Side by Side vs Compact Pickup

Advertise with us
shop deals on amazon
Shop deals on ebay
Homesteading & Country Living Forum

Help Support Homesteading & Country Living Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
M

mml373

Awesome Friend
Neighbor
HCL Supporter
Joined
Aug 12, 2023
Messages
120
Location
Southern Missouri
Well after four years of using a side by side for farm chores I finally had a lapse in judgment a couple weeks ago and had a (minor) accident. Never get in a hurry...as that's usually when bad things happen... No big damage to the side by side that I can see, and I wasn't hurt, but I got lucky... It took me 2 hours to undig the vehicle from the woodpile and fence.

This in mind, I was thinking about it a couple years ago and am thinking again about it now...the costs of having a side by side, along with the hazards of operation, are seeming to make it less attractive to own one. In my case, the dealer's an hour away, I don't own a trailer, and annual maintenance results in a $1000 expense, minimum, due to transit and maintenance on the machine. I could buy a 30 year old Ford Ranger that has a radio, heat, A/C, and is enclosed and only have to worry about oil changes. I'm not sure the hassle, cost, and effort of having this kind of vehicle are worthwhile and am starting to consider options.

We actually have people killed every now and again on the national forest due to side by side accidents.

Interested in other people's thoughts. There are a very limited number of instances when a side by side is really necessary here AS LONG AS a compact pickup wouldn't tear up my pasture. Not sure if there are tires that would help protect turf. I'm out there every day feeding and watering livestock, so there'd be daily driving on the pasture in all kinds of weather from rain/standing water to snow.
 
Last edited:
mml373 said:
Well after four years of using a side by side for farm chores I finally had a lapse in judgment a couple weeks ago and had a (minor) accident. Never get in a hurry...as that's usually when bad things happen... No big damage to the side by side that I can see, and I wasn't hurt, but I got lucky... It took me 2 hours to undig the vehicle from the woodpile and fence.

This in mind, I was thinking about it a couple years ago and am thinking again about it now...the costs of having a side by side, along with the hazards of operation, are seeming to make it less attractive to own one. In my case, the dealer's an hour away, I don't own a trailer, and annual maintenance results in a $1000 expense, minimum, due to transit and maintenance on the machine. I could buy a 30 year old Ford Ranger that has a radio, heat, A/C, and is enclosed and only have to worry about oil changes. I'm not sure the hassle, cost, and effort of having this kind of vehicle are worthwhile and am starting to consider options.

Interested in other people's thoughts. There are a very limited number of instances when a side by side is really necessary AS LONG AS a compact pickup wouldn't tear up my pasture. Not sure if there are tires that would help protect turf. I'm out there every day feeding and watering livestock, so there'd be daily driving on the pasture.
Click to expand...
What maintenance can cost you $1000 a year on your side by side? When I change oil on my CanAm Defender twice a year it cost me about $50 each time. I've only taken it to the dealer once to replace one of the power window switchs. While it was there I had them change the oil too. There was no charge because they used my side by side to rescue someone that was stuck in the snow out in the woods, and needed tracks to reach him.
For the cost of my CanAm I could have bought a fairly new pickup, but it would never get to the places my CanAm will. My SXS has power windows, heater/defrost, and AC. I wish it had the radio and GPS. I may add that later. I have tracks for winter time and it's set up for a 60" snow blower.
 
The way I see them used around here… side by side owners just want a small tractor with a suspension system. Do away with the suspension and you do away with high maintenance costs and about $20k in up front money.

For $20K I can get a small used utility tractor and an old farm truck thrown into the deal! Either leave a side by side in the dust for its design capabilities and have small maintenance costs.

You couldn’t give me a side by side!!! Or if someone did I’d only have it long enough to trade it for a real tractor. Around here a side x side can’t be licensed to use on the highway so it fails as a versatile high speed vehicle. And it most definitely fails as a tractor. A poor excuse for either role it tries to fill. Imop
 
A side by side is just another tool here on our place. The same as our 2 ATV's, the truck and our tractor is. Much of our land is way too steep for the tractor. The ATV's can get in to places the side by side can't, but they aren't very comfortable in the winter. I occasionally take the ATV's and the side by side out on the road when necessary, and have never bothered to license one yet. The side by side outfitted with tracks and the snow blower is much more comfortable clearing the road than the tractor is, and faster too.
 
When I had an acreage I just had a small pickup and a little off road scooter. Worked well for me. I have driven the side by sides and never had any interest. If I needed something like that I would go for a Roxor.

Roxor.png
 
Here in the Wastelands of AZ they are street legal and everyone uses them for errand cars. Loud, obnoxious, hot or cold, dusty, bugs in your face. Suspension always breaking. $65,000 for my neighbor's CanAm. Dangerous on and off road. I'm surprised more people haven't been killed. Every time I have to ride in one I need a shower after to get the dirt off. Good for excessive speed on sandy roads and easy trails. They've destroyed most of our dirt roads with their narrow tracks and spinning tires. Scourge on the earth.

In case you can't tell, I'm a JEEPER... ;)
 
UserNameTaken said:
Here in the Wastelands of AZ they are street legal and everyone uses them for errand cars. Loud, obnoxious, hot or cold, dusty, bugs in your face. Suspension always breaking. $65,000 for my neighbor's CanAm. Dangerous on and off road. I'm surprised more people haven't been killed. Every time I have to ride in one I need a shower after to get the dirt off. Good for excessive speed on sandy roads and easy trails. They've destroyed most of our dirt roads with their narrow tracks and spinning tires. Scourge on the earth.

In case you can't tell, I'm a JEEPER... ;)
Click to expand...
My side by side doesn't do any of those things. When it's hot and dusty we close the windows and turn the AC on. We don't use ours as a toy, so it never tears up the ground. Never had a mechanical issue with any of our 4 wheelers or the side by side. But I never drive it like an idiot either.
 
In general, side by sides are going to have much lower ground pressure than on road pickups.

Over compacting your fields is as big a problem as tearing them up.....and an on road vehicle will do some (more) of both.

On my farm, a good side by side is going to be able to get around 100% of the time while on road vehicles are limited as to where and what time of the year they can get around.

No vehicle can do everything........so I just accept that all vehicles are some type of compromise.
 
Mountain trapper said:
My side by side doesn't do any of those things. When it's hot and dusty we close the windows and turn the AC on. We don't use ours as a toy, so it never tears up the ground. Never had a mechanical issue with any of our 4 wheelers or the side by side. But I never drive it like an idiot either.
Click to expand...
Yours sounds more like a UTV. Around here it's more how much air can you get before crashing...

5BKTPYO6MNAOVGWRMXTRDB6CIQ.jpg
 
Hardcalibres said:
In general, side by sides are going to have much lower ground pressure than on road pickups.

Over compacting your fields is as big a problem as tearing them up.....and an on road vehicle will do some (more) of both.

On my farm, a good side by side is going to be able to get around 100% of the time while on road vehicles are limited as to where and what time of the year they can get around.

No vehicle can do everything........so I just accept that all vehicles are some type of compromise.
Click to expand...
That's why we have so many vehicles and types of equipment. Nothing will get completely around our fence lines, so I haul everything as close as I can get, then pack everything the rest of the way on my back. Several years ago I bought a four wheel trailer with an electric dump bed for the 4 wheelers and the side by side. It comes in very handy for hauling stuff. For us on our operation, these tools are indispensable. For winter I mount a set of tracks on the side by side for feeding, blowing snow and for trapping. It'll go just about anywhere that I need to go, but when it's stuck it's really stuck.
 
While there is some crossover the truck does truck things and the UTV does UTV things. I recently bought a winch rated at over 13,000# with an attachment for a 2” receiver. My truck, UTV, and Jeep all have 2” receivers front and rear. I can move my winch around however I wish. A trailer costs less than having the UTV hauled to AND from maintenance at least once a year.
 
I don't have either, trucks are for roads I never gather firewood with a pickup truck, what a massive waste of fuel. trying to ranch in impossible country doesn't fit with my idea of function either.
 
Tirediron said:
I don't have either, trucks are for roads I never gather firewood with a pickup truck, what a massive waste of fuel. trying to ranch in impossible country doesn't fit with my idea of function either.
Click to expand...
Really? I use my truck, tractor and the side by side for gathering firewood and hauling hay. I have 5 trailers for different tasks, including a 25 foot goose neck trailer that I use for hauling hay, my tractor and logs on. Just getting to my property is "off road". My pickup is a 1997 F250 4 wheel drive with a 460 V8. It is a work truck, and I don't care about gas mileage. I bought it new in 97 and have never put a dent in it yet.
 
Mountain trapper said:
Really? I use my truck, tractor and the side by side for gathering firewood and hauling hay. I have 5 trailers for different tasks, including a 25 foot goose neck trailer that I use for hauling hay, my tractor and logs on. Just getting to my property is "off road". My pickup is a 1997 F250 4 wheel drive with a 460 V8. It is a work truck, and I don't care about gas mileage. I bought it new in 97 and have never put a dent in it yet.
Click to expand...
that's very nice.
 
I have a truck, tractors, UTV and ATV. They all have their purpose.
Although I love my UTV (Kubota RTV), it'll be the first to go. I used it a lot more in the past but now it spends most of its days just sitting there. It's pretty much for firewood processing at this point. Having a $5-figure machine only running 20 hours/year isn't worth keeping in the garage.

PS - Kubota RTV for sale. ;)
 
zoomzoom said:
I have a truck, tractors, UTV and ATV. They all have their purpose.
Although I love my UTV (Kubota RTV), it'll be the first to go. I used it a lot more in the past but now it spends most of its days just sitting there. It's pretty much for firewood processing at this point. Having a $5-figure machine only running 20 hours/year isn't worth keeping in the garage.

PS - Kubota RTV for sale. ;)
Click to expand...
Will you deliver?
I am hoping to buy a used one from work as they get salvaged. They are well used, but also get yearly maintenace so still in decent shape. That would fit my needs very well.
 
Mountain trapper said:
What maintenance can cost you $1000 a year on your side by side? When I change oil on my CanAm Defender twice a year it cost me about $50 each time. I've only taken it to the dealer once to replace one of the power window switchs. While it was there I had them change the oil too. There was no charge because they used my side by side to rescue someone that was stuck in the snow out in the woods, and needed tracks to reach him.
For the cost of my CanAm I could have bought a fairly new pickup, but it would never get to the places my CanAm will. My SXS has power windows, heater/defrost, and AC. I wish it had the radio and GPS. I may add that later. I have tracks for winter time and it's set up for a 60" snow blower.
Click to expand...
Parts and labor are expensive. I don't have time to do that stuff, myself. I just spend a weekend earlier this month getting 2 old square balers running again and am still trying to play catch up on everything else. I just don't have time to give to anything else right now.

Trailering is $150 to $200 round trip. It went up because of equipment the dealer now has to use, and they are an hour away. Parts are absurd. Usually there's more than an oil change...a battery, a belt, etc. This time, the steering's out of alignment due to my recent mishap. The vehicle hasn't been fully serviced in 2 years (previous dealership management quit trailering customer vehicles in for service). Definitely time for plugs, new filters, new fluids, and at least one headlight bulb. It all adds up quickly, especially these days.
 
mml373 said:
Parts and labor are expensive. I don't have time to do that stuff, myself. I just spend a weekend earlier this month getting 2 old square balers running again and am still trying to play catch up on everything else. I just don't have time to give to anything else right now.

Trailering is $150 to $200 round trip. It went up because of equipment the dealer now has to use, and they are an hour away. Parts are absurd. Usually there's more than an oil change...a battery, a belt, etc. This time, the steering's out of alignment due to my recent mishap. The vehicle hasn't been fully serviced in 2 years (previous dealership management quit trailering customer vehicles in for service). Definitely time for plugs, new filters, new fluids, and at least one headlight bulb. It all adds up quickly, especially these days.
Click to expand...
A small trailer isn't that expensive. I guess I'm pretty easy on my equipment. The only thing that has ever gone wrong on my side by side was a power window switch that quit working. I have a lot of equipment to maintain here on the ranch. An oil change on my CanAm takes me about 15 minutes and a can of beer. Our dealership is about 75 miles away, and I'm not about to pay their shop rates for something that I can do myself in just a few minutes. I keep at least a 3 year stock of air and oil filters for every machine I own, plus oil and grease too. We live too far from town to run in for parts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top