Farm UTV/RTV Purchase

[ArlyA]

We own a "little" 4wd truck plus a work style atv, and use them both on some of the same trails.

You couldn't drag that 6x6 from our cold, stiff, fingers. No Japanese mini's will be found here.

 

[mrpriceisright]

Lots of great answers here.
Have 2 old diesel 4x4 mules here (had a gas gator before them). His and hers, a 1 row w/ dump bed and 2 row six seater. Run on ag diesel they will go up anything (have some steep slopes) no problem, have dragged some 1500lb rocks no problem. They are pretty much in constant daily use. The 3 cyl diesel is strong, sips fuel and as minimal maintenance as I could imagine. In process of adding a small trailer so I can move around a generator easily. (we have a tracked skid steer (CTL) with many attachments for the heavy lifting/work (grading/trenching/digging/augering/mulching)).
Although one neighbor here has Gators, the biggest one has a fleet of Suzuki samurai's and some rolled ford explorers with the roofs removed, the rest are a mixture of Polaris, Kubota and Mule. Those with Polaris mostly use them for driving around rather than actual work. One recently commented while riding in the mule, that it felt like a much more rigid frame than the Polaris he was used to riding in. As others have commented, work or play?
If we replace these we will likely look at a Kubota or mule, 4x4 diesel with locking diff.

The one row seat can easily seat 3.

The 2 row with fold down/extended dump bed seems to be a highly practical option.

 

[RancherGuy]

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.

I am on the west side of Houston.

1998: Kawasaki Mule. This was when side-by-sides were first introduced. I'm sure they are different now, but it rusted out. Gave it away.
2005: Kubota RTV 900. This is first generation. Used for 1500 hours before buying the next one. Still have it. Has been known to tow a 1500# trailer loaded with 1600# of hay through mud that left 12" ruts. My brother-in-law with me at the time was speechless.
2014: Kubota RTV X1120. This is second generation (all "Xs" are current version). Has 1500 hours and almost 9000 miles. As with RTV above, nothing but fuel and oil changes required, and is exactly why we bought a second one. Looks and behaves like it is 6 months old. Used daily.

I really don't understand those who say the RTV is slow or lacks power. There have been other posts on the topic. If the transmission linkages are adjusted correctly, these work like tractors and have reasonable off-road speed. I can load mine with 8 people (most in the bed) and we all have a great time running around the ranch and up/down rolling terrain. If you need something that does road speed, look for something else, but be prepared for drive belt issues and repair maintenance. If I wanted a new machine, I'd buy another RTV.

One more comment on the RTV. Mine is diesel and my top speed is 24 and could tweak the throttle to get a few more mph. There is a gas version of exactly the same thing that has a top speed around 42. I believe the machines are exactly the same but the gas engine can spin faster, thus the top speeds are different.

 

[jwmorris]

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.

The 3010/4010 4x4 have one control to lock the rear differential and another to engage the limited slip front differential. If you need more traction and need to turn on an unforgiving surface, locker off front and read drive on, is what you would want.

 

[redman135]

Hello AGreenFarmer, 1 thing you didn't specifiy was how wet your place is or is not. Also how much of the year is excess water (ground to soft to drive on)a problem if any?
Soft ground for extended periods will eliminate beater pick ups.

A suggestion was made to use a japanese mini pickup. You can get double cab and tip deck.In New Zealand we put atv wheels on them and drive all around some very wet paddocks(very light) without leaving ruts. If you look at these wear your work boots to test the foot pedals as some models have pedals to close togather(step on both brakes and gas pedal at once). Also check your state laws as some will let your register them for road use while some states won't.

Being able to figure out what questions you need to ask means you are 1/2 way there.
Good Luck

 

[mo1]

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

Nope, not young. My recommendation for buying an old pickup or using a tractor or even a wheelbarrow, and predilection for a regular clutched manual, all of which are certainly very out of favor today, speaks to that. For the record, my tractor is an open station 2WD utility tractor with a regular dry clutch gear transmission. We got arguably more done in the past without the "must-have" stuff of today, and that gives one quite a critical eye for what may actually be useful vs. what is useless.

 

[ruffdog]

Now don't start knocking us people that still use a wheelbarrow. It is one way I get my exercise.

 

[FTG-05]

One other thing, lots of talk about the dump bed. Only used that a few times, if anything needs loading and dumping I always go to the tractor, 1000% easier.

Same here. 90% of my dumping is just to clear the bed of debris and mess. If I need to dump something, I'm using the tractor; it's bucket goes up and down, right at the height the load to be picked is; a lot less bending over.

 

[lman]

Now don't start knocking us people that still use a wheelbarrow. It is one way I get my exercise.

You should have bought a tractor when they were still affordable. Beats a wheelbarrow.

 

[Torvy]

You should have bought a tractor when they were still affordable. Beats a wheelbarrow.

When I needed a wheelbarrow a few months ago it took a few weeks to find a decent one in stock. The local Lowes and Home Depots were getting robbed. Thieves drove up and cut the cables, took all of the steel handled ones. Store managers said they think it was construction crews.

 

[hayden]

I had a Mule Pro FXT for a number of years and traded it for a Kubota X1140. The Mule pro was much faster, but also much harder to control slowly over technical terrain, which is mostly what I have. It was also very loud, as all these machines seem to be. Ear plugs are a must for anything other than a short run. And it was just a cheaply built machine with open undersides that would catch branches, collect mud, etc.

The Kubota is a substantially better built machine. Much more rugged, tractor-like components rather than go-kart-like components, much better under body protection, more metal rather than plastic, etc. The Mule always seemed like a flimsy piece of crap. The Kubota is a solid, respectable machine.

As for speed, yes, the Kubota is a dog. 25 mph on flat of down hill, but down to 15-16 on any real hill. So if you are looking for a sport vehicle, the Kubota is NOT your machine. Also if you have long flat stretches to cover adn want to move faster than 2025 mph, the Kubota is NOT for you.

But if you are looking for a rugged machine where 15-25mph is acceptable I think it's MUCH better than the other stuff out there. The accessories are much higher quality too. And for any sort of carefull picking your way through rough terrain, the HST is just fantastic giving excellent slow speed control to move, brake, and stop. This was an important criteria for my land, and the Kubota is vastly superior to the Mule Pro in this regard.

Were people fail to bond with a Kubota, it seems to be attributable to one of two things.

1) They are looking for a sport recreational side by side. That's not what the Kubota is, expect perhaps the gas powered belt driven model now available. That's a different beast much more like other side by sides.

2) They haven't gotten the hang of operating an HST. HST controls how much load the drive train places on the engine, not how much power the engine delivers to the drive train like a conventional drive. More HST peddle will make the machine go faster UNTIL you have loaded the engine to it's max power. Beyond that, more HST peddle slows you down rather than speeding you up because you are overloading the engine. You need to back off the peddle to back off the load. Anyone who has owned an HST tractor or lawn mower will have mastered this, but it takes some practice and obviously leaves many people flummoxed.

Success with an HST also requires that it be adjusted properly, and that seems to be elusive in many cases. Pressing the peddle simultaneously increased engine RPM so more power is available, and increases drive train load to move the vehicle. To work well, the engine speed increase needs to lead the HST load so there is always enough engine power to match the HST load. And you need to be certain that the engine ultimately reaches full throttle so that it develops full power. Despite dealer setup, mine was NOT set up correctly and I had to tweek it to get max performance.

Do I wish the X1140 had more power? Yes, I do. Another 10-20HP would be really nice so when I do want to make time on a smooth trail or road, I can. I do spend a fair amount of time with the peddle to the floor, waiting to get where I'm going.

 

[broadsword6]

We run a 100 Acre forage crop farm in Eastern Ontario, Canada. We have two tractors, a 70Hp gear drive cab tractor with loader and a 35Hp open station HST with a loader. We recently acquired a Polaris Ranger 1000xp as a farm work vehicle to replace our aging (2000) Bombardier 500 Traxter. The Bomber still works, but it is seriously too small as a work platform in the sugar bush. So, it lives on a set of Camoplast tracks and pulls a ski track setter in the winter. When we were shopping for the UTV/SBS we looked at everything on the market and our decision finally came down to the Human Factors Engineering in Polaris. While Kubota is a fine piece of machinery and will no doubt go forever, like most things Kubota, it is an HR nightmare if you are over 5'10, as both of us are. In the passenger position your knees are nearly in direct contact with the dash. On a serious bump or in a crash that could cause a nasty injury. And, as we all know, trees have a habit of jumping out at us on the trail! There are a host of other HF issues but not as serious as that.

That really leaves Polaris, Canam and John Deere in the full sized, full featured work/sport category available to us up here. John Deere lives up to its reputation...Why pay Less? Expensive, and unremarkable was our impression. So, it came down to Canam Commander and the Ranger. The prices are similar here and the features are more or less equivalent for a farm UTV. Both have tilt beds and four pax versions and both have similar power options. What tipped it for us again was the HFE. The Commander is not as generous in the cockpit as the Ranger, and in general the Ranger seems better laid out. We do not "love" our farm tools and we don't have any particular loyalty to one brand or another, so there is no bias in this analysis. If you are not particularly tall and don't care about HF,E and general engineering and design (says the engineer trying hard to mask his bias) then you have more viable options. But when you have to consider piling into the UTV at minus 20 with parka, snow bibs and snow boots with dogs and assorted tools, for a trip over rough ground to do just about anything, HFE becomes important. You don't appear to have those constraints, but even so I would encourage you to consider the overall design and "feel" or form factor of the options you are considering. You will live with your choice for some time and being irritated every time you use the UTV will wear on you. Considering the price you will pay for a full sized four seater with a lift bed, that could translate in to serious buyer regret.

Hope it works out for you.

 

[mo1]

Now don't start knocking us people that still use a wheelbarrow. It is one way I get my exercise.

I was knocking the people who were knocking those of us "still" using wheelbarrows.

 

[wawajake]

Broadsword6 mentioned headroom in Kubotas......I am not sure where that concern came from. I am 6 ft 2 and 230 lbs and have both a Kubota RTV and a BX2660 tractor......sit in them no problem for hours at a time. For a few years now. Now I might of shrunk half an inch due to the old age burden of taxes and lazyboy chairs but still have otherwise been comfortable.

 

[ArlyA]

We run a 100 Acre forage crop farm in Eastern Ontario, Canada. We have two tractors, a 70Hp gear drive cab tractor with loader and a 35Hp open station HST with a loader. We recently acquired a Polaris Ranger 1000xp as a farm work vehicle to replace our aging (2000) Bombardier 500 Traxter. The Bomber still works, but it is seriously too small as a work platform in the sugar bush. So, it lives on a set of Camoplast tracks and pulls a ski track setter in the winter. When we were shopping for the UTV/SBS we looked at everything on the market and our decision finally came down to the Human Factors Engineering in Polaris. While Kubota is a fine piece of machinery and will no doubt go forever, like most things Kubota, it is an HR nightmare if you are over 5'10, as both of us are. In the passenger position your knees are nearly in direct contact with the dash. On a serious bump or in a crash that could cause a nasty injury. And, as we all know, trees have a habit of jumping out at us on the trail! There are a host of other HF issues but not as serious as that.

That really leaves Polaris, Canam and John Deere in the full sized, full featured work/sport category available to us up here. John Deere lives up to its reputation...Why pay Less? Expensive, and unremarkable was our impression. So, it came down to Canam Commander and the Ranger. The prices are similar here and the features are more or less equivalent for a farm UTV. Both have tilt beds and four pax versions and both have similar power options. What tipped it for us again was the HFE. The Commander is not as generous in the cockpit as the Ranger, and in general the Ranger seems better laid out. We do not "love" our farm tools and we don't have any particular loyalty to one brand or another, so there is no bias in this analysis. If you are not particularly tall and don't care about HF,E and general engineering and design (says the engineer trying hard to mask his bias) then you have more viable options. But when you have to consider piling into the UTV at minus 20 with parka, snow bibs and snow boots with dogs and assorted tools, for a trip over rough ground to do just about anything, HFE becomes important. You don't appear to have those constraints, but even so I would encourage you to consider the overall design and "feel" or form factor of the options you are considering. You will live with your choice for some time and being irritated every time you use the UTV will wear on you. Considering the price you will pay for a full sized four seater with a lift bed, that could translate in to serious buyer regret. Hope it works out for you.

The Can-am work machine is the defender were as the Commander is sport. I used a defender for years and liked it. I'm 5'11 and had lots of room in it.

 

[hayden]

Broadsword6 mentioned headroom in Kubotas......I am not sure where that concern came from. I am 6 ft 2 and 230 lbs and have both a Kubota RTV and a BX2660 tractor......sit in them no problem for hours at a time. For a few years now. Now I might of shrunk half an inch due to the old age burden of taxes and lazyboy chairs but still have otherwise been comfortable.

Me too. I'm 6' 3" and find the Kubota X1140 quite comfortable.

 

[Milo]

....As for speed, yes, the Kubota is a dog. 25 mph on flat of down hill, but down to 15-16 on any real hill. So if you are looking for a sport vehicle, the Kubota is NOT your machine. Also if you have long flat stretches to cover adn want to move faster than 2025 mph, the Kubota is NOT for you.....

To this I'll add the experience from the local Kubota/Polaris dealer as it related to large company who basically worked for the power company doing their right-of-way work. That company negotiated a deal directly with Kubota for a number of RTV 1000's (maybe 1100's I can't recall which). The initial 6 units were delivered from Kubota to the dealer who received $100 each to prep them for delivery. The company picked them up but within a few days complained to the dealer that they didn't have enough power to make it up the same right-of-ways their old Honda ATV's they had been using did. Two representatives from Kubota were flown in from GA. They, along with a dealer rep, were taken out to the sites and shown how they couldn't make it up many of the right-of-ways. A few days later Kubota told the dealer to take the 6 units back and refund their money.
The dealer loaned the company a Polaris which had no problems going where the RTV couldn't and saved the contract, only through Polaris.
They said the problem Kubota's had not going up steep grades was not only the lack of speed and torque to the ground, but poor suspension performance over rough terrain.

 

[paulsharvey]

We have the Honda 700-4. It has 4 seats when you need them, with virtually no bed, or 2 seats with a decent sized bed. Normal 3 speed transmission, no belt. We only have 3300 miles on it so far, but we like it. The Honda is pretty light on extras. Gauges are small, only 1 12v cigarette lighter plug, 1 cup holder in each front door. No radio, winch, ect. Decent top speed, of 43mph. It won't fit on a 5 ft wide trailer, need like 5'4" x 10 ft, if your gonna trailer it. Some people mention the seats getting warm, and they do, but not hot. We got ours pretty stripped down, no wind shield, no roof, ect. We did add a aftermarket soft roof, and i do wish we would have gotten a windshield, but the Honda dealer accessories are dang expensive.

 

[Hay Dude]

When I needed a wheelbarrow a few months ago it took a few weeks to find a decent one in stock. The local Lowes and Home Depots were getting robbed. Thieves drove up and cut the cables, took all of the steel handled ones. Store managers said they think it was construction crews.

Good thing you didn't buy one. The steel handles bend under heavy loads.
Went back to Jacksons with heavy wood handles.

 

[Milo]

Honda makes nice stuff (I own 3 Honda's myself). It was a while ago when I compared (may have changed) but things I didn't care for on the Pioneer 700 was no rear differential (skidding around turns in grass, gravel, dirt trails, etc.) and only 3 gears with no high/low range.