CanAm Commander question

[Flyjunky]

Hey everyone I have a question about the 2018 model year 4 door commander.

My dad is looking at buying one and we found a great deal on one that has been used very little….54 hours and 150 miles!

Anyway in doing research it seems the big negative is the heat coming in the cab from the exhaust placement. I’ve heard some say it’s literally so bad you can’t use the machine in the summer and others who say it’s not too bad.

Anyone have any experience or knowledge on this? How bad is it? Is there a work around? It seems they fixed the issue in ‘21 to current models.

 

[MuleyFever]

I have a 2018 two seater and the heat is an issue in the summer when temps are in the 90s. When we have used it for summer trips in the mountains and hunting where temps are in the 70s or 80s I have never thought it was too hot to deal with. Just dont put a drink in the center console unless you want it hot. For late season it is actually nice. I remember when I got mine looking into heat shield kits and there are options out there.

 

[Flyjunky]

I have a 2018 two seater and the heat is an issue in the summer when temps are in the 90s. When we have used it for summer trips in the mountains and hunting where temps are in the 70s or 80s I have never thought it was too hot to deal with. Just dont put a drink in the center console unless you want it hot. For late season it is actually nice. I remember when I got mine looking into heat shield kits and there are options out there.

Ok, thanks.

I just did some more research and found the heat shield kits and it also sounds like it’s an air flow/vacuum type issue with full windshields. People are either saying to fully enclose the cab or crack the windshield open.

Either way I think it can be worked around.

 

[wyosteve]

I had a '14 Commander and sold it because of the excessive heat and motor noise. Got a '21 that is 100% better. In the '21 you can actually talk to the passenger. The '14 was so loud I wore shooting muffs if going much above 10 mph. The earlier ones are good machines, just have the limitations mentioned.

 

[Flyjunky]

I had a '14 Commander and sold it because of the excessive heat and motor noise. Got a '21 that is 100% better. In the '21 you can actually talk to the passenger. The '14 was so loud I wore shooting muffs if going much above 10 mph. The earlier ones are good machines, just have the limitations mentioned.

I haven’t read anything on the noise issue. What model years is that an issue?

 

[EvanG17]

I had a ‘14 as well and got rid of it due to the heat. And I agree with the above. It was the loudest thing I’d driven

 

[coop2424]

I like the heat for early spring and fall when I use mine the most and when it does get hot I open front windshield to get some air in the cab. I do freaking hate the noise of it with having roof and front and rear windshields. I now throw ear buds in when riding for very long. I much prefer the motor in the rear utv’s but don’t want to deal with selling and buying something new. I have also thought about putting sound deadener on all the plastics to see if that would help out but no time yet to accomplish that.

 

[Luked]

We had a Kawasaki Teryx 4 seater and it is a similar build with a mid engine setup.
If its a Mid engine its going to have some heat and more noise since the engine is right between the driver and passenger.
There are some work arounds. We used some reflective insulation around the engine tunnel area of ours and it made a huge difference.
There are also people out there that have rigged up blowers similar to what some big boats use for venting gas fumes and it seemed to work well.

 

[Flyjunky]

Great info guys, thanks.

I’ve seen the insulation kits and the sound deadening panels as well.

 

[BluMtn]

We had a '12 commander and it had almost 9,000 miles on it when I sold it. In the years that we owned it I had wrapped the exhaust with wrap and there is (or was) a couple out of Cataldo Idaho that built a heat blanket that attached to the center cover. There were also some owners that installed blower fans in the front of the tunnel that blew cool air through the tunnel and out the back, they claimed it work to cool the cab temp.

 

[Luked]

We had a '12 commander and it had almost 9,000 miles on it when I sold it. In the years that we owned it I had wrapped the exhaust with wrap and there is (or was) a couple out of Cataldo Idaho that built a heat blanket that attached to the center cover. There were also some owners that installed blower fans in the front of the tunnel that blew cool air through the tunnel and out the back, they claimed it work to cool the cab temp.

Yep Header Wrap.
Had to do that on the Polaris 800 we had. The Exhaust would get so hot on the right side it would burn your leg.
Did a header wrap job and got rid of about 80% of the heat coming off the pipe.

 

[IDLassie]

We had a used one and the heat is unbearable in the summer. We had a reversed fan put on and it helped a lot.
It was underneath and in the rear of the machine.

 

[CCooper]

My $.02, I have a 17' commander 4-seat with the metal framed glass window. Heat in the cab gets pretty obnoxious in the summer months and it pulls a lot of dust into the cab. It doesn't really bother me as I don't use the machine in the summer. I have steel half-doors as the body panels are shaped quite irregular and no one made a full cab when I put the machine together in 17'. I lifted it 3 inches and put 30x10.5's on it all around on beadlocks. The machine has been bomb-proof and I have beat the shit out of it. 1 belt and oil changes are all I have ever had to do. If I did it again, I would buy a Defender with a cab, as with most things that are crossovers. It's okay for everything, but great at nothing. Another note- belt changes are a giant PITA on these machines compared to say a Razor.