Work UTV ... narrow down some choices please

[Oldpath05]

My Rhino with 1.5" wheel spacers and 27" ITP589s is 58" wide. My stock RTV is 57" wide.

I believe the Rhino and/or the RTV will get around in tight quarters where the 6 passenger Intimidator cannot go. The Rhino is very capable in tight/difficult terrain. The RTV will haul the crap outta whatever you can pile on the bed.

No brand war intended. Just clarifying that each is built for a specific purpose.

27" tire's wow, you got some ground clearance there, the next best thing I guess would be those track things on all fours. There is one thing I really like about the RTV, the rear end will unlock making it easier to turn corners.

 

[timswi]

My Rhino with 1.5" wheel spacers and 27" ITP589s is 58" wide. My stock RTV is 57" wide.

I believe the Rhino and/or the RTV will get around in tight quarters where the 6 passenger Intimidator cannot go. The Rhino is very capable in tight/difficult terrain. The RTV will haul the crap outta whatever you can pile on the bed.

No brand war intended. Just clarifying that each is built for a specific purpose.

Totally agree with you...my neighbor's mule is fun to drive, fairly quick and handles well...My RTV is a pure worker like you said---I do like the cab in plowing season though. Wish I could have both, not sure the wife would appreciate that. I got away with a Sportsman 570 for toying around. Not gonna push my luck any further.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

As far as belt squealing, when I bought the Rhino I was under the impression by people I talked to, that Yamaha makes one of the best belt transmissions on the market, and I we'll find out for sure after 5 years of pulling my trailer.

You were told right, the Yamaha belt trans is the best in the business, BECAUSE it's only used for the transmission, and NOT used for the clutch, like other belt drives.

That means the belt stays under tension and last a long long time... Belt drives are NOT all created equal!

SR

 

[MF283]

I've been following this thread for a spell. I just got a JD 550XUV Saturday, demo with no hours a whole lot cheaper than a new one. While the bed is smaller than i initially wanted, i'll get by with it. I've ran it all over the farm, went up the few inclines i have w/o having to use 4X & i love the overall smaller size, easier getting around my fence rows than the tractor in the wooded areas.
My friend at the dealer gave me several owners to call & ask about their experiences with the same unit, other than little nick picking, all were pleased.
Hopefully, over time, i will be able to tell whether i'm pleased with it. While i looked at other brands, my JD dealer has always went out of the way to get my money:2cents: service mens a lot to me.

Ronnie

 

[RollingsFarms]

I love my Polaris Ranger 570 mid-size. This thing has a ton of power and super easy to get around in, steers effortlessly without power steering. My biggest gripe with it is how the transmission engages, when you take off it just feels like it snaps and goes. I'm told and have read that that's life with a Polaris and as long as you drive in the proper gear and don't get the belt wet you'll be fine. They've supposedly improved the clutching on the 570 but I'm not sure. I'd buy one again though, haven't had a single issue out of mine yet.

 

[ovrszd]

You were told right, the Yamaha belt trans is the best in the business, BECAUSE it's only used for the transmission, and NOT used for the clutch, like other belt drives.

That means the belt stays under tension and last a long long time... Belt drives are NOT all created equal!

SR

Yep, the Rhino uses a "wet centrifugal clutch" so when idling the belt pulleys aren't spinning. And when you apply throttle the wet clutch does the slipping to get movement started rather than the belt burning. It's still possible to burn the belt but you gotta really abuse it.

 

[Sawyer Rob]

Well, considering my mid 90's Yamaha Grizzly 600 has been used for HEAVY work and still has the "original" belt, that still works perfectly, i'd say they are VERY reliable.

I've NEVER had my belt slip, squeak or do anything but work perfectly...

SR

 

[Hermio]

That depends on the vehicle design. On a tractor, for example, the weight is on the axles, as there is no suspension. On a UTV, there is no weight on part of the axle, though there is weight on the stub axle that carries the wheel. But weight affects how much torque can be developed. The same vehicle, when heavily loaded, can develop more torque before the tires slip. The maximum possible torque is the lesser of the engine torque times the effective reduction ratio, the torque limit due to belt friction, or the total tire load times the coefficient of friction times the tire radius. With a light load, the latter torque is probably the smallest.

 

[Hermio]

I agree with that. I knew I was giving up some maneuverability to get a 6-passenger model. But I can make a couple of cuts and still go pretty much anywhere. The turning radius is 14 feet. Interestingly, it is about 10 feet on my Mahindra 5035 HST.

 

[Oldpath05]

You were told right, the Yamaha belt trans is the best in the business, BECAUSE it's only used for the transmission, and NOT used for the clutch, like other belt drives.

That means the belt stays under tension and last a long long time... Belt drives are NOT all created equal!

SR

I never had a Yamaha before now, so I was leery about buying one 2 years ago so I ask a guy at work who had a Yamaha ATV with 1500+ mi. on it, (Grizzly I think) and he said the same thing your saying. At the time I had a AC 650 with 500 mi. on it and some belt issues, and everytime him and his buddy's would go on these 1-200 mi. mud run rides, he couldn't wait to tell about some Artic Cats breaking down, while his Yamaha belt drive never gave him any problems, he's obviously a Yamaha fan.

 

[Hermio]

I never had a Yamaha before now, so I was leery about buying one 2 years ago so I ask a guy at work who had a Yamaha ATV with 1500+ mi. on it, (Grizzly I think) and he said the same thing your saying. At the time I had a AC 650 with 500 mi. on it and some belt issues, and everytime him and his buddy's would go on these 1-200 mi. mud run rides, he couldn't wait to tell about some Artic Cats breaking down, while his Yamaha belt drive never gave him any problems, he's obviously a Yamaha fan.

When I was looking into UTVs, the Yamaha Viking was high on my list, precisely because of the way the belt drive worked. So I checked into this, and found that the Intimidator also uses a centrifugal clutch; the belt does not slip when at idle. So, I ended up going with the intimidator due to much higher load and towing capacities. It also has a much shorter turning radius, larger tires and greater suspension travel, and a smoother 2 cylinder engine vs. one cylinder.. Also costs a bit less. I am not knocking the Yamaha Viking VI, as it is a fine vehicle, but it is closer to the sport end of the range, with a 50 MPH top speed, whereas the Intimidator is more of a work vehicle, so it met my needs better.

 

[LA Confederate]

We have several of the John Deer Gators at my plant. These are all crew cab and most are diesels and a few gassers. Might be worth looking in to.

 

[Oldpath05]

I've been following this thread for a spell. I just got a JD 550XUV Saturday, demo with no hours a whole lot cheaper than a new one. While the bed is smaller than i initially wanted, i'll get by with it. I've ran it all over the farm, went up the few inclines i have w/o having to use 4X & i love the overall smaller size, easier getting around my fence rows than the tractor in the wooded areas.
My friend at the dealer gave me several owners to call & ask about their experiences with the same unit, other than little nick picking, all were pleased.
Hopefully, over time, i will be able to tell whether i'm pleased with it. While i looked at other brands, my JD dealer has always went out of the way to get my money:2cents: service mens a lot to me.

Ronnie

I dont remember seeing this model when I stop at the JD dealer 2 years ago, the one I saw were wider than my Rhino. Looked up spec. on the JD 550 XUV and it's about the same width as a Rhino, so that would fit in my in between my basement doors at 60 inches, good luck with it.

 

[DK35vince]

I never had a Yamaha before now, so I was leery about buying one 2 years ago so I ask a guy at work who had a Yamaha ATV with 1500+ mi. on it, (Grizzly I think) and he said the same thing your saying.

I don't have a wet clutch (like the Grizzly) on my Kawasaki Brute force and I have no drive belt problems.
There is several thousand miles on my current belt. I tightened it up once (removed a shim in the secondary clutch), but its good to go for many more miles.

 

[Oldpath05]

When I was looking into UTVs, the Yamaha Viking was high on my list, precisely because of the way the belt drive worked. So I checked into this, and found that the Intimidator also uses a centrifugal clutch; the belt does not slip when at idle. So, I ended up going with the intimidator due to much higher load and towing capacities. It also has a much shorter turning radius, larger tires and greater suspension travel, and a smoother 2 cylinder engine vs. one cylinder.. Also costs a bit less. I am not knocking the Yamaha Viking VI, as it is a fine vehicle, but it is closer to the sport end of the range, with a 50 MPH top speed, whereas the Intimidator is more of a work vehicle, so it met my needs better.

I think you made a good choice for the Intimidator instead of the Viking, your right 50 mph is more for playing not working, which begs the Question, why cant UTV builders make a 3 or 4 speed fwd. 2 rev., I'd like a slower fwd. gear for working.
Since Yamaha don't make Rhino's anymore and went with a wider bigger Viking I doubt if I'd buy a Yamaha now. I'd probably look for something with a top speed of 25 mph. and a solid rear axle, not really sold on independent suspension for working, one reason is 4 more axle boots to protect, so that would narrow my choices down a little.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I just got an Electric Gator. I thought this might be what I wanted, but I never thought it would be as perfect as it is. So perfect for all those stop and go chores. I am keeping the Diesel Mule for the time being, but in truth, it has been much neglected since getting the gator. When in the middle of a job, I would never think about starting a Diesel to go the couple hundred feet between house and shop, but with the gator, it's not an issue. Don't get me wrong, I do enough walking and get enough excercise.

Plus, it will haul an impressive load and pull a good sized trailer. It's short on speed (that is an understatement) but has torque too spare!

 

[MF283]

I wanted one of the TX Gators on account of the bigger bed, couldn't beat the price on the Demo 550, it will mainly haul saws, fencing tools, pull a trailer when needed & the tractor will be used for it's intended purpose of pulling instead of riding around.
I think the manual says it has a top speed of 28, guess that's fast enough to sling some mud out of the tires if needed
The wife & i rode the fences through the woods the other night & spooked 2 different herds of deer in separate fields, neat experience. I will say it needs some alternative lighting, the stock light's aren't good at a longer range.
As stated earlier, i've enjoyed the thread & hope it keeps going.

Ronnie

 

[ultrarunner]

So is the new Honda with the Dual Cone too new to rate as far as transmission reliability issues?

I'll be keeping my Samurai for a long as possible... it's my brother looking for a utv for the ranch and only wants to buy once...

One of my neighbors has the smallest Gator single cylinder... he absolutely loves it and it gets a lot of use over the years... the one thing that unnerves me is two wheel braking... there is a spot on his property where he basically slides down the hill and steers... going up is better because of weight transfer... but going down is a wild ride.

 

[Copperhead]

Went thru all of this and 2 things:

Since looking for a working UTV, I am surprised that Bobcat hasn't been brought up. Don't have one, but they are in the same league as the Kubota RTV X series working UTV's. Was checking out Bobcat UTV's recently and considering.

I rarely ever hear of anyone using the Snowsport snow plow. Very good little sleeper of a plow. No need for all the cost like many plow setups. Total cost of a very good plow is $1000 or less and just a standard receiver for hitch in the front.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4h__99SzMA&spfreload=10

Reviews from others:

ATV Plow Reviews | Customer Reviews of SnowSport All Terrain Plow

 

[MF283]

One of my neighbors has the smallest Gator single cylinder... he absolutely loves it and it gets a lot of use over the years... the one thing that unnerves me is two wheel braking... there is a spot on his property where he basically slides down the hill and steers... going up is better because of weight transfer... but going down is a wild ride.

That's another thing i like about this 550, it has 4 wheel disc & the bigger wheels/tires which gives it more clearance. Speed is not a concern for me being i bought it as a work vehicle, i'll put it on our dead end road to blow it out occasionally or even to cool off some during warmer weather.
My son came in the other day after a hard rain & wanted to know if i went mudding, i let him know that wasn't it's intended purpose & i better not see sign of that, he got the message.

Ronnie