Which 4x4

[Mgderf]

I find myself in need of a 4-wheel drive vehicle of one sort or another.
It's sole purpose will be to perform work tasks in a wooded environment.
I need something that will drag a deer up a substantial hill. I may need to drag, or carry on a rack, for up to 5-600 yards.
I would also like to be able to drag tree cuttings around to consolidate into burn piles.

I went looking for a small 4x4. They are running a lot more than I thought they would.
I really had no idea. Never needed one before now.

Anyway, a friend tells me he has another friend that may want to get rid of a Geo Tracker.
I Googled them, and found they do look interesting for my uses, but I'd like to hear some real world experiences.
I've read that some go looking for these things because they are good climbers.
I just wondered about ground clearance, and just how much weight they might pull.
I saw a spec sheet that says the Geo has a 1000lb tongue weight limit. My little basket carrier is only good for 500lbs and I've used it with great success.

Do any Ingoer's have any experience with the Geo Tracker?

 

[King31]

No experience with a Geo Tracker, but if you are looking for a small 4x4 I'd look at a single cab Toyota Tacoma.

Looking at the first paragraph I honestly thought you were looking for some type of atv or utv.

 

[Fargo]

I know folks who build rock crawlers or buggies out of the Geo tracker's or Suzuki samurai's. Don't know if they are any good in stock form or not.

 

[Rookie]

I haven't seen any Trackers built, but I had a friend that had a Samurai wearing 44 inch tires. That thing was awesome.

Anyway, my BIL had a tracker years ago. It ran well and was pretty low maintenance.

 

[Outlaw]

For what you are wanting to do, I would be looking at an older Chevy 4x4 V8 pickup. 80s -2000s. They are decently affordable and pretty cheap to fix.

The early 90s Ford pickups with the straight 6 are workhorses as well.

 

[Itchytriggerfinger]

If you can find a manual transmission it would be good for what you're wanting. Most are probably leaking a little oil by now but for the money, you won't come close to getting a truck that doesn't have a lot of issues.

 

[yeti rider]

Sounds like some sort of small tractor might also fit your bill?

 

[Mgderf]

Sounds like some sort of small tractor might also fit your bill?

Wish I could find one I could afford.

 

[Rookie]

I read in another thread it was only a few hundred dollars? Buy it, trim the fenders to fit the largest tires you can, and have fun until it dies.

 

[Sniper 79]

I'd be looking at atv's or a small tractor. Built for stuff like that.

 

[SteelDude91]

Agreed, I'd be looking at something like a Polaris sportsman or something similar.

Have no experience with a Geo Tracker but I used a 1990 Ford Ranger for those exact purposes and it suited me just fine. They can be had cheap and are easy to work on with parts being readily available.

One thing to consider is, will you be leaving this vehichle on premise? If not consider the wear and tear of driving back and forth on which ever vehichle you choose and the availability of parts. A few hundred dollar vehichle is great untill you're broke down in the middle of no where.

 

[jd4320t]

What's your budget??

Someone mentioned a Tacoma above and I'd second that or even go older and get a Toyota Pickup. I have a 90 that I got for $1200 and it would definitely handle the chores you've mentioned and many more. There are a lot of guys asking too much for their old Toyotas but you can find deals out there on Facebook and Craigslist.

My bro in law had a tracker for a few years that he bought off a neighbor/hired hand on the farm. They drove it for years to fields and such without any issues. If you take care of it I think it'll be fine.

 

[churchmouse]

My sister and her hubby have some very hilly land down by martinsville. They had a tracked for a long time to do some of the chores you mentioned but it was not up to doing much with dragging timber around. They had it everywhere in the woods until they rolled it down into a valley. I do believe it is still down there.

 

[bocefus78]

The tracker will do it with the right tires. If it's to be parked outside, stuff all the mothballs and dryer sheets in it you can to repel mice. Also set bucket traps around it. The mice will chew up the wiring.

I will also say that an atv would be better suited for this. More nimble in tight spaces, easier to work on, easier to park in a small shed, easier to get unstuck, and can be used to pull small implements for food plots.

A small wagon and a 20 year old atv has done exactly what you want for me for the past ten years.

If you are dead set on a vehicle, get a truck....The bed is what you want in the woods. Not a trailer imo.

 

[Cpt Caveman]

https://www.roxoroffroad.com/

I want one.

 

[bstewrat3]

https://www.roxoroffroad.com/

I want one.

I read about those the other day and like the size of them, but not being street legal would be an issue for me.

 

[Outlaw]

I read about those the other day and like the size of them, but not being street legal would be an issue for me.

I've been wondering how difficult it would be to make it street legal

 

[eldirector]

What about one of those mini-trucks? You can even make them street-legal, if you need to drive it off-property occasionally.

A 4x4 version of this:

Several on Craigslist right now (this is one).

 

[Vigilant]

Sounds like you really need a Geo Tractor.

 

[rem788]

My experience with Geo Tracker/Suzuki Samari:
Fairly tough little vehicles, some problems with noisy valve lash adjusters. My biggest concern now would be parts availability, might be a real challenge. If you can find one cheap, might work out ok.
As others have said, a small 4WD truck might work out better, the bed adds a lot of versatility. Negotiating a trailer in the thick woods can be tough.
An ATV like the Polaris Sportsman or something similar can be a lot of fun for the money but you would still need a trailer to haul very much. I have two friends that have Sportsmans and they can pull a surprising amount of weight.
Small tractors are another consideration. The small Ford 8N's can be had fairly cheap and parts are still fairly available. Look for the ones with the side distributor, the ones with the distributor on the front are more difficult to work on I'm told. The drawback with these older tractors is poor hydraulics for the steering and accessories.
The newer small diesel tractors are like gold. Lots of power and what I like most is the hydraulics, greatly improved over the older tractors. You can find some decent 2WD tractors that might not break the bank like the John Deere 850 or similar ones. A 2WD should work well for what you are describing as the work you want to do. I would recommend getting one with a differential lock, improves traction in slippery conditions. If you want a loader, you will want a 4WD tractor. A 2WD will loose traction when the front loader bucket is full, the 4WD will keep going.
Lots of options, good luck.