Looking for input on this. With trying to stay within a budget, I can't have both. I'm tossing around the idea of buying some sort of older truck/suv to drive back and forth to the lease to save on mileage and wear/tear on my pickup. I hunt on a smaller piece of land (150 acres) that's for the most part flat and easy to get around in a vehicle so I really don't "need" a 4 wheeler. But, I can probably get back into smaller, harder-to-reach areas of the land with the 4 wheeler. And of course, they're more fun to drive.

Thoughts. Has anyone had this come up and what were your pros and cons? Thanks...

If you own a truck then are you going to haul the 4 wheeler in the back? If not then you need a trailer...another expense. More upkeep. Less wear and tear on your vehicle. How away is your lease? If you buy another vehicle you have more tires on the ground to wear out, insurance to pay, and maintenance on another vehicle. Just some thoughts.

I have both and the truck is more useful...
truck pros
warm in winter
cool in summer
dry when it rains
hauls corn, t posts, tools ect
I CAN go just about every place the atv will go

truck cons
if it breaks you need a ride
I have several slow leaking tires

atv pros
yep they're fun
yep you can get around good

atv cons
you really need a place to store it
you have to get it out and put it up every time
if you leave it there you have to worry about someone stealing it

It's a tad under 100 miles. I was thinking the maintenance/insurance would even out and be a wash with either one.

For those of you with the 4 wheelers, what are some of the situations/reasons for saying "man, I'm sure glad I have this"?

atv

when target shooting it's easy to ride down and change targets

you have one to ride when everyone elst is going riding

they come in handy every now and then

I have my ATV for several reasons. One, is my family likes having it to go ride trails and such. Also we take it to Colorado to ride in the mountains.
My lease is the same distance as yours "around 100 miles one way". I use it to get to and from the stand and haul corn and tools. I am 1.1 miles lease road from camp to the stand. If it rains, I dont have to worry about getting stuck or rutting up the roads. We also have a small ATV trailer at the lease that we pull with them to haul game back. I drive a diesel, so I am cold no matter what when it is cold due to my diesel not blowing warm air unless it idles for a long time. I can get to my stand and light my heater faster than my truck will get warm. Also we have a lot of mesquite trees and I dont have to worry about scratching up my truck or flat tires. I just slime my atv tires and I am good to go. I am sure I will think of other reasons. And they are fun as well.

Yeah, it's a tough call. Now that I've started looking around for used ones I'm being reminded why I hate dealing with most people. Nothing like being told one thing and driving across DFW to find out "oh, it worked the other day when I checked it".

You can also get a 3 wheeler for much less than a 4 wheeler as well. Speaking of which, I am about to try to sale mine.

Had a Big Red as a kid back in the 80s. Was a lot of fun!

Thats what mine is.

If you're looking for the cheapest route, just use your dd. The little bit of wear & tear you save isnt' going to outweigh the cost of buying an extra vehicle.

That being said, most of us to have fun. Old trucks to me are fun. I've never been a big fan of ATV's. You can pickup older trucks on the cheap and not be out a lot of money. Sounds like you don't need 4x4, and they usually cost a little more - but they're higher on the cool factor. Tow it to the lease and leave it if you don't want to tag and inspect and then use it for a brush truck. My dad gave $700 for a bronco 2 4x4 and we left it a the lease for 5 years. The rats ate a little more up every year until finally all the wiring was pretty much gone and it finally died, but that's still less than $150/yr.

I've got a couple older gm's in addition to my 4x4 psd, but I keep them in better shape and drive them regularly. You can drop a lot of money into one quick if you're not careful, but me and the kids love them.

Thanks for the input fellas.

That's basically what I'm thinking, except taking it a step further. For the same price as a decent 4 wheeler I could get something that gives me the same use at the lease (driving to the feeder with corn, etc) and I could also drive back and forth to the lease from my house.

As for storage, it's a wash. Even with a 4 wheeler/trailer, it would be stored in the garage.

I think maintenence would be the same for either, oil changes, tires, etc.

Plus with the 4 wheeler I can see my boys beating me down all of the time, wanting to ride it. They already do it with my brother's.

I have a deer lease truck and it gets annoying when other lease members call and ask if they can use it to fill feeders because their 4 wheeler won't hold all the corn. I will take a small 4x4 truck over a 4 wheeler any day. (The only reason I am annoyed by them borrowing it is they don't replace the gas or fix it when it is broke)

the only time we use our 4-wheeler is changing targets or checking fencelines. Its a blast to ride but not really practical for our type of ranch duties.

the first and last time i hunted out of it, was when i was in a loaner truck (ford ranger) and our mule was already being used.

I shot a small hog the day before, loaded it up on the front and cruised back to camp, no problem.

the next day I shot a sizable cull buck and almost killed myself getting it into the drop basket on the back of the ATV. I;ve loaded up several smaller bodied bucks that we shot in east texas and never had any problems with a 4-wheeler until this buck.

Not a time goes by that I load up a deer in my truck bed or in the mule that I don't think about how hard it was to get that buck in the 4-wheeler.

I like the idea of something like what sportsman has, a small atv trailer. Sure would make dragging the heavier game out of the woods an easier chore.

x2

I have gotten way more flats on the 4-wheeler and the mule than i ever have with my truck.

10 ply pays off

x2 on the 10 plys. Don't think I've gotten a flat from mesquites or cactus in the last 8 years.

I bought a 1982 Chevy truck for $500 bucks. Camo painted it and built a high rack. I can tote plenty of corn for feeders and load up for hog hunting day or night. The truck body is in great shape and engine is ok on compression. I will be putting a 3000 winch on it along with some other goodies. This is the second hunting season and all is well. I won't have a $1000 in it. Go with a truck!

I've looked at a little bit of everything, trucks, jeeps, 4 wheelers. This project is becoming a part-time job.

I totally understand. Before I catch heck on this, this is all my opinion. I started out using a 4wheeler many years ago. It did everything I needed it to do. I then got a Polaris Ranger after I sold the 4wheeler. While it was nice, it was also an older model with a straight axle, and it was a rough riding fool. It did everything and more. If it wasnt for the rough ride, I might still have it. But I sold it, and I then went with a jeep. But having to drive that thing back and forth all the time got old. Plus, you dont want to just throw a deer in the back of a jeep. I got rid of the jeep and got a 3wheeler. The 3 wheeler was ok as far as getting me where I wanted to go, but it was a pain to haul corn on. And I just upgraded back to another 4wheeler and couldnt be happier. I believe I will be keeping this one for a while.

4wheeler for how/where we hunt. Small 4wd trucks and jeeps are too big and too heavy, same thing with the rangers/mules when it rains. Been there, done that, the Nike Express flat out sucks since we don't get cell phone signal.

Sounds like you hunt in an area similar to mine. The back 1/3 of our lease is sand w/ a hard pack top about 3 to 5 feet deep over a clay bottom. Let it rain once or a couple of light rains, and you can still drive your 2 wheel drive PU w/ no problems. When it rains more? Well the ability to float is the only thing that counts - the baddest 4wd truck will get eaten alive! Break through that top crust and you are sinking in water. Rangers/Mules are really to heavy also! A mid sized 4wd 4 wheeler is the only thing that will survive.

David

oh and 4 wheelers, mules, rhinos, etc. are too darn loud!!!

our deer never minded the sound of the jeep or mule, but they hated the 4 wheeler.

to the guys who posted above, when we hunted in east texas, there was this one year the entire place had about 2 inches of standing water on it save for some higher places. the only reliable method of travel was a 4 wheeler,ranch owner had a gator 4x4 that worked well also