Only a Little Mule, but it Pulls Well

[Billhook]

Just bought a new Kawasaki Mule for around seven grand, which seemed reasonable compared to quads.

Tipping rear body, I fitted a polycarbonate screen and plywood roof which was about three grand cheaper than a cab with doors and works well for our needs

Just gave it a big test today hauling a heavy load out of a steep grass field where the frost had left the ground like a quagmire.  It is so light that it hardly leaves a mark and doesn’t struggle in four wheel drive so I never used the diff lock.  Only single cylinder 400 cc 13.5 go but it seems to be boss of the job

Very pleased with it as we do not need to travel very far and we need something small and nimble for the woodland tracks

Arb Trolley also excellent bit of kit, both loaded with very heavy Ash and Thorn, must have weighed half a ton together.

Arb trolley wheels left more of a mark.

Far too wet for the Teleporter which would have made a terrible mess

Bought a heated seat for it operated by the cigar lighter, Bliss!

 

[Spruce Pirate]

What's it like compared to a quad for turning circle, ground clearance and wheelbase?

[gary112]

This is my transport at the minute,ground is way too wet to get to the hedges I’m working on with the pick up,it dont make a mess and as you say they are light,this ones not that quick on the road though 

Edited January 27, 2021 by gary112

[Billhook]

39 minutes ago, Spruce Pirate said:

What's it like compared to a quad for turning circle, ground clearance and wheelbase?

Length

Overall - 106.7 in.

Height

Overall - 73.4 in.

Width

Overall - 52.6 in.

Weight

Curb - 1,082.7 lb.

Ground Clearance

8.1 in.

Wheelbase

70.1 in.

Turning Radius

11.8 ft.

 

The grass field has some very steep banks.  A friend broke the back of his Subaru trying to compete with my Panda 4x4 and during the war they were used for Bren gun carrier training, but the Mule handled them well.  Lock and ground clearance not an issue so far.  Road speed about 25 mph

But it is about half the price of its bigger brothers, which seem to be too heavy and clumsy.

We have had Gators on the farm with contractors and I feel that the Mule wouild have done better in the same situation

 

Sandringham Sydney did not do very well either in spite of being six wheel drive

We do have very Friendly clay soil here and it does like to cling!

[Toad]

We are on our third mule, had a 2wd petrol, 4wd petrol and now a 4wd diesel. Easily the most used bit of kit on the farm. Have the walter mauser cab on it which is nice, and have just put new foam and seat material in it this morning as the original seat was completely shot. 

[Billhook]

On 28/01/2021 at 12:44, Toad said:

We are on our third mule, had a 2wd petrol, 4wd petrol and now a 4wd diesel. Easily the most used bit of kit on the farm. Have the walter mauser cab on it which is nice, and have just put new foam and seat material in it this morning as the original seat was completely shot. 

Glad to hear you have that level of confidence in them.   We did have an idling issue with ours from brand new.  It was idling too fast on the new injection petrol and no adjustment we tried made any difference so we sent it back and a new throttle body was fitted, apparently costing over £1000  though glad to say not our money.  It is fine now and I have heard that ours is not the only one.

Been using it today to haul rounds out of a steep grass field so wet that if you jumped out of the cab you were likely to end up on your bum.  No problem for the Mule and I think a lot of it is the quality of the tyres which seem to be self clearing of mud.

[lux]

I’ve been thinking of getting one of these for a while. Glad to see so many positive comments. Just waiting for half nice used one to come up not a million miles away. Can’t really justify a new one as it’s just going to be used on our own land rather than paid work.
It can get pretty wet on our clay in winter and the hilux leaves big tyre tracks. Trailers out of the question as when you stop and lose momentum that’s it. Your stuck. Use the big tractor and it leaves a big old mess.

A mule or similar looks ideal not to mess the ground up and get around the woods . Nice to be able to carry tools on the back too.

Great kit.

[Toad]

17 hours ago, Billhook said:

Glad to hear you have that level of confidence in them.   We did have an idling issue with ours from brand new.  It was idling too fast on the new injection petrol and no adjustment we tried made any difference so we sent it back and a new throttle body was fitted, apparently costing over £1000  though glad to say not our money.  It is fine now and I have heard that ours is not the only one.

Been using it today to haul rounds out of a steep grass field so wet that if you jumped out of the cab you were likely to end up on your bum.  No problem for the Mule and I think a lot of it is the quality of the tyres which seem to be self clearing of mud.

They aren't perfect, but they certainly do the job. Ours feeds the pigs twice a day, runs a few miles up and down the roads and around the sheep. We have a little trailer with folding livestock sides and a ramp for moving the odd pig or a few sheep a short distance. I think its a bigger model than yours - a 4010. We do get stuck a little bit, not to the point of needing to tow it out, but usually its because we are in deep mud, wet parts of the field and are trying to do something silly.

 

The tyres are expensive to replace so be careful not to damage them, keep an eye on belt wear, and the front pulley has weights in which wear. The weights are a couple of pounds each, but if they wear too much you need a new pulley at a significant cost.

 

Keep an eye on the brakes as the drums can fill with mud - I think this is a current issue with ours and the shoes won't retract enough to get the drums off.

 

Looks like you should get many years out of your one, especially if you look after it from new. 

[harvey b davison]

Out of curiosity, does anyone use something like a jimny instead of a mule / gator etc ?

[Billhook]

1 hour ago, Toad said:

They aren't perfect, but they certainly do the job. Ours feeds the pigs twice a day, runs a few miles up and down the roads and around the sheep. We have a little trailer with folding livestock sides and a ramp for moving the odd pig or a few sheep a short distance. I think its a bigger model than yours - a 4010. We do get stuck a little bit, not to the point of needing to tow it out, but usually its because we are in deep mud, wet parts of the field and are trying to do something silly.

 

The tyres are expensive to replace so be careful not to damage them, keep an eye on belt wear, and the front pulley has weights in which wear. The weights are a couple of pounds each, but if they wear too much you need a new pulley at a significant cost.

 

Keep an eye on the brakes as the drums can fill with mud - I think this is a current issue with ours and the shoes won't retract enough to get the drums off.

 

Looks like you should get many years out of your one, especially if you look after it from new. 

Good advice thank you