John Deere Gator TX 2WD

We use a Polaris Ranger 500 and it's been great towing our Stemme around
the airport.Â* It's also useful having 1-, 2-, and 4-wheel drive
(electrically selectable) when we get into the dirt, without the glider,
of course.

On 2/25/2020 10:52 AM, wrote:
Does anyone own one of these? Our glider club may be looking to replace a golf cart and I'm wondering if this would be a more durable solution. Primary use would be to tow gliders around the field. Does yours have enough low-end torque to tow a glider at a walking pace? How reliable has it been?

Thanks
Tom

--
Dan, 5J

We have a 6-wheel diesel gator that we got new twenty something
years ago, and a 4-wheel petrol one which we picked-up second
hand a couple of years ago. Both have proven reliable, even in the
hands of glider pilots old and young.
On the 6-wheel, drive chains have been known to go slack, and
cone/belt drives have plastic components which can fail if you try to
tow heavy loads, i.e. a winch in the mud...
But for general use towing gliders and trailers around the airfield,
they've been good.



At 18:23 25 February 2020, Dan Marotta wrote:
We use a Polaris Ranger 500 and it's been great towing our
Stemme around
the airport.Â* It's also useful having 1-, 2-, and 4-wheel drive
(electrically selectable) when we get into the dirt, without the
glider,
of course.

On 2/25/2020 10:52 AM, wrote:
Does anyone own one of these? Our glider club may be looking
to replace a
golf cart and I'm wondering if this would be a more durable
solution.
Primary use would be to tow gliders around the field. Does yours
have
enough low-end torque to tow a glider at a walking pace? How
reliable has
it been?

Thanks
Tom

--
Dan, 5J

My club has been using a 4 wheel 2WD gator for about 20 years and it now has over 6000 hours on the Hobbs meter. It is showing it's age, but still running like a Deere.

The biggest problem with the Gator is the noisy engine making it difficult for the wing walker to get the driver's attention. Other than that it has been a great tow vehicle and general all around workhorse at the club.

On Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 6:29:48 PM UTC-5, Dave Springford wrote:
My club has been using a 4 wheel 2WD gator for about 20 years and it now has over 6000 hours on the Hobbs meter. It is showing it's age, but still running like a Deere.

The biggest problem with the Gator is the noisy engine making it difficult for the wing walker to get the driver's attention. Other than that it has been a great tow vehicle and general all around workhorse at the club.

I have over 600 hrs on my personnel Gator CX model 2WD mostly at airports. It's perfect, you don't need 4WD
Glen