Who will be next with a UTV?

[Tractors4u]

I almost said that John Deere started it with the Gator, but really Cushman had the first UTV with the trucksters. I guess the Gators brought them to the level of popularity that they are at today. Then Kawasaki, Polaris, Cub Cadet, and now Kubota. Of course there are a bunch more other brands that aren't as popular. Who will be next? Where is Honda? I suspect if they do one they are probably working on it now and making sure that it is as reliable as everything else they make. Will New Holland jump in? Correct me if I am wrong here, but currently or at one time New Holland was getting their lawn tractors from Toro? If so, could they re-badge the Toro Twister and sell it?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

I don't know who will make the NEXT one, but I'd like to see a vehicle that is more useful than most of the units out there. NH may paint a Toro Twister blue, but will that make it better? Basically most of them are glorified golf carts that can be divided into 2 groups, the camo/hunting units that haul people-guns-dogs and the farm/ranch units that haul dirt-plants-wood-cargo.

I am more interested in the farm/ranch units, but I'd like one that can do more work. Steiner makes a 30+hp diesel utility vehicle-tractor combo, but it only has one seat. Put two seats on it and it would be a potential winner because it can mow the lawn, plow or blow the snow, scoop up dirt, till the garden, and carry & dump cargo and a lot more. But with only one seat, the Steiner unit seems to fall short as a UTV but is a really nice lawn tractor???

Many of the UTVs will take a plow, and many will haul a good deal of cargo. But basically they are 2 seat golf carts that will travel over rough terrain.

Then there is the $35,000+ Bobcat Toolcat. That one is amazing, but double the cost of the Steiner and I'm not sure it is twice as good. And I would say the Toolcat is the best, and most useful, but not many can afford it.

 

[Tractors4u]

How about this one? It is a Hinomoto JF1. 3 cylinder diesel, 3 point hitch, PTO. No dump bed though. I was told that the JF stood for Joyful Fashion. It is too bad that Hinomoto went out of business.

 

[Tractors4u]

Another pic.

 

[Bob_Skurka]

Brent, that thing is pretty silly looking, what is the purpose of it? One seat, no lift bed, but a 3pt . . . that sounds like a tractor, but the pictures show that it looks like a dressed up golf cart at the country club.

Now, I don't know who is going to make the next best UTV, so since nobody else seems to want to bite on this thread, here is my wish list of things a FARM/RANCH type UTV should have:

2 seats
Bright lights on front and rear for working late
Built in 2000 watt generator for running hand power tools
Front mounted implements to include:
-Snowblower
-Blade
-Box Blade
-Finish Mower
-Rough Cut Mower
-Power Broom
-Slip scoop with about 24" lift
Winch --removable & able to be front or rear mounted
Tight turning radius for working in woods
Articulated frame for rough terrain
4 wheel drive
Optional Roll Bar
Optional Cab

And if it was me building it, I would offer it in 2 sizes. A fairly compact unit and a larger unit. The compact unit would be aimed at homeowners who could use this instead of a tractor. The larger unit would be basically the same thing, but with a bigger dump box & greater carrying capacity. Both would use the same front mounted implements. And if it was me, I would design it to use implements that would work with either Steiner/Ventrac front ends, or with Power Trac so that the implement choices would be greater.

 

[TBrown]

Goldoni makes this thing.

Goldoni utility vehicle

Its strictly for transport, but it is articulated, and it has a pto (but no 3pt hitch).

I'm also sure I saw a link once in the Power-trac forum for some european machine similar to the Toolcat. Seems like it was marketed towards municipalities, and quite pricey. I can't find the link or remember the name of it, though.

 

[cowboydoc]

Bob,

What you described is what the Toolcat already is. But like you said you don't want to pay $30k for it. It also comes in a compact unit and the larger one as well. You aren't going to get all of that for the price a regular utility vehicle. And if you're going to design something like this why would you cut profits by making it fit other cheaper accessories?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

TBrowne: the Goldini looks good, but needs 2 seats and implements to make it more useful

coyboydoc: I disagree that I described the Toolcat, but I will agree that I described a scaled down, simplified, Toolcat that doesn't include thing like air conditioning, a solid cab and heater without the overly complex 4 wheel steering . . . but adding articulation to make travel through the woods a heck of a lot easier.

Actually I think I described the Steiner 528 Utilimax if the front end was reconfigured to hold 2 seats, and if the front hitch was modified to allow greater lift height.

As far as "other cheaper accessories" I am not sure what you mean? The implements from Steiner, Ventrac & Power Trac are all very high quality accessories. From my point of view, the Steiner & Ventrac mower decks are the best designed decks available anywhere on any machine. But also from a "marketing" point of view, if you make a tool that is compatible with other brands of implements then you broaden your potential customer base to include the people who already own those implements (such as a standardized 3pt hitch).

Honestly, I think you could get a what I am describing into market in the price range of $13,000 to $15,000 for the base model with a diesel engine and no implements. Granted that is a bit steep for a UTV, but it would also do more than most standard UTVs and it could eliminate the need for owning a garden tractor too (so that would save money).

 

[Tractors4u]

You can't tell if there is one or not by the picture, but I was told that it does have another seat on the other side. It is basically a tractor with a body on it.

 

[cowboydoc]

Look at the scaled down Toolcat Bob. You can get them without cab, without air, etc. I was quoted $17k for the base model.