John Deere Gator TX 2WD

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

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

On Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 12:52:34 PM UTC-5, 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

I have a Kawasaki Mule 4010 that has worked well for using around my own airstrip and at the gliderport. They are all very handy because they have plenty of power and storage on the back for tail dollies and wing runner wheels. We also use a new 48 volt golf cart which we like very much, no engine noise comes in handy when towing gliders and giving directions to the helper on the wing. Don't sell those 48 volt carts short, they do a great job and last all day pulling gliders and doing handy travels around the glider area.

at sunflower we've been using a 2WD Gator for quite a while. It's handy for pulling a sprayer, brushing off the runway (with appropriate attachement), and we use it to tow gliders on our concrete ramp. The only complaint we have is that we have trouble holding a smooth walking pace. Ours seems happiest just a little faster. We've actually been talking about getting an electric golf cart to try out for towing out.