Those of you with quad bikes.

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glamourpuss

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In the past we've always had our field maintenance done by a local farmer. The problem with this is obviously he just fits us in around his work so can't always get us done when we need it. Last year he couldn't come & roll/Harrow until the ground had baked solid so it was pointless really & left one field unusable.

We haven't really got the budget for a tractor but could get a decent 2nd hand 'heavy duty' farm quad with some chain harrows, small roller & ATV topper.
I think this will more than suit our needs but OH is a little more cautious.

Does anyone use a quad for field maintenance? What sort of average do you use it on what do you find the pros/cons to be?
 
Not quite a quad but I have a Hayter 'lawn tractor' this is much more substantial than a normal ride on mower, it has a tow bar and can pull a roller and harrow, the cutting blades have variable heights and the whole mowing plate can be lifted right up if not needed

The reason we bought it was that they are less desirable than quads so cheaper

We use it a lot for poo picking and moving hay. its been in use a lot of the winter but obviously isn't as good as a quad on wet ground but we do find it very useful and safe
 
Could a quad pull a heavy enough roller?

Grand for other stuff though.

To roll, we borrow one neighbours vintage tractor, and the farmers roller and do it ourselves.

Other stuff being not quite so time dependent, is done by local contractor.

Fiona
 
Fiona said:
Could a quad pull a heavy enough roller?

Grand for other stuff though.

To roll, we borrow one neighbours vintage tractor, and the farmers roller and do it ourselves.

Other stuff being not quite so time dependent, is done by local contractor.

Fiona
Click to expand...

I agree, we get a farmer in for rolling, our quads will pull the roller when empty but it's too much when filled. it will harrow etc fine.
 
We use a small roller with our quad (Kawasaki KVF650 twin), it works well, although obviously takes longer than a tractor/larger roller. We use our quad to harrow and roll and we've got a tipping trailer for poo picking.
Pros: its a lot of fun and like you, OP, I was fed up trying to find reliable contractors.
Cons: quads grow legs and walk around here so insurance/datatagging/ground anchors/alarms/big guard dog etc are a must.
 
We've had a quad and whilst great for some jobs there are a lot of things that they just aren't up too. Now we have a small tractor (a Siromer), that we use for harrowing, rolling and topping - can pull a much more substantial kit than the ATV, also we have a grab on the front so can use it to bring in our large haylage bales to the barn.
 
We now have a tractor for seeding, fertilizing, harrowing etc. We don't roll as we are on clay soil!

We have the quad for lighter jobs such as spraying, poo picking and hay moving. It would harrow but the tractor does it better!

The tractor is much sturdier obviously and the tyres grip much better than the quads. However the quad is quicker, more maneuverable and much more fun!
 
Thank you everyone. Lots to think about.

OH has come home suddenly very keen on the quad idea. As we are on clay the rolling isn't too much of an issue, mainly for the woodchip turnout area.

We have found a really good quad in our budget. So might go & have a look at it.
Thanks again all
 
If the land isn't too steep the quad will manage the roller. The main issue is it takes longer because you cover less ground with small tools than a big tractor. However I prefer to be self sufficient. I have a subcompact tractor and a small quad. The quad is old but very reliable and I harrow about 10 acres with it. One bonus with the tractor is you don't have to use a thumb throttle.
 
I have a quad and its worth its weight in gold. I have 8 acres and I use the quad for harrowing and moving stuff around eg hay and fence posts etc. I can tow my mobile field shelters with mine which is handy and I also have a grader for raking my arena. The biggest difficulty I find is that they need to be used very regularly to stay in good order, you need to start them up pretty much every week or every few days in the winter or the batteries seem to die quite easily. Also you do need to be careful on them, I've had mine for a good few years and even now I sometimes nearly tip mine over. They are quite light for something of their power and they can go over on you if you don't ride them carefully. I did a half day training course on looking after mine and riding it safely, which I would definitely recommend. They are absolutely fab to ride in snow :) , great fun, and are also good at getting rid of moles and mole hills.
 
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