Not all ATVs live on the trail or track or go soaring off dunes. In fact, the majority spent their lives working away, just like us. We did some hunting and discovered ATVs at work practically everywhere from avocado groves to prowling the southern border. These are not glamour jobs, but the three presented here are arenas where ATVs excel better than anything else.
It's A Farming Life
Farm work may, in fact, be the most common career field of ATVs. We found an example with Jim Lewis, who grows avocados near Ventura, north of Los Angeles. He's the dad of Jimmy Lewis, the editor of our sister publication, Dirt Rider.
Armed with his Honda Foreman 4x4, Lewis tends to many weekly duties on his four-wheeled ranch hand. Lewis owns 20 acres in Southern California, where he has approximately 125 avocado trees per acre (that's 2500 trees). His plot is part of the approximate 65,000 acres used for growing avocados in Socal.
"I use my ATV for many of the daily odd jobs that come with growing avocados, and even for the easy things like the quarter-mile drive to get the mail," Lewis said. Some of the more common duties are checking the sprinkler lines for leaks and making repair trips from the barn to wherever something needs fixing on that 20 acres. He explained that every day is different-he may even split his time between projects from the morning to the afternoon.
When it came to the major equipment purchase for Lewis, the answer was obvious, "The versatility of an ATV makes it the best bang for the buck. For half the price of a small tractor, you can buy an ATV that is easier to get on and off, not to mention has more uses. You can use it for hunting on the weekends-unlike a tractor-or for a little recreational use." Lewis' long list of reasons why he chose an ATV over a small tractor comes down to being able to use the same vehicle for many applications. "It just makes more sense," Lewis added.
Living in the warm (and somewhat dry) southern clime, I asked Lewis if he could get by with just a 2x4 instead of a 4x4 ATV. "Maybe," he said, "but I'd rather have the extra grip when I'm pulling a trailer and need to go up an incline or over a small obstacle."
When it comes to accessories, Lewis appreciates tools he can attach to either rack. For his farm, having a portable sprayer is a handy item. "The portable sprayer lets me get close to the trees and accurately keep the weeds down." He can spray all the trees on his spread with one tank of mixed weed chemical. There is only a small section that is too technical for an ATV with a tank mounted on it. He handles this on foot via a backpack sprayer.
A trailer is another popular item. Whether it's for holding the avocados after they're picked or for hauling cut wood, it's something he couldn't do without. Lewis tells us an ATV can back a trailer in a tight spot much easier than a pickup or tractor. When it comes time to pick the crop, one trailer load is about 300 pounds, which equals about 12 cartons. "I'll usually pick 1000 pounds at a time, which takes about three hours," he said.
On many farms, it's common to make full use of all your natural resources. The Lewis farm is no different. He has an average of 75 customers who take advantage of his firewood service. For about 20 years he's been accommodating to local Ventura residents year-round. His ATV allows him to haul the wood chopper to the source. Cutting and loading on the spot for delivery reduces one step out of the process, he explained.
According to Lewis, he can get five years out of an ATV if it is properly maintained. A tractor may last longer, but Lewis tells us an ATV is a lot easier to work with on a daily basis. We'd like to think it's a lot more fun, too.
Life's A Beach
Huntington Beach lifeguards have the task of safe-guarding the nine million people who visit each year. The job was made easier by a small fleet (four units) of Ranchers donated by Honda a few years ago. The fleet has been expanded to six units, and the department has plans to buy another 4x4 model in the near future. The Ranchers are primarily used to reduce response time when serious cases are reported. How quickly? Try an average of four minutes and no more than seven to respond to an emergency on the outskirts of the beach. In a year, they'll answer around 2000 calls with 25 percent being surfing injuries. One day they had a record of 1200 jellyfish bites?
There are 13 full-time lifeguards on the marine safety staff, which is headed up by Lieutenant Greg Crow. This staff trains weekly on ATVs and learns how to better instruct the rest of the guard staff on ATV safety. The six Hondas are an addition to 11 trucks, but believe it or not, they are often short on vehicles during the summer months when tourism is at its peak.
We tagged along with Crow and a few of his staff on one of their training days. Most of-if not all-the training is at speeds of 15 mph or less. Being able to weave in and out of traffic is a large part of their training. On a busy summer weekend, they could easily see 60,000 people on the beach. You can imagine how difficult it is to maneuver through crowds of people laying and walking along the beach while trying to get to the aid of a surfer with injuries. "It's much easier to get through the thick crowds on smaller ATVs than in pickups," Crow told us.