Can a pickup do what a smaller ATV can? Certainly the small ATV has slipped into a rather large niche. The Kawasaki Mule and the growing line of competitors now make up a class of vehicles that people a few years ago didn’t even dream they needed. Now it seems that these vehicles are everywhere. Here are some ways the above options can work just as well.
Until the invention of the Kawasaki Mule and similar vehicles, what did people ride? How could maintenance work or agricultural and construction work be done without an ATV? Well, there were and still are other options, much cheaper as well.
A viable option for many uses is the small truck. By that I do not mean used mini-trucks that cannot have a street license. I mean small conventional pills. These are also fairly recent inventions. Only since the late 1960s did this class of vehicle appear on the American market. At that time, Toyota, Datsun / Nissan, Mazda, and Mitsubishi brought in Japan-made trucks. Then American automakers put out their versions.
Japanese trucks were generally built to work and were small but tough. Many of these older Japanese trucks are still in operation. Earlier versions of pickup trucks tended to be cheap, plain, work trucks. As time went by, all trucks became larger vehicles with more options and more car-like features. That’s good if you need a truck to use as a car, but not so great if you want a cheap work vehicle.
If you can find an old small truck that has been cared for, you have a solid alternative to an expensive ATV. Now trucks will be hard to find on 4 wheel drive, but not impossible. Of course, in most cases, 4-wheel drive is rarely necessary anyway.
What you get with trucks includes several advantages over the ATV.
You get a useful street legal vehicle for any type of job. That includes transporting food or fertilizer, as well as using it like any car. Also, you don’t need to take it to the shop with a trailer. Also, maintenance work on a truck often costs you less than work on an ATV.
Don’t forget the weatherproof truck cab which may include a fully functioning heater and maybe even an air conditioner. Imagine that.
Then, in addition, some older trucks came with virtually bulletproof engines and transmissions that last for decades and cost little to keep running.
Also don’t forget the price difference. A well-maintained used small truck may cost only a small fraction of what you pay for a new ATV. You skip the depreciation cost and you get a vehicle that does most of what the ATV does and does many other things much better than a small ATV.