Anybody use their RTV for recreational off road fun?

B

Bota Fett

Active member
Most of the time my RTV is a work machine. Hauling firewood, rocks, dirt, and trailers seems more often than not. And it does a great job. If I get lucky once in a while I get to bring it to my brothers farm, about 54 acres, to give it a bit of a workout on some well groomed trails. But even there I'm limited to a couple of large loops, and small connector trails. Some of it is still wilderness and inaccessible.

Since 4 wheelers are prohibited in all public land where I live (Connecticut). I was thinking about trailering and registering to a more friendly off-road state like N.H. or Maine for some fun and vacation.

How many of you guys take your RTV's off-road recreationally? Do any of you guys live in New England or nearby and can recommend some places to explore? Also what mods if any did you make to your machine for ultimate performance on the trail?
 
I ride back roads and trails in my area. I live in the sticks so lots of options. I have trails on my property that I ride that are tougher than most of the off roading that I do. RTV does great. If riding with son who has a polaris I cannot come close to keeping up but no biggie, we get there. But I've never taken it on the off road rides they advertised around here. I've taking our Pioneer there and don't even do that any more. They always have to put some rough stuff in there, big mud holes that most machines cannot make it through so you have to be towed out with mud halfway up the machine. I don't care for that. I have nothing to prove to anyone and will gladly go around these type mud holes if possible.

I've ridden the Hatfield and McCoy trails in West Virginia and the Ride Royal Blue Trails in Tennessee. These type trails have easy trails and them some marked with more difficulty. RTV would do fine on any of these that I rode and I suspect the same for the north east trails you would find in New England. Good Luck.
 
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I've posted pics on this forum....I trail ride with mine all the time. It will climb hills in 2WD that my Polaris Sportsman's have to be in 4WD to not spin.
But you wouldn't want to get it into deep mud, because of their weight. Same with deep sand. I drove mine out onto the beach in the deep sand and I had to put it in 4WD and I barely got back out. (I have the Worksite tires) But for where I live, the trails are mostly hard pack, rocky, and logging roads and skidder trails, so other than it being slow, the wife and I prefer it over the four wheelers now.

I have been trying to organize an RTV ride up here in Ontario Canada, open to anyone or any machine as long as you don't mind going 25 MPH. I even contacted Kubota Canada to see if they were interested in trying to promote it. But got no reply from them, and only two people interested in going for a ride.

So guess the wife and I will just keep trail riding slow by ourselves and when I want to go fast I'll use what I just replaced my 2 Polaris atv's with. Polaris and their dealer both angered me, so there will never be another one of them in my yard.
Here's my new fast ride getting prepped at dealer right now. Just got here from Italy.
 

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Thank you guys for the replies. I am pretty much in the same mindset as you guys. We bought our machines mostly for work, and boy do these excel at that! It's nice to know that they can handle their own on the trail as well, but just like anything else, with limitations. I would never expect it to do something it wasn't built for. It's not a rock crawler, or a mud monster, or a dune buggy. I can't even begin to count how many roll over videos of RZR's there are on youtube. And I certainly do not want to join that club, that's throw away money I don't have.

I just want to cruise some nice trails/ dirt roads with beautiful scenery. Take our time, enjoy nature, snap some pictures, and do some camping. Make the most of the time we would have on a 3 of 4 day weekend up north. My wife works retail, so no holidays, or even perhaps weekends, probably mostly midweeks when we can. Which I think would work to our benefit, less crowds, and better rates at the campgrounds.

Right now I have the less aggressive turf type tires with steel rims. I have never gotten stuck so far, and I do have a winch mounted up front, with all the necessary accessories. (tree straps, snatch block, shackles) But I am wondering if I should upgrade my tires and order some front and rear cv guards? Have you guys installed the cv guards? I'm thinking those 2 mods would give us an advantage in the trails.

I think it was Doc that has a good thread discussing the tire and rim options. I'll have to do a quick search, and 1 for the cv guards too!
 
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I only have the stock plastic A-arm/CV guards on mine. I've never been a fan of more guards around the CV boots. I find that just traps more mud and snow in the winter that ends up cutting the boots. As with my old atv's with plows I make it a habit of cleaning out around the CV boots after I plow because all that slush freezes and can cut the boots next time you move. (not an issue if you park in a heated garage)

I like trail riding with my RTV. It is quieter inside than an RZR or Can Am Maverick, has all kinds of torque and unlike an atv with a belt cvt.....you can just idle up hills without revving it out. It's comfortable. And I also find that I see a lot more wildlife than when I'm on the atv's. Many times I have snuck up on moose on the trails with the RTV and they don't seem to be bothered by it. Maybe they like the sound of a diesel? LOL
 
ItBmine said:
I only have the stock plastic A-arm/CV guards on mine. I've never been a fan of more guards around the CV boots. I find that just traps more mud and snow in the winter that ends up cutting the boots. As with my old atv's with plows I make it a habit of cleaning out around the CV boots after I plow because all that slush freezes and can cut the boots next time you move. (not an issue if you park in a heated garage)

I like trail riding with my RTV. It is quieter inside than an RZR or Can Am Maverick, has all kinds of torque and unlike an atv with a belt cvt.....you can just idle up hills without revving it out. It's comfortable. And I also find that I see a lot more wildlife than when I'm on the atv's. Many times I have snuck up on moose on the trails with the RTV and they don't seem to be bothered by it. Maybe they like the sound of a diesel? LOL
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These come with stock guards? I'll have to take a closer look. And yes when I worked part time at my local motorcycle shop, we would see atv's caked with mud anywhere and everywhere. Those guards seem to be a double edged sword.

Yes I find that to be true as well. We have many white tail deer daily at my house. They are pretty friendly for sure, when walking around the property, they keep their distance, no matter how quiet you think you are, they always seem to know your presence. But in the RTV I cannot believe how close we can get to them! Even when you sneak up on them, they just look at the machine like it's just another big animal, and go about there business.
 
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I don't know if you can call them "guards" Bota Fett, but mine has plastic ones on all the A-arms. They do a good enough job for me. But I don't go plowing through brush either. I just stay on the trails.
I can get a pic if you want?
 
ItBmine said:
I don't know if you can call them "guards" Bota Fett, but mine has plastic ones on all the A-arms. They do a good enough job for me. But I don't go plowing through brush either. I just stay on the trails.
I can get a pic if you want?
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Thanks that's great, but don't go out of your way too much, I can check mine later when I get home. I'm still looking for that thread on wheels/ tires, I can't find it.

I still have time before we venture out into the trails. Up north here right now we have what's called MUD SEASON. And most if not all trails are still closed. I also have to get registration for whatever state/s we explore.
 
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Here are a couple of the tire threads.
I have got stuck when tires were wore down and it's no fun. I like the blackwater evolution that I bought but Geohorn found some on amazon that look every bit as good. Both are mentioned in the thread.
An extra set of RTV wheels would let you swap out turf for trail tires easy enough. Side by side stuff has a good selection of wheels.

new tires

I just ordered the Terrabite Tusk Radials. From Rocky mountain atv. and a set of those 14 inch wheels I posted above .. Wonder how Im gonna explain that as a needed purchase to the wife... LOL Funny note,. I did surf around and found those Tusk tires CHEAP>>>> but at checkout , something just...
www.nettractortalk.com www.nettractortalk.com

Lets talk tires one more time

I have been reading tires threads, lots of good info but I still have a question or two. Mainly, I notice most buy the same width all around. I think OEM for the x1100c is 9 on front and 11 on the rear, or even 12" on the rear (25x12x12) Like most I want more height so I'm leaning going to a...
www.nettractortalk.com www.nettractortalk.com
 
Thanks Doc I knew there were a few tire threads, just couldn't find em. Yeah for sure easy enough to swap out the whole wheel
 
As for wildlife, around here, deer and such aren't bothered by the diesel engine. Primary reason is because they're used to the sound of diesels from all the farm equipment that runs in the field. Farm equipment never bothered the critters so they don't mind them. The exception is if the animal can identify a human clearly (e.g. if you step off the tractor or out of the RTV) they become very alert and may scoot off.
 
So the rear has none but here is what's on the front as it comes from factory.
 

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Doc said:
Here are a couple of the tire threads.
I have got stuck when tires were wore down and it's no fun. I like the blackwater evolution that I bought but Geohorn found some on amazon that look every bit as good. Both are mentioned in the thread.
An extra set of RTV wheels would let you swap out turf for trail tires easy enough. Side by side stuff has a good selection of wheels.

new tires

I just ordered the Terrabite Tusk Radials. From Rocky mountain atv. and a set of those 14 inch wheels I posted above .. Wonder how Im gonna explain that as a needed purchase to the wife... LOL Funny note,. I did surf around and found those Tusk tires CHEAP>>>> but at checkout , something just...
www.nettractortalk.com www.nettractortalk.com

Lets talk tires one more time

I have been reading tires threads, lots of good info but I still have a question or two. Mainly, I notice most buy the same width all around. I think OEM for the x1100c is 9 on front and 11 on the rear, or even 12" on the rear (25x12x12) Like most I want more height so I'm leaning going to a...
www.nettractortalk.com www.nettractortalk.com
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Doc, after having these tires for a while now, and knowing what you know about them, would you do it again? If not what would you change? And no issues turning or rubbing, even when fully loaded? Oh and I think you are running stock suspension, no lift?
 
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Stock suspension and no lift kit. Yes, I would get exactly the same sizes I did last time. Has worked great for me. Only down side is the speedo reads lower than it really is. With GPS I've seen 27 / 28. Even saw 30 on a slight down hill grade. The tires work GREAT. No issues rubbing ever.
 
Yesterday I used the RTV to uproot 10 spice bush, 7' to 10' tall.

With a slack rope and running start in 4wheel drive most pulled out on the first attempt.

Just seeing if it was capable was fun and recreation for this retired guy.
 
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Hey V10rick, that's what we in South-Eastern Ohio call a harvest. There is a big market for those little berries. And the bushes do have substantial roots. Not surprised your buggy was able to pull it out though and it is gratifying. I picked up a brush grubber extreme a couple years ago. I pull trees of 5" or less right out of the ground just a tiny bit of pedal. A lot nicer than leaving a little stump. Aren't these things great?
 
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Ohio_Pawpaw_Grower said:
Hey V10rick, that's what we in South-Eastern Ohio call a harvest. There is a big market for those little berries. And the bushes do have substantial roots. Not surprised your buggy was able to pull it out though and it is gratifying. I picked up a brush grubber extreme a couple years ago. I pull trees of 5" or less right out of the ground just a tiny bit of pedal. A lot nicer than leaving a little stump. Aren't these things great?
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My property looks like a spicebush farm lol.
Since they camouflage the tree debris on the ground I have ignored the overgrowth until now.

I used a choke rope around the base, it worked perfectly for pulling tall plants.
Too bad I cannot identify which will bear fruit, at this time of year.
 
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