UTV at 8600 ft?

[Industrial Toys]

I don't think of any belt driven UTV as a serious condender for a work vehicle meaning snowplowing in particular or even regular towing. But maybe I should wait ten years and see how all these machines pan out.

 

[Motorboatin]

I don't think of any belt driven UTV as a serious condender for a work vehicle meaning snowplowing in particular or even regular towing. But maybe I should wait ten years and see how all these machines pan out.

Have you ever seen how the CVT system works? It's ultra simple and not much to break other than the belt. Years ago burnt belts was an issue but the new designs are much better. If you keep the trans in low while working you'll see that the belt lasts 1,000's of miles and most UTV's go over 20mph in low. Plus changing a belt takes less than 20min on a Polaris...other makes aren't as easy...so changing one if it does break is simple

My buddy has a Kubota UTV that is diesel and it doesn't do anything better than my Ranger and it's a slow turd to boot

 

[Industrial Toys]

Well, I never worked my Diesel Mule, and it had some very expensive, low hour, clutch repairs. THAT, I know, without a doubt. Belt replacment is a freaking nightmare too!

Give me a geared tranny, large wheels, good ground clearance. Did I mention, but some real wheels on it? I guess, that's asking too much.

A friend was a mechanic, a good common sense one at that, who worked on ski slopes in the winter. He had good things to say about their Honda UTVs, despite being used and abused.

 

[ArlyA]

JD has done well in the world of towing snow implements. Plus BRP Defender and we even ran a 700cc Rhino for 6 years but it was grossly under powered. No manufacturer is perfect but CVT systems in general work fine. We changed belts yearly.

Mind sharing which machines you are seeing that kind of reliability in?

 

[zmountaineer]

Might be an option, we have a few dealers. Anyone with a Pioneer with a cab and heat?

You will not have a problem with not enough heat in the p1k even without an auxiliary heater.

 

[Snobdds]

I would much rather have a CVT with a belt than Hydrostatic and geared in a UTV. These things have so much power coming out of these motors now, the only way to take advantage of that is CVT. The clutches are pretty much foolproof and the only item to break is the belt. A belt can be changed out in about 10 minutes.

I do hear the Honda has a traditional 6 spreed transmission now, maybe someone can confirm.

Yea about the need for a heater, I have never turned mine on, even in the winter. These things put a lot of heat into the cab. I did everything to heat proof the cab, but the engine heat soaks in regardless. Great for the long Wyoming winters, but summer it can get a bit much. I usually just take the hard doors off and put the nets back on. I like that cool breeze coming through.

 

[ruffdog]

When I bought my RTV900 years ago, I wanted a UTV that did "slow" EXTREMELY well. I never once wished it could go faster as I needed a work machine. I used it to plow snow, haul firewood, pull trailers full of wood, pull and position full hay wagons, pull the wood splitter. It had a real hydraulic dump bed that never failed to dump the heaviest loads. It had power steering that was welcome during full work days. If only they had a turbo on it for high altitude like where the OP lives.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I simply don't think a work machine is interchangeable with a fast/fun/transport type of vehicle. Buy one, buy the other or buy both.

 

[showcattle]

Might be an option, we have a few dealers. Anyone with a Pioneer with a cab and heat?

I just bought the Pioneer 700. I love it. The larger 1000 might be better for your needs. I don't have a cab, but am going to buy a "soft side cab" for it. Boss makes a nice plow set up for it. Can't beat the auto transmission that you can set to manual and shift with paddle shifters. It's fuel injected too.

Honda Pioneer 700 with Boss UTV plow system - YouTube

 

[zmountaineer]

The pioneer 1000 is a 6 speed auto dual clutch no belts that can be manually shifted with the paddles. Has hi and low range. Can lock all 4 together plus has a 1 wheel turf mode. The pioneer 700 is a 3 speed with a torque converter, I believe.

I will say that the 1000 is quite a good compromise between work and play. I may sound biased but I researched a lot before I made my purchase.

 

[Jchonline]

The pioneer 1000 is a 6 speed auto dual clutch no belts that can be manually shifted with the paddles. Has hi and low range. Can lock all 4 together plus has a 1 wheel turf mode. The pioneer 700 is a 3 speed with a torque converter, I believe.

I will say that the 1000 is quite a good compromise between work and play. I may sound biased but I researched a lot before I made my purchase.

Right now the only 3 with a factory cab I can find in this range are Polaris Ranger 1000 Northstar, Deere 835M, and Kubota X1100C (and diesel offers from Deere/Polaris which I wont entertain). I am leaning towards gas with EFI. Right now the Polaris Northstar is 80+ HP and the Deere is 54. That is a pretty huge difference. For plowing at altitude I might want all I can get.

 

[Industrial Toys]

To me a CVT is something you find in a 500hp tractor. Call the CTV on UTVs what it is. A SNOWMOBILE clutch!

 

[Motorboatin]

Right now the only 3 with a factory cab I can find in this range are Polaris Ranger 1000 Northstar, Deere 835M, and Kubota X1100C (and diesel offers from Deere/Polaris which I wont entertain). I am leaning towards gas with EFI. Right now the Polaris Northstar is 80+ HP and the Deere is 54. That is a pretty huge difference. For plowing at altitude I might want all I can get.

I have a polaris 900 with the cab. It doesn't have AC like the newer model but the heat is used all the time. The polaris has the engine under the bed so the cab doesn't get any of the heat that other styles get. Engine heat isn't bad in January but my old CanAm with the engine between the seats was unbearable in the summer at any speed under 15mph

I use my machine mostly for hunting but I have dragged plenty of logs out of areas we won't take the tractor. I changed the belt during the last oil change as a precaution but it looked fine. I kept it as a spare

 

[Motorboatin]

To me a CVT is something you find in a 500hp tractor. Call the CTV on UTVs what it is. A SNOWMOBILE clutch!

Yes they are snowmobile clutches. The new Artic cat has over 200hp

It's 2019 and even cars have CVT trans these days

 

[ArlyA]

You are so, so out of touch with the mechanics of this. UTV and snowmobiles clutch systems, are not the same. Sleds use there belt as there clutch where as most UTV's, have a wet clutch, and leave the CV belts under compression at all times. As far as I know, there are none used in 500hp engines.

From wiki

A continuously variable transmission, also known as a shiftless transmission, single-speed transmission, stepless transmission, pulley transmission, or, in case of motorcycles, a 'twist-and-go', is an automatic transmission that can change seamlessly through a continuous range of effective gear ratios. Wikipedia

To me a CVT is something you find in a 500hp tractor. Call the CTV on UTVs what it is. A SNOWMOBILE clutch!

 

[Industrial Toys]

As far as I am concerned my Mule has a snowmobile clutch. A 500 hp tractor may have a variable drive tranny, but I promise you, it won't have a rubber belt. I don't know if CVT and IVT are the same thing.

Give me a simple manual transmission and a clutch with a pedal on the floor!

In any event. After using my E-Gator more and more, I have little interest in using the Mule, on account of the terrible noise. I realize, the two cannot be compared, but for almost all of my tasks the Gator is far better suited and much more enjoyable.

 

[Snobdds]

As far as I am concerned my Mule has a snowmobile clutch. A 500 hp tractor may have a variable drive tranny, but I promise you, it won't have a rubber belt. I don't know if CVT and IVT are the same thing.

Give me a simple manual transmission and a clutch with a pedal on the floor!

In any event. After using my E-Gator more and more, I have little interest in using the Mule, on account of the terrible noise. I realize, the two cannot be compared, but for almost all of my tasks the Gator is far better suited and much more enjoyable.

The 1980's called, they would like for you to vouch for their technology...

 

[Industrial Toys]

I probably have many things from the 80s that are still functioning perfectly as intended. Stuff from five years ago, not so much!

I see some of these UTVs and SCUTS and to me they look like this:



To me, that's not progress.

 

[Motorboatin]

Nothing progresses like it should


1989 Ford


2019 Ford

 

[DIXIEDOG]

I don't think of any belt driven UTV as a serious condender for a work vehicle meaning snowplowing in particular or even regular towing. But maybe I should wait ten years and see how all these machines pan out.

My Gator has been going strong plowing every Maine storm since 12' and it shows no signs of getting tired. I've had one mechanical break down when plowing, I was in reverse with the wheel cut trying to back out of a ditch I had plowed too far over...the cv axle broke that was in 13' I believe and no problems since. It was replaced the warranty even covered it. I have well over 250 hrs of plowing with this and still have yet to blow a belt or find a storm too large to plow including a multiple 20" plus snowstorms. The biggest limiting factor I have is that Boss doesn't make an even bigger V plow for UTVs I'd like something with a 36" high moldboard instead of 27" on some storms.:laughing: