The pasture buggie

[JazzDad]

Another. Jim, I've sent you a PM where we got it.

[jimbrown]

Thats neet never saw one of those. Mine has the flit seat but the workarea is just a flat area.

[CJDave]

[img]/forums/images/icons/tongue.gif[/img] That is one fine looking VOLTS WAGON. [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

[lynxpilot]

Just got one of these. We garden at the opposite end of the property, and that combined with all of the other chores going from one end to the other made these seem necessary. I had to convince myself it wasn't just a toy I wanted in the collection. I've only had it a few days and it's already been useful.

Is everybody else making good use of theirs? What sort of things are you doing with them?

[jimbrown]

I could not begin to make a list I use mine everyday for something. here is pic of whats in the bed right now. Color is off I had to fill flash it pretty hard.

I also use mine to drag my arena and round pen. It works better than my small tractor. Stuff thats in there tha I have used in the last day or two.
Power drill/driver/screws
nails ohm meter
fence tool
sledge hammer
hammer
electric fence rope
tie downs
???
I can't tell what kind that is yanaha?

[Pat]

MY pasture buggy is a 1989 Dodge Dakota 4x4 pickup. Goes anywhere on the place, is lighter on its feet than either of my diesel pickups, has a nice cargo box, is enclosed for inclimate weather but has opening windows on both sides and in the back. Can seat 3 in the cab and overflow in the bed.

It cost less than most of the Off-Road golf carts and way less than the better of the genre like the Rhino and such. I have no need to be able to put it in the bed of a pickup or load it onto a trailer to move it to a remote site as it is street legal and can be roaded for significant distances including high speed interstate travel.

It is not configured with a little dump bed but I have alternatives that preclude that being a problem.

If I am willing to forgo road travel I can drop the tag and insurance and have an extremely economical pasture buggie.

Pat

[lynxpilot]

Pat,

I used my pickup or tractor up until now for any lugging chores. What I was finding difficult was gates, tight turns, shifting gears on the tractor (wife doesn't do manual tranny yet), and overall access stuff. We have another ATV we bought for our son, but it's a sport model, shifts like a motorcycle, and doesn't have any racks or anything to haul. It ended up being more of a nuisance to get things back and forth from the garden with it.
What I like about the new cart is the bed, auto tranny, small size compared to the pickup or tractor, and it's got box hitch inserts on front and back. We're fabricating a top and windscreen now for trips in the rain. It's also a lot more efficient than the truck or tractor in terms of fuel for short trips like we are doing.
Have I justified it yet? [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

[hudr]

My '86 Bronco II 4x4 fills this need most of the time. Sometimes I miss the bed on my 1 ton diesel, but its not a big deal to hook up a small utility trailer or the welding trailer to the BII. Like Pat's Dakota, the BII goes anywhere, gets a LOT better mileage than the 1 ton. Plus it has doors, a windshield and a heater knob. And it makes a pretty good beater going back and forth to work.

[Pat]

Justified? Not that it is required but YES! Everyone's situation is in part unique and the range of solutions appropriate for each individual may overlap with the other guy's. The success of my "buggy" (note alternate spelling) is partially due to the scale factor. I am ranging over 160 acres and have few or no close-in tight spots that defy my maneuvering ability with the Dakota.

For the price of a good off road golf cart I can buy an awful lot of gasoline for the Dakota.

On the surface our uses superficially resemble one another to a reasonable degree but really are not the same. The Dakota is full length box not extended cab. I can carry a generator, air compressor, plasma cutter, stick and mig welders, chopsaw, etc. and do some serious work with it rather than use a trailer to haul everything (which I sometimes do if that fits my needs.)

I can do most of what you do with my Dakota except for the really tight close in maneuvering. Of course, there isn't an old Dakota dealership around and buying used trucks hoping to get a good one can be frustrating and time wasting. We have been lucky that this Dakota has aged gracefully and if we didn't already have it, I'd have already bought me one of those terribly expensive off road golf carts.

Pat

[JazzDad]

Re: Is everybody else making good use of theirs? What sort of things are you doing with them?

Our buggie, with its wide, flotation tires, makes very little impact on the grass where we cross the pond overflow. The cargo box allows carrying meal and cubes for the cattle that otherwise would be lugged by yours truly. (It's a little bit from the road to the loafing shed.)