Quad bikes - pros and cons please

[cadeby]

A friend has offered us a 350cc quad bike with front and rear load racks at a bargain price, less than half the market value. Martin is struggling with his knees (no cartilage in either of them) and I have a recurring back injury so the farm chores are becoming more and more difficult, particularly in the winter.

My first thought was that a quad bike would ease the load. I could use it for taking small bale hay to the stallions who winter out at opposite ends of the farm, plus carry water containers if the well system freezes, plus carry feed sacks from the car to feed room, plus collect logs for the fire.
All these tasks are done by wheelbarrow at present.

Then I switch to thinking I won't really use it and I won't get any exercise if I just zip around the place

Can those of you who have a quad let me know what sort of tasks you use it for, so I can decide if it going to be worth the expense. Thanks. Helen xx

[harveydales]

Couldn't live without mine! No way could I physically cope with our 7 acres without it.

I use it every day for poopicking with a small plastic tipping trailer behind.

This afternoon we are going to use it to get a big round hay bale up to the ponies. We hook it up to a bigger trailer, load the bale into the trailer with the tractor and then off we go. There is no way you could drive a tractor across our fields when it is this wet but the quad goes anywhere and through anything without making a mess. It is 4 wheel drive which is essential.

I use it regularly to take small bales out to the ponies, water out when we are iced up or snowed in - goes great in snow. Moving heavy bags of feed from place to place.

Brilliant for all sorts of fencing type jobs where you just put your tools in a crate on the front. I even dismantle my electric fencing from the quad without having to get off. Great for driving around to check fencing, gates, ponies etc. And LOTS of fun to drive.

You really won't regret getting one and will kick yourself for not having bought one sooner. I can't think of any cons.

You can do jobs like harrowing, spraying etc if you have the right attatchments and don't have a tractor. We don't bother because we've got the big tractor.

[Tynedale]

We have one and it gets used loads. Every day in the spring/summer all the feed bowls get fastened on the front and I go round and feed. Hay/haylage goes in the trailer it pulls in the autumn time and again it's easy to go around the ponies and feed. Checking the ponies is quick and also the electric fencing.
Edited to add
I still walk around all of the ponies at first light and when we poo pick the fields using the tractor, it doesn't make me lazy!

[zeldalithgow]

We have one I love it but it's broken has been for about a year can't get Tom to fix it so I'm very ours is quite a big one so great for pulling things (when it worked) we even pulled the horse trailer to a new postion with it, fab for poo picking esp when it's really muddy and great for shifting stuff about when fencing etc

[cadeby]

Thanks ladies. It certainly sounds like it would be worth the investment. I hadn't thought about using a quad for fencing but this would save me no end of hassle as you can always guarantee that the broken post requiring replacement is at the furthest point of the farm, across the muddiest fields, and that I will forget some tool and have to walk all the way back

Will see if it's still available and hasn't been snapped up.

[DalesLady]

We use it a lot too. We use it for taking hay to the ponies in winter if they are out, feeding sheep, checking stock and rounding them up as we don't have a handy collie dog, checking fences, delivering water and tbh I don't know how we managed without it. It goes anywhere and is particularly handy at lambing time when we take newborns and mothers out to different parts of the fields.

[lyndales]

Speaking with a 'Colin' head on, when it is wet they do still churn up the fields a lot and gouge deep ruts etc. We've got the Yamaha Rhino and we only use it in the fields for the fences etc when it is dry enough not to make a mess. We are lucky in one respect - being able to get to the hay feeders and drinkers from the road or gravel drive :-) with the tractor. Very useful around the farm/yard though xx