Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Buying a utv....gas vs diesel?

Not much storage for tools and extras under the seat of that one, huh?

Fence stretcher, pliers, water bottles, tarp straps, lunch, there's a little tool kit under the seat.


Old saddle blanket across the rear rack for the dog.



Heated grips would be nice.....

And a diesel ATV/UTV/SXS/SUV...is about as good an idea as a diesel chainsaw.

I spend a LOT of time sitting in them and driving them. Had an 08 Rhino and it was a POS compared to the Rangers. The Rhinos were real prone to tipping over and Yamaha paid out a LOT of millions in lawsuits over people's legs getting run over. Now they have doors!

I was never a Polaris fan but I have used them hard and only once been left stranded- fuel tank on a 10-year-old quad cracked and leaked out gas- causing to run out 20 miles from my truck.

To those that think that a toyota pickup is a replacement for a Ranger- come to Arizona and drive where we go. I have been in Toyotas and Samarais. The Samy is far better than the Yota in getting into bad places- problem is that you have to go slow in the Samy and yota and you can go four times as fast in the Ranger.

For farm work and such I think the Kubota is fine. I don't know about the maintenance issues but they won't work for the kind of riding that I do getting into my bear spots. I also think the Ranger is much better for lion hunting- dog on top to strike and you can see and hear better with the open Ranger than the pickup with the heater on. I went around a lot of stuck 4x4 pickups lion hunting this year. The best rig I saw, however, was a Tacoma with a lift and a flat bed on it. Had a built in dog box and was set up right.

I have never ridden in the Honda,Can-am nor Artic cat. I have driven the Gator and the Kubota. Both to me are very utility oriented and not much benefit over a pickup for most stuff.

The mini trucks are really handy and far cheaper than a $20,000 Kubota. They run them on a large ranch I hunt and they are pretty impressive for ranch work.

Same here,My 2006 Kubota RTV 900 has been a great machine and workhorse..I have over 700 hours on the OD changed the oil and put new tires on it.If your looking for a barn burning racer kubota is not it.If your looking for a true workhorse around the farm kubota is it..

This is an old thread but your post really nailed it for me. Any long term update?

My Polaris is 8 years old, not a bit of trouble with it.

Never owned a diesel UTV, but own 5 diesel tractors, a dozer, diesel generator, truck and motorhome. So I like diesels.

That said I would not want one in a UTV. I bought a Honda Big Red years ago and have not had one issue with it. I like the fact that it has no belt. If I were in the market for a new machine, it would be another Honda.

We use three Polaris on the farm everyday. No complaints. The big motor ranger does pull stuff like a drag or the weed roller alot easier than the 400.

IMHO, the Rangers are fine until you really thrash on them. I have seen them take some pretty good abuse and it's not like they break down all the time.

I don't get very wild in our 900XP Ranger, have a 4-wheeler for true off-roading.

But I KNOW the old guys love the SXS's for bouncing around.....grin


Heaters, semi-quiet cab, 60-65mph down the highway.

When it's 20 degrees with snow/rain they beat the hell outta sittin' on a horse!

I had this Ranger 500, a 2005 model, for 12 years before it got burned to the ground in a camp fire. It was certainly not a hot rod, but it darn sure was bulletproof. No telling how much game we hauled out of the back country with it. I've got another one just like it now, a 2006 version.

I have a Kubota RTV900 that I bought new in 08. It has served me well. It has 600 hrs on the diesel as of now. It is more of a utility machine than the Ranger. If you need to travel long distances it will get you there but much slower than the gas driven side by sides. It is mighty tough though it just keeps rolling along. It has never had any breakdowns or need to go into the shop. And it sips fuel.

I waited 18 years until Honda came out with the Pioneer line. Good decision on my part. Bought the Pioneer 700 and have no regrets. You definitely want power steering.

I have a pioneer 1000 for the past three years. No complaints

LMAO! You need to wake up and smell the roses.


AND, I've owned Polaris Rangers (2) for 15 years. Sold the 2004 2 years ago when I bought the 2017 570. There are no maintenance issues if you use one like an adult.

MAGA!

Edited to add that power steering is not needed.

Honda Pioneer 700-4 deluxe owner here.....love it.


It's funny....they all seem to have problems when you jack them up, put bigger tires than they should have on them. Run all kinds of electrical gadgets the battery can't support, diy stuff with bad grounds, etc. Homemade snorkels and sinking them in mudholes. No wonder folks have issues. Keep it pretty much stock, take care of it, non ethanol gas, you should have any serious issues at all over the life of whatever you buy.

My dealership sales both polaris and honda. Pretty much told me that the folks who drive polaris pretty much trade them in every couple years for new ones when they start having issues. My pioneer won't do 60 like a 570 but it does 40 pretty dang easy.

Yamaha Rhino 660 here, bought new in 07.
Been hauling firewood and game with it ever since.
Spun one CV joint out in 12 years of hard use and have replaced clutch and belt once.
Over 2000 hours of hard working and fun on it.

Originally had the 6 wheel diesel gator.
Those would be great machines in the flatlands for hauling etc. but not so good for mountains or snow.

I have not had a lick of real trouble from the machine. Only hiccup is that I busted a weld on the hitch reciever. Hitch was hanging too low and got caught on a steep stream/ditching crossing. Machine didn't even realize it was there. Powersteering would be a plus, but even my kids can drive it easily enough. I'm a fan.

We have a gator with the diesel at work.

It’s a giant pile of dog [bleep].

The diesels are heavy, slow, and loud. About the only good reason to go diesel is if you’re on lots of worksites with other diesel equipment.