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Ryan Renko 
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Joined: 12 Sep 2009
Location: Edwardsville, I
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 Topic: Buying a UTV
Posted: 03 Feb 2022 at 8:37pm |
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Finally thinking we need to buy a UTV for our farm. We should have bought one years ago as it would be so practical in so many ways. I know asking questions like this are so loaded but can you all tell me your experiences with your brands? It really looks like the John Deere Gator is nice but we swore we wouldn't have green on our farm unless it was Oliver!!!!
Edited by Ryan Renko - 03 Feb 2022 at 9:56pm
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steve(ill)
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Location: illinois
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Posted: 03 Feb 2022 at 8:49pm |
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First determine what you need. What to haul. Does it need a bed/ dump. How many passengers. 2x4 or 4x4 . Dont get a 250cc motor... Over 500cc is a must.. 700 cc is a big unit.
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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jiminnd
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Posted: 03 Feb 2022 at 10:04pm |
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Just my experience, I have a Polaris Ranger 900, it is 10 years old, dump box, no power steering, has been good for what I use it. another thing is dealership and service, they do need fixing too.
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1945 C, 1949 WF and WD, 1981 185, 1982 8030, unknown D14(nonrunner)
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plummerscarin
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Posted: 03 Feb 2022 at 11:05pm |
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Bought a Ranger 800EFI with power steering and manual dump. Extremely pleased with it. Has hard cab and heater for the cold days. Power steering really not needed but it came with it so...
I doubt you could go wrong with any brand. Have noticed a large share of Kubota we've seen aren't fast if that is important. I would not skimp on size. We overload ours all the time.
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HudCo
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Posted: 03 Feb 2022 at 11:10pm |
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do you want it sporty or a work horse personaly i would go with honda
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shameless dude
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Location: east NE
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Posted: 03 Feb 2022 at 11:44pm |
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i've heard nothing but good on the Polaris's, i just use a gorified golf cart with a hyd dump box, works fine for us cept when it's muddy. one of the stockholders has a green one, he just uses it for transportation from his house to his barn, never hauls anything in it, he's on his 3rd green one in past 20 years. he finally had to go buy a trailer so he could haul it to the dealer when repairs were needed, he got tired of waiting for them to come pick it up. what ever brand you choose, check on who makes them for that brand, alot of them are made by one company and re-badged. i think Honda had a bad rap a few years ago...to light of tranny in the #410 i think it was, correct me if i'm wrong, i think they have fixed that problem now. a friend has a New Holland, it's made by Club Car, so far it's been good for him and he uses it pretty hard. i think the ones at Case IH are also made by Club Car. Bobcat/Kabota takes some deep pockets, but i think they are pretty good units, alot of rental places use them to rent out.
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thendrix
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 5:56am |
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We were looking at Kubota last August and couldn't get one. They said if we ordered it then we wouldn't have had it until January. So instead we bought a Japanese mini truck from a friend of a cousin. I'm very pleased with it. It's a Suzuki Carry. Little odd to start with because it's right hand drive. It's a 660cc (I believe) snowmobile engine with a 5 speed trans and 4wd hi/lo. They claim these things will do 70 but it won't with me in it. I've had it at 40 or so and that's not to bad. Biggest draw to it for me is it was 1/3 the price of a Kubota. Draw back is there are no dealers here so it's up to us to fix it when it breaks. Common parts like filters and pumps can be had at places like NAPA. There are a couple of places on line that sell parts too. Ours doesn't dump but it has a 6 or 7 ft bed with folding sides and payload is 350 kg (770 lbs). If you look at them on Wikipedia ours would be a 10th generation. On those the front wheels are set a little farther forward which gives a little more leg room. My father-in-law drive ours for a short distance and he's 6'10". His knees were in the dash but he drove it
Edited by thendrix - 04 Feb 2022 at 6:10am
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"Farming is a business that makes a Las Vegas craps table look like a regular paycheck" Ronald Reagan
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B26240
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 6:12am |
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We have a Kubota 850 sidekick, It has a gas engine made by Subaru, three years old 1700 miles and no trouble yet. Will go 40 mph has cab with heater and wiper cab is a little airy I fixed most of the leaks with weather stripping. Other than that great machine.
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Tbone95
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 6:41am |
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Takes a long time to get a Ranger now too. My niece's family just got one, I believe it took them close to 6 months to get it. Too new to comment on it, but it sure looks and drives nice.
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PaulB
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 6:50am |
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Army surplus Jeep, Cheaper than the glorified golf carts and road legal.
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If it was fun to pull in LOW gear, I could have a John Deere.
If you can't make it GO... make it SHINY
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Thad in AR.
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Location: Arkansas
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 6:55am |
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Dealer network/ parts and service would be my first consideration.
I don’t know what conditions you would put this through but a lot of mud and rough terrain and overloading would make me shy away from Polaris. They ride nice and are plentiful in this area but the shops are full of them in need of suspension work.
My dad has one. He’s very meticulous with everything and not rough on it whatsoever and he loves it. Never had a lick of trouble with it.
Neighbor had a Mule with a cab. Not fast but tough as a tank.
I don’t know what Yamaha makes these days but I think the Rino is king.
I have two Honda Foreman and they’ve both been work horses and still are today. But don’t have the ride of others.
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shameless dude
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 8:00am |
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there's a couple videos on you tube that shows comparisons on a lot of them. i too have been thinking about them little trucks like Tyler has but with a dump box. found an orange one at Pender NE, but was on a Sunday and no one around to sell it to me!
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Ray54
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 11:41am |
I don't know how they justify the price. But once you have one and use it, it's painful not have one.
 Shameless forgive me I bought a JD Gator...but............but...............but if you crawl under it it say Kawasaki in several places. I JD because the Polaris dealer was not the best in my book, the Kubota did not have time for me. So................. 
As was said know what you want it for. I needed to feed cows in the mud. Other than the normal getting around between trees and stuff where a Jeep is just to big. This Gator floats the mud with 900 lbs of hay real good(yes that is overloaded). The bad it eats transmission belts. But not bad to change if you do it before it flies apart. I also had a computer fail, still ran to get me home but just barely. I have known the mechanic that fixes the small stuff at JD for 40 years long before he was at JD. JD says this is the first fail of this kind, but I am hard on it. It is not a toy but tool here. I have arteritis and can walk on uneven ground so good so I make the Gator take me. So I can see the beating it gets. Bouncing over cow track from the mud turned to brick.
The Honda was not around when I got mine, but most where not happy with the first ones. This was from people that really liked the Honda 4 wheeler, they where very disappointed. The ranch my son is at has a Can Am that has been good for 3 years now. They had a Kubota, it was stout but did not climb like my Gator and only went 20 mph. But the adds for new Kubota say they speeded them up.
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Tad Wicks
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 11:56am |
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We had 2 of the Kubota RTVs diesel, horribly underpowered, very very loud, very heavy and very slow----bad choice, also had 2 club cars 4 seaters one with the same engine as the Kubota and the same problems and one with the Vanguard Briggs, much much better but the club car brand is very expensive for any maintenance , The ones we had were mostly Husqvarna underneath. I think that the Kawasaki is a good choice or look around for a Suzuki Samurai.
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steve(ill)
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 1:59pm |
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Boy has a Polaris, 4 passenger and about 4 ft bed in the back... 4 x 4, gas engine.. That thing goes places i would not take a half - track..
Edited by steve(ill) - 04 Feb 2022 at 2:00pm
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Like them all, but love the "B"s.
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GeneD14
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 2:22pm |
We bought a Kawasaki 610 Mule in 2004. We have used it to haul firewood, carry a tank sprayer, pull our lawn roller, haul gas cans into town, joy ride, etc... ZERO problems! Hands down the most reliable vehicle that I've ever owned! It runs like a sewing machine. It does go slower than some, but that has been a big blessing. We have raised 6 children and never had to worry about them racing around on it.
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thendrix
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 4:09pm |
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I agree on the mule 610. Had one at the old farm and it was a tank!! Only reason I don't still have it is we needed to be able to haul more than I could fit in the bed.
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"Farming is a business that makes a Las Vegas craps table look like a regular paycheck" Ronald Reagan
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fixer1958
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Posted: 04 Feb 2022 at 5:17pm |
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I tried out a Bobcat about 15 years ago just because my youngest worked there. Had a dump bed and all that. Biggest t**d I ever rode in. Diesel. Took it into the trees and around but not in the creek area. Hilly not real muddy, thought I was going to have to get my 4 wheeler to pull it out of there. I think then it was around 20K if I remember right.
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shameless dude
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Posted: 05 Feb 2022 at 4:05am |
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**squints eyes at RAY! well...i guess if it's a kowasucki...and maybe you can camo paint over the jd stickers......
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victoryallis
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Posted: 05 Feb 2022 at 6:06am |
 Ryan Renko wrote:
Finally thinking we need to buy a UTV for our farm. We should have bought one years ago as it would be so practical in so many ways. I know asking questions like this are so loaded but can you all tell me your experiences with your brands? It really looks like the John Deere Gator is nice but we swore we wouldn't have green on our farm unless it was Oliver!!!! |
Have a XUV 590 Gator and love it. Doesn’t go as fast as some but 46 mph is typically enough for me considering what your in. Will go through mud I’d hate to try walking in. Not perfect but pleased. Across the yard and into the pole barn I’ve pulled loaded 150 bushel wagons with it.
Edited by victoryallis - 05 Feb 2022 at 6:08am
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8030 and 8050MFWD, 7580, 3 6080's, 160, 7060, 175, heirloom D17, Deere 8760
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DonDittmar
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Posted: 05 Feb 2022 at 7:01am |
I looked really hard at the JD Gator. JD Uses a 3 cylinder Chinese Chery engine. I guess Chery is a top of the line car in China, however there is not much aftermarket support for them here in the states, other than going direct through a JD dealer. And if they get in a pissing match and JD drop them, then what?? Will you still be able to service them??
I ended up with a Honda Pioneer 1000-5. Got a great deal on it, no belt-uses a six speed dual clutch transmission which works flawlessly. I can us it around the house and if we want to go for a ride the dump bed fold into 2 back seats for the kids. Its basically a 4 seater on a 2 seater wheelbase. Electric power steering, the Honda engine runs like a swiss watch-all EFI, no choke like when I was a kid LOL.
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Experience is a fancy name for past mistakes. "Great moments are born from great opportunity"
1968 D15D,1962 D19D
Also 1965 Cub Loboy and 1958 JD 720 Diesel Pony Start
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Ray54
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Posted: 05 Feb 2022 at 11:54am |
If you are looking for a high speed , or one that will not go fast YOU NEED TO CHECK. With computer programing the factory speeds and slows and if you don't check you may get a surprise. The EPA got some wild hair that the exact same Gator 625i I have as 2013 model that goes 30 mpr, should only go 24 mpr in 2014. I would guess it would be possible to change that, but never come across anybody talking of it.
I will say I have yet to find a mountain to steep for my Gator. Put it in low gear, flick the 4x4 in and then lock the differential and go for it. I have had the what in h... am I doing here moment, when checking fence on newly rented pasture. But hay I am almost on top and is no steeper to the top.
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200Tom1
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Posted: 06 Feb 2022 at 6:10pm |
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I rented a Kubota diesel. It was heavy, loud, and slow. Dang good thing it was a 4x4. Tires on it were good for a gravel road, not off road. Not a very handy outfit.
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victoryallis
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Posted: 06 Feb 2022 at 7:27pm |
200Tom1 wrote:
I rented a Kubota diesel. It was heavy, loud, and slow. Dang good thing it was a 4x4. Tires on it were good for a gravel road, not off road. Not a very handy outfit. |
Buddy has a bota says the same things you do and hates his.
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8030 and 8050MFWD, 7580, 3 6080's, 160, 7060, 175, heirloom D17, Deere 8760
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KJCHRIS
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Posted: 06 Feb 2022 at 8:21pm |
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My renters love their 2 Kawasaki side by sides, newest is diesel, say no big repairs ever and they've had 4 or 5. I've looked but price is to high. So I use my D15 or D17 to putt around looking at stuff, have a rear mount carrier to haul stuff along. I could sell my D's and buy a UTV but haven't yet.
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AC 200, CAH, AC185D bareback, AC 180D bareback, D17 III, WF. D17 Blackbar grill, NF. D15 SFW. Case 1175 CAH, Bobcat 543B,
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Walker
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Posted: 06 Feb 2022 at 9:06pm |
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CanAm Commander XT 1000cc Rotax twin, has 2 keys one limits it to 45 mph other key will take it to real close to 85mph, on my knobbies I've backed off at 60 each time with plenty left. It has both good and bad points but none outstanding either way. Motor sits between driver and pass. so noise is probably big complaint. Picked CanAm to get the Rotax.
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