Successful Farming Ultimate UTV Evaluation

[aczlan]

I think for the most part when people are driving a utv they don't expect they will need to use low range to climb hills or pull a load. I don't think many people doubt the Kubotas ability to move through various terrain or get over hills....the thing that separates them from the competition is that need for gear reduction. I've yet to see a hill that I've had to use low range on in my Gator 825i, I have friends with utvs including a Polaris Ranger, Polaris RZR and a CanAm Commander and all these machines will blast over any hill I've seen up here without shifting, they generally won't even lose any speed at all regardless of whether loaded or empty.

I agree that the RTVs could use a little more HP, however (IMO) the RTV is designed as a tractor with a rollcage, a bed and a bench seat vs most of the other UTVs which are designed as an oversized ATV with a bed, a steering wheel, a rollcage and multiple seats.

It seems a lot of people really like their RTV's which is great but for the folks who hop out of almost any other machine and get into the RTV it's going to feel like a major downgrade in the power department as well as suspension. It doesn't necessarily make them bad but it does hurt them in any side by side comparison testing situation.

It depends on what you need. Before we bought the RTV, we had a Toro Workman 2100 (now called the Workman MD) which got replaced because it was loud, 2wd (no locking diff) and ugly.
We looked at the Big Red, Mule 610, Deere 550, 625i and 825i. Our requirements list included:

• Towing well
• Carrying stuff
• Easy to get into (inlaws have various hip/knee/back issues, so something that was hard to get into wasnt going to work)
• Easy to drive
• Easy to load
• 4wd
• Locking rear differential
• Able to fit down our golf cart trails
• Flat bed (no wheel wells)
• Quiet
• Bench Seat

We sat on a couple of Deere 825i machines and while they were nice, they were too big and too high.
We got a demo of a 625i and it was fast (scary fast for our place and some of the people who will be driving it), tall (cab/bed floors were the same height as our 1/2 ton pickup) and it was loud.
The XUV 550 had wheelwells in the bed which knocked it off the list.
The Big Red was too big
The Mule 610 was meh (nothing stood out).

Aaron Z

 

[MNBobcat]

I used to review ATVs professionally. It does take some experience to be able to provide useful insight into the machines and to share it in a way that's useful to the reader. Even pro reviewers stumble sometimes. I remember when I was at the Polaris factory with a bunch of other Editors and we were testing Polaris' new diesel ATV. I had to bust out laughing when the Dirt Wheels editors wanted to jump the diesel ATV for a photo opportunity. They only knew one way to test and review an ATV. Whereas, I got a chain and tested the ATV by putting it to work towing logs in the woods.

The moral of the story is they have to be tested the way you would use them. Riding around on roads and trails doesn't cut it.

 

[texasjohn]

The moral of the story is they have to be tested the way you would use them. Riding around on roads and trails doesn't cut it.

You've got a good moral there!! Agreed! It's the difference between riding a horse in the arena and rounding up, all day, in the Texas Hill Country with rocks, brush, cactus, bluffs, heat, wild cattle, boggy creeks. You can begin to form an opinion in the arena but it can only be proven in the pasture. That's where versatility, strength, stamina and ease of ride is demonstrated. Once rounded up, you can play with 'em in the arena. Sometimes people even have different horses for work and play.

 

[milkman]

Does that mean I can't go jumping my RTV900? I also wonder how much experience the testers have with a hydrostat. The belt and automatic drive would all act similar and be more familiar to more people, the hydro operates and is a different animal and can't be driven like the others.

 

[timswi]

Does that mean I can't go jumping my RTV900? I also wonder how much experience the testers have with a hydrostat. The belt and automatic drive would all act similar and be more familiar to more people, the hydro operates and is a different animal and can't be driven like the others.

That is absolutely true. I was looking at a Polaris Sportsman EPS and an RZR yesterday to use as a toy (depending on which one SWMBO prefers) and when asked about the belt wear he said if I tried doing anything heavy in high range, I could wipe out the belt in an hour (they've seen it). If I would stress it in low range the belt would last a really long time. Thankfully I don't have to concern myself with such things with an HST. Didn't buy an RTV1100 to throw rooster tails up hill but it does everything I want it to do without complaint...Would I like H range to go up a pine tree at 25mph, sure...If I decide to invest in a turbo, it will...Doubt that will happen as I have no compelling need. My RTV performs just fine for me. These are different animals for a certain group of us who need a machine that does what these do. Certainly not for everyone and not for the speed obsessed.

 

[texasjohn]

Good point. I was thinking about the difference between gas/diesel/hydrostatic today. I was going up one of my steeper hills today after closing a gate at the bottom, pulling trailer of over 1000 lbs total. Started off in Mid range and floored it halfway up the hill. Engine noise changed and speed began to slowly increase from 5 mph to 10 mph...but it wasn't a head snapping acceleration, just a gradual increase. I don't know what a different side by side UTV would do, but I'm happy with how the RTV handles my needs. Guess I find that ranch life hands me enough unexpected excitement without hunting for more.

 

[houstonscott]

I didn't even consider those other utv's after examining an RTV. The others are simply overgrown motor cycles with four wheels. The RTV is a full blown commercial AG vehicle. There simply isn't anything like my RTV1100. It's a joke to compare them. HS

 

[DIXIEDOG]

I didn't even consider those other utv's after examining an RTV. The others are simply overgrown motor cycles with four wheels. The RTV is a full blown commercial AG vehicle. There simply isn't anything like my RTV1100. It's a joke to compare them. HS

Why is it a joke to compare them? They are rated to haul about the same amount as everybody else, they claim to be a utv not a tractor. The commercial outfits up here seem to all have either Rangers or Gators....I've yet to see a RTV in use on a power line or construction site. They are no more a commercial AG vehicle than a BX series lawn tractor

 

[houstonscott]

Why is it a joke to compare them? They are rated to haul about the same amount as everybody else, they claim to be a utv not a tractor. The commercial outfits up here seem to all have either Rangers or Gators....I've yet to see a RTV in use on a power line or construction site. They are no more a commercial AG vehicle than a BX series lawn tractor

My commercial observations here are with the RR, BNSF uses RTV's. When I lived in Houston just outside Ellington Field, where the man space program was, NASA used RTV's at the airfield. You want a light duty vehicle to jet around your property on, speed and longer distances to cover, the other guys have that covered. You want a piece of HD farm ranch machinery equivalent to a tractor in longevity and build, then an RTV is what you want. If you have ever really put your hands on on RTV it's immediately obvious you are looking at a whole different machine in an RTV. HS

 

[aczlan]

My commercial observations here are with the RR, BNSF uses RTV's. When I lived in Houston just outside Ellington Field, where the man space program was, NASA used RTV's at the airfield. You want a light duty vehicle to jet around your property on, speed and longer distances to cover, the other guys have that covered. You want a piece of HD farm ranch machinery equivalent to a tractor in longevity and build, then an RTV is what you want. If you have ever really put your hands on on RTV it's immediately obvious you are looking at a whole different machine in an RTV. HS

Also, I see them frequently on interstate construction projects. IIRC, Messicks got a pair of RTV900s (tradin?) last year with 9000 hours on them.

Aaron Z