Hello, I am a newbie to this site and UTV in general. I just looked at the Gator XUV 550 and was very impressed with its ruggedness, fit and finish, features, and price. My wife and I plan to use it for light work on our 10 acre farm and for dragging a horse arena. My only concern has to do with the drive train. The Kubota dealer pointed out that his RTV 500 has hydraulic drive vs belt drive on the Gator, and said that pulling anything with a belt drive will result in early clutch failure. Is this really a concern or is he just blowing smoke UMA? Thanks for any thoughts you may have.
Gator XUV 550 drive train concern
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Welcome to the forum! Keep in mind that there are a lot of UTVs using belt drive and a great number of them have more power and torque than the XUV 550. One can design robustness (or weakness) with either system. I have no specific experience with the 550, and I don't know how strong the 550 is.
I would try to get a test drive of the 550 pulling a drag. A have seen ATVs handily drag an arena, but the XUV is on the low power side, and it has to haul more of its own weight than an ATV. A friend with an 850D feels his drag bogs his machine too much, but he has a very large drag (probably 7x10).
I switched from a tractor to my new XUV 825i to drag and I get the job done in about 1/3 the time! (The suspension is the big benefit, but the tractor tops out at about 5mph in "working" range.)
Good luck in your decision!
- Steve in windy CO
I would try to get a test drive of the 550 pulling a drag. A have seen ATVs handily drag an arena, but the XUV is on the low power side, and it has to haul more of its own weight than an ATV. A friend with an 850D feels his drag bogs his machine too much, but he has a very large drag (probably 7x10).
I switched from a tractor to my new XUV 825i to drag and I get the job done in about 1/3 the time! (The suspension is the big benefit, but the tractor tops out at about 5mph in "working" range.)
Good luck in your decision!
- Steve in windy CO
I'd definitely say the Kubota Dealer is blowing smoke up you ass....he wants to sell you one of his Kubota's instead of you buying a JD...
I have an 825i and if you are looking for great fit and finish, you'd be doing yourself a favor by checking one of those out...or the 855D diesel model...I know they are alot more expensive, but they are alot more machine, most certainly....I have never heard anyone complain about having bought one of those machines instead of something else...they are rugged, fast, powerful, and they just plain look good!!!...
Hope you have good luck in making your decision on buying a SxS....as I said...I know the 825i/855D are alot more money than the 550's, but you'd be getting a machine that you'd never have to worry about having enough power to do anything you want to do with it...
Larry in MD
I have an 825i and if you are looking for great fit and finish, you'd be doing yourself a favor by checking one of those out...or the 855D diesel model...I know they are alot more expensive, but they are alot more machine, most certainly....I have never heard anyone complain about having bought one of those machines instead of something else...they are rugged, fast, powerful, and they just plain look good!!!...
Hope you have good luck in making your decision on buying a SxS....as I said...I know the 825i/855D are alot more money than the 550's, but you'd be getting a machine that you'd never have to worry about having enough power to do anything you want to do with it...
Larry in MD
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