bigragu

Window shopping for now, and may possibly pick one up around December. This will be my first side by side, and my main use will be to do work around my property, and the occasional 3-4 hunts per year. I have it narrowed down to either a Polaris Ranger, Yamaha Rhino, or a Kawasaki Mule, in a 4x4, gas operated.

To any of you all that have owned these over the years, what would assist me in this investment are the pros and cons that you all have discovered and learned by owning these. Tried going on forums, and it seemed the Polaris Rangers had a lot more complaints than the others. So, if you wouldn't mind, I'm open to all suggestions.

Thank you

HMX-1

I'm in two clubs here in the Boise area, and we're part of 6 or 7 different clubs from Twin Falls all the way back to Boise.

For hunting, I'd look at the Yamaha Viking first. It's a bit under-powered and it's wider (depending on where you ride it might be a problem) but you'll have room for your deer, camping gear, hunting rifle, etc..

Also consider the Can Am Commander. 92hp, rated for 660 pounds in the bed, and 10 gallon fuel tank. Most of the others are 6.5 to 9.7 gallons. It's good for work and play, where as the others (except the Polaris General) are 80% or more work rated.



The other Yamaha models and the Kawasaki .... they are under-rated for their size. You won't see but 55 to 65 hp from these, and you can feel it. The Mule is really slow and noisy compared to the others but it's a workhorse when it's in low gear.

Polaris Ranger .... the bench seat will hurt you if you're riding more than 20 minutes, and while the cargo room in the bed is plenty, the weight rating is a bit low. If you're serious about the Ranger, look at the General instead.


There are others out there (Polaris RZR, Can Am Maverick, Yamaha XYZ, etc.) but they're built for speed and have little or no cargo room.



If you have anymore questions I'll be more than happy to answer them.




-Kris

bigragu

Thanks, Kris. I'll follow up with a PM to you for sure regarding all the details.

Yeah, I'm not into the racing, speed, etc. cargo room to haul in the bed is very welcome. I'm healing up from a recent major surgery, and another one to come in a month. Basically, my spine will be fused from neck to butt. So, with that said, comfort is a must. I don't need any spine jarring suspension. Like I mentioned earlier, it's main use is to tool me around with a bed full of tools to fix a fence, build a bridge in my pond, haul a generator for power. Hunting trips will mainly be to haul any game I get back to camp, and really, that's about it.

Can Am, very interesting. I like the specs, as I just went on their site. 92hp. How does that compare to the Polaris's rangers hp? Who carries the Can Am line anyway? Are those the ines from Bass pro shops?
The negatives I heard about rhino's are too small a bed to carry anything.
Hey, Kris, if I went with used, what advice can you give me as how far back in years should I cut off at? No older than what? How about hours of use? At what point, is the hours up there where I need to worry if the transmission is at risk of failing, engine needing a rebuild, etc. I see in Offer Up and Facebook a ton of Polaris's for sale, and saw a 4 seater ranger 2016 model year with like 3,000 hours, for $9K. How do I know if that's been over used?

Thanks, brother

saggonwaggon91

I have the polaris ranger 900 and love the way it runs, drives, handles, ect.... Bucket seats, tilt bed, and something around 1100-1400lbs cargo capacity. I use it every year in Texas for hog hunting as well as running around the hometown and oilfield work as well

BarryG

While I don't have one and in reality know little about them I have been halfheartedly window shopping for a few years now. I have been liking the Can Am with the Ranger next in line. However my neighbor just got a Honda Pioneer 1000 and it has at least one feature I had not seen before. The rear bed has fold up seats. So you have a bed when you need it as well as an extra row of seats when you need/want them. Bed had a 1000 lb capacity as well as 2000 lb towing capacity. I think he told me it also had a tilt bed as well.
Like you speed etc not really an issue need it for work around the property and some rec use.

bigragu

Appreciate all the input, fellas. Please keep them coming.

My wife is hung up on the Kawasaki, as she was riding passenger in our neighbors rig. About the only thing I know that stands out with the Mule, is that it has a steel floorboard, and I've read the others like Polaris have plastic floorboards? Am I correct on this?

So, larger fuel tank capacity is good, but not really required, since I'll be mainly on my 5 acres.

Comfort is the big one, as I'll have a 2x4 for a spine shortly, lol

HMX-1

Your best bet would be a test drive.

We did 4 test drives with several different makes/models before I decided to pull the trigger on the Commander. With the options and being part of a group buy, I was able to save enough for their RPM program for pre-paid maintenance. The first one is usually $250 - $500 since it's all fluids, valve lash, and they give it the once-over to make sure it's okay.

Most of them come with plastic floors, but come with HDPE skid plates or you can spend the coin and get the aluminium. You can also get just the pieces you need to fill in the gaps, whether it's HDPE or aluminum. HDPE will "shape" if you warm it up with a heat gun.



-Kris

bigragu

Kris, who carries the CanAm line? Is that a Bass Pro or Cabelas line? I'm gonna call my local off road places, that carry side by sides, to find out if they have or can get them

HMX-1

BRP, which runs the Can Am line, the Ski-Doo line, and the Sea-Doo line.

They also sell the Spyder which is the 3 wheeled street trike.




-Kris

bigragu

Thank you