What UTV do you recommend? Why?

Hey Jeff, We burn one wood stove, a mid sized Jotul. Our two sons and families also have a wood stove so we all help each other getting firewood. Although the stoves are not our primary source of heat they pretty much stay hot most of the fall and winter. All of us like the firewood "getting" process. Hope to get some pictures up soon.

 

Nice! That's a good load

 

Dang! That's a good looking truck!

 

Welcome to the site, JD Guy!

I'm a polaris guy, so I'd be looking at a ranger

 

I am incredibly happy with my gator diesel…..855D I think is the model. It tops out at 24 mph I think, but handles pulling a heavy splitter and a full load on the bed. It does not have an engine brake, or at least mine doesn’t, so downhill loads take some caution. Zero issues with it, and zero complaints

 

Thanks, nice to be here "officially"

 

Good load on the Gator, and like your Black Lab helper! I like the Gator a lot but they are pretty expensive compared to other brands. Of course being a John Deere fan I like JD Green!

 

We have a 2005 Polaris Ranger 500
4wd. that we purchased new with almost 2300 hours on it. It been a solid reliable machine.

 

Is it hydrostatic drive like the Kubota RTV?

 

Thanks Farmchuck. Is there anything that you would change about your machine if you were looking today?

 

When we bought it we opted for a roof, windshield, & a back window. Looking back I guess maybe some doors might have made it a little warmer inside the cab in the winter but other than that nothing really comes to mind.

 

Appreciate that Farmchuck! I am thinking for our climate we probably do not need the doors but they may be nice for rainy weather..Best, Ed

 

My favorites are the Honda pioneer 700 and then the 1000
Quiet enough to have a conversation in
Most other makes are too loud for my liking.
These are the most popular locally

We use this one to haul saws and clear right of ways and firewood duty
2022 UFORCE 1000 Specifications + Features | CFMOTO USA
For a budget option I'm talking 8k less than the Honda at the time I don't know about now
I really like the cfmoto series
My friend bought this 1000 last year
Absolutely no issues it gets ran a lot
By the family
They have several dealers locally now.
All the major brands make good machines but lately the prices have been insane
And that goes for parts too.

 

Not hydrostatic,cvt. Very similar to a Polaris ranger. A bit on the pricey side but Is built for work.

 

Interesting. I figured with that low top speed, like Kubota RTVs, that it would be a hydro. I think they all are expensive anymore lol.

 

I have a diesel gator, paid $6700 used. 4wd, plenty power, hard to turn tho. Also a gas 2wd, paid $2000 used, steers great, has less leg room but more fun for light duty.

 

Hey MasterMech, Thnks for the welcome and the good suggestions and recommendations! I am finding the used machines either fairly well used up (trashed) and I'm not really looking for a project like that right now. May have to go that route, not concerned about doing the rehab work but I am about availability and costs for parts. Do not want to have more in it than it's worth.Others look to be well maintained but at almost new prices for 4-5 year old machines. Since we will use this to work from some cosmetic blemishes don't matter much to me either just want mechanical/electrical to be in good order. Well, the search continues