Farm UTV/RTV Purchase

[Talkstogoats]

Some states recognize the Kubota rtv as farm equipment.
After I bought my Polaris, I found out I wouldn't have had to pay sales tax on it if I had bought the Kubota instead.
Might want to look into that in your state.

 

[GJohnson]

Here in Texas, you can do that with your Ag card. No matter the brand. My kubotas were bought as business but Kawasaki’s we’re farm use.

 

[ruffdog]

I never had a problem ripping up sod with my RTV. Even when the frost was coming out of the ground and the top was greasy...no spin.

 

[GJohnson]

I never had a problem ripping up sod with my RTV. Even when the frost was coming out of the ground and the top was greasy...no spin.

I think people believe kubota uses a locked rear. They use a limited slip with the ability to lock as does a tractor. You can also buy, stock, turf tires installed instead of their all terrains.

 

[schoeny]

Always had John Deere gators never had a problem with them and good resale value , great for fencing , dragging pastures , not that fast of a machine , but I really do not want grand children jumping on and taking off on a utv that goes 50 mph , a 2 seater will work how often are you going to be driving around with 3 other people , and when you need to haul 2 more put the end gate down room for 2-3.

 

[amish]

Couple of questions:
- what's more important, work or play? I find the most of the UTVs have ventured too far into the sporty space vs. the work space and it impacts things like bed space.
- How often do you need 4 passenger seating? That a lot of wasted bed real estate if you only need it infrequently.
- How big is the property? Yes, Kubota's aren't fasts but @ 25 mph, you can get places in a reasonable amount of time.
- Diesel or gas?

I wrestled with the same questions and ended up with a Kubota 1140 and haven't 2nd guessed the decision once. Easily swaps between 2 and 4 passengers seating. I don't have 4 passengers nearly as often as I anticipated. 90% of the time it's 1 person and a dog.

 

[etcm]

I have operated several "side-by-sides" over the years and in general have not found anything they are an absolute must-have for and found some other piece of equipment to do a better job at whatever I was doing. The bed capacity is similar to a wheelbarrow or compact tractor bucket on the smaller beds and a utility tractor bucket or hand-pulled utility wagon on the larger ones. None are anywhere near the volume or weight capacity of even the miniscule 5 1/2 foot half ton pickup truck beds of today. If you can get a two-row side by side somewhere, you can get a tractor or a pickup truck there too. But you are on only 22 acres of mainly open ground, so it's unlikely to be very far to walk to get anywhere on your property. If you are looking for something fun to ride around on, a dirtbike is a whole lot more fun than a side-by-side. You also get to dispense with the terrible slippy-grabby centrifugal clutches side-by-sides have in favor of an actual clutch you can feather in a dirtbike. If you want to ride around for fun on the back roads, an enduro/dual-sport motorcycle would likewise be much more fun than a side-by-side. If you want to ride around on the roads not strictly for hoots and grins, a pickup truck or Jeep would be far more sane.

For what most people would use a side-by-side for, a pickup truck is really a better tool, either that or a tractor. If you don't already have a pickup truck or it's a newer/fancy/expensive one that you don't want to use on your farm, I'd personally recommend a farm truck- a well worn pickup truck that still runs well enough to go around on the farm but isn't too nice that you worry about getting it dirty or beaten up. You will probably be in it about what you pay in sales tax on a two-row side-by-side if you don't/can't get an ag exemption (I am not familiar with Texas laws regarding this.) When it dies, haul it off to the scrapyard. That's what everybody used to do before the toys started to show up in any quantity, first ATVs in the '90s and then side-by-sides in the 2000s.

LOL , I'm thinking you must be young. No way I would be riding and ATV or dirt bike..

 

[shadowm77]

check out the Kawasaki mule pro fxt you can make it a 3seater so you have a big bed for hauling or you can make it a 6 seater and take the whole family and still have room in the bed to haul stuff plenty of power top speed is 46 mph it has a speed governer on got over 8500 miles and no problems yet and you can trail ride with it very dependable same motor as the john deere gator

 

[Olefart]

Perhaps some of you very wise farmers out there can direct me to determining what UTV/RTV to purchase for my new farm. It will need to have 4 seats (Family) and a lift bed. Kubota is an interesting one. Any help would be appreciated. A couple of things. Farm is 22 acres of pasture, few trees in North Texas. Plan to have cattle, orchard, vegetable and berry farm.

 

[Olefart]

Didn't realize that about Kubota. Although, I have no hills to speak of, I hate to get neutered in the future.

I've had a 1100 Kubota for several years. Love everything about it except little sluggish on steep hills. Great to work out of. If you need speed (over 20 mph) get something else. Diesel engine, hydraulic, air conditioning in cab excellent. I'm old 20 mph is all I need. If you are working cattle it is too slow. Good luck! Recommend Honda.

 

[tradosaurus]

Couple of questions:
- what's more important, work or play? I find the most of the UTVs have ventured too far into the sporty space vs. the work space and it impacts things like bed space.
- How often do you need 4 passenger seating? That a lot of wasted bed real estate if you only need it infrequently.
- How big is the property? Yes, Kubota's aren't fasts but @ 25 mph, you can get places in a reasonable amount of time.
- Diesel or gas?

I wrestled with the same questions and ended up with a Kubota 1140 and haven't 2nd guessed the decision once. Easily swaps between 2 and 4 passengers seating. I don't have 4 passengers nearly as often as I anticipated. 90% of the time it's 1 person and a dog.

Those are good questions to answer before purchase a UTV. We knew that we would probably never take our UTV on trails and we haven't for the past 2 years.
Our use is 60% utility work on our property and 40% cruising around the county roads. That's why the dump bed was important for us as well as the back seat to bed conversion.

 

[coobie]

So it just me but how strange is it in this thread folks have been members here for a few years that have 1-10 posts have commented on the thread ??

 

[kenmac]

Canton Powersports in Canton, TX. They installed the AudioFormz roof and windshield at the same time. It clips on the rollcage. The lower part folds up so you can open the front compartment.

Ok, thought it may have been an after market . The one mine came with has struts (shocks) that helped holding the entire windshield up. It was about $800.00 . Was looking for a lower cost option.......

 

[LD1]

So it just me but how strange is it in this thread folks have been members here for a few years that have 1-10 posts have commented on the thread ??

I noticed that as well yesterday.

At first I though it was spam.....some "company" or "influencer" catching wind of a thread about UTV's and creating multiple accounts to push the brand they support.

But then to see they have been members for years. And its not one brand. Everyone is actually offering good advise.

This guy.....been member for 9 years.....first post:

 

[Brily Farms]

We are on our second Kubota RTV. First one was stolen from the barn even being chained to a post. When we replaced it, we bought a used (275 hours) RTV-X900 that has been flawless for nearly three years working our cattle farm. We knew we didn't need speed, nor were we interested in running trails at breakneck speed. The HST pulls on the hills just fine. We now looking to upgrade to the 4 seater RTV-X1140. I believe I can sell the X900 for => than the purchase price with 775 hours now on it. Been watching for a used X1140 but they are almost non-existent on the used market in our area. Probably gonna bite the bullet and order a new X1140 next spring. We need 4 seats for guests to the farm. IMO you can't beat the Kubota RTV diesel. Built like a tractor for farm work. After all, who would purchase a tractor for going fast?

 

[ruffdog]

Then, if you want to go old school like an old willys jeep, the ROXOR is just that. With a 2.5l diesel, manual trans and transfer case, it would be a rugged machine. It tows 3490 lbs too.

The Mahindra Roxor No Longer Looks Like A Jeep. It Looks Like E.T. (But In A Cool Way)

 

[ericm979]

Whatever I have, it must be able to turn in a tight circle without tearing up the turf. Can the Kubota do that?

If that's a goal make sure whatever you get has a rear differential (hopefully with a switchable locker). My Pioneer doesn't have a diff and I didn't think it would be a big deal. I don't drive it on the lawn much, but I have done it a few times and I need to make wide turns when I do.

The locked rear also means that the rear tires wear faster if you drive on pavement that has turns, which we do a lot of. I put more durable tires on mine than the OEM mud pattern ones (with no loss of off road performance) but the rears only last a couple years.

We went with the Pioneer 700 because it's got a torque converter transmission which is not nearly as jerky at low speeds as the usual belt drive CVT. It's not as smooth as an HST though.

 

[llaass]

Perhaps some of you very wise farmers out there can direct me to determining what UTV/RTV to purchase for my new farm. It will need to have 4 seats (Family) and a lift bed. Kubota is an interesting one. Any help would be appreciated. A couple of things. Farm is 22 acres of pasture, few trees in North Texas. Plan to have cattle, orchard, vegetable and berry farm.

Some of the answers seem to lament the speed. How fast do you want to go with a vehicle with such a short wheel base and your family in tow? I find my first gen RTV plenty fast and a true workhorse. I have never been able to load it to its capacity and the dump works well.
As advised by others, get a locking differential.

 

[prairiegirl]

Perhaps some of you very wise farmers out there can direct me to determining what UTV/RTV to purchase for my new farm. It will need to have 4 seats (Family) and a lift bed. Kubota is an interesting one. Any help would be appreciated. A couple of things. Farm is 22 acres of pasture, few trees in North Texas. Plan to have cattle, orchard, vegetable and berry farm.

We are very happy with our Kubota diesel. Only one bench though. It does have limited speed, which we actually think is a plus so the kids would not race it. Much safer than the Kodiak RTV 'beast' we had before. Hydraulic lift bed is great.

 

[ROUSTABOUT]

Exactly.
I have a couple pickups - and a Jeep Wrangler Rubicon. All great rigs but too big and TOO HEAVY for a lot of situations. The Rubicon is ~ 5,000lb and the pickups - even the aluminum F150 - are a lot more. My Can-am Defender is under 2,000lb, even with a full cab on it. With those soft balloon tires on it, it will float over terrain that will sink heavier vehicles. It is also narrower than any of my other vehicles, and compared to them it will turn on a dime.
And should I decide I need to go for a ride in the mountains behind my house, the suspension and soft tires on the Can-am smooth out that rough and rocky road like nothing else.
View attachment 720262

A horse will go many places too. Nothing like working cows on horses.