Can someone help me decide on a utility vehicle, like JD gator or such.

[clydesdale]

This will be for an onsite employee at a condo complex. He will need to travel from building to building with paint cans and such. No heavy hauling or plowing. Thanks

[emerichsales]

I was going to say the Kubota RTV900 or RTV1100. How much are you looking to spend? Cub Cadet also makes a good one. If your looking for something alittle smaller than look at the RTV500 which wont be out until around sept.
Kevin

[cat2]

I like the john deere gators myself

[hosejockey2002]

The only experience I have with this type of vehicle is with the John Deere Gator in the urban search and rescue environment. All the Gators we have used on deployments have performed reliably under extreme abuse, and the little diesels use next to no fuel. I suspect the Kubotas would have similar durability.

[TomberLawn]

My dad traded a diesel Gator HPX last month for a diesel Husqvarna HUV. The HUV may be a little more rugged than what you need, though. It is a very well built off-road workhorse. For hauling general stuff on an industrial property, you may want to check out something like an EZ-GO Workhorse. The grounds maintenance department at my university has several of these to haul supplies and equipment around, like pine straw bales, grass seed, walk behind mowers, trimmers, and blowers. They even have trimmer racks on at least one. I've seen them tow a tiny trailer, like 4x6, behind them with walk behind aerators and other equipment.

[Marek]

If you are going to work it buy the Kubota, we have over 250 hrs on our RTV and love it.The JD is ok but they seem to have a weak trans,but for what you are going to do it would be fine, but then again so would a golf cart at a third of the price.

[john_bud]

Don't forget the originals - Kawasaki Mule. The small 600 series is probably all you need. They are not fancy, just dead reliable.

jb

[Grassmechanic]

I had nothing but problems with Gators. The ones I had were 6x4. It may be that I bought them right when they came out and the bugs weren't worked out. I bought a Club Car XRT and am extremely happy, not to mention that the XRT is cheaper in price. Stick with the manufacturers that have been making utility vehicles for golf courses (E-Z-Go, ClubCar, Cushman, Toro, etc). They have been doing this for decades and have proven records.

[KTM]

My dad has A RTV Kubota and loves it, but that is going to be overkill for what you say you need it for, I would go with a golf cart, there going to be way cheaper and they take some abuse.

[MarcSmith]

how about a golf cart.....

I have 4 Old john deere gators....my only gripe with them is that the bed are not big enough.....I have a 2003 Polaris ranger 4x4, that has spent more time in the shop. I do have 3 of the Vantage Mini Trucks with dump beds....which I love.

but we also use a lot of golf carts, and the electric ones are especially so freeking reliable. no gas to mess with, runs for a couple days on a full charge.... and the gas one are easy to work on just a twin cylinder air cooled engine..

My next utility style vehicle is going to be a Club car carry-all 6 in electric.

I also have an ezgo-875 flat bed which hauls around my pressure washer stuff. and it does well....

[Grassmechanic]

My next utility style vehicle is going to be a Club car carry-all 6 in electric.


I had demoed an electric carry-all 6 before buying the XRT. The electric didn't seem to hold a charge as long as what I needed, especially when hauling around loads. Maybe they've improved them by now. See if your distributor will let you demo one for a week or two.:drinkup:

[Indy Kyle]

I'm thinking a golf cart is the way to go. No need to go overboard and spend all that cash on a 4WD if you dont need it. Heck, my dad used an electric golf cart to ride around on his land to repair fence line and things. They will do more and go more places than you think.

[RentalGuy]

I have owned quite a few utility vehicles over the last 10-15 years such as:

John Deere AMT (old model, will not discuss. I loved this baby!)
John Deere Gator 2x4 (still own)
John Deere Gator HPX 4x4; and
Bobcat 2300 (still own)

My experiences with the John Deere Gator’s could not have been more different. As I indicated, I still own my original 2x4 Gator and have had no problems with it at all. I have changed the oil and I have had the occasional flat tire but nothing has gone wrong mechanically. It really is a well built machine and we get a lot of rugged use out of it on the farm. Back when I was a bit more daring we really used to beat it up by jumping it off gravel piles. Pretty stupid, but oh so fun!

The only issues that I have with it are the ground clearance. If we try to use it in the winter months when there is a lot of snow, it bottoms out quite a bit and will get stuck. Same thing goes if you are traveling over rough terrain.

When Deere introduced the HPX, I bought it without even seeing it. Big mistake! I trusted Deere and I thought that the HPX would offer me everything that the original Gator did not (i.e. ground clearance, better shock absorption, a bit more speed and overall better functionality.

While I did not have many gripes with the build of the HPX (it was pretty rugged and tough), it was the coldest starting SOB that I have ever owned. My dealer tried to get it right but it would not help. It could be 80 degrees out and you would have to crank on that key and choke to get her going. It was a pain. In addition, it was a hard steering SOB as well. I’m in good shape and it offered no steering assist in any way. As far as operation, the original Gator was the better machine by far.

Because I buy so much Bobcat equipment for the business I checked out the Bobcat 2300 which is made by club car and because I know the kind of beating club cars can take I was open to checking this machine out. The 2300 has great clearance and great shocks. It rides smooth, steers well, starts great and looks pretty cool as well. I ended up buying this and selling my HPX to a private party.

FYI, I was talking to a customer about my situation after I sold the HPX and he said that the new fuel injected HPX Gators have solved the hard starting issue but I don’t have any other info about their functionality.

Hope this was helpful.

[clydesdale]

I need a decent bed size. The kubota looks awesome, but too much for what I need. They are going to fill me in on a used one for about 7500, but I am not sure if I want to go that route. THe smaller mule has a bed that is too small. THe larger 3000 mules look like they could be ok. We need a usable bed.

[MarcSmith]

I had demoed an electric carry-all 6 before buying the XRT. The electric didn't seem to hold a charge as long as what I needed, especially when hauling around loads. Maybe they've improved them by now. See if your distributor will let you demo one for a week or two.:drinkup:

gotta remember to that 95% of our work in on paved road and sidewalks...which makes it somewhat better on a charge. The 2cyclider gas engine is not out of the question either. I know golf courses swear by those club car carry-all

[Maxify]

I bought a used Cushman Turf Truckster for $1700 from a turf company that had just taken 7 of them off lease. 4 wheel (2WD)...18hp Kohler...2000# pay load in the hydro tilt bed...2000# towing cap...6 speed forward with 2 speed reverse. I couldn't be happier. It had a few hours (2K) but I'll not be traveling that far with it. You might find that you could use a three wheel (2WD) and get one even cheaper. I've got a farm with some rugged areas.

[MarcSmith]

the three wheeled trucksters, belive it or not, can legally be registered as a motorcycle if you have a title and lights, ect.....we have a "van Style" 3 wheel truckster on campus, tags and all.

we used em disney (4wheels) with 100 gallonspray tanks...., the older ones have air cooled fllat twin engines...and with proper tweaking would do 35-40....

[Maxify]

More options is necessarily making for an easier decision. Cushman has been around a long long time. They're part of the Textron conglomerate now but still active and strong. Lots of versatility but lots of parts as well. Some of these new toys (Deere Gator, Kaw. Mule, et al.) can get really pricey, 'specially for parts and we're not even talking about the wait time cause they have to go back to a dealer for repairs. The old cushmans can be worked on in the garage to a degree. Long live old school mechanics and easy fixes.

[Majesticman]

I have a Yamaha Rhino I use at the lake but your guys will be racing around looking for mud holes. :)

We have used mules in the past. Like others have said they are reliable and strong.

The 6 wheel gators are bad on tires and lawns.

Years ago we used a golf cart with a bed and also had a small 6X12 trailer to pull with it. That is a cheap option ($1700 plus a $400 bed) and is easy on and off. If you will be doing a lot of stop and go it is your best bet.

[lot0210]

I work on a golf course. The crew uses Jacobsen haulers same as the E-Z Go carry all but less expensive and have up to a 1200 lb max load for gas and 1000 lb for electric Jacobsen also makes the Turf Truckster witch has a 2800 max load rating. Here is the link to there site.

http://jacobsengolf.com/

Go to products and then utility vehicles or Cushman turf truckster .

[MarcSmith]

gotta remember that jacobsen and EZ go when it come to the "golf cart" style utility vehicles are one in the same.... Ezgo and Jacobsen are all the same company now...

[lot0210]

actually There under the parent company Textron. You can see all the companies that are owned by them at the bottom of this article.

http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/2005/sep/1188234.htm

[MarcSmith]

just like chevy, pontiac, caddy Gmc are owned by GM...

The club car carry-all 6 is a pretty unique cart, I wish EZ-go (we have a great relationship with out ez-go dealer) would build something like it....I really like the long bed. the 3'x3' beds on many UTV are so useless.

[lot0210]

tell me about it. not only that but our course has a tight governor on them so we can't move too quick either. thats why I like it when I'm assigned the cushman.

[MarcSmith]

I don't mind the governor...last thing I need is one of my guys running over a coed....

[lot0210]

Yah I know we wold have Mexicans ramping fairways, but I would like to have them go a little quicker.