Smilingreen
Known around here
Tell her the tires are special and they double as a lawn roller.........Don't think the wife will allow me to drive it on our lawn anyway
So there is an area in our roundabout driveway that had wild flowers. Before we moved in we had the Interior of the house painted, it was a couple, the guy took it on himself to jump on my Zero-Turn and mow. Well guess what he mowed down? Since the flowers did not drop their seeds, well maybe they did, but it was suppose to be this month, not two months ago, I need to Disc up the area to plant new seed. I could take an UTV with a solid rear-end and have fun out in the areaTell her the tires are special and they double as a lawn roller.........
But supposedly need to plant this month, August, and I am still shopping for a UTV.I have talked to one guy who said he may be able to bring his Disc by the end of this month.
I just went through all this myself 3 months ago. My requirements were it had to fit 3 semi comfortably in the cab, no crew cab, and no drive belts. This left only the kubota and the honda pioneer. Tested both and the kubota would not fit 3 comfortably in the cab. I ended up with a pioneer 1000-5 trail. The honda does not have a power dump bed and I thought I wouldn't be happy with that but it honestly hasn't been an issue. The flip up seats in the bed are nice for when everyone or neighbor kids want to have a ride. The honda has a turf mode as well. This one can haul 1000 lbs in the bed and pull 2500. Thr fox shocks it came with are amazing, ride quality is top notch. I use mine mostly for work around the yard, hauling wood, and hunting.
Attachments
Smilingreen
Known around here
A few of the off-road vehicles I have around the farm.... Post e'm if you got e'm.
not a solid straight axle. But a spool
it has 2 independent axles, but the center section is one piece, no differential
my rzr i just had the 3rd member out last week to fix a pinion nut issue
Was not aware of the gator doing that. Thanks
Swampledge
Getting comfortable
Our gas engine HPX Gator. Actually, it’s my wife’s Gator, purchased back in 2009 for the hydraulic dump bed for her gardening/landscape obsession. She drives it all over our lawns, and let’s me plow snow with it in the wintertime, which I’ve done ever since we bought it.
Smilingreen
Known around here
I looked at the HPX before I bought my 855D. The HPX were being phased out and the 855D was all the new rage at the time. Does the HPX have the solid rear axle on it? Can't remember now, but it seemed like that was one of the reasons I went with the 855D as it had a independent rear suspension on it and the HPX was a solid rear axle.
Swampledge
Getting comfortable
I’m pretty sure they still make the HPX. It seemed like they were going to phase out the HPX when we bought ours, because they had just introduced the UTV models like yours. Difference between the HPX and the UTV’s was, like you said, independent vs. solid rear axle. (For the benefit of those not familiar with these machines, the “solid” rear axle is like on a conventional truck; the housing is a single piece left-to-right, not independent swing arms on each side. This is different than a solid axle like many ATV’s have/had.When the rear differential is locked, the machine is very difficult to turn.)
Another difference between the HPX and the UTV’s when we bought ours was the HPX was carbureted vs. the UTV being fuel injected. What sold the wife on the HPX was the bed on it was lower than on the UTV, so easier for her to load it.
Years ago, when I trailered our Gator to my son’s house for her to use for some work she was doing there, my son’s neighbor who had a fair sized hobby farm, and had an HPX with the diesel, told me that he wished he had gotten the gas instead, because the gas version was quieter and a bit faster. Speed doesn’t matter to us; in fact, my wife almost always drives in low range. But the neighbor needed to run up his driveway to the public road, then travel about 100 feet on the road to cross over to his barn/pasture land, so that mattered to him.
Another UTV story, since this post already ain’t short. My neighbor has a Kubota RTV 1100. Hydrostatic/diesel. He loves it. One day, he asked for my help.He has a self-propelled stump grinder I found for him when he was looking for one. His land is hilly like mine, and the stump grinder sometimes needed help climbing his hill, and would lose traction going down hill, making for an underwear-soiling drive. So he asked me to drive his RTV to hold back the stump grinder on the descent. I tried to use low range on it, but couldn’t get it to shift into low range. After getting him safely down the hill, I asked him if you needed to do anything special to get it into low range. He told me he didn’t think so, but he had never tried to use low range. This was after he owned it for about 3 years!
Another difference between the HPX and the UTV’s when we bought ours was the HPX was carbureted vs. the UTV being fuel injected. What sold the wife on the HPX was the bed on it was lower than on the UTV, so easier for her to load it.
Years ago, when I trailered our Gator to my son’s house for her to use for some work she was doing there, my son’s neighbor who had a fair sized hobby farm, and had an HPX with the diesel, told me that he wished he had gotten the gas instead, because the gas version was quieter and a bit faster. Speed doesn’t matter to us; in fact, my wife almost always drives in low range. But the neighbor needed to run up his driveway to the public road, then travel about 100 feet on the road to cross over to his barn/pasture land, so that mattered to him.
Another UTV story, since this post already ain’t short. My neighbor has a Kubota RTV 1100. Hydrostatic/diesel. He loves it. One day, he asked for my help.He has a self-propelled stump grinder I found for him when he was looking for one. His land is hilly like mine, and the stump grinder sometimes needed help climbing his hill, and would lose traction going down hill, making for an underwear-soiling drive. So he asked me to drive his RTV to hold back the stump grinder on the descent. I tried to use low range on it, but couldn’t get it to shift into low range. After getting him safely down the hill, I asked him if you needed to do anything special to get it into low range. He told me he didn’t think so, but he had never tried to use low range. This was after he owned it for about 3 years!
Smilingreen
Known around here
Yep, I remember our sales dude telling me back in 2012 they were phasing out the HPX. But from a brief search, maybe they brought it back as a different machine, because I am seeing some 2015's with the glass windshield, big glass doors and a windshield wiper. Maybe the cab is after market? I know those big honkin glass doors wouldn't last 2 weeks in my woods. They would be shattered into a million pieces.
Smilingreen
Known around here
Do you remember if he had the heavy duty utility tires on it or the ATV tires? If he had the utility tires, that would explain why he was sliding on a hill so much. As heavy as the RTV-X1100C is, if it had ATV tires on it, it shouldn't have slid.
EDIT: Doh!!! I read that wrong. You just couldn't get the RTV in low range. Yeah, the hydro acts as a brake when you let off the pedal. It doesn't free wheel like the Gators do going down a hill. I am half torn as if I want the bypass valve in my hydro that allows it to free wheel when you let off the pedal or if I am going to just live with the hydro braking.
Last edited:
Swampledge
Getting comfortable
It turns out I used the wrong Gator model designations. Ours is the HPX, which they still show under “work” gators on the Deere website. The model with the independent rear suspension is the XUV, not UTV, though I guess generically, all are UTVs.
Smilingreen, I think you mentioned your diesel Gator would just stop going if the drive belt got wet. For some reason, Deere did not shield the belt from water on the diesel versions like they did on the gas models. (I have no idea how the newer models are configured.) Before I built our bridge, I used to cross our brook with the Gator, and have never once had drive belt slippage.
Smilingreen, I think you mentioned your diesel Gator would just stop going if the drive belt got wet. For some reason, Deere did not shield the belt from water on the diesel versions like they did on the gas models. (I have no idea how the newer models are configured.) Before I built our bridge, I used to cross our brook with the Gator, and have never once had drive belt slippage.
Smilingreen
Known around here
If you look at the picture of mine, the big black tube to the right of the diesel filler cap is the air intake for the belt drive and centrifugal clutch. It has a big blower mounted inside the housing to keep the belt and pulleys cool. When you make a big splash, water shoots and gets sucked right down that tube and Deere didn't make a way for the water to escape the housing. So, once your belt got wet, you sat where ever it stopped until it dried out enough to go again. If you are pressure washing the Gator and wash the back end, the air exhaust is right under the edge of the back of the bed. It rolls downhill into the belt and clutch chamber, also. It would seem like a drain weep hole would have been a good idea in the bottom of the housing and maybe they incorporated it in later models. A rearward facing extended pipe vertical snorkel would have been a great idea. I know I have been stuck for a couple of hours several times until it would dry up enough to start moving and the blower would move enough air across the belt to dry it so it could get some friction. That is always why you take a small cooler with you with "cold snacks" in it when riding on trails around water. It gives you something to do to pass the time until your belt dries out!
Last edited:
Smilingreen
Known around here
well, did you pull the trigger on anything yet? I just had my Kubota RTV-X1100c delivered on friday. I like it, a lot.
Smilingreen
Known around here
I remember you said you had an old Jeep. Have you looked at the Mahindra Roxors yet? They kind of look like an old Willeys jeep. Mahindra® ROXOR® UTVs | TX | ROXOR Dealer
This purchase for myself is pinning on our old house selling. It is 95% ready to go on the market. I want to pay cash and not have payments.
That is quite a nice ride you have there. A Cadillac of UTVs you got there...
Lately I have been looking at small trackers...we had a Tree crew out and after almost a week of them cutting down dead trees, trimming tree branches over hanging buildings and roads and hauling off 8 loads we are ready for the winter, I may push the UTV in second place purchase. They had a Case with a Grapple attachment that was a workhorse. Also a Bucket truck with a 55 foot Boom. They did a great job but not cheap. Once I get a tractor and our burn band is lifted I will be able to do at least half of what they did I am guessing, myself.
That is quite a nice ride you have there. A Cadillac of UTVs you got there...
Lately I have been looking at small trackers...we had a Tree crew out and after almost a week of them cutting down dead trees, trimming tree branches over hanging buildings and roads and hauling off 8 loads we are ready for the winter, I may push the UTV in second place purchase. They had a Case with a Grapple attachment that was a workhorse. Also a Bucket truck with a 55 foot Boom. They did a great job but not cheap. Once I get a tractor and our burn band is lifted I will be able to do at least half of what they did I am guessing, myself.
Smilingreen
Known around here
I did a remote control dome light installation on Friday. Now I am thinking up 100 different ways to customize it that no one else has. Cameras and UTV's. Between the two hobbies, I may have to postpone retiring in a couple of years!
Here is a writeup I did on the installation. Dome light switch
Here is a writeup I did on the installation. Dome light switch
Got a family member who put a DashCam on his. He lives in a beach community though,