Quandrary

[smokem]

Hey there...
        I find myself between a rock and a hard place.  For the past few weeks I've been searching/reading posts on various forums in preparation for my purchase of a new side by side.  Initially,  it was going to be an 07 Yamaha Rhino 660 in the explorer edition.  The other day, I received an e-mail suggesting to take a look at the Polaris Ranger.   I prefer bucket seats over a bench seat which draws me to the Rhino.   But the idea of rolling down a hill side doesn't appeal to me either.   What I'm wondering is if any of you (skydivers) oops...I mean Ranger riders have owned a Rhino prior to owning a Ranger.   Another factor that plays in is the weight factor.  From my understanding, the Ranger is almost twice as heavy which means I would have to get a winch that could pull an elephant out of a mudhole.  The frame of the Rhino doesn't appear to be as strong as the Ranger and from what info I have garnished from the forums, I will have to replace the shocks on the Rhino too.   
        This is my first side by side and ATV/UTV experience.  We moved here to Utah from Buffalo, NY.   My princess isn't too enthralled with my new hobby but to have hundreds of miles available for riding, it's nuts not to take advantage of it.   Another drawback is the fact that all my friends and family are back in the U.S.A. and there aren't any  side by side clubs here.   The local ATV club I did find stops every hour during their rides for a friggin prayer meeting.   My smoking and drinking habits would be a bit much for them.   I'm probably stretching my neck out, nut I'd like to find some old riders to hook up with and ride the trails.
       Pardon me for getting off track...I have another question.  What is considered to be a safe depth of water to ride your Rangers thru?   The top of your wheels?   And if I remove the windshield, am I going to have less dust/dirt inside?   Thanks guys.

Happy trails..............smokem

[BajaDrifter]

Good questions and good observations there....   Here is my two cents.  I am a 07 Ranger XP700 owner on the mature side (over 50).     My nephew has a Ranger and his good buddy has a rhino.  Both have their pluses and minuses.  I rode rode both before deciding on the Ranger and it was purely decided for a comfort reason.  I like the bench seat of the Ranger, the wide platform, and the somewhat smoother ride.  I am not the dune jumping, ridge hopping sort.  I like to explore the desert and mountain trails.  I also wanted a reliable machine.   This is where I made my mistake.   Apparently many newer Ranger owners, more so the 2007 owners, are experiencing problems with a defective front lower motor mount that comes apart causing the drive belt to shred.  Polaris apparently refuses to acknowledge the problem, leaving its customers to fend for themselves.  So I would seriously take into consideration factory customer service when you make your decision.  Otherwise, the Ranger is a great machine that serves my purpose well.  It is just not a reliable machine.  And that is not a very good thing!

[tlrmike]

Are you honestly going to say that the machine is unreliable because you have had one problem with it? And one that was covered under warranty no less?

I sell over 200 Polaris Rangers a year, and have only come across one broken front motor mount.

I also  sell Yamaha and Can-Am.  My personal machine is a 2005 Ranger 500 with a 1.5" lift kit and 27" Executioner tires.  I'm still on the origional drivetrain components and factory installed belt with 300 rough hours on it.

Reliability is not an issue!

[smokem]

Thanks for your input guys!
          Recently...I watched a video of a Rhino doing what I thought would be an easy hill climb.  NOPE!  It tipped over on it's side.  That eliminated any thoughts of purchasing one.  Instead...I have put money down on "first dibs" for the new Ranger RAZR with the hope that it's low C.O.G. will be more stable.  I really like the fact that Polaris Ranger's use EFI which in my case (not mechanically inclined) should be easier for the various type of riding conditions.  If the Ranger came with bucket seats and was a bit smaller, perhaps I would have opted for that instead.    I love the looks of the RAZR!  May have to have a custom trailer built for it if any hauling needs to be done, tho.  Thank you again.

happy trails.....Bud