jcmseven
Veteran Member
Piston,
Not at all, and not all side by sides are equal in this task area. I make specific mention of the John Deere and the Kubota, for good reason. I think they are the best in this area. I have owned a Polaris Ranger. I really liked it (it was the 800-pretty fun) but in no way shape or form would it plow remotely as well as my current Gator XUV. The RTV is like a truck with heated cab, etc. My John Deere has an available cab and heater, but I do not mind being outside so I just have installed the full front windshield with wiper. If we get much more snow I am going to invest in the cab setup.
I would say I interjected this opinion into the mix to provide an alternative for discussion. When these truck v. tractor plowing threads pop up, it is interesting to note that there now is an effective third option, the UTV. There are enough big name plow companies out there like Boss and Meyer who are making plows for these machines that they apparently realize the same potential of these vehicles. I totally agree a pickup mounted plow is the best choice for wide open areas that are flat and fast, none of which I have here. I do plow large volume though; including about three miles of service road to my house (interestingly with two areas so steep our plow guy with his Dodge 3500 will not plow it). Tractors plow OK but not nearly as fast as a high-end UTV like I mention and I have used both (well, maybe a 9620 John Deere would plow faster but it also would not fit on most of what I do). The advantage of my XUV UTV is that it can plow our service roads as fast or faster than a truck can, it can plow steep drives and side roads that one would not even attempt with a truck mounted plow, it can get into areas not accessible by truck and plow sidewalks, parking lots, alleyways and areas too tight or delicate to plow by truck. Most times it gets to the pavement when plowing and does so for a fraction of the fuel cost. In between jobs, I just drive it around and when the weather and roads are really bad, my Gator with a 45 MPH top speed will get to site quicker than a truck. I think we all like what we have to plow, and I would not have any interest in talking someone out of his truck-mounted plow for a UTV mounted one, but I can see having used a UTV plow set up extensively that such a machine would make a nice addition to a plow operation. I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard chuckles from those folks looking for a plow set up alternative to their tractors when I tell them to look at a UTV, only to see them come back amazed at what these machines will do with snow.
John M
Not at all, and not all side by sides are equal in this task area. I make specific mention of the John Deere and the Kubota, for good reason. I think they are the best in this area. I have owned a Polaris Ranger. I really liked it (it was the 800-pretty fun) but in no way shape or form would it plow remotely as well as my current Gator XUV. The RTV is like a truck with heated cab, etc. My John Deere has an available cab and heater, but I do not mind being outside so I just have installed the full front windshield with wiper. If we get much more snow I am going to invest in the cab setup.
I would say I interjected this opinion into the mix to provide an alternative for discussion. When these truck v. tractor plowing threads pop up, it is interesting to note that there now is an effective third option, the UTV. There are enough big name plow companies out there like Boss and Meyer who are making plows for these machines that they apparently realize the same potential of these vehicles. I totally agree a pickup mounted plow is the best choice for wide open areas that are flat and fast, none of which I have here. I do plow large volume though; including about three miles of service road to my house (interestingly with two areas so steep our plow guy with his Dodge 3500 will not plow it). Tractors plow OK but not nearly as fast as a high-end UTV like I mention and I have used both (well, maybe a 9620 John Deere would plow faster but it also would not fit on most of what I do). The advantage of my XUV UTV is that it can plow our service roads as fast or faster than a truck can, it can plow steep drives and side roads that one would not even attempt with a truck mounted plow, it can get into areas not accessible by truck and plow sidewalks, parking lots, alleyways and areas too tight or delicate to plow by truck. Most times it gets to the pavement when plowing and does so for a fraction of the fuel cost. In between jobs, I just drive it around and when the weather and roads are really bad, my Gator with a 45 MPH top speed will get to site quicker than a truck. I think we all like what we have to plow, and I would not have any interest in talking someone out of his truck-mounted plow for a UTV mounted one, but I can see having used a UTV plow set up extensively that such a machine would make a nice addition to a plow operation. I cannot tell you the number of times I have heard chuckles from those folks looking for a plow set up alternative to their tractors when I tell them to look at a UTV, only to see them come back amazed at what these machines will do with snow.
John M
