Polaris UTV reliability...

My dad got himself involved with a small UTV riding group. It started out about 4-5 years ago with a few of each kind. All but one now drive Rangers. Take that for what it is worth, but every one of them decided the Ranger was the best machine. Note that is a bunch of older fellers riding trails. Dad has had a few Rangers since 08. He has loved every one of them and we put in food plots, hunt, go out west hunting, etc. It is used pretty hard and I dont recall a single problem. I have a 2020 570 Full Size and love it. I dont ride trails, it is food plots and work around home use mainly. It is pretty excited to go on its first elk hunt with me in a few weeks.
 
I have 2 Polaris 900 crews, 8000 miles and 17000 miles respectively. I just replaced belts for the first time a few months ago, so no complaints there. I have had to replace u-joints several times, rack and pinions 2 to 3 times on each, a speed sensor, negative ground cable, a starter, and a fuel pump. Bullet proof? No. Expected maintenance with that many miles? I would say yes, UTV’s aren’t designed with that lifespan in mind. I have been very happy with them, only the u-joints and rack and pinions disappoint me.
 
I was just telling someone the other day, that where I elk hunt, 4 out of 5 UTV’s are Polaris Rangers. Never had a problem with my 2003 Polaris ATV, and if I get a UTV, it will be a Polaris, like my hunting buddies have.
 
Never owned a Polaris but my Yamaha Wolverine has been excellent. Polaris is far more popular. I would bet they are pretty reliable if you use some common sense when riding. Do you really need to go thru water / mud that comes in the doors, see how much air you can get, etc.
 
I must be lucky.

2015 RZR 900 trail has been super reliable. I keep the zerks greased.

Had a recall early to install different heat shielding. No issues.
 
I got myself a ranger crew this year for my hunting. I’ve put 300-400 or so miles on it this year and so far its great, as I would expect any new machine. For me, for hunting purposes, it boiled down to a 1000 crew with a bed in it. So my choices were CanAm or Polaris. I don’t know anyone with CanAms just Rangers of various configurations so that did influence my decision a bit. But after a year or so of doing research I went with the Ranger as for the same options (cab, heater, tires... yeah its a diva rig, I’ll stay warm and dry for a long time in it) I got it for about $3k less. Now thats in Alaska so your prices might be a lot closer or even farther apart. I don’t think you could go wrong with either option as they are meant to be used in the same environments. I’m just lucky that my Step dad bought a ranger crew last year and took it hunting so I saw exactly how the machine I wanted performed in the area I want to run it in.
 
I just bought a Ranger 1000 in May. I love that thing. It is a beast and been nothing but a great machine. I only have 65ish miles on it and about 18.5 hours, so limited experience. I test drove every brand out there. Honda's only plus over the ranger is no belt, canam has no plus sides in my opinion, Mule FXR was a nice little machine with a massive box. They were all louder than the Ranger, not were as comfortable as the premium version of the ranger. They will all work great i think, but i went with the ranger for the quietness, features, and comfortability. I have followed the break in period that polaris has set to a T, i think thats where a lot of people run into issues.
 
cobbc03 said:
I just bought a Ranger 1000 in May. I love that thing. It is a beast and been nothing but a great machine. I only have 65ish miles on it and about 18.5 hours, so limited experience. I test drove every brand out there. Honda's only plus over the ranger is no belt, canam has no plus sides in my opinion, Mule FXR was a nice little machine with a massive box. They were all louder than the Ranger, not were as comfortable as the premium version of the ranger. They will all work great i think, but i went with the ranger for the quietness, features, and comfortability. I have followed the break in period that polaris has set to a T, i think thats where a lot of people run into issues.
Click to expand...

I gotta ask. How do you only have 65 miles in 18.5 hours???? That comes out to you driving on average a little over 3 mph! Are you really driving that slow? Or is it just idling in the garage? I’m just curious how that’s possible.

Just this past Saturday, I put 45 miles in a little over 2 hours.
 
it had 6 hours on it when i got it, and only about 10 miles. I dont trail ride, its a hunting and work machine. Most of the time im keeping it 10 or under. When i used it for foodplots, I was staying under 5mph and several hours of work. When i check my trail cam cards its not uncommon for me to let it idle for the 30 seconds it takes.
 
cobbc03 said:
it had 6 hours on it when i got it, and only about 10 miles. I dont trail ride, its a hunting and work machine. Most of the time im keeping it 10 or under. When i used it for foodplots, I was staying under 5mph and several hours of work. When i check my trail cam cards its not uncommon for me to let it idle for the 30 seconds it takes.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. That is some slow driving....lol. No worries, I was just curious. With that said, you have a powerful machine......take it out on a trail someday and enjoy it’s full potential. It was made for some fun times too! 😎

My CanAm Defender is a hunting rig also. It’s a beast! But I do enjoy trail riding when I’m not hunting.
 
Polaris is the king of UTV’s for a reason. Especially the new ones. The engineering and improvements they make to even the simplest things are unbelievable. From where they pull air, storage designs, serviceability and the ride can not be beat.

Polaris is also the best when it comes to options. From the most basic, simple features to full cabs with navigation and AC. They got it covered.

Not to mention, Polaris is about as American as apple pie. I’d rather give my hard earned money to a company with roots in America, it means a lot to me, but I’m old school.
 
AZ8 said:
Gotcha. That is some slow driving....lol. No worries, I was just curious. With that said, you have a powerful machine......take it out on a trail someday and enjoy it’s full potential. It was made for some fun times too!

My CanAm Defender is a hunting rig also. It’s a beast! But I do enjoy trail riding when I’m not hunting.
Click to expand...

Absolutely will, just not enough time to do it this year, or at least not until October. Spent all that money, gotta make sure I get my money’s worth out of it.


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Sand Lake on the North Oregon Coast is a recreational area for riding. It's riddled with belts off of Polaris machines. :)
 
My personal experience with the Ranger has been great. The COE let the river out a few years ago and flooded our property and barns with about 4' of water. Once we could get back out there we hung our ranger upside down with a backhoe for about a day to drain, put it down and it fired right up. It shot water out of the exhaust about 15' but those things are bullet proof.
 
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