Smart/Best Mule or UTV to Buy

I don't know anything about the guts of the differential, but that sounds like a suboptimal design choice for the use case.
Just a matter of which way the spring pushes the sliding collar I suppose. I would prefer it default to 1wd. By defaulting to 2wd/locked rear, if the auxiliary battery is weak, it goes around scrubbing the inside tire all the time and making a clicking noise as the solenoid tries to modulate. Over Christmas vacation, I hope to have time to try and figure out a lever/cable mechanism to eliminate this stupidity.
 
To big, large turning circle, heavy foot print
Mule....then I thought "your stupid" to myself. Again truck.

I'd rather put a trailer behind the tractor vs load it down and make double work of sorting it all out.


2 door. Gas. 400 cc. Fuel injected. Short manual dump. Absolutely boring to drive. Trying to do anything exciting with it would equal breaking it or myself do to the suspension. Basic. I can't justify a size bigger or more money for all the other reasons listed. For 21k I'm looking at better tractors.

I agree, too big a turning radius doing a hack-yota. This area of use will be treeline, tight spaces, and 45+ degree climbs in some areas. We have a full size tractor on site - its too big to accomplish small jobs or tasks that are on steep slopes

Definitely fine with a boring drive. Itll be used for utility only, never for "trail riding".

So you said your friend's diesel kubota did much better on utility than your gas mule?
 
I agree, too big a turning radius doing a hack-yota. This area of use will be treeline, tight spaces, and 45+ degree climbs in some areas. We have a full size tractor on site - its too big to accomplish small jobs or tasks that are on steep slopes

Definitely fine with a boring drive. Itll be used for utility only, never for "trail riding".

So you said your friend's diesel kubota did much better on utility than your gas mule?
Yes, if I had the budget this would have been first choice......and diesel.
 
I was in the market for a *working* SxS several years ago... and didn't have "Honda $$".

The Mules seating sucks balls (worst than unpadded church pews), & like Kabota, has drum brakes... hard no's for me.
Didn't need "Rzr" sportiness either...

Bought a lightly used Yamaha Viking (3 wide seating) and have been enjoying/using it ever since...
 
Dry Pond isnt bad from the shop. Just under 5 miles. I think that day I was cutting hay just into Stokes so I just ran back down Collinstown Rd. I try to stay off 103 in the daylight if I can help it. 🤣
I get paranoid just crossing "the road" (Hwy.8), despite Sheriff Dan telling me not to sweat it (from the LEO perspective), but given the amount of big truck traffic up here and "impaired" drivers, will usually just take the truck 🤣
 
I get paranoid just crossing "the road" (Hwy.8), despite Sheriff Dan telling me not to sweat it (from the LEO perspective), but given the amount of big truck traffic up here and "impaired" drivers, will usually just take the truck 🤣

I mean I’ve run from the shop up to the top of Squirrel Spur/Bell Spur a few times. 11 miles each way haha. But I do usually link a few back roads together to get over to Dry Pond just because of 103 traffic. None of the locals seem to care but I’ve never encountered the troopers haha.
 
Most of the job sites I go to that are bigger than a bank or office building have a "mule" or 2 on site for the superintendent. When the job trailer is more than 1000yrds from the building (think new high school where the job trailer is near the construction entrance and the baseball fields, football stadium and tennis courts are between the trailer and main building) I get to grab a set of keys and drive it down to do inspections. Because of this, I've had seat time in quite a few "working" SxS

Years ago it was diesel bobcat mules. They were small and really just a glorified golf kart. In fact, I ran into a superintendent at URE one weekend in 2000 using it on the trails. He said it sucked out there 🤣Then Kubota came along and that was all that was used. Slightly Bigger, more power and speed, but heavy as hell. Very well built for what it was. But in recent years the 4 seat John Deere diesel has been more common. So far, this has been the "fastest" diesel that I've experienced. It's also MUCH bigger. A lot wider stance, and longer. But the gearbox sounds like its full of gravel. There's two on this giant HS in Statesville and both should like there's teeth missing on the ring gear when you reverse and turn at the same time. Top speed of about 20 and better suspension than the Kubota or bobcat. Not sure how big the bed is, but can't be more than 4'x4'

I've only been in one site where the kawi mule was used that I can remember. I wasn't at all impressed. Seemed cheap and frail compared to the bobcat/Kubota

Most of the subcontractors I know own land. They're not land BARONS like @StretchASU 😎 but they own a few acres. Enough to NEED a tractor, zero turn mower, and working SxS. Those guys ALL own matching everything. Their diesel mower, matches their tractor, and so does their SxS. Most with full cabs. A couple of these guys rock ALL bobcat. But most of the ones I know are sold out orange tractor fanbouys.
That tells me that Riddle Tractor has some really good salesmen, or, that Kubota makes a good enough product to convince these guys to use them on their personal farms.

Billy (at good evening ranch) is one of those orange fanbouys. LOTS of orange tractors and excavators and Matt and Amy zip around on the farm in an enclosed Kubota. They put a plow on the front and cleared snow off of all the paved surfaces in Jan 2024 when we got 12" overnight. That was impressive.
 
I'll just throw this out there. I work on a lot of big job sites and its almost exclusively Kubotas and kawis for the buggies. And they are absolutely abused. That little Kubota diesel is a tank.
 
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