Urban flight to rural land

Mennoniteman said:
Around here there is lots of negativity towards Polaris, it seems every owner has their story. Their wiring used to be very suspect, 15 years ago my farmer friend bought a new Ranger, a week out of warranty he parked in front of the farmhouse for a late breakfast, several minutes later he looked out and it was engulfed in flames.
Yamadog seems to be about the most reliable.
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I’ve spent extensive time on hard used Polaris SxS and have owned Yamaha. I’ve gone to the Kawasaki Mule FTX Pros. This is night and day difference from older Mules referenced above. They are super smooth and super reliable. An outfitter/rancher friend puts 5k a year on them and trades in at year 3. He’s never needed to do anything but change the oil. We use ours hard and have had the same experience. Unlike most manufacturers, they come with a 3 yr warranty….which you’re very unlikely to use. Not a sport machine but a super smooth work horse.
 
Mennoniteman said:
Around here there is lots of negativity towards Polaris, it seems every owner has their story. Their wiring used to be very suspect, 15 years ago my farmer friend bought a new Ranger, a week out of warranty he parked in front of the farmhouse for a late breakfast, several minutes later he looked out and it was engulfed in flames.
Yamadog seems to be about the most reliable.
Click to expand...
That is my point - you can ask five sxs owners and likely get support for four or five different brands. I know two folks who think there is nothing else worthy than canam. If someone gave me a canam, I would be looking to sell tomorrow. Mine has been horrible. I cant say one positive about it. I also have a 2009 polaris rzr I am still driving. It hasnt been without problems - most of the front end has been replaced. And you have to compare apples to apple use, also. I know folks who have never or rarely had their machines in mud and water - I am not talking driving through a mudhole in a trail - I am talking being in mud and water more than dry ground for six months out of the year. If you have upland land in Missouri or Kansas - the demands on your sxs are likely going to be a lot different than if you have bottomland in the south.

just like yamaha, mercury, Suzuki, honda, tohatsu outboards - you will find supporters and detractors for each. But, all that said, I hear the fewest negative comments on yamaha sxs. I havent own one, but that will probably be my next rig if I have problems with my ranger.
 
Mennoniteman said:
I predicted when the shutdown started that the end result of covid was going be the dollar amount of everything doubling. Our elected leaders wanted to do this doubling for a long time, and they will double again if they can. The reason for this is that doubling the dollar amount of everything effectively cuts our national debt in half, so then, they can go and spend, or give away 28 trillion dollars all over again. I mention this not to get all political here, but to point out that this is the new reality, don't expect the prices of land (or anything else) to go back down again.
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I was talking to a worker at Home Depot a few days ago about the price of OSB. $7 a sheet pre china flu. Got as high as $53 here, 18 months ago. Dropped as low as mid $20’s 8 months, now $42. The home depot worker said no way prices go back down significantly. He said they are paying their average worker almost $5 an hour more than $3 years ago - and cant keep them. He said everyone in the supply chain is making more and charging more. Fuel is up, equipment prices from chainsaws to skidders cost more. He said all these folks in the supply chain are not going to cut hourly wages. He said we might see small downward fluctuations if energy costs go down or if bottlenecks in the supply chain are worked out. He did say it interest rates went way up and slowed housing construction - then, there could be a drop in all construction materials - but he thought we were a long way from that.

Out local polaris dealer has had one polaris 4 wheeler hit the show room floor in the past 18 months - and it was sold that day. All other polaris products at this dealer are sold by order and go direct to the buyer when they arrive. This is a result of a combination of a flood of money hitting the economy and bottlenecks in the supply chain. We are living in times that have been seen before. Who knows, in ten years, we might only have the choice of electric UTV’s. Everyone I talked to kept thinking the demand and money was going to run out - but it just keeps going. If these fuel prices stay elevated - we may see a drop in the recreational vehicle industry. I have noticed a difference in number of boats on my local lake already. I know the offshore boating industry took a beating from 2008-2014 the last time gas prices were around $4. A number of long time major manufacturers went out of business during that period.
 
Well I’ll see you guys SxS and raise you a ‘03 Kawi Brute Force w the beast Vtwin( like my HD). Used it for trail riding long before farm. Been thru water/ mud to the seat. Locking diff front and rear. A bit prejudice since I raced Kawis back in the day.
Had Forester at farm couple months ago him bringing his Polaris. He about SH.. his britches couple times bringing him down some of my steep hillsides. Actually he was so far back I thought he’d wrecked. No engine breaking on those is a big negative in the mountains.
Plus my dad always said he didn’t want to ride nothing he couldn’t throw his leg over , if you know what I mean.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Mennoniteman said:
Around here there is lots of negativity towards Polaris, it seems every owner has their story. Their wiring used to be very suspect, 15 years ago my farmer friend bought a new Ranger, a week out of warranty he parked in front of the farmhouse for a late breakfast, several minutes later he looked out and it was engulfed in flames.
Yamadog seems to be about the most reliable.
Click to expand...
Running a 2012 or 13 Polaris diesel at the farm. 10 yrs and still going strong. It will prolly outlast me. For our homestead, i bought a new Yanmar diesel SxS a few months back. So far, really impressed with it. 2000 lb towing and 1000 cargo. Cargo box is steel rather than plastic and big enough that a full pallet will slide in the back. Slow as a turtle with a top end of 25 mph but perfectly fine for my home place.
 
SwampCat said:
I was talking to a worker at Home Depot a few days ago about the price of OSB. $7 a sheet pre china flu. Got as high as $53 here, 18 months ago. Dropped as low as mid $20’s 8 months, now $42. The home depot worker said no way prices go back down significantly. He said they are paying their average worker almost $5 an hour more than $3 years ago - and cant keep them. He said everyone in the supply chain is making more and charging more. Fuel is up, equipment prices from chainsaws to skidders cost more. He said all these folks in the supply chain are not going to cut hourly wages. He said we might see small downward fluctuations if energy costs go down or if bottlenecks in the supply chain are worked out. He did say it interest rates went way up and slowed housing construction - then, there could be a drop in all construction materials - but he thought we were a long way from that.

Out local polaris dealer has had one polaris 4 wheeler hit the show room floor in the past 18 months - and it was sold that day. All other polaris products at this dealer are sold by order and go direct to the buyer when they arrive. This is a result of a combination of a flood of money hitting the economy and bottlenecks in the supply chain. We are living in times that have been seen before. Who knows, in ten years, we might only have the choice of electric UTV’s. Everyone I talked to kept thinking the demand and money was going to run out - but it just keeps going. If these fuel prices stay elevated - we may see a drop in the recreational vehicle industry. I have noticed a difference in number of boats on my local lake already. I know the offshore boating industry took a beating from 2008-2014 the last time gas prices were around $4. A number of long time major manufacturers went out of business during that period.
Click to expand...

Now world order we are living in...maybe new normal is a better description, with Covid causing a major reset on all fronts.
 
2AB148D8-2DAD-441E-B480-A79261C15CE6.jpeg

So would you guys take a 65 hp cab tractor down this trail - that I have miles of on my place? Are the cab tractor guys row croppers or food plotters?;)
 
SwampCat said:
View attachment 23797

So would you guys take a 65 hp cab tractor down this trail - that I have miles of on my place? Are the cab tractor guys row croppers or food plotters?;)
Click to expand...
Row cropper and food plotter here.
I take a CTL and make all of my (several miles) tractor roads at least 14'-16' wide. This has many benefits over a two track, including access for wide planters, mowers, and tillage equipment, taking road vehicles anywhere, more peace of mind when driving faster, more edge and browse, less slopholes, and more sunshine to the ground.
Making woods roads wider doesn't necessarily mean less timber sales, since timber that has more spacing often grows faster anyway. Making roads wider makes more wildlife habitat since more sun means more understory. And making roads wider means less road maintenance, because a wider road needs trimmed less often before it becomes impassable.
 
111737A8-C654-49A0-ADF1-6EAC68A1DCC1.jpeg

Dont know why my pics keep getting turned sideways. This is that same trail a month ago. Water stayed on it a couple months that time. I made the mistake of digging stumps once to make a trail. Five years later, you still cant use that trail most of the year because of all the soft spots from stump holes. We now mulch all our bottom land trails and mulch the tree even with the ground. It is classified as wetland, and also in a flowage easement, so you cant haul in any fill. This ground can be a challenge to work down here - and is rough on equipment. This is the kind of stuff my ranger spends half its life in. Water has been 12 ft deep right here on this trail for a month or more - several times. You northern folks have the cold and snow, us southern boys have heat and water.
 
SwampCat said:
View attachment 23799

Dont know why my pics keep getting turned sideways. This is that same trail a month ago. Water stayed on it a couple months that time. I made the mistake of digging stumps once to make a trail. Five years later, you still cant use that trail most of the year because of all the soft spots from stump holes. We now mulch all our bottom land trails and mulch the tree even with the ground. It is classified as wetland, and also in a flowage easement, so you cant haul in any fill. This ground can be a challenge to work down here - and is rough on equipment. This is the kind of stuff my ranger spends half its life in. Water has been 12 ft deep right here on this trail for a month or more - several times. You northern folks have the cold and snow, us southern boys have heat and water.
Click to expand...

and mosquitoes,fire ants,feral hogs, and goatweed.........

bill
 
Mennoniteman said:
I predicted when the shutdown started that the end result of covid was going be the dollar amount of everything doubling. Our elected leaders wanted to do this doubling for a long time, and they will double again if they can. The reason for this is that doubling the dollar amount of everything effectively cuts our national debt in half, so then, they can go and spend, or give away 28 trillion dollars all over again. I mention this not to get all political here, but to point out that this is the new reality, don't expect the prices of land (or anything else) to go back down again.
Click to expand...


Unfortunately, I believe you are right !
 
Well , God must have got tired of my complaining. Called yesterday by a logger I've been trying to get do my property and he said he wants to go as he is finishing up a large tract. Should receive a signed contract early this week. Had already worked out the details and glad to get him as opposed to some others.
 
dogghr said:
Well , God must have got tired of my complaining. Called yesterday by a logger I've been trying to get do my property and he said he wants to go as he is finishing up a large tract. Should receive a signed contract early this week. Had already worked out the details and glad to get him as opposed to some others.
Click to expand...
Trees, logging, and timber sales is one of my hobbies, I'm interested in following along as you proceed with this. Maybe you can post some pics...
 
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