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Travlr said:
Yeah, I have a problem with pricing too. I've seen some of these machines going for 50K and it's easy to do 20K... and I can buy a brand new Jeep cheaper than a lot of them. It doesn't seem right. I think demand is driving price more than actual utility. Gotta admi, they are more fun than most bigger vehicles.
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But the Jeep... at least right now, isn't as "cool" as the shiny Ranger/CanAm. I'd go for the CanAm, if I was you, because they have the bigger price tag, and so they get you a little more "Oooh Aaahh".

My teenaged son was with me at the Dollar Store once... across the street was a grocery store. Guy pulled up in his mid-engine Corvette... I pointed it out to him, told him to notice how "cool" that car was (and I have to admit, I like looking at cool cars..., but I've outgrown the need to have one). Anyway, I said to him, "Look at that car. Isn't it cool? Pretty neat machine, fast, sleek, a real eye catcher. That guy paid about $100,000 for it. Now watch as he comes by us... He's gonna pull out real nice and slow, and just lope past, wants you to get a real good look... He expects and intends for you to go "OOH AAHH!" when he comes by... that's what he paid for when he bought it. So don't you dissappoint him now when he comes by."

Sure enough, it wasn't long, and his wife came out of the grocery store with a loaf of bread and a couple other very small items. He popped the hood to put them into the "trunk" (well, he had to... there's no room in the inside of the car). She closed the hood, got in, and they pulled out ever so slowly, and drove right past us... you could count the reflection of the sun on the chrome spokes of the wheels as he went by. And just as he passed us, my son and I both went "OOOHHH AAAHHH", so he could get his money's worth.

Then my wife came out of the Dollar Store with what she had stopped for, and we went home. I enjoy livin' the dream on somebody else's dime. He had to go home and wash it and park it in his heated and air conditioned garage of course after that outing. I just went and watched my cows! :)
 
Brute 23 said:
I would buy a sxs before a tractor.

My brother and I have bought 3 atvs in the last couple years. They are better than walking but that's about it. The kids like to ride and it keeps expensive trucks out of the pasture to just check on things.
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Yeah... it's hard to decide which one to go with when they both cost the same money................
 
RDFF said:
But the Jeep... at least right now, isn't as "cool" as the shiny Ranger/CanAm. I'd go for the CanAm, if I was you, because they have the bigger price tag, and so they get you a little more "Oooh Aaahh".

My teenaged son was with me at the Dollar Store once... across the street was a grocery store. Guy pulled up in his mid-engine Corvette... I pointed it out to him, told him to notice how "cool" that car was (and I have to admit, I like looking at cool cars..., but I've outgrown the need to have one). Anyway, I said to him, "Look at that car. Isn't it cool? Pretty neat machine, fast, sleek, a real eye catcher. That guy paid about $100,000 for it. Now watch as he comes by us... He's gonna pull out real nice and slow, and just lope past, wants you to get a real good look... He expects and intends for you to go "OOH AAHH!" when he comes by... that's what he paid for when he bought it. So don't you dissappoint him now when he comes by."

Sure enough, it wasn't long, and his wife came out of the grocery store with a loaf of bread and a couple other very small items. He popped the hood to put them into the "trunk" (well, he had to... there's no room in the inside of the car). She closed the hood, got in, and they pulled out ever so slowly, and drove right past us... you could count the reflection of the sun on the chrome spokes of the wheels as he went by. And just as he passed us, my son and I both went "OOOHHH AAAHHH", so he could get his money's worth.

Then my wife came out of the Dollar Store with what she had stopped for, and we went home. I enjoy livin' the dream on somebody else's dime. He had to go home and wash it and park it in his heated and air conditioned garage of course after that outing. I just went and watched my cows! :)
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I built a show car once. A friend had a junk yard and I went over to help him put in a septic system, operating his rental backhoe for him... and there was an old convertible that I'd looked at several times sitting there. Long story short it took me seven years and the car turned out beautiful... and I could never enjoy driving it after I paid for the very expensive (at the time) paint job. I learned my lesson...
I had a couple of Yamaha ATVs on the ranch and they were fun, and a couple of Hondas later and a side by side since, but we sold everything because at our age it could get dangerous to break down out in the woods.
But I do think about another one. I just can't justify the price.
 
We have had friends come down to ride their quads in the hills. Mostly I point out where they should go. For me it is a tool not a toy. One that I am on nearly everyday. I just can't see paying the cost of a SxS to drive it a mile maybe two a day. The vast majority of this place you don't go on with any wheeled vehicle. And this time of the year I won't go on over half the roads. No snow this year but they get real slick. Slide off and it is a long way to the bottom. People get killed around here on both quads and SxS by rolling down into the canyon.
 
We have both a mule and a jeep wrangled and use them bothering all the time. Mule has the adjustable back seat that folds up for a bigger bed. We use it for working fence, hauling feed and such. Without windows though we usually go for the jeep in weather plus it does so much more for times you need power. Plus you can drive it down the highway getting home. Love them both!!
 
We have a Polaris Ranger 570 Crew with Northstar cab. I hated paying the extra $8k or so for the cab, but my wife wanted a heater in bad weather and it is definitely nice to have. If more vehicle is needed then use the Ford Ranger. The F350 crew is mostly the trailer towing rig. I try to keep it out of the pasture unless transporting something on a trailer. I would like an older four stroke dirt bike to run around on, but don't want to spend much.
 
In South Texas there's some wild home made rides out on some of these ranches, in a FB group someone posted a picture of an old Honda Element that had the roof cut off and doors removed with a fairly basic roll cage and simple bowed roof put over it for shade. Looked pretty good to me.
 
tater74 said:
I bought a kei truck a few years ago. Imported from Japan. Cost including shipping to the port at Lake Jackson, TX was less than $3,500. It had 72K miles on it. It is very handy, but is not the rig you want to run over a rough pasture at 35mph.

I fit comfortably at 5'10 and 230 pounds. It is fun to drive.
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How do those go off-road compared to a side by side? I have considered one.
 
kenny thomas said:
How do those go off-road compared to a side by side? I have considered one.
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From what I hear, not so good... but... you CAN get them with 4WD... but not as common as 2wd to find. Suspension is a little lacking for off-roading, and clearance can become an issue. But if you put some larger off-road tires on a 4WD version, they wouldn't be too bad, and for most stuff, would probably be more practical for the money than a SxS. Won't be as easy "in and out" as a SxS then though... and they wouldn't be anyway. Payload capacity and trailering ability would be better though, and durability would be better probably too. I'm kind of surprised that they haven't "taken over" more... but that's maybe a good thing. If they're not as "popular" an option, they're probably available for less $$$ than if they were commonplace here. Get 'em while they're still cheap. They'll be the next big thing in farm and ranch rovers... They make too much sense for them not to be...

Heck, that box is just big enough to load a cow into and strap her down... 1768488078665.png

Can't do THAT with a Ranger... have to ask though... do those actually qualify as "cows"? :unsure: :oops:

1768486532913.png1768486967976.png
 
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I know of several ranchers who simply buy an older small 4wd pickup, S10, Ranger,Toyota, Datsun, Mazda, etc. I have a 4wd S10 that will go 99% of the places the quad or a SxS will go. A whole lot cheaper. Cost me $1,000. Good luck finding any SUV for that kind of money. And it will go places the quad or SxS can't go. Like the 25 miles to town.
 
Dave said:
I know of several ranchers who simply buy an older small 4wd pickup, S10, Ranger,Toyota, Datsun, Mazda, etc. I have a 4wd S10 that will go 99% of the places the quad or a SxS will go. A whole lot cheaper. Cost me $1,000. Good luck finding any SUV for that kind of money. And it will go places the quad or SxS can't go. Like the 25 miles to town.
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Exactly why I keep my jeep. Street legal and has a bed same size as mule or ranger and 30k cheaper
 
Every ranch has its own challenges. On our place a quad or horse is required to get to many places that even a side by side can’t navigate. And there are places you can’t get to even with those. A side by side or mini truck can be great for a lot of tasks, but none of them are great at everything.
 
Silver said:
Every ranch has its own challenges. On our place a quad or horse is required to get to many places that even a side by side can’t navigate. And there are places you can’t get to even with those. A side by side or mini truck can be great for a lot of tasks, but none of them are great at everything.
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A lot of places here that a horse or on foot is the only way to go. I am told there are a number of places around here where experienced riders on sure footed mountain horses get off and walk the horse.
 
Around here people use a SxS to run up and down the road where they have lost their driver's license and can't drive a vehicle. I recon it is alright to drive one of those drunk or high.
 
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Brute 23 said:
This thread is just like the truck threads. A bunch of people using bs examples to try to justify their decisions.

The are a lot of real nice sxs to be had for around $15k, or even less.
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Seems to me that the "bunch of people using bs" falls into two schools of thought. One is, "If I have the money I'm gonna spend it like I want."... and the other is, "I'm gonna stretch my dollars as best I can."

I'm in the stretch a dollar camp. I like toys, but they need to have some real utility. Those that use cheap, old, small pickups are my people.
I've had a side x side and I do miss it, but the cost was outrageous for what I actually did with it.
 

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