Am I the only land mgr without a SxS
- Thread starter Turkish
- Start date
Thank you, sir.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
No problem. Keep in mind that the Honda has a two-speed automatic transmission and does not shift into high range until you are going about 25 mph. So....the machine has plenty of grunt and control in the low range. I am told that it's kinda like the old chevy two speed tranny with a torque converter to make pulling stuff easier. I think your going slow need would work quite well. Drive one?
I still prefer two wheels to four, but with the cost of UTV, plus the noise and limitations, just give me a truck, jeep, or anything with heat and AC. We are overrun with UTVs and they idiots that operate them. I live in the one of the few places that you can run one without limitations, and have had a front row seat watching the evolution of these machines. I still remember when John Deere debuted their UTV at a race, bragging about the horsepower of the new engine, and then exploding a transmission within the first 100 miles. Today, they are competing against class 1 buggies and trophy trucks on the tighter courses.
What I am looking at is getting an electric golf cart with stealth technology.
What I am looking at is getting an electric golf cart with stealth technology.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
In general, I'd guess a small percentage of whitetail habitat guys who use a UTV/ATV frequently could get a pickup/jeep easily where they use the ATV/UTV. Nevermind the concerns about compaction and tearing up ground that are mitigated by using an ATV/UTV instead of a pickup or tractor. I'd have to open up my trails to get a UTV through where I currently take my ATV. I'd have to import a lot of rock/gravel and REALLY open things up to get a tractor or pickup where i drive my ATV.
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
I could drive a jeep or pickup about 200 yards from shop then I’d be walking. It’s be useless for me
Have you seen the trail-width UTVs? I think they are 50" wide. They seem to be big in the PNW. They look kinda tippy, but definitely can go places a regular UTV wouldn't. UTVs are not a replacement for an ATV.
One thing I find interesting is the difference in culture. So Cal and desert regions are all about noise and who is the next Robby Gordon, flat-billers is a good term. PNW is more about being quiet and respectful.
I have done 100s of miles on a ATV while being chased by two D-9s pulling a 30,000lb chain. I love it, even in 20 degree weather. No way that would work with a UTV.
Wind Gypsy
5 year old buck +
Yes, I know lots of USFS stuff out west is width restricted so the 50" UTVs have a niche there that differs from what a private land habitat manager might be looking for. I've never trailed an OHV for any of my public land elk hunts and there's really only 1 time where it bit me when the ice build up on a partially frozen creek crossing prevented my F150 from getting across and I think a UTV/ATV could have made it. I know different areas may be different in how much value might be added.
I've spent a fair bit of time in the Southwest. Have a some friends from a 2 year stint in the coachella valley that are big into the expensive toys for going fast on Lake havasu and on the sand at Glamis. Dirt bike and UTV recreation is definitely big business in that part of the country but it is generally much different from any use case I have for OHVs.
Started out with a Honda Rubicon, added a tractor, then added the UTV with wheels for summer and tracks for winter. I really wish I had got the UTV before of the atv. The bed is so much easier than managing 10 bungee straps holding everything down on a rack.
But having both is nice. When I’m doing tractor projects out on the property I tow or carry my atv out with me at the beginning of the day and use it to run back to the barn for things I need or forgot.
But having both is nice. When I’m doing tractor projects out on the property I tow or carry my atv out with me at the beginning of the day and use it to run back to the barn for things I need or forgot.
Attachments
Brian662
5 year old buck +
Carry?
I’ve carried it out on the forks, with straps and the bucket, and straps with the grapple. Straps threaded through the front and back racks.
I carry the bucket in the grapple and tow it out there mostly.
I can be to the barn and back 4 times in the time it takes for one trip on the tractor.
I carry the bucket in the grapple and tow it out there mostly.
I can be to the barn and back 4 times in the time it takes for one trip on the tractor.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
I like the looks of the grapple you have got here. Looks like a great one for clearing land (root grapple). Mine is a bit old-style with somewhat of a "floor" in the tooth design. It does pick up allot of stuff.....but its hard to use as a root grapple.
I view the UTV as a great habitat tool and a recreational vehicle. It's much less "useful" in a hunting situation due to the noise. I had an electric Polaris Ranger for a year. It was great for hunting due to how quiet it was, but much less practical for all day usage doing work due to the battery range. One day, I hope to have some sort of electric vehicle to get places during hunting.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Old golf carts (with good batteries) are quite good for this.....if the terrain isn't too rugged.
I think if you live on your property and use your sxs every other day or so, deer become very accustomed to the sound. I could have shot many mature bucks off my sxs. I have shot many hogs off my sxs. If a deer hears me on my sxs - where is he going to go - to my neighbor’s land and his sxs. Everyone here is running a sxs daily
Are you saying you don't need a 250 hp "utility" vehicle with 16" of suspension travel and no cargo space?
Howboutthemdawgs
5 year old buck +
I hate those things with every fiber of my being
Tree Spud
5 year old buck +
I like that approach, had not thought of that.
Foggy47
5 year old buck +
Did you make a tow bar for the UTV? Pic?
