Here's my first question ever for this board.  Be kind to me.  I'm a little nervous.

These UTV's are getting popular and we're going to get one.  (John Deere Gator probably)  My question, if the wife wants to barrel race, etc. and we hook up the gooseneck, how do I bring along my toy?  Are their trailers being built that accomodate both?

Many shows that I've been to are spread out and involve a lot of walking. Several exhibitors bring golf carts to haul their tack, feed and personnel. They attach a smaller flatbed, utility type trailer to the back of the horse trailer.

The carts in turn are equipped with a trailer hitch. When the rig arrives, the cart is unloaded and its trailer is attached to the cart, which moves it to a convenient spot out of the way. Then the horse trailer is handled and unloaded in the normal way. The carts could easily be substituted with the utes.

Before you decide on a belt driven UTV, check out some with real transmissions, 4 wheel brakes, hydraulic dump beds, diesel engines, and exemplarily carrying and towing capacities. Belt drives are weak in water conditions, wear quickly with constant towing, and changing one is difficult. Kubota RTVs with a three range hydrostatic transmission fit the bill.

I spent the first few hours of this morning moving several hay wagons, both loaded and empty with our RTV. Pulling three empty or two full is no problem and I didn't even have to use the 4wd. Once you have a ute, you will wonder how you got along without it.

Gard

I have a Artic Cat Prowler that I just drive up into the back of my trailer. If I need all the trailer stalls for horses or mules, I just load it on to a small trailer and pull it behind my LQ trailer. When I get to where I am going, the little trailer gets unhooked first, then moved out of the way. I have a factory installed hitch reciever tube on the back of my LQ trailer that is rated for more than the UTV and trailer weighs. Some shows still allow scooters, so I prefer to take the scooter since it is less hassle.

Before the Artic Cat Prowler, we had a EZ Go workhorse. It did not perform well at all on the farm  but did well at the shows.

Some show grounds don't alow "gas powered" utility vehicles. The electric golf carts, electric gators, etc. are OK. No internal combustion engine powered vehicles allowed, no ATV's, RTV's, etc..... Go figure! We take a couple of these with us, one for me because I can't walk and another for the wife to use or for me in the event of a break down. They don't have the cool factor that a ATV has, but if ya got a leg gnawed off, then you've lost all hopes of being cool along time ago!!! They are 23" wide and 44" long, so they fit nicely in a horse stall, inside the arenas, bathrooms, offices and they are ADA compliant. The battery will last all day on an overnight charge.

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than standing in a garage makes you a car

Love this line...

A neighbour of mine had a 36' stock trailer that divided up nicely into three 12' box stalls.  She used to load horses up front, close the divider, and drive her car in on the back and climb out through the sun roof. She used this setup for the big shows in the city where she didn't want to drive the dually around, or for when they needed more than one vehicle. Obviously this wouldn't be much help on the fair grounds....  However, if her car fit, surely a Gator could be accomodated. We load the quad in ours by removing the door post (it has collapsible rear tack).

A few years ago my daughter (who was 10) and I were 3 days into a 7 day run of shows and were gearing up for the long walk to the showers clear on the other side of the grounds.  Three 18 hour days of hoofing it had left me aching all over, but clearly she was feeling the same when she eyeballed a mini pulling a cart past us and said, "ohhhhh, mom, do you think we could hitch a ride?"

Btw, I'm also still giggling over the church/garage comparison above.  That's priceless!

Here are a slew of them to compare...

Use this for the shows...

http://www.4-medical-supplies.com/heavy-dutymobilityscooters/

Instead of a GATOR or its relatives...for around the farm...Get a Japanese MiniTruck!!!...

They come in many flavors...and some even have A/C...

Daihatsu

Mitsubishi

Suzuki

Subaru

Honda

Mazda

Here is where you can find all the info on them...

http://www.minitrucktalk.com/

Great input.    The stock combo with a center swing gate makes the most sense for my use.  Tough to find those with a drop ramp though.

You could carry a couple of folding ramps (like the type for ATVs).

Originally written by retento on 2008-06-12 12:09 PM

Some show grounds don't alow "gas powered" utility vehicles. The electric golf carts, electric gators, etc. are OK. No internal combustion engine powered vehicles allowed, no ATV's, RTV's, etc..... Go figure! We take a couple of these with us, one for me because I can't walk and another for the wife to use or for me in the event of a break down. They don't have the cool factor that a ATV has, but if ya got a leg gnawed off, then you've lost all hopes of being cool along time ago!!! They are 23" wide and 44" long, so they fit nicely in a horse stall, inside the arenas, bathrooms, offices and they are ADA compliant. The battery will last all day on an overnight charge.

There's a woman in VT who competes in Endurance... very well known family... and she and her husband both ride Segways around ridecamp.  She even trots her horse out for the vet while riding her Segway.  Very cool to watch.

Here's your new trailer!!! May need to be 8' wide instead.

http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/home/trailerdetail.asp?ID=159151

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Maybe this one...  http://www.horsetrailerworld.com/home/trailerdetail.asp?ID=161747

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We have built a few buggie trailers, here is a picture of a custom build where the slant wall opens.

http://www.doubledtrailers.com/Customer_Testimonial.htm

Another solution would be to add a ramp to the side.  You would need a wide trailer to fit the gator if you drove the gator in sideways.   

I agree with looking at the RTV.  We have owned one for about 3-4 yrs.  I can't live without it.  My husband hates to take it in for a service because I am one unhappy farm manager without it.  We have both cows and horses and it makes my life so much easier; just load up and go feed.  I also highly recommend the hydraulic dump bed.  I use it for dumping hay to the cows;  cleaning our horse stalls and dumping the shaving. Also recommend the windshield and the roof.

We have taken it camping also - we did not carry horses on this trip.  We had a 3H LQ at the time with a rear ramp.  We took out the stall dividers and drove it up the ramp.  The RTV fit just fine even with the manager.  Unloaded it and just backed it down the ramp.  We drove it all over the campground. By the end of the weekend other guests were asking us if there was a place nearby to rent one.  Makes camping in a large camp like that on a lot easier.  I would think as long as your trailer had a ramp and had enough length you could haul both horses and an RTV at the same time.  For a slant load just remove the dividers and if you have a stock type its even easier.

(Quote DAVE)  Great input.    The stock combo with a center swing gate makes the most sense for my use.  Tough to find those with a drop ramp though.

Here's another possibility...

http://www.power-trac.com/uvclass.htm