Cowboydoc, I really agree with you on the steering. I'm just beginning rehab for reconstruction surgery I just had on my elbow that will last the better part of a year (yeah, I'm not as young as I used to be) and the RTV steering lets me drive anywhere with one arm easily. The hydro drive does take a while to get used to and should be more durable. However, I read the military tests on the Gators and, if they kept them out of any water, the military couldn't tear up the Gator's drive units. In arid climates the military has literally hundreds of Gators in service. Believe it or not, the electric screw bed lift unit in the Gator will lift more than the hydro lift in the RTV. I've been hauling a lot of 80 lb. bags of concrete putting up a long fence lately. I can tell you from experience that the screw lift of the Gator will dump more bags (weight) than the RTV. In all fairness though, both will dump more than their listed capacity. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif
When I picked up my RTV there was a Kubota rep at the dealership. He too told me that Kubota was going to have a price increase sometime in the near future. He did indicate that it likely would be a pretty big one too. I tended to believe him since I had already purchased my RTV and had already loaded it on my trailer. In other words, no need to keep "selling" me. I'm sure you'll love your Gator, I really liked the the ones I owned. As I said in another post to you, the RTV just worked out better for me right now. A big factor was when my JD dealer priced on the new Gator quite a bit higher than the RTV by the time I had it decked out the way I wanted it. Maybe he took it for granted that I'd by JD since I've purchased over a dozen new JD products over the last 15 years. I knew JD had quality products. Kubota had to prove it to me. I know I'll likely offend someone, but after a lot of looking, some other manufacturers can't hold a candle to the quality of the JD or Kubota products.