Side by side recommendations ?

I will be purchasing a new side by side and so far I am leaning towards a Kawasaki Mule. I do know I want four wheel drive, two seats, liquid cooled, power steering and need decide diesel or gas. Any reviews or suggestions regardless of make or model would be greatly appreciated. It will be strictly used for trapping throughout Texas.

Test drive a few brands. The mule is supposed to be good but slow same with kubota. The Polaris ranger and can am defender have a lot of bells and whistles including heat and air conditioning. I’m not sure if the kubota or mule have that. I think if you drive a few different ones you’ll find the best one that fits you.

Yamaha viking or the honda

They will hold up
The mule doesn't have much ground clearance and you can walk that fast

I have a Polaris, my boss has a Kawasaki, his uncle a Honda.
I strongly dislike the Kawasaki.
My Polaris has been good to me but not used as hard as the other 2.
If I bought another it would definitely be a Honda.
This is all ranch work so they are put to the test.

Thats my 2 cents

If I was buying another one, I'd get another Can Am, but anything made by Honda is good too

Never owned one, but a company in southeast Alaska that I am familiar with owns and operates a bunch of them. They only buy the Mules. They must have 50 of them. They have a real neat deal where you drive them up into the alpine where they have a lodge. Those things must take a beating with all the tourists, so the fact that they use the Mules should mean something.

My next ATV will be a 6x6...Can Am is making a smaller 450 now thats supposed to be pretty good.

I have used them all on coyote trapping jobs. Honda and Can Am are the top 2 choices. I have had to walk more than 4 times because of a Polaris.

All the input is appreciated. Thank you!!!

I'm 6'3" I liked the leg room in the Viking. I found a great deal on a Honda 1000, and bought it. We area Honda family and zero regrets! Leg room works, power, plenty, clearance good, no belts, compact for a 5 seater.

The polaris ranger has knuckles on the drive shaft that do not have zerks for grease, replaced one and the other machines are starting to rattle now. Diesel polaris are a little torquey on the start.

I owned a poolaris once, now I own a Honda 1000-5 LE. No complaints

I must be old.
Came here to post a pic of my side x side.

Side by side, side by sides ...

Have a gator 825, great for trapping and firewood
Not a trail machine

If you want to work on it, buy a Polaris if you just want to use the heck out of it buy a Honda. I own 4 Polaris ATVs next one will be a Honda. Can-Am Defender 6x6 is another good one, spendy but good.

I have a Kawasaki mule 6 seater and a Polaris ranger 500. Both have been good machines really like the mule on the farm and the ranger to hunt and trap out of. Eric

I have an old 2wd gator with hydraulic dump bed. It's great for farm work and I over load it several times a week with fire wood. Its held up well but getting old has needed som routine repairs. Parts are high for that for the name then you open the box and the part is stamped made in China.

I bought a 2017 Honda Pioneer 1000 brand new. I use it in pretty rough country and can deal with deep snow. It is a good machine and will probably last me out to the end.
I have a good dealer who services it for me. Would recommend the Honda pioneer series.

Yamaha or Honda

If you need to check traps fast

I have an 08 ranger 700 XP I bought it new and it has 5500 miles on it now I just replaced my drive belt and fuel pump this summer. Overall it has served me well. I am a Honda man when it comes to ATVs but Honda was dragging their feet releasing their sxs back in 08 when I was in the market for one. So I went Polaris due to how well they held up for some friends in Georgia that used them daily in the swamps.

Ever considered a mini truck? I have a Subaru Sambar now but am thinking about buying a newer Suzuki mini truck. For the money you get heated cab, radio, 4x4 and other items. Lots of things you can do it with them you can't with a standard UTV and for less money. Very pleased with mileage and performance. Might be something to look into.

I have a polaris ranger and it’s been a headache. Polaris might be made in the USA, but a lot of their parts are made in China. Always had Suzuki ATV’s before and loved them. Probably be going back or them or a Honda

If you are gonna do heavy work the Kubota diesel will spoil you!

I have a 2010 800 ranger that use for trapping. Bought it cheap with a trashed tranny. Put a new one in, then decided to delete the turf mode. So I pulled and did the delete myself. Didn't want to have to buy another transmission. OEM parts are very expensive, a Polaris starter costs $400.00. Replaced all the bushings and bolts in the suspension and added a second battery. I built a anchor for my winch, last winter got stuck a 1 1/2 miles back in the middle of nowhere. Added a winch on the back also.

The anchor I made. The harder it pulls the deeper it goes. I made it to fold up and mounted it to fit behind the red carrier on the front.

Morning Dan,
Long time no talk to brother!
How's TX up your way?

Anyway, you know us, we live outta our UTV and Donna and I would get another Kawasaki Mule Pro-FXR in a heartbeat. The TX dust kills a lot of machines and we don't have a chance to service our rig as we should because it's being used a lot, but it can take it. Pop the filter a bit and roll. Trap another ranch. Service as best you can. The Polaris' can't take that. They fail on you (we know).

Love the over size bed compared to most for the critters, and we bought an after market extender.

Good luck. Get the biggest engine like we did to outrun the exotics!!!
Blessings,
Mark

We have a Kawasaki Mule it is literally used everyday on the farm, we have had zero problems out of it. It is not fast and it doesn't ride as smooth as some of the others but it is as dependable as the sun coming up, has a good payload and is easy to get in and out of. We have polaris UTVs at work but Momma always said if you can't say something good don't say anything at all.