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Marengo, Ia. | I didn't want to hi jack the post below. http://talk.newagtalk.com/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=293230&mid=228...
Has anyone gone from a mini truck to a UTV or vise versa?
I have a hard time spending $8000 on a used Ranger or Big Red.
It will be used to travel to different pastures all year long so I like the idea of a cab & heat in the mini-truck also the fuel milage on the UTV's is not what I expected. Mini Trucks are "supposed" to get 30-40???
Seems like there are plenty of parts on Ebay and other internet sources.\
Maybe I'm way off base.
Comments and opinions are welcomed.....
Edited by w'burg 3/11/2012 13:54
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North Central Iowa | Buy a CJ series jeep. |
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| I'm kinda in the same boat , leaning toward a mini , depends on "how" you'll use it .
Mostly off road at faster speeds , above 15mph or EXTREME off road , I'd say UTV .
The mini is VERY capable off road , but doesn't have the wheel travel needed for high speed or extreme off camber , although if you get one with front/rear lockers you can have only 2 wheels touching and still go.
I think the mini has a better cab for the $$ , also heat and AC , road speed is MUCH better if your traveling very far.
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Northeast Louisiana | The mini-trucks were the rage around here a few years ago. Based on what I've seen I'd say that would be the way to go if you like to work on something every other time you use it. If not, get a Ranger. |
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SW Iowa | A CJ series jeep isn't going to get squat for fuel economy either. I can tell you nothing about a mini truck but I do like having the Ranger with Cab and I quit putting miles on my fullsize pickup doing chores and fixing fence. I have also quit walking so much to check fence in the mud. I have had my loaded Ranger with 3 adults in the cab, fence posts in the back, walk through standing water and mud that a person could not have walked through. I have had to chase cows in deep ripped, muddy bottom ground that you couldn't walk through. I am not so sure that a Mini Truck, a Ford Ranger, or a Kubota UVT, would have done those things. In the end you need to figure out what will make you happy in your operation. The Ranger with Cab is easy to get in and out of, even with coveralls and boots. I have on a few occasions threw a new born Calf on the floor of the cab and brought it home to warm up. I have pulled a 100 gallon sprayer all over pastures spraying. I have had the Ranger/sprayer combo stuck, but unpin the sprayer and I can drive the Ranger out. Hook a strap to the sprayer and drag it out, hook back up and go again. I don't think a Mini truck would have done what I have asked this Ranger to do. I may ask it to do things that you never will.
It may not save me much money at the fuel tank, but it keeps hard miles off my diesel pickup. I can also probably go to a less aggressive tire on my pickup, instead of the expensive, quicker wearing Mud Tires I have been putting on it, so I can take it places on bad days for the farm. Haven't had to since the Ranger with Cab showed up. It also saves the pasture, I can drive it out in the rain to check for new calves and not have ruts everywhere or tore up grass. I know a 4 wheeler can do all the things I do, but it sure you keep you dry, warm, and moderately clean like a UTV can.
Michael |
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| My son rebuilt 4 motors in them when he was wrenchin in a MC shop , EVERYONE had been run out of oil , other than that they had very few problems. Parts were easy for them to get , manuals were another story. Most of the time it was learn as you go. One Subaru carb they never could figure out , the owner had rearranged/removed a lot of hoses , it had ALOT, finally deleted most of them(smog crap) ran great after. |
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| AlSwearingen is half right. Haha. Its been my experience lately that a decent CJ series Jeep will bring as much money as a newer TJ (96-04) series Jeep. The YJ (87-95) is too ugly to consider.
Buy a TJ with the 6 preferably (4cyl will work if you never get on the highway or pull anything). Take the top off and carpet out and Rhino-Line the interior. Drill holes in the floor wherever water collects.
My other idea is an old Chevy Blazer with the doors removed. 350 engine and transmission and every part is available in every two bit parts house in the country. Old CJ Jeeps must have been sourced by committee.
New UTV's are all criminally expensive IMHO, and I sell them. The Japanese Mini Truck is only an option if you're LESS than 6' tall and have small feet. The one I drove had VERY little foot room and was a hassle to get in and out of. Your experience may be different |
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Marengo, Ia. | I've been on a Ranger and a Big Red and know they go allmost anywhere but I have 15 mile round trip between all my tiny pastures so there will be a lot of road time. If I didn't have so much road time, I'd buy a UTV in a second.
I agree with you Michael, driving around the diesel pickup is getting old.
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| It seems to me that the mini trucks are not built heavy enough for farm work. I was around a few and they would over heat and start using oil when used hard. |
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| I work on a larger farm and find the Ranger with the cab better than driving the truck. I can cross rivers (not to mention check for beaver dams) and hide the Ranger in the bush line while I am working a field. Fence checking is easier as I can use the box for tools and wire. I also will pull a trailer full of fence posts and have the tractor follow me to push them in where needed. If I run out, it's quicker to zip home and get more.
Side note, we also use the ranger while hunting and fishing. It allows us to get into places a truck can't. There are a few lakes up in the hills that we have access to and we go hunting in swampy, beaver dammed areas.
Our Rangers have winches front and back but we've only used them twice in the last three years. Once when we hit a beaver run and had the Ranger tipped sideways with water over the seat and the other time was to close a v-rake when it broke.
Only downside I have with the Ranger is the poor turning radius. |
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SW Iowa | Yeah, depending on how the 15 miles was spread, that would be a long ride in a Ranger. I figured up I run about 6 miles every morning just choring. When I start calving soon, I will be making that 6 miles probably 4-5 times a day, and likely even more. I had a hard time choking down the purchase price for the Ranger, but in our operation we use it a whole bunch. Sort of like buying a good backhoe for the farm. Its hard to choke the price down, but just having it makes is worth while.
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Southeast Washington | I love my mini truck. I have used it daily during the winter to feed cows for five years. I haven't seen a utv yet that has a bed as big as the mini truck to haul hay or fencing supplies and the heater and wipers work great. It has never been broken yet and has 110,000 km on it. It is a 97 model with a turbo on it. I have a set of wheels with atv tires for the mud and a set of traction light truck tires for the drier time of year. It goes as good as a utv in the mud. |
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Sucker brook, NY | opposite here. a ranger is a small car built with atv parts. excessivley underbuilt. |
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UTV vs. Mini truck
