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This is our CUV
Compact Utility Vehicle

We talked about getting one of those ATV things to see more of the property. Even used, they are a ton of money.

Then at the end of winter 2004, Carol spied this CUV, Compact Utility Vehicle at Sam's Club. She just had to have one!

It's not like Carol to ask for things with engines in it, so I just had to buy one.

We took it up north, and tried it out in the snow. It only has a 150cc motor, rated at 10HP, but it runs great!

It climbed the steep hills at Bloom just fine, and only got stuck in deep snow.

I think Carol has seen more of the property this summer, than we have in the past 5 years!
Everybody loves the Rover!

Ryan & Mike


Matt & Jenny
October 5th 2005: Tragically, during a pre deer season scouting mission, the Rover broke an axle.

Denny and I where turning around, when it let go.

We winched it onto a trailer and headed back to the barn for a closer look.
Yep, it's broken. It appears an outer "ring" of metal has been broken for awhile, the inner diameter just let go today.
We yanked the whole axle assembly, and headed back home.

We'll see if we can get this covered under warranty, it only has 13.6 hours on it!

Bad news. YerfDog has filed for bankruptcy, so we're not covered by warranty!

All of the spare parts were purchased by Tractor Supply Corp. I contacted TSC for parts, it looks like it will be about $360 for a new axle.

We found another Rover owner that had the same troubles!

Don't buy Yerfdog Products!

We finally received our new axle, but It showed up bent.

The sprocket flange was all bent out of shape!

I took the rest of the axle apart, the bearings inside didn't have any grease on them!
I ordered new bearing and seals for both sides. I drilled the axle supports for grease fittings too!
March 25th, 2006: The axle is ready to re-assemble into the chassis.
It really only took about an hour to get it installed, but it sure was cold!
I used the tractor to haul the trailer outside. The battery was dead in the Rover, so I pushed it back inside for another day.
March 31st, 2007: That's it! I'm sick of dead batteries.

I loaded the Rover on our tractor trailer, and I'm taking it home for some serious upgrades.

I bought a rear suspension system and some bash guards for the under side.

While I have it home I plan to install a those, along with a bigger battery and cutoff switch, a vinyl roll roof, a compass, fix the steering, and do some engine maintenance.

I found the steering was put together wrong on the drivers side. The pivot bolt was loose, so the movement was on the bolt, and not the nice bronze bushings. I added grease fittings for the bronze to make them last longer.

The boots on the steering gear were cracked, I replaced them with aftermarket parts from Murray's,

Next I installed the suspension. It is nicely designed and fit very well. It's what should have come from the factory.
I finally found the air cleaner. It was packed solid with crap! It was some goofy triangle looking filter. I didn't even try to find one, I figured I'd replace it with an upgraded filter while it was home.
I found a very nice Fleetguard filter from a Kohler 20HP industrial engine. It has a 2 stage filter that is about 20 times the size of the original.

It took a bit of cutting, but I got the angle of the outlet to align with the the leftover OEM inlet tube.

After I cut it apart, I found the inlet should pivot, I didn't know this and had to buy a plastic welder to get it back together. I used the OEM crankcase breather that I hacked from the old intake housing. I needed the welder for that too.

The finished installation. It packages very nicely under the dump box.
I added a bigger battery and a cut-off switch to stop the battery drain when it's parked. I changed the oil and checked the transmission lube level.

I decided to wait on the roof, and the compass doesn't work. It's going back to Harbor Freight tomorrow!

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It was Carol's idea, really it was!

Our Rover has been a ton of fun, but not the most robust design. The rear axle has snapped, and an assortment of other goodies are either broken, or on their way to being broken. I hope to keep it going for many years.

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