Ranger vs Kubota video..

[Skipholiday]

Want a banging headache? Take a ranger out for a half hour, between the engine noise and the rattling of the overall machine, you'll have one.

I disagree. Although I don't care for Polaris in general. The Ranger is a well made vehicle.
I've driven and rode the rtv and the ranger. The noise was about the same from both. A cab would make a significant difference in the noise level.
Want to drive something loud. Drive a rhino..

It is no different then JD comparing the cab to I think a Kubota with the smoke test or NH having their website comparing the NH to the JD and Kubotas.

I remember the smoke test.

 

[rapracing]

Kubota has a model without the hydraulic dump. It is their "General Purpose" model. All other models come with the hydraulic dump standard

 

[rapracing]

From my posts on the site you know I have been back and forth between these two. I have driven both. The Polaris is definately much smoother and also has a much more aggressive throtle and will go much faster. (I did find that 30 was about as fast as I wanted to go on it, even thought maybe in time it would be alright to go faster).

There are some things I like about the Ranger but after driving both and really looking them over there is no doubt that the Kubota is a much better built machine as far as a work machine goes. I personally believe that it will hold up much longer than the Ranger. The soft kushy suspension is going to give out much quicker if it is used to haul and pull alot (IMO). Then there is the diesel motor. I have a tractor and a diesel truck and they have given me no problems starting in the winter. I make sure the fuel is treated and they always fire right up. As mentioned previously the oil is like glue in either machine if it is that cold so if you do have do start it in the cold without any prior heating it is wise to let the Ranger warm up as well even though they say you can take right off without warmup. The EFI will allow that but wisdom would say not to. That gas motor will not last as long as it might if abused that way.

If I were looking for a recreation machine then the Ranger would be my choice but for work the Diesel Kubota is the way to go. 25 mph will get me where I need to be. Just my thoughts.

 

[Dozernut]

"I think the point of driving over the barriers at that speed was to show the Ranger didn't bounce very much at all while the RTV bounced all over."

Robert, my point was that you and I are not going to drive that way, it would do us in. I do roll over some smaller logs in the woods but not a constant procession of them like in the video. The 589's are run at 8 psi and are a little better than the stock work tires in cushioning the ride, except on hard surfaces then they run a little rough.

BTW I really enjoyed your pictures and story of the deer you raise, thanks for sharing. I hope Idiot has settled down now that the rut is winding down.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Idiot is still Idiot. I was just down there this morning running interference as my dad had to go into the pen. I took some apples to keep his interest but all I really needed to do was just stand there and he would stay there. As long as I was tossing apples towards him he left the fence alone. Once I slowed down he started attacking the fence. Even while eating apples he had this evil look to him. He would attack the fence and as soon as he saw an apple in my hand he would reach his face thru and take the apple but would never get rid of the evil look. I went down there one night and you could see his antlers and eyes glowing red. I don't think he is from this world

 

[mikeyd]

Not wound up, just pointing out that the video is pure propoganda. My friend has a ranger, top of the line limited edition model with cab. It may be well built in comparison to the other light weight cvt type machines but in no way does it match the build quality of the Kubota. Frankly, half the reason for the top speed of the ranger is that it is so light. Any person, even people who own other machines, will always describe the rtv the same way, "The thing is built like a Tank" Ever hear anyone describe the ranger as built like a tank?

My friend, who takes great pride in the many pieces of equipment he owns, could not believe the features and build quality of my RTV1100 as compared to his ranger as he payed about the same money for the machine. He, as I, uses his machine for work.

I have been in his ranger many times, it is very loud and rattles to the point of irratation. Honestly, it so annoying I avoid situations where I have to get in it with him. I have driven it many times as well. There is little feel for the transmission, it is difficult to feather the trans if you are trying to slowly backup to something w/o banging into it.

Although my 1100 is a cab model, I have driven a 900 on several occasions, it is louder than my 1100, but no where near the ranger. Plus it doesn't rattle.

Robert in NY, the more I read your posts the more I believe you would be best off with a ranger or something similar. Your comment that you don't care about assistance w/ dumping is very telling. It tells me that you really don't want the machine for work so much as for getting around your property. While I believe the rtv would meet your needs there are machines like the ranger which are more akin to ATV's.

 

[Deerlope]

For all you guys in NY that love thre Ranger so well I wonder how well you will love it when you have to register it as an ATV because of its weight and top speed. The are also a few other UTV that fall into the same class as the Ranger. The RTV is considered a tractor so it does not have to registered.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

For all you guys in NY that love thre Ranger so well I wonder how well you will love it when you have to register it as an ATV because of its weight and top speed. The are also a few other UTV that fall into the same class as the Ranger. The RTV is considered a tractor so it does not have to registered.

You don't have to register farm vehicles in New York. I didn't register any of my ATV's and have never been bothered about it because I have a farm and will use this as a farm.

Where have I said that I love the Ranger? So far I seem to think I am the only one from NY that has posted in here and doesn't own an RTV. I do like some of the features but I seem to recall saying multilple times that I want to demo all of the machines. Every machine has something it is better at then the competition and they use it to make sales. This thread happens to be about the Ranger and RTV so that is what is being talked about.

 

[Robert_in_NY]

Not wound up, just pointing out that the video is pure propoganda. My friend has a ranger, top of the line limited edition model with cab. It may be well built in comparison to the other light weight cvt type machines but in no way does it match the build quality of the Kubota. Frankly, half the reason for the top speed of the ranger is that it is so light. Any person, even people who own other machines, will always describe the rtv the same way, "The thing is built like a Tank" Ever hear anyone describe the ranger as built like a tank?

My friend, who takes great pride in the many pieces of equipment he owns, could not believe the features and build quality of my RTV1100 as compared to his ranger as he payed about the same money for the machine. He, as I, uses his machine for work.

I have been in his ranger many times, it is very loud and rattles to the point of irratation. Honestly, it so annoying I avoid situations where I have to get in it with him. I have driven it many times as well. There is little feel for the transmission, it is difficult to feather the trans if you are trying to slowly backup to something w/o banging into it.

Although my 1100 is a cab model, I have driven a 900 on several occasions, it is louder than my 1100, but no where near the ranger. Plus it doesn't rattle.

Robert in NY, the more I read your posts the more I believe you would be best off with a ranger or something similar. Your comment that you don't care about assistance w/ dumping is very telling. It tells me that you really don't want the machine for work so much as for getting around your property. While I believe the rtv would meet your needs there are machines like the ranger which are more akin to ATV's.

So your experience on the Ranger is with your friends? Are all the rattles a result of the cab? I would think the noise would be a result of the cab also but having not used it I wouldn't know. I do recall some RTV owners complaining about similar issues on the 900's cab which is why I wonder if these issues are cab related. If so then they wouldn't be an issue since my machine is going to most likely be rigged up with a canopy and front windshield and the rest will be open.

How does not wanting a dump bed indicate I won't use this for work? If you would take the time to read my post I have said in this thread and others I will use this machine for just about all task on my farm. But if I need to haul material that will be dumped why would I start my tractor to scoop up material (which my small loader would carry as much as these dump boxes will) just to dump it in the UTV's box and then start that up to dump the load? I will just use the tractor. If I need a small amount (or am in a tight place) I take the small loader. If I need a large amount I will take the larger loader. A powered dump box does not serve me much use but I guess if you don't dump things out of a UTV then you don't use it for work

The UTV that I end up buying will be used for work mostly, hunting and taking my daughter with us (which I do a lot) while we are picking apples and such. Just because I am not going to run out and buy an RTV without considering every machines good and bad points doesn't mean I have ruled it out. Reading some of the RTV owners post it seems to be all or nothing with you guys. Either I am in love with the RTV or I dispise it as there doesn't seem to be any middle ground.

I do like the strong points of the RTV and when I am demoing machines I will compare those points against the other machines and vice versa. Which ever machine works best for my situation then that is the one I will buy as I am not going to blindly buy any particular machine without being able to demo it and think about it.

 

[litework]

How does not wanting a dump bed indicate I won't use this for work? If you would take the time to read my post I have said in this thread and others I will use this machine for just about all task on my farm. But if I need to haul material that will be dumped why would I start my tractor to scoop up material (which my small loader would carry as much as these dump boxes will) just to dump it in the UTV's box and then start that up to dump the load? I will just use the tractor. If I need a small amount (or am in a tight place) I take the small loader. If I need a large amount I will take the larger loader. A powered dump box does not serve me much use but I guess if you don't dump things out of a UTV then you don't use it for work

You can't bring a buddy along on the tractor

One area I think the Kubota would have a serious advantage over any gasser in fuel economy would be during idle. I don't know how much time you guys are idling your vehicles, but I leave mine running quite a bit while I unload the payload. On a tangent, if Robert in NY has livestock and uses a UTV to haul square bails of hay, I can see where he'd do a lot of work (a lot of work!) without wanting to use a hydraulic dump.