suitability of UTVs for Rocky Trails

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   So I've been pondering getting a UTV (Polaris RZR or similar) for off road adventuring to alleviate beating up my daily driver.  Any experience/knowledge from the club about how these things stand up to the type of trails we see around this area?  It appears that skid plates are available for the majority of the underside, but the tubular suspension arms are exposed and just waiting to be bent.  Also, it seems a lot of them are built for speed/track and not so much the trail, so I'm not sure if one is better than another for that (gearing, engine, etc.).  Just pondering for now, I imagine some others have had the thought too.  Thanks.

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BlackBird Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List RCRC Club Member Joined: 11 July 2014 Location: NW Huntsville Status: Offline Points: 573	Post Options Post Reply Quote BlackBird Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: suitability of UTVs for Rocky Trails Posted: 08 August 2016 at 5:01am
	So I've been pondering getting a UTV (Polaris RZR or similar) for off road adventuring to alleviate beating up my daily driver. Any experience/knowledge from the club about how these things stand up to the type of trails we see around this area? It appears that skid plates are available for the majority of the underside, but the tubular suspension arms are exposed and just waiting to be bent. Also, it seems a lot of them are built for speed/track and not so much the trail, so I'm not sure if one is better than another for that (gearing, engine, etc.). Just pondering for now, I imagine some others have had the thought too. Thanks.
	Michael Crandall Monrovia Volunteer FF/Driver Mine - 2024 Ram 2500 Rebel Hers - 2023 Jeep GC 4xE Trailhawk

BlackBird Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List RCRC Club Member Joined: 11 July 2014 Location: NW Huntsville Status: Offline Points: 573	Post Options Post Reply Quote BlackBird Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 September 2016 at 6:29am
	following up on this, Polaris introed a new special edition model geared (literally) toward rock and low speed trail use. A cozy $24k puts one in your garage (since you won't want to keep it outside). http://www.polaris.com/en-us/rzr-side-by-side/rzr-xp-1000-eps-gold-metallic special features: - 55% additional reduction in low gear - beefier front half shafts - gated shifter - high clearance front a arms and rear radius rods - closer to 50/50 split on the AWD system - rock crawler tires with beadlocks - front bumper, rock sliders, and additional skid plates - 4.5k synthetic rope winch - click 6 harnesses - rear view mirror - narrow front flares so quite a bit of additional tailoring for the job, beyond what you can accomplish with accessories after the fact. I just can't get over the price, and how much more I can do with a road vehicle for that price versus this dedicated trail rig.
	Michael Crandall Monrovia Volunteer FF/Driver Mine - 2024 Ram 2500 Rebel Hers - 2023 Jeep GC 4xE Trailhawk

Case Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List RCRC LLC Member Have you seen my 9/16" socket? Joined: 20 September 2004 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1773	Post Options Post Reply Quote Case Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: 07 September 2016 at 8:13am
	you can put as much or more into a UTV as you will into your rubicon. Hell for the price of a new UTV you can buy a used rock crawler tube chassis v8 1 ton drivetrain and go nuts without worrying about breaking anything or keeping up with the club....or buy a pretty built TJ and have cash left over... In my personal experience the bone stock utv will go wherever the club typically rides, but will be prone to breakage. With some upgraded arms/shafts you'd probably be fine to do almost anything the club does. Seems to me that everyone who buys a UTV, the first thing they do and sometimes they only thing they do is pull the muffler off of it and run it around camp at all hours of night or in the predawn darkness. (darkness totally dispelled by the 17 light bars each one seems to sprout)... general anti utv grumpiness aside..............I'd love to have one They are absolutely a blast to drive and handle all things off road pretty well right out of the box. They are especially fun out in the desert where you can really open them up.
	06 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon Unlimited all torn apart.