RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade?

   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade? #1  

caylor

Silver Member
Joined
Jan 4, 2005
Messages
155
Location
Upshur County, Texas
Tractor
Kubota L3130 w/513 FEL Quick Attach, Kubota RTV900
My company has approached me (since I am the resident redneck) about providing a trailer and tow vehicle for our company's entry into the local Christmas Parade. Our theme is "A Camo Christmas". Here is the jist of the "float" set up:

20-ft bumper pull trailer, christmas tree covered in camo stuff, 6 or so hay bales for camo clad kids and parents to sit on and wave to the crowd, a deer blind, a camo clad 4-wheeler and Christmas lights run off of an inverter.

No doubt my 3/4 ton Chevy could pull this around no problem, however I own a Camo RTV 900 that I was considering to use as the tow vehicle to tie it all together.

I have towed the 20-ft trailer with the RTV all around my acreage loaded up with limbs, fencing, etc. no problem. I think the RTV would do a fine job for parade duty.

I'm sure I am not the first to enlist the RTV for parade duty, do you think the RTV could handle being the tow vehicle for this application?
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade? #2  
You should be fine as long as you don't get carried away with the weight on the front of the trailer. I have used my 16' as a utility trailer no problem but haven't tried the 20 footer. We had a child killed near here last year when he tried to jump off the moving trailer in a parade. Make sure to have a safety meeting so everyone knows not to move around or try to jump off until cleared to do so. Might want a spotter walking along each side and make sure they all know the stop signal. Have fun and be safe !
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade? #3  
I'm sure it could do it. Try it out first, see how well it goes and stops, turns, works good. You may have to go slow, but it would surely do it.


Kyle
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade?
  • Thread Starter
#4  
If we use the 4-wheeler on the trailer, I was going to put it right over the axles of the trailer, we may omit the 4-wheeler on the trailer if I use the RTV to pull.
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade? #5  
Nuthin' says Christmas quite like camo.:rolleyes:

I think your RTV will do fine as long as you balance the load properly and go slow on paved streets. Careful feathering of the throttle is a must. You don't want sudden stops and the inherent weight shift. The RTV's HST should be good for that kind of work.
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade?
  • Thread Starter
#6  
Update:

The float will NOT have a four wheeler on it due to space limitations on the trailer. I have no doubt now that the RTV will be one of the coolest tow vehicles in the parade. Now an electrical question.

I am planning on running several strings of lights off an inverter connected to the 12V outlet of the RTV, will the alternator be able to keep up or will I have a dead battery at the end of the parade?

groundcover: Thanks for the reply. I will insist on having a spotter on each side walking along to keep everybody safe!
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade? #7  
That will depend on the size of the inverter, size of the battery, size of the alternator, and how many lights you connect.

I would suggest hooking it up to a spare battery and seing how long your system will run on a battery without an alternator attached. That might be the way to get through. If you drain the RTV's battery, you will hold up the parade, because it will not run......

Please be safe.
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade? #8  
Why don't you use a generator in the bed of the RTV. This is what we have done for parades except we used my 3/4 ton truck instead of the RTV. My son has a theatrical lighting business and he wired the trailer with strobes, spots, a disco ball, chaser lights and strings of colored lights. We used my 5,000 watt generator which was overkill but it worked fine. A little Honda EU1000i would be very quiet and efficient and provide you with all the power you would need. If you have some friends who RV then one of them is likely to have one. Just some food for thought.
 
   / RTV 900 in the Christmas Parade? #9  
See if you can borrow a honda 1 or 2 thousand watt generator. they are very quiet and only run at the speed needed to keep up with the load. I made up some cheap halogen floodlights on big spring clamps that can clip on the roll cage. If you need a little(or a lot) of extra light plug them in,also nice for a backup light. On another machine,a Polaris Ranger 6x6 I had a roof rack made that holds a 2kw honda and four lights works slick and doesn't seem to be too top heavy.
 
 
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