Buckrub
12-26-2013, 12:10 PM
About to go fire up the smoker, and go sit and wait on the Colorado Contingent to roll in tonight. I told 'em to wave when they go through Tulsa. Wrapped most of the presents, and so........here I sit, thinkin'. I always get in trouble doing that!!
Y'all give me a ton of grief, but after the smoke clears, I do get a lot of good info here. Most of y'all are WAY too "Brand Chauvinistic" and think only your brand is worthwhile and the rest are all crap. But after I weed through the B/S, I still get a lot of good info here.
I have two purchases that are on my radar for the next year or two. One is a must..........and the other is a pipe dream. But I'm more than interested in any opinions. I know (or used to know) telecom and networking. I don't know diddley about much else.
First is a truck. I can't help it, I'm a Chevy guy. I have had amazing good luck with them, and very poor luck with Fords and Japanese trucks. So unless the moon falls out of the sky, I'm going to buy a Chevy.
I waited on this new gas engine and "max towing package" that was due out "Fall 2013" but it is a fizzle. I have researched trucks, in general, and towing capacity. Towing capacity turns out to be a way more complex issue than the simple numbers the manufacturers publish about how many pounds Unit X will pull!!! The most important number turns out to be GCVWR.........the weight of the trailer, truck, and EVERY pound of stuff that's in it, including gas in the truck!! No other number is more important, and it makes the towing capacity number meaningless if the GCVWR is too high. And nothing can answer what that number is short of putting it on a scale.
With that said, you got to start somewhere. The Tahoe has close to 200,000 miles. It runs like a freaking oiled sewing machine, still......but nothing lasts forever. Couple that with the fact that I need to tow that trailer and go camping.........and I've decided to go ahead and get what I need to cross the Rockies with!!! I am going to get a 3/4 ton truck, and most likely a diesel. Heck with it. Mama might go nuts in 5 years and "demand" a 5th wheel or something. Who knows with her. Got to keep her happy, it's in my best interest. So I'm tired of trying to push the envelope. I'm going to get something way ahead of the curve.
Well.......dang. Now, Chevy announces the 2015 Chevy 2500's, due out "1st Quarter 2014". Stupid as that is, I don't care what they call them, but these new 2015's have some neat trailering stuff that might make it worthwhile for me to wait 2-3 months. Integrated brake controllers, integrated sway control, and more pulling power out of same Diesel and Allison Tranny. So I am going to try and wait. I know, the Dodge truck is the Max at pulling, 30,000 pounds with diesel in 3/4 ton. But I ain't buying a Dodge in this lifetime, sorry. Ford is about same as Chevy and looks like a box. Anyway, I can't imagine getting anything other than the Chevy. I just don't know if it's worth it to wait on these new ones.
But that's gonna happen in next 6 months sometime. Then Mama can drive my truck and we'll trade in the Tahoe. Or give it to Charity (known as one of my kids).
Any comment thereunto is welcome.
The next purchase probably will never happen. But I'm getting old and driving to deer stands, driving around the farm, doing pre-season work, and general piddling around......makes it harder and harder to enjoy being in the 'open' of a four wheeler. These new side by sides are nothing more than little jeeps!!! Cost a mint, so probably not feasible. Heck, I'd have to have a bigger trailer, another two grand!!! Ouch.
But......I do like to keep abreast of what's out there. And man.........I have never seen such A) brand loyalty to whatever a man bought....almost as if everyone is trying to justify to themselves having bought that brand, OR B) total buyer's remorse of having bought a lemon.
There is something wrong with every one of them. I have gotten on the actual forums for that manufacturer and read actual customers' complaints, and every one is full of 'em! Others RAVE about their machine. If you read between the lines, it's clear it's a matter of how they are used.
I'm open to any make. But for now, my very preliminary research has led me to the Gator 825i, Yamaha Viking, Kawasaki Teryx, and Can Am Commander.
I know Cappy loves his older Gator. But having been on his farm, I see why. It's a workhorse, on fairly level and dry ground. Pull a house off the foundation. But that's not all I want. I bet Ed has Polaris' on his farm, and I'm guessing (?) he has more water to deal with than Cappy does. My cousin has an older Honda "Big Red" side by side, and he loves it but does nothing with it really. No mud, no pulling, no towing, no hauling, just rides it in comfort down a smooth grassy two-track to his deer stand, and gets out and hunts. They are rated worst of all of 'em by ATV Magazine, but again........if you do nothing more than he does, they are very reliable and have few breakdowns. Just don't get them truly off road. I've ruled out a Honda, so don't go there. They just aren't made to do what I want. And I'm not getting another Suzuki unless someone gives me one.
The bigger models are just not nimble enough for me. I do NOT want the 4 seater. I will never have more than one other person in there. I don't need to haul a cord of firewood, just an ice chest and a dead deer. I need to maneuver through thick trees, and go slow REALLY well. I don't care how fast it goes. If I ever get over 30, it'd be rare.
The Gator 825i is the best made it seems. But they have lots of guys with "lemons" and have to get whole new engines. JD won't warranty them. The intake is under the driver's seat, and sucks water if it's over 15" deep. I go several times a year to a camp where big water is always present, so that'd blow a motor, blam! Most guys have to snorkel theirs, and if that isn't done right, it leaks and same problem. Plus the complaint is how loud they are. They use a Chinese car motor.......makes me scratch my head, too.
Yamaha and Kawasaki models are ok.........but just don't seem to have all that it takes. Reading the specs closely, something is always missing.
The Can Am is the coolest. Danged expensive though. It seems they are built for speed, and that's not what I need. However, they have great torque too with those bigger engines, and seem to be built for hard driving. Just don't know first hand anyone that has 'em, though.
Power steering is a must. After market cabs are expensive, but boy, that'd be nice.......if they didn't tear off in the woods. Those "soft cabs" seem stupid........and the hard ones are high dollar.
OK, time to go start a fire.......comments welcome on all fronts. I wuz bored for an hour..........I'll come back and read later.
Thank you, and have a nice day.
:biggrin
Y'all give me a ton of grief, but after the smoke clears, I do get a lot of good info here. Most of y'all are WAY too "Brand Chauvinistic" and think only your brand is worthwhile and the rest are all crap. But after I weed through the B/S, I still get a lot of good info here.
I have two purchases that are on my radar for the next year or two. One is a must..........and the other is a pipe dream. But I'm more than interested in any opinions. I know (or used to know) telecom and networking. I don't know diddley about much else.
First is a truck. I can't help it, I'm a Chevy guy. I have had amazing good luck with them, and very poor luck with Fords and Japanese trucks. So unless the moon falls out of the sky, I'm going to buy a Chevy.
I waited on this new gas engine and "max towing package" that was due out "Fall 2013" but it is a fizzle. I have researched trucks, in general, and towing capacity. Towing capacity turns out to be a way more complex issue than the simple numbers the manufacturers publish about how many pounds Unit X will pull!!! The most important number turns out to be GCVWR.........the weight of the trailer, truck, and EVERY pound of stuff that's in it, including gas in the truck!! No other number is more important, and it makes the towing capacity number meaningless if the GCVWR is too high. And nothing can answer what that number is short of putting it on a scale.
With that said, you got to start somewhere. The Tahoe has close to 200,000 miles. It runs like a freaking oiled sewing machine, still......but nothing lasts forever. Couple that with the fact that I need to tow that trailer and go camping.........and I've decided to go ahead and get what I need to cross the Rockies with!!! I am going to get a 3/4 ton truck, and most likely a diesel. Heck with it. Mama might go nuts in 5 years and "demand" a 5th wheel or something. Who knows with her. Got to keep her happy, it's in my best interest. So I'm tired of trying to push the envelope. I'm going to get something way ahead of the curve.
Well.......dang. Now, Chevy announces the 2015 Chevy 2500's, due out "1st Quarter 2014". Stupid as that is, I don't care what they call them, but these new 2015's have some neat trailering stuff that might make it worthwhile for me to wait 2-3 months. Integrated brake controllers, integrated sway control, and more pulling power out of same Diesel and Allison Tranny. So I am going to try and wait. I know, the Dodge truck is the Max at pulling, 30,000 pounds with diesel in 3/4 ton. But I ain't buying a Dodge in this lifetime, sorry. Ford is about same as Chevy and looks like a box. Anyway, I can't imagine getting anything other than the Chevy. I just don't know if it's worth it to wait on these new ones.
But that's gonna happen in next 6 months sometime. Then Mama can drive my truck and we'll trade in the Tahoe. Or give it to Charity (known as one of my kids).
Any comment thereunto is welcome.
The next purchase probably will never happen. But I'm getting old and driving to deer stands, driving around the farm, doing pre-season work, and general piddling around......makes it harder and harder to enjoy being in the 'open' of a four wheeler. These new side by sides are nothing more than little jeeps!!! Cost a mint, so probably not feasible. Heck, I'd have to have a bigger trailer, another two grand!!! Ouch.
But......I do like to keep abreast of what's out there. And man.........I have never seen such A) brand loyalty to whatever a man bought....almost as if everyone is trying to justify to themselves having bought that brand, OR B) total buyer's remorse of having bought a lemon.
There is something wrong with every one of them. I have gotten on the actual forums for that manufacturer and read actual customers' complaints, and every one is full of 'em! Others RAVE about their machine. If you read between the lines, it's clear it's a matter of how they are used.
I'm open to any make. But for now, my very preliminary research has led me to the Gator 825i, Yamaha Viking, Kawasaki Teryx, and Can Am Commander.
I know Cappy loves his older Gator. But having been on his farm, I see why. It's a workhorse, on fairly level and dry ground. Pull a house off the foundation. But that's not all I want. I bet Ed has Polaris' on his farm, and I'm guessing (?) he has more water to deal with than Cappy does. My cousin has an older Honda "Big Red" side by side, and he loves it but does nothing with it really. No mud, no pulling, no towing, no hauling, just rides it in comfort down a smooth grassy two-track to his deer stand, and gets out and hunts. They are rated worst of all of 'em by ATV Magazine, but again........if you do nothing more than he does, they are very reliable and have few breakdowns. Just don't get them truly off road. I've ruled out a Honda, so don't go there. They just aren't made to do what I want. And I'm not getting another Suzuki unless someone gives me one.
The bigger models are just not nimble enough for me. I do NOT want the 4 seater. I will never have more than one other person in there. I don't need to haul a cord of firewood, just an ice chest and a dead deer. I need to maneuver through thick trees, and go slow REALLY well. I don't care how fast it goes. If I ever get over 30, it'd be rare.
The Gator 825i is the best made it seems. But they have lots of guys with "lemons" and have to get whole new engines. JD won't warranty them. The intake is under the driver's seat, and sucks water if it's over 15" deep. I go several times a year to a camp where big water is always present, so that'd blow a motor, blam! Most guys have to snorkel theirs, and if that isn't done right, it leaks and same problem. Plus the complaint is how loud they are. They use a Chinese car motor.......makes me scratch my head, too.
Yamaha and Kawasaki models are ok.........but just don't seem to have all that it takes. Reading the specs closely, something is always missing.
The Can Am is the coolest. Danged expensive though. It seems they are built for speed, and that's not what I need. However, they have great torque too with those bigger engines, and seem to be built for hard driving. Just don't know first hand anyone that has 'em, though.
Power steering is a must. After market cabs are expensive, but boy, that'd be nice.......if they didn't tear off in the woods. Those "soft cabs" seem stupid........and the hard ones are high dollar.
OK, time to go start a fire.......comments welcome on all fronts. I wuz bored for an hour..........I'll come back and read later.
Thank you, and have a nice day.
:biggrin