Utility Vehicle Recommendations?

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Scamper

Scamper

Joined
Mar 28, 2003
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48
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Location
Somewhere in NJ
I'm in the market (or soon will be) for a 4-wheeled utility vehicle; something along the lines of a JD Gator. I've seen some by Polaris and JD, but not very familiar with others. Anyone have one they would recommend? Here's what features I'd be looking for:

* Climb relatively steep grade with load
* Cary load of at least 500# up said grade
* Able to carry two or more people

I'm open to either gas or electric. I can see advantages to both as I'll be leaving it unused for weeks or months at a time now and then. It will have to live in a rather cold environment during winters without use; I assume I'll have to winterize it (will be kept in upstate NY).

Recommendations on what to buy or steer clear of?
 
The Yamaha model as I recall scores real well in the shootouts.
+ it looks cool ... . And thats all that really matters..

ken
 
Yamaha is pretty good.... depending on where you take it. I would not waste money on the Kawasaki Mule. It's a piece of junk that belongs on a golf course.
 
The aftermarket for the Yamaha Rhino is unbelievable. Has to be a reason, they sell really well. Careful it could become another money pit.

Jack
 
My Brother has the Polaris on his ranch and really likes it. They have a snow plow attachment for it, the bed dumps etc. He has loaded large elk in it as well as taken it 4 wheeling near his ranch in Colorado. For the cost you could buy a toyota mini truck though.

We have 2 Kawasaki Mules as well at a different property. One is an old gas 4x4 model. It has 4x4 problems as it is belt driven and is always out of adjustment. The other one is a new Diesel 4 seater model. That rocks. The towing capacity is larger than most and it has a small bed on it. Pricey though. Again I would have bought a small toyota truck but he likes these things. They get abused pretty hard and keep going.

Of the 2 brands he bought the Polaris 2 years ago and at teh time it was the most technically advanced. Another guy we know tested the Kubota and Bobcat ones at hsi horse ranch and he was not impressed. He likes the Diesel KAwasaki better.
 
thanks for the input guys. I looked at the yamaha, but if I was looking at the right one, it didn't have much of a bed on it, and I'd really need some to haul stuff.

I saw the Polaris too and thought that looked okay; I'll have to investigate that one. Also ran across a John Deere--they too seemed to look okay. Consensus seems to be that the Kawasaki is bad news...so I'll steer clear of them.

I can't use a small truck 'cuz the property is an island in the middle of a large lake; unless I were to drive it over in the winter, it would never get there. There are no roads on the island either and I really don't want to start carving them in; trying to keep things pristine.
 
The polaris ranger is not much narrower then a toyota pickup. You would probably need some type of road regardless.

Polaris did used to have the 6x6 with the bed in the back. It was just an extended ATV w/ bed. Not sure if those are still around.
 
argo

http://argoatv.com/products/product.asp

:cool:
19AvengerEFI_mainlr.webp
 
I can't use a small truck 'cuz the property is an island in the middle of a large lake; unless I were to drive it over in the winter, it would never get there. There are no roads on the island either and I really don't want to start carving them in; trying to keep things pristine.[/QUOTE]

YOu should of said it was on an Island what you need is one of these.
http://www.aquada.co.uk/mediacentre/quadski.php

Don't have one but look way cool.
 
I say JD. they are well made. our neighbor has a gator. simple rig with dump bed and he loads it up with bales all the time. fun in the snow too!

Winterizing would be required unless you have electricity where you could keep ity in a heated shed? all you would need then is gas stabilizer.
 
Artic Cat seems to be comoing up with some really decent machines lately, I wouldn't really recommend one of these UTVs though, they are NOT FUN if you have some serious hills or off-camber situations in mind. I hauled salt and fencing supplies with a borrowed Artic Cat and will never do it again. IMO they are an overpriced toy compared to a regular ATV.
 
Here's my 2 cents. I use mine for work alot where you need to move 2 men and equipment (ATV's are miserable in that situation) through forests, serious mud and creek crossings that would doom a full size vehicle. Situations that require alot of manueverability and traction. It is not quite as agile as an ATV but for 2 grown men and equipment an ATV is simply not an option!!! I own a Rhino and LOVE it. LOVE it!!!! It is definitely the king off-road in the side x side category. For my use it is definitely unmatched at this time. If you want to do wheeling then it's simply the UTV of choice. If you are looking for bigtime capacity then the Ranger Mule and Gator are better. Both have larger capacities and larger beds. The Rhino is based on the Grizzly ATV and has alot better suspension travel and nimbleness than any of the others. It can get up and go too!!! I'm hoping to take it wheeling with my cruiser club soon, I wouldn't dare try that with any of the other options out there. For now it is doomed to work and around the house chores.

My shopping process went something like this:
I ruled out the gator in my search right away because my parents have one and having used it many times it is NOT an offroader at all. Very low slung chassis, not much wheel travel and small tires. Slow as Christmas too. Rock solid though.

I ruled out the Ranger purely on size as it is the same size as my Tacoma so why do I need that???? It is HUGE and that is not what fit the bill for me. I needed something with manueverability and the Ranger doesn't have that. My wife couldn't even reach the pedals to operate it so that didn't help the cause either!!!! It is very solid, capable, and just unfortunately for me very big.

The Mule is very similar to the Gator IMO in that it is not the offroader that the ranger is and not even close to the Rhino in that category. It does have a large bed and bench seating if that is a plus. It even comes with a second row bench option! I like the buckets personally because they hold you alot better and I get off camber pretty frequently.

www.blackrhinoperformance.com is the MUD of the Rhino world if you want to look around. There is a huge aftermarket for the Rhino. I can throw 2 bales of hay in the bed of the rhino and I can stack up to 6 on it. I did a hayride this past halloween at my church and towed my 6x12 trailer, 10 bales of hay and 12+ kids and a few parents all at the same time.

The Rhino has the smallest bed of any of the side x sides but when I really need room I just throw on my little 6x12 trailer and go! In theory there is a huge difference in bed size but I'd say the difference between the largest and smallest is a difference of 1 bale of hay in all practicality!

So there you have it, my breakdown. The Rhino, Mule, Ranger and Gator are all solid and serve different niches. You've gotta figure out what yours is I guess!!! :beer:
 
One other thing, the Rhino is lighter than all of the others too I believe. It tows very well. Loaded up for work:
DSC00255.jpg
 
I have a whole fleet of side-by-side rigs and have owned lots of others.

Tahabra is right on the money with the Rhino. I love mine. It is damn fun to drive, super powerful and can really haul a load.

Day to day, I use my Yamaha Pro Hauler 1000 the most. It is no longer on the market, but it is like a gas golf cart with a 350CC engine in it and a dump bed 2x the size of the one on the Rhino.

For everyday work around the farm, the Pro Hauler gets the tip of the hat.

I have 3 modified golf carts with 22-25" tires on them. All are great, but for lots of work, gas is the way to go. I have been left on the back of the farm in the golf cars even with a gauge. When they die, they die.

Honda is coming out with one soon, it will be tits for sure, they always wait and di it right, kinda like they did with auto trannys and personal watercraft.

If you are strictly into it for the work and no play, the Mule is a great utilitarian rig. Kinda like an FJ-40 compared to something a little more sporty and comfortable. They have large beds and they are bulletproof.

I had a 6x6 Polaris before the Rhino and I was always pleased, it was just a dog. I think they have fixed that with the 700EFI model though.

All are good, just get out and drive one and decide which is best. As you can see, I could not decide, therefore I have a fleet :)
 
The gators are a very simple breed, easy to fix, easy to find parts. They will also take a real beating. They don't articulate very well so if it is rough rocky terrain look elsewhere.
 
I'm on my 4th Polaris Ranger (I use them in my work). The Mules, Gators, and Kubotas are probably fine around the farm but if you're truly going off-road a Ranger is the only way to go. Currently have a 6x6 but its pretty much overkill unless you're hauling really heavy loads. The 4x4 Ranger will go just about anywhere it can fit. I looked at the Yamaha Rhinos when they first came out, and while neat, they just didn't seem up to the task of what I need. I believe the Rhinos are also more prone to rollover problems.
 
Forgot to mention and see it in other post. TRansporting our Mules and Poloras is a pain. They do not fit in the back of the truck or in our dump trailer. I ahve to use the car trailer of Equipment trailer. TEH Rhino looks like it would fit in the back of the truck on top of the wheel wells.

I'll have to check those out.
 
I am in the golf course constructing business and I drive a Kawasaki Mule 3010 4x4 at work. We have 25 of them at the golf course's I work at. We also have a kubota RTV (that thing is loud)I have been impressed with the Mules capability in 4wheel with the rear locker engaged it will go almost anywhere. I have also gotten it stuck.Once in the snow and the other time I tried to drive through almost 3 feet of water it would of made it if I was in low but I just started it back up put it in 4 low and drove out, then tried to dry off. My boss has the picture on his comp at work I will get it and post it.They are limited with carrying capacity 800lbs and with not having a hydro dumpit is impossible for one person to dump the bed with any signifigant amount of wieght. They also lack in ground clearance, I am making a new front skid plate this winter out of 3/16 steel. We are happy with them we are buying 12 more next summer for the next course being built.
 
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