# ATV and UTV sprayers: boom, boomless and forestry equipment checks URL: https://leafwrit.com/us/atv-utv-sprayer-selection/ Reviewed: 2026-10-29 ## ATV and UTV sprayers: tank sizes and what each vehicle suits ATV sprayers are best for selective applications in sensitive areas. Newly designed units hold 16, 24 or 40 gallons, with optional front tank add-ons for many ATV models. Models come with boom and/or boomless nozzles for broadcast application and a hose with a spray gun for spot treatments. A 100 L ATV sprayer holds 26.4 US gallons, since a gallon is 3.785 litres, which puts it between the 24 and 40 gallon ATV units. A 12 volt electric pump unit of this size is checked like any other ATV sprayer: tank, pump capacity for the nozzles and agitation, and the vehicle's rating for the loaded tank. Recreational-type vehicles (RTVs, or Gators) are larger than ATVs and carry up to 150 gallons of mix. An RTV suits rights-of-way and larger swaths of herbaceous plants, but its wide turn radius makes it unsuitable for narrow areas. An ATV, with its tighter turn radius, suits repeated back-and-forth narrow swaths. Check the fit on your own ground, not from a catalog. Ask the supplier to show the complete setup on terrain like yours, and test the turning clearance there. Broadcast work and spot treatment are different modes (boom, boomless outlets, hose and gun), so write the mode down in the equipment notes and in the completed job record. ## Quad and four-wheeler sprayer boom: ATV and UTV boom sprayer or boomless Low-pressure sprayers often carry booms 10 to 60 feet long; the most common booms are 20 to 35 feet long and hold several nozzles. The boom height must be easy to adjust, and the supports should allow any height from 12 to 72 inches above the surface being sprayed. A boomless sprayer has a central nozzle cluster that produces a horizontal spray pattern, and the swath is similar to a boom sprayer's. These sprayers are useful in irregularly shaped areas because they move through narrow places and avoid trees and other obstacles. Some low-pressure sprayers also carry a hose and handgun nozzle for small or hard-to-reach areas. A regular flat fan tip makes a narrow oval pattern with tapered ends. It is used for broadcast herbicide and insecticide spraying at 15 to 60 psi and is designed for a boom, overlapped 30 to 50 percent for even distribution. Spacing on the boom, spray angle and boom height set the overlap. On an ATV boom, including a 7-nozzle ATV sprayer, the overlap sets the pattern; a boomless nozzle on an ATV or UTV replaces the row of tips with one cluster. For a boomless nozzle, ask for the operating chart and a coverage demonstration on the installed pump, at your pressure and speed, with agitation running. For a 7-nozzle unit, ask what each outlet is for, its spacing and its output, then check uniformity with a catch test: set out containers across the swath and compare how much each collects. ## Pump, agitation and the parts of the spray system The pump must have enough capacity to supply the needed volume to the nozzles and to the hydraulic agitator (if necessary) and to maintain the desired pressure. A roller pump that handles wettable powders should have about 50 percent more capacity than the nozzles and agitator need, because the rollers wear fast in wettable powders; that reserve extends pump life. Ask the supplier how the pump performs with the nozzles open and the tank agitating at the same time. A headline pump-flow figure does not show what reaches the nozzles while the tank is being mixed. A basic broadcast system has seven components: tank, pump, strainer, pressure regulator, pressure gauge, off and on valve, and nozzle(s). More off and on valves go at convenient places, and extra strainers protect parts from wear. The tank needs an agitation system, or the ingredients can be mixed in a separate tank. For extended field operations the system must include an additional water-supply tank with a pump or gravity dispensing device. Strainers work progressively: largest mesh in the filler opening and suction line, a smaller mesh between pump and pressure regulator, the finest on the nozzle body. The suction line needs at least 2 square inches of screen for each gpm of flow, and the pressure line at least 1 square inch per gpm. Do not put a strainer in the suction line of a centrifugal pump. ## Tow-behind sprayers and trailers for an ATV Not all ATVs are suitable for towing, and not all ATV models suitable for towing are appropriate for a given trailer module. Towing capability for a specific ATV model is a question for that ATV's manufacturer. Check the manufacturer's gross vehicle towing weight rating (GVTWR), especially on steep grades or sideslopes. Trailer-mounted modules call for a 4-wheel-drive utility ATV with an engine no smaller than 500 cc (650 to 700 cc preferred) and an independent rear axle, which gives a tighter turning radius and reduces front-end plowing in turns. An aftermarket hitch system may be necessary for heavier loads. Trailer brakes are necessary to control the trailer's additional weight and must be matched to a specific ATV. Because of the extra weight, tires with a higher weight-carrying capacity may be necessary, and a more aggressive tire improves traction. A trailer sprayer module weighs 300 pounds dry and carries up to 2,500 pounds, so check the ATV manufacturer's recommendations for towing a load that size. For a tow-behind boom sprayer, a trailer boom broadcast and spot sprayer or a towable sprayer with a boom, these are the numbers that matter: the towing rating, brakes matched to the ATV, tire capacity and hitch. An ATV-mounted sprayer can carry front and rear tanks; a front tank is an optional add-on for many ATV models. Before you buy a tow-behind boom, ask the ATV maker whether your loaded combination is suitable and get the current towing and load instructions in writing. Compare turning space, brakes, controls and service access as well as the spray pattern. If an offer includes a skid-mounted boom or a front tank, ask for the mounting drawing and the full load specification. If a unit advertises both broadcast and handgun modes, ask to see each one run and get the calibration steps for each. ## Wicking herbicide applicator: how contact delivery works Handheld weed wicks and rollers apply ultra-low volumes by wiping the herbicide mix onto target leaf surfaces or bark; the mixture is contained in the handle. They can be handmade from PVC tubing, fittings and a sealed-on sponge or rope wick fitted to the wand of a backpack sprayer. Most wick systems have limited use and durability in forest and field situations, but they are useful when the applicator must avoid applying herbicide to rare or protected plants. A rolling sponge head works like a weed wick applicator. When a quote says handheld rope-wick applicator, look at its reservoir, feed and contact surface rather than the name. If it says "10 in rope", ask which dimension that means and request the instructions for that model. Do not treat a sponge or foam head as equal to a rope wick until you have the manufacturer's description. A foam herbicide system, such as the Green Shoots precision foam herbicide system, is a different delivery method from a wick: ask the supplier for the foam rate and the labeled use before comparing it with a wick bar. ### Mounted wick applicators, the wick bar herbicide applicator and the weed wiper boom A tractor-mounted weed wick is a wick or rope soaked with herbicide from a reservoir fed by a manual handle or an electrical pump. The wetted wick wipes herbicide over the leaves and stems of herbaceous plants as it passes over them. Rope-wick and canvas-wick applicators have been used for decades in crop management, especially against Johnsongrass with glyphosate. Three designs exist: longitudinal rope wick, transverse rope wick and canvas wick. Longitudinal rope-wick applicators are robust and give a long contact time; both the backs and sides of plants are treated. Canvas-wick and transverse rope-wick applicators are less expensive but are easily damaged in rough terrain and apply herbicide only to the back side of the plants, with short contact time. When you compare mounted wicks, ask which arrangement it is (longitudinal, transverse or canvas) and how it holds up on your terrain. Ask the supplier how to inspect and replace the wick material and fittings for your vegetation. ### Wetblade and cut-spray mowers Wetblade and cut-spray mower applicators apply herbicide during or immediately after the cutting operation. A mower boom sprayer belongs in this group, not with wick bars or an ordinary broadcast boom. If a quote lists a mower boom sprayer, ask for a drawing of the outlets and an explanation of when they discharge relative to cutting, plus the instructions for that exact equipment. ### Foliar, basal and cut-surface treatments Directed foliar sprays and wipes, basal sprays and wipes, and cut-treat methods are separate methods. Basal sprays are herbicide-oil-penetrant mixtures applied to the lower part of woody shrub, vine and tree stems with a backpack sprayer or wick applicator; they are best where most trees are less than 8 inches diameter at breast height. Decide what you are treating before you ask about a product: foliage, the lower bark, a freshly cut surface or a stump. Ask your label question about that surface, not about "contact herbicide" in general. ## Forestry herbicide application: methods by task Forestry site preparation is its own use on the Cornerstone Plus label: control or partial control of woody brush, trees and herbaceous weeds in forestry, preparing or establishing wildlife openings within forestry sites, and maintaining logging roads. Boom sprayers, shielded boom sprayers, high-volume off-center nozzles, hand-held equipment and similar equipment are the listed application equipment. For best results apply to actively growing woody brush and trees after full leaf expansion and before fall color and leaf drop. Use higher rates within the specified range for woody brush, trees and hard-to-control perennial weeds, and lower rates for annual weeds. For forestry site preparation, make sure the tank-mix product is approved for use prior to planting the desired species, and observe planting interval restrictions. Do not apply this product as an over-the-top broadcast spray for forestry conifer or hardwood release unless otherwise specified on the label or in separate supplemental labeling. See [how to read a pesticide label](/us/read-pesticide-label/). Before loading the tank, check the mix against the tree species and the planting date. Keep site preparation before planting separate from release around trees already growing; they are different sections of the label. ### Worker rules in forestry The Worker Protection Standard covers agricultural establishments including forests, nurseries and greenhouses. ## Tree injection pesticides and hack-and-squirt Basal bark, tree injection and hack-and-squirt are the three application methods for woody plants that cannot be safely or conveniently sprayed. Before choosing a method or a contractor, name the tree, the target and the result you want. Removing an unwanted plant and protecting a valued tree are different jobs, and an insecticide injection to protect a tree needs its own pest diagnosis and product directions. Basal bark applications go on the trunk from the soil line up 18 to 24 inches on the main stem. The herbicide is typically mixed with a petroleum-based carrier such as diesel fuel, kerosene or fuel oil, plus a bark penetrant and surfactant; not all herbicides mix with petroleum carriers. Tree injection and hack-and-squirt are similar, but injection requires specialized application equipment that is expensive and may not be readily available. Hack-and-squirt needs no petroleum carrier and works with a wider variety of herbicides. You create an opening in the bark by hand and put the herbicide on the cambium layer just inside the bark. Use an axe, hatchet or machete to open the bark, and apply 0.5 to 1 ml of herbicide per opening, depending on label directions. The Hypo Hatchet cuts and applies at the same time, but it is expensive and needs frequent cleaning. A hydration backpack fitted with a line-fill livestock vaccinator is a low-cost applicator; the pack must be clearly marked NONPOTABLE. Spacing and volume depend on the active ingredient: glyphosate takes hacks 2 inches apart with 1 ml undiluted or 1:1; imazapyr 2 to 3 inches with 1 ml of a 2:3 ratio; clopyralid 3 to 4 inches with 0.5 ml undiluted or 1 ml 1:1; triclopyr (amine) continuous hacks at a 1:1 ratio. Soil sprays and granular applications can damage nontarget plants through lateral herbicide movement or granular runoff, which is why individual-stem methods are used near desirable plants. Before the work, list the neighboring plants that need protection and ask the contractor why an individual-stem method was chosen. Forestry injection is used on stands that contain species undesirable for the landowner's objectives. ### Ash trees and emerald ash borer Other problems can cause an ash tree to decline, so confirm the cause before treating for emerald ash borer. Treatment cannot reverse damage that has already been caused. When you ask for protection of an ash, describe the symptoms, when they started and the tree's condition. Thinning crowns, bark changes and sprouts can have other causes, so check drought, soil compaction and girdling roots as well. ## Small acreage, best farm sprayer and best tank sprayer For narrow, repeated swaths in sensitive areas an ATV unit of 16 to 40 gallons fits; for rights-of-way and larger swaths an RTV carrying up to 150 gallons; for 200 to 600 gallons per tank and large restorations a tractor-mounted sprayer. Tanks should have large openings for easy filling and cleaning, a large drain and a strainer-compatible fill; see the [tank-selection guide](/us/sprayer-tank-selection/). Start from the treated area, field access and the time you have, and only then ask which sprayer is best. Give the supplier your actual mixture and application method, and for the tank compare how you fill, drain and clean it. ## UTV sprayer with boom: tank size, folding boom and hitch A UTV sprayer with boom (a UTV chemical sprayer, a 25 gallon UTV boom sprayer, a 60 gallon UTV sprayer with boom or a 100 gallon UTV boomless sprayer) is a recreational-type vehicle (RTV, or Gator) carrying a tank of up to 150 gallons. The UTV suits rights-of-way and larger swaths of herbaceous plants, but its wide turn radius makes it unsuitable for narrow areas. The boom is 10 to 60 feet long on low-pressure sprayers, with 20 to 35 feet the most common, and its supports should let you set any height from 12 to 72 inches above the surface being sprayed. A UTV sprayer with a folding boom (an ATV sprayer with folding boom, an ATV folding sprayer boom) is the same arrangement with the span folded for transport and trails; check the height range and the support of the unfolded boom before you buy it. A UTV receiver hitch sprayer boom mounts on the vehicle's hitch receiver, so the towing and tongue-weight rating belongs on the checklist with the tank load. ## ATV sprayer with boom and wand, saddle tank and 15 gallon units A 15 gallon ATV sprayer, an ATV saddle tank sprayer and a chemical sprayer for a 4 wheeler (quad, four-wheeler) belong to the ATV class, whose newly designed units hold 16, 24 or 40 gallons. Models come with boom and/or boomless nozzles for broadcast application and a hose with a spray gun, that is, a wand, for spot treatments. An ATV sprayer with boom and wand therefore covers both modes; write the mode into the job record for each pass. ## Best ATV and UTV chemical sprayer The best ATV chemical sprayer and the best UTV sprayer with boom are the ones that fit the vehicle, the terrain and the treated area: a tank in the 16 to 40 gallon class for narrow repeated swaths on an ATV, up to 150 gallons on an RTV, with the pump, agitation and strainers checked as described above. Ask for the complete setup on terrain like yours and judge the sprayer by the uniformity of the catch test, not by the listed tank size. ## Next step Check the towing rating with the ATV maker. Bring the vehicle specifications and a sketch of field access to the supplier. Compare [boom arrangements](/us/boom-sprayer-selection/) and [tank service access](/us/sprayer-tank-selection/).