Commander1000, prowler xtz or ....

MarsFab

MarsFab

Will work for money
Joined
Oct 24, 2007
Location
Harrisburg, NC
I'm planning to buy a utv in the next month or two and I'm trying to decide which machine I'll have the best luck out of. This will be a trail rig/r&d project for me and the family. I will require it to have a bed eliminating a rzr or maverick. I'd like to have a twin cylinder but not a must. Most people say arctic cat is crap but I've seen most issues with steering and suspension. My plans are to build a 4 seater cage using a bench seat in the rear bed area and I plan to build my own long travel steering and suspension so saying arctic cat suspension is garbage is kind of not an issue. Who's had experience with either and what do you like or dislike? I'm also open to other suggestions like the new Viking or rhino or teryx or anything else that fits the criteria.


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91oneton said:
Here is what you need...


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Man, if he'd chopped the throttle soon enough, he might could have gotten a full rotation and landed on the wheels!
 
That's a good point I had not thought about that. Do we know the requirements in URE?


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I looked a little and doesn't look like ure, brown mtn, or Carolina adventure world say anything.

HMT says this:
SPECIAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS FOR
SIDE-BY-SIDE UTILITY TYPE VEHICLE (UTV)
Side-by-side utility type vehicles are also subject to the following
safety rules:
Utility Type Vehicles can only be operated on designated trails
approved for them.
Easiest Trails (Green) - Approved
More Difficult Trails (Blue) - Approved
Most Difficult Trails (Black) - Designated trails only (See Trail Map)
Stay off Extreme Difficult Trails (Red Black) trails.
Check signs for “ NO SIDE-BY-SIDE/UTVs ALLOWED“.
Machine Requirements:
1. Machines may not be self-constructed or substantially
modified from manufacturer’s specifications.
2. Units must be equipped with a steering wheel from the
manufacturer.
3. Units must be equipped with ROPS (Roll-Over Protection
System) and seat belts from factory.
4. Low pressure tires required – Max 20PSI at manufacturer’s
recommended inflation.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Side by Side (UTV) Specific Rules
1. The number of passengers carried limited by the number of
manufacturer installed seat belts.
2. All participants must abide by all of the manufacturer’s.
3. The driver and passengers of a side by side - utility type
vehicle must:
· Wear seat belts at all times;
· Keep inside vehicle at all times;
· Wear a DOT or Snell approved helmet and eye
protection at all times..
4. Driver must have valid owner’s manual for the machine being operated.
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I'd prob have to go with the commander if you wasn't worried about the width of a utv I have the 800 and it does great my only complain is just how big it is but if your riding ure or open trails shouldn have a problem
 
I really just don't the long wheelbase of a 4 seater. The teryx4 is the only machine out that doesn't really push the wheelbase way out for the back two seats. Plus the backseat will be for the kids who are small. There's a company called marshall motoart who builds this kit for the rangers. It's a pretty cool idea and super simple to build
ImageUploadedByTapatalk1382290336.285261.jpg


I've just about decided I'm gonna go with a teryx. Everything I hear and see is good about them. Unlike the can-am and especially the arctic cat. Plus the early efi models can be had all day for under 8k. That would leave more money on the table to build the stuff I wanna add to it. Thanks for all the input guys, keep it coming. I'm not set 100% on anything yet.


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Yea i actually like the xp900 rangers. They're really nice and solid. My only complaint with them is that the weight bias seems to be really far forward plus you sit even more on top of the front axle centerline than anything else I've looked at. But with that four seat kit I posted above it would be really nice.
 
I am biased for the Kawi. I picked up a Teryx4 in July and it has been a ton of fun. I do not have one bad thing to say about it. I believe it is the best 4 seat SxS for the money. I have driven it at URE, Carolina Adventure World and the Hatfield/McCoy trails and it always seems to impress me more with every trip. Sure, there are other SxS's with more power and more sus. travel but those are also more $$$$ then I wanted to spend. Backseats are not just for the kids anymore, there is a ton of room for whoever rides back there, kids or adults. A buddy that I ride with has a Polaris crew 800 without the power steering and he seems to have a tough time maneuvering the longer SxS on the tighter trails in West Virginia without rubbing the bed and body on trees and mounds of dirt on the inside of some turns. His can hold 6 people where my teryx4 can only hold 4. I have only trail ridden in mine so far and on trails around here it has no problem at all keeping up with more expensive 4 or more seater SxS's. Even when we are hauling ass and trying to pull away from the other. Even though the teryx4 has a small cargo area at least there is one to store a gas can, cooler, bag of straps, whatever. If you did the kit for the 2 seater ranger you have no addition storage area at all if you have the seats filled. I know you can fab up anything so I am only comparing the two as if you were not going to modify/change the kit. Otherwise, you could still get the teryx4 and modify the cage and cargo area and it would still be better than the 2 seater ranger imo. let me know if you have any questions about the teryx4. This is just my two cents.

-Tom
 

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Good info. Thanks! The new teryx's apparently have much better suspension using fox podium shocks. I had those on my last atv and for a off the showroom floor shock I was very happy with them.


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I did. I bought a 2012 xp900 last year. Haven't really done anything to it other than add some beadlocks for the rocks in uwharrie. Shortly after I bought it I moved to a new house with some land and a lake to fish in. I use it all the time to haul my johnboat to the lake and work around my property. I've been toying with the idea of trading it for a full size Polaris ranger, commander or teryx so I could have a larger more useable bed but I just don't think one would be as much fun.

I have the itch to build me a new rig these days and modifying the rzr is looking like a more and more obvious choice so it's kinda funny that you'd ask out of the blue like this :).
I've gotten decent at sheet metal work these days and I think it'd be cool to lengthen the wheel base and build a full aluminum body for it. By doing that I could incorporate a back seat for my kids who are loving riding in it these days and make a larger more useable bed.

Business has been great lately and that's a great thing but it leaves very little time to work on my own stuff so I've been trying to get a solid plan together for what I want to do so I can knock it out in relatively quick phases so keep your eyes out for a build thread in the near future and if it turns out like I hope I may very likely put it up for sale when it's done. Maybe I can sell it and but one of those sexy new yamahas
 
88yota said:
Check out the Honda pioneer 1000eps
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I saw one of these on display today and it kinda makes me second guess my recent RZR purchase. I really like the 5 passenger design. The only thing I didn't like is when you flip up the back seat you have zero bed space.
 
The Wife and I rode around in a Teryx 4 800 out here in Guam a few times. Its not that fast but it had lots of room for me, her, and two of my buddies (both six foot tall) that came out from Tennessee. The low end torque,lowrange, and the diff lock worked great. Its also not badly priced when compared to Polaris and Can Am.

Think it could have been even better without the sway bar and some tuning on the Fox shocks.
 
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