Those that switched to Side by Sides?

DSM Turbos

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Joined
Feb 25, 2006
Location
Raleigh, NC
Anybody here switched from full rigs to Side by Sides and regretted it?

I keep being torn between going to a truggy/buggy or getting Side by Side once my TJ sells. It would free up a bunch of space in my garage which would be nice, and could also be used to ride around the track when we have the motorcycles there.
 
A side by side is either the same size as your TJ, or slightly bigger.
 
Sold the buggy bought a side by side.
Sold the side by side..now what...

my take.
Wanted a way for the family to ride, so bought a 4seat rzr.
We took it out 3 times total. It was not a bad experience. It was...different.

In my opinion, a side by side sucks at doing buggy things. Crawling and difficult trails tear up more shit than in a full size rig. smaller parts are still just as expensive and frankly I nor the family felt as safe in the UTv as they did a full size rig.
The side by side excelled at high speed dirt roads, whoops, jumps etc and in those it was better than my buggy; but I didnt have a high speed suspension. If I did I might have a different perspective there.

For just trail riding the side by side was stuck in the middle. it was fun enough and we logged over 100 miles in 3 days at windrock. How much fun depends on who you asked. My son thought it wasnt exciting enough(compared to full size) , my wife thought it wasnt comfortable enough (compared to full size) my daughter thought it was perfect....and I was just happy to have the family together on the trail. But the long wheel base of the 4 seater was a high center nightmare. Surprisingly we ended up with more family get out standing and watching through a section in the UTV than the buggy. That might would have changed as they got more seat time in it.

Ultimately a friend wanted my rzr more than I and I sold it after only 3 months.

I'll sumarize my thoughts this way. A UTV is fun it isnt a replacement for a trail rig to me.
 
A side by side is either the same size as your TJ, or slightly bigger.

The biggest I would consider would be something like an RZR 1000 - Which is 119" x 64" vs a TJ 155.4 x 66.7. So it might not save much width, but it would save a decent amount on length.

And the Jeep/whatever is roadable, for a 3rd DD when needed, etc.

I already have 2 other vehicles and a bunch of motorcycles. I haven't driven the Jeep more than 2000 miles in the past 2 years. Whatever I get will not be road worthy.

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The idea of something different that can bomb around off road sounds like a fun change for a bit. That is something I love about my dirt bikes. No kids to tote around either. Not really looking to replace a trail rig per say, but maybe just try something different. Pretty much I just need to buy one + a buggy to have the best of both worlds.
 
As someone that has sold out of the rig thing for the time being, I have toyed with the SXS idea since Alex and I still want to get outside and whatnot together. We do the kayak and fishing stuff, but we still like getting out in the woods. But for all of the places I can go with a SXS, I'll take my dirtbike and her dad has a Rhino 660 on their farm that we will use that from time to time. I'll grab it when we go to places like Harlan or my buddy's hunt camp and Alex can drive that while I'm on the bike, plus we can run back to camp easier in that if someone kersplodes and needs parts. Its not the fastest thing ever and isn't nearly as comfortable as a new RZR, but its paid for.

Look at it one of two ways. Do you enjoy riding the harder trails...forget about a SXS. They just won't hold up. Although watching a 1000 spank Lower Damnation at 10pm is pretty sweet. It just blew an axle trying to repeat it 10 min later. OR...Do you want to go out and rip through the woods and ride an easy 100 miles of trail over a weekend...yeah you'll probably be alright in one.

If you do the SXS thing, just plan on another $1500 right away to put a real cage on one. The factory ones tweak after a simple flop. At least they all seem to be holding their value with a nice fanboy tax if you decide its not what you want and sell it.

Just the way I look at it, for SXS money, I can buy someone's money pit that has 40's and coilovers that I can trail ride comfortably or hit the hard stuff.
 
I was advised to skip a SXS, it won't do what I'd be trying to make it do without flying apart every ride. If you like cruising scenic trails (fast) without a lot of "beating" on obstacles the SXS is the way to go.
 
I think SXS have their place but in addition to it you need a trailer and a way to pull it. For the price of one done right to withstand the abuse a licensed vehicle could be had very nice. I have a buddy with some and he swears by them - swears how fun they are but also swears at having to keep up the trailer and park it somewhere when not in use.

I have ridden in them and they sure are fun but personally I cant get over that much $$ for something not street legal.
 
Just the way I look at it, for SXS money, I can buy someone's money pit that has 40's and coilovers that I can trail ride comfortably or hit the hard stuff.

Yep... thats my debate....

I'll probably wind up with a yota on tons. Just throwing out ideas.

I think SXS have their place but in addition to it you need a trailer and a way to pull it. For the price of one done right to withstand the abuse a licensed vehicle could be had very nice. I have a buddy with some and he swears by them - swears how fun they are but also swears at having to keep up the trailer and park it somewhere when not in use.

I have ridden in them and they sure are fun but personally I cant get over that much $$ for something not street legal.

Luckily I have a truck and trailer for whatever I get next.



All good points so far. Thanks guys.
 
The answer is you need both i will be getting a rzr before long and a longer trailer so i can take both and scout with the rzr and ride some at night and go back and hit real trails with a buggy

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A big part of the reason I bought the commander was due to the fact I'm 3 hours away from the closest place to wheel a jeep. So far no regrets. There's around 5 different atv parks that I can ride within a hour and a half of home. I might not be doing much crawling right now but I'm still getting outside with some friends on the weekend. I still have plans in the future for my 5 and 7 but I'll get around to them at some point.
Only advice I have for somebody getting a new side by side is to get exactly what you want. A lot of people cheap out try to save a couple of grand, buy some offbrand utv and then your stuck with the thing.
 
I would like to have one, but can't justify buying one for the few times a year I would get out with it. I thought about buying one as a replacement to my Samurai, but I think I would miss the crawling type wheeling so I am trying to build my Samurai into a small buggy/big SxS that can go sort of fast, but still crawl.
 
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