, 2005)

If you are trying to be really frugal, a decent garden tractor may be enough. We have 6 acres, 4 is in pasture, 1 wooded, and 1 for the yard. I have one of the older stouter Ropers that I use to haul fire wood/mulch, mow the yard, knock down the pasture when it gets ahead of the animals. It is really all I _need_. Sure there is some lumpy pasture I would like to level out, and I could haul more wood at a time, but really and truely I don't need a full size tractor at all. Believe me, I have tried to come up with several good reasons! But just can't quite come up with enough to warrant spending even $2500 on a 9n. There is a steep hill going down to the pasture but as long as I don't try to do anything when it is sloppy wet, the GT can go up and down it no problem. I could use it to plow/disk/harrow my 625 sq garden if I wanted to, but since I have gone to no till gardening, I don't even need it for that! 
You mention the steep ridge on the property, would it be feasable to have it leveled off somewhat? This would make life easier on many fronts: Walking up an down it, mowing it, pulling stuff up/down it, planting your grapes and orchard, harvesting your bounty, controling erosion, ect...


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## Honorine (Feb 27, 2006)

We live on a steep shale hill, we have an old B7100 Kubota with a loader, and a Honda Foreman. To make the Kubota more stable(it is 4x4) my hub put duallys on the rear. It works really well, adds extra weight and its practically untippable. The B7100 is a real workhorse, small enough to manuver thru trees but tough enough to get the job done. The loader is very handy with heavy snow. The Honda Foreman has a plow, and can handle lighter snow. Its easier to use with the cart to move stuff, and we haul feed and equipment around with it on a daily basis. We also have a Kawasaki 4x4 Prairie but I feel that the Honda is more reliable and more stable. I think you need both a tractor and an ATV, there's things that the tractor will do better, but then the ATV will be more conveinent for smaller jobs. I can't speak as to mowing as we don't really have a blade of grass here. We also have a bunch of garden tractors, mostly old Bolens large frames. Such a garden tractor might work for your purposes as well, we used them for plowing and hauling prior to getting the Kubota and ATV's. We even had a Bolens with a loader, there are Cat 0 loaders out there. You can get all kinds of attachments for the old Bolens, we have snowblowers, grader blades, tillers, plows, moldboard plows, disc harrows, mower decks, think there are even Cat 0 brush hogs and tow behind finish mowers. Anything you need for the job you can get for a garden tractor, and cheaper than it would cost for an attachment for an ATV. I strongly agree with the posters who suggested a loader, its a lifesaver, and a back saver as well.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Our place is larger than yours at 42 acres. It is on a mountainside, with some steep portions. Everything we get is almost overbuilt for our needs, but that is better than under built. Before we bought our 4WD 45 HP tractor, we rented a little tractor that was so under powered, it couldn't even make it up the hill from the pond. What a sad little tractor that was, and so useless to us! So hubby uses the bucket to rearrange dirt. He digs trenches with the back hoe and rearranges even more dirt. That came in very handy this past weekend when he had to bury a horse. He was able to dig the dirt up (in a place that already had a deep depression in the ground). Drag the horse into the hole and bury it. It still took him about 4 hours, but without the tractor would have probably taken the two of us a couple of days.

We have an ATV, a nice Yamaha Big Bear 4X4 which can carry both of us, and go fairly fast. We have a snow plow attachment that would work much better in a flat area, but is better than nothing. Hubby has a small utility trailer that he can pull with it.

We recently bought a Kawasaki Mule, and this has the Diesel engine, and a small pickup bed. Hubby can move bales of hay around with it. We can ride together in comfort, and he has stopped pulling his little trailer with the ATV and moved it over to the Mule. 
It has a roll cage of sorts, and Hubby will strap big and long things like lumber, doors, ladders, etc on top of the mule.

If I could only have one thing, probably a tractor, and certainly a smaller one than ours if there is only 5 acres. Next choice would be a UTV like the Kawasaki Mule. It will be more versatile than an ATV. On ours, the back seat folds up and the bed can be expanded into that space.

This is Hubby in his mule. I saw a 2008 Mule for less than $4000.00 on Craigslist.org yesterday. You don't need to get a new one when there are fairly new ones out there for less than you would pay for a new ATV.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

derm said:


> Thanks for all the information gang! I actually would prefer a tractor, just have never driven one. How hard are they to operate?


Most folks I know start driving a tractor at about 8 or 9 years old. Basically when you're tall enough to reach both pedals AND steering wheel. 
They most assuredly are not difficult to operate.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

You might want to stop by a tractor dealer (preferably one that sells new AND used), describe your place and have them show you what they have in stock. Perhaps give you a driving lesson, and discuss all of the implements and how they are used.


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## ErinP (Aug 23, 2007)

.....


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## Shrek (May 1, 2002)

I like the John Deere Gator with PTO dressing mower a friend has. He also uses it with a turning disk and small lanscape box at times when he isn't using for hunting or fishing.


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## doc623 (Jun 7, 2004)

derm said:


> Thanks for all the information gang! I actually would prefer a tractor, just have never driven one. How hard are they to operate? I would hate to croak by rolling my new to me tractor on day one on the steep hills. The only reason I have not gotten one yet.


Go to a neighbor, friend, dealer,vocational school, or relative and ask for help learning.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Take the advise of folks who understand about working in slopes. When I was a kid, a man in our neighborhood died when he was using his riding mower on a slope and it rolled over on him.


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