UTV: Diesel or Gasoline?

[buickanddeere]

Gasoline is superior in cold weather and in stop-start golf cart type of duty . Diesel has it痴 place in HD applications , not in light duty applications .
Just waiting now for someone without a clue to claim that diesel is superior in a 2018 ATV because their 1960痴 diesel farm tractor was cheaper to run ploughing 500 acres vs the same tractor with the gasoline engine .

 

[nybirdman]

I have gas SXS's,Yamaha to be specific.My machines are "work" machines used in my business.My first Rhino went 4,0000 miles in ten years with no problems;my current Viking(2016) has 700 miles and trouble free also.Machines are used year-round.
Lighter,better off-road,cheaper to run and cost less than a diesel off-road machine.Like my Kubota diesel tractors but prefer gas in side by sides.

 

[flynlow8740]

In my experience, some of the ratings are skewed for utv’s. My dad has a Polaris ranger 800 that is rated to tow 2000 pounds and there is no way that machine would handle that kind of work day in and out. I have a Kubota Rtv-x1100 and it is only rated to tow 1300 pounds but is 3 times the machine the Polaris is. After using both of those extensively in a use similar to yours it’s a no brainer for me. In fact, my dad is shopping for an RTV-x1100 now, since he likes mine so much. Polaris is VERY optimistic in what they say their machine is capable of and Kubota is VERY conservative.

 

[timswi]

I have an RTV1100 bought new in 2009. I use mine pretty much as the OP stated + a lot of snow plowing. The diesel motor sips fuel compared to the gas ones I'd had before and it has more pull/hull capability than I'll ever use. No regrets even though it was pretty spendy.

 

[Bigfoot62]

I bought the Kubota RTV-X900 this past spring. For me, diesel was the only way to go. I have a 300 gallon skid tank on my farm. One less thing to carry gasoline to. And, it's about the same price as a similarly equipped gas burner.
The Kubota uses very little fuel. It pulls a 2000# trailer without a problem. No belt to slip. (it's got a real Hydro-static transmission, the same as the little Kubota tractors) Because it's hydro, it comes with a hydraulic dump bed and power steering standard.

The down side to the diesels are:
Slow. Top speed is about 24 mph. That's not a problem for me. My farm is 1/2 mile long and 1/2 mile wide. I have about 25 hours and 150 miles on mine. That's an average of about 6mph. I didn't buy it to play with, I bought it to work on my farm.
Heavy. Mine weighs nearly 2000# Again, that's not an issue for me. In fact, I like it. It rides better than a lighter machine.
Big. Just over 10' long and 5' wide. If you have a need for a smaller machine, it may not fit your application.
A little more expensive to service. (additional cost for fuel filters and hydraulic fluid and filter)

Oh, and I wouldn't be concerned about just running it for a short time, and then shutting it off. This is a 3-cylinder, natural aspirated diesel. The only thing that restarting it might hurt would be the starter. And that would be the same for a gas burner.

 

[Beltzington]

And, it's about the same price as a similarly equipped gas burner.

Sorry Sasquatch calling you on this. Used diesels are about 2,000 to 4,000 higher, my guess is a new diesel would be closer to $5K out the door. I would love a full hydro UTV but lets try to keep the apples and oranges separated.

 

[flynlow8740]

When I was shopping I looked at a Polaris Ranger 900 with a roof, windshield, and rear glass panel. I found that there wasn’t a significant price difference in that and my X1100, at least in my area. That made my choice for me really. The X1100 is WAY more machine than a Ranger.

 

[MinnesotaEric]

With Paul Bunyan State Forest in my backyard, I bought a 2017 RZR 1000S with a 195 miles which is 60" wide and 79" short at an insurance auction. Its like a go cart with long travel suspension and a 100hp--oversteer, understeer, oversteer, understeer on every corner what fun! Carrying a pole saw and chain saw and hoofing around my 6x12 aluminum trailer is really all I need it do for utility--which is good because it lacks a turf mode and totally tears stuff up on every slow turn. Sorting out the minor problems will make good YouTube fodder for my channel and build in an instant $3,000 of equity if I want to turn around and sell it next spring.

 

[Bigfoot62]

Sorry Sasquatch calling you on this. Used diesels are about 2,000 to 4,000 higher, my guess is a new diesel would be closer to $5K out the door. I would love a full hydro UTV but lets try to keep the apples and oranges separated.

I bought new. Wasn't really interested in buying someone else's problems. But, I would agree, the used diesel is going to cost a little more. I'll give you that. Used diesels hold their value better. BTW, I don't think the OP ever mentioned that he was looking at used anyway.
The local Polaris dealer was running a "special" on the Ranger XP900 EPS (power steering) for $13K. That's what I paid for the Kubota RTV-X900 diesel. And, Kubota was offering 0% financing for 48 months. (I just checked their website, and they still are)

 

[Beltzington]

With Paul Bunyan State Forest in my backyard, I bought a 2017 RZR 1000S with a 195 miles which is 60" wide and 79" short at an insurance auction. Its like a go cart with long travel suspension and a 100hp--oversteer, understeer, oversteer, understeer on every corner what fun! Carrying a pole saw and chain saw and hoofing around my 6x12 aluminum trailer is really all I need it do for utility--which is good because it lacks a turf mode and totally tears stuff up on every slow turn. Sorting out the minor problems will make good YouTube fodder for my channel and build in an instant $3,000 of equity if I want to turn around and sell it next spring.

SO how did the garage door rebuild go, pull out the rotten post and replace?