UTV accessories

[John_Mc]

I have not done much yet to my Honda Pioneer 520 that I bought used a couple of years ago.

• Previous owner put 27x9 tires on it with 1" or 1.5" spacers. Gives a bit of extra ground clearance, which is nice when working in the woods.
• Winch (installed by previous owner)
• I added a 66" KFI poly snowplow. Needed a leveling kit on the plow to adjust for the larger tires. I added a roller and strap to double the line from the winch - basically to slow down the winch action when rising and lower the plow.
• Diamond pattern square link chains on rear tires - needed more traction when plowing snow on our icy hill. Square link is more aggressive than round link chains, but not as likely to damage the small paved section of the driveway up near the house as V-bar or studded chains can do.
• Added a 2" receiver hitch from Moose Offroad. The stock 1-1/4" hitch was way too low: I would bottom out when crossing rough terrain with anything in the receiver. Plus, all of my existing receiver inserts (I've got a bunch) are 2", so anything I have will now fit the UTV.
• installed an SAE 2 pin socket in the dash: provides 12 V power for accessories, plus a place to easily plug in my battery maintainer when the UTV is not in use.
• A couple of 70# bags of sand for the back for better traction when plowing.

I do need to come up with a couple of good chainsaw holders one of these days, to free up some space in the bed.

 

[Aquabird]

Only thing I've added to my Can-am Defender is a power lead from the battery to the back of the cab. Allows me to plug in my 12 volt sprayer quickly and easily.

I did the same for a sprayer on my wifes Polaris.

 

[walhondingMF]

I have not done much yet to my Honda Pioneer 520 that I bought used a couple of years ago.

• Previous owner put 27x9 tires on it with 1" or 1.5" spacers. Gives a bit of extra ground clearance, which is nice when working in the woods.
• Winch (installed by previous owner)
• I added a 66" KFI poly snowplow. Needed a leveling kit on the plow to adjust for the larger tires. I added a roller and strap to double the line from the winch - basically to slow down the winch action when rising and lower the plow.
• Diamond pattern square link chains on rear tires - needed more traction when plowing snow on our icy hill. Square link is more aggressive than round link chains, but not as likely to damage the small paved section of the driveway up near the house as V-bar or studded chains can do.
• Added a 2" receiver hitch from Moose Offroad. The stock 1-1/4" hitch was way too low: I would bottom out when crossing rough terrain with anything in the receiver. Plus, all of my existing receiver inserts (I've got a bunch) are 2", so anything I have will now fit the UTV.
• installed an SAE 2 pin socket in the dash: provides 12 V power for accessories, plus a place to easily plug in my battery maintainer when the UTV is not in use.
• A couple of 70# bags of sand for the back for better traction when plowing.

I do need to come up with a couple of good chainsaw holders one of these days, to free up some space in the bed.

View attachment 4418023

Do you think this machine has plenty of power? I know it all really depends on what you expect of them put is the 520 enough for most jobs you ask? I've changing tires size can have a bit of impact on power but so you think it is noticable?

 

[HippieFarmer]

For "work" activities I never seem to have enough space for all the tools that I "might" need. Tractor Supply has a double wall roto-molded tool box/cooler with several mounting options. For my Polaris it comes with two large dowels that attach under the lip/flange of the tool box and slip down in the holes that are in the perimeter of my bed.

At first I was disappointed because I didn't consider it a net gain from the area that it robbed from my bed. Then I noticed some rubber spacers that came with it to attach to some other brand, so I attached them to the back of the box and then pulled the box out and turned it around and reinstalled it with the box hanging on the outside of the bed and reclaimed all my space inside. Of course I had to go buy a second one for the other side so it wouldn't look lopsided. Now I've got plenty of storage space.

Just don't forget they're back there when you're cutting corners or trying to squeeze between two trees.

 

[John_Mc]

Do you think this machine has plenty of power? I know it all really depends on what you expect of them put is the 520 enough for most jobs you ask? I've changing tires size can have a bit of impact on power but so you think it is noticable?

I was intentionally looking for a smaller, lighter SxS when I was shopping. I have a tractor for the heavier jobs. I wanted the SxS for when the conditions are a bit too wet/soft to take the tractor out without damaging the trails, or for when I just want to zip out and take care of smaller jobs (or fell trees . I have a polar trailer I used regularly with the Pioneer 520 that is a good match. If I need to haul more than that, I get out the tractor with 3 pt hitch logging winch or haul my dump trailer or log forwarding trailer.

The Pioneer 520 has been a great match for my needs. It's rated to tow 1000#. I still do that (including on my rolling hills) even with the 27" tires. Stock tires were 24", so my 27" tires would increase the top end speed by 12.5%, but decrease torque by the same amount. I've never driven it with 24" tires, so don;t have much to compare it with. I suspect it doesn't make much difference for my uses: if the load is too much, a lower gear takes care of it.

Having said that, If I were buying new, I'd just run the 24" tires for a bit and see how I liked it. I suspect I would miss the greater ground clearance. The stock set up for my 2022 P520 is 8.5". If I were setting it up myself, I'd probably have gone with 26" tires, but I've had no problems with the 27". There is no rubbing in the turns (though some of that is helped by the spacers the previous owner installed).

If I did not have the tractor and were trying to "do it all" with the SxS, I'd probably have gone with a larger unit rated to tow more.

 

[walhondingMF]

I was intentionally looking for a smaller, lighter SxS when I was shopping. I have a tractor for the heavier jobs. I wanted the SxS for when the conditions are a bit too wet/soft to take the tractor out without damaging the trails, or for when I just want to zip out and take care of smaller jobs (or fell trees . I have a polar trailer I used regularly with the Pioneer 520 that is a good match. If I need to haul more than that, I get out the tractor with 3 pt hitch logging winch or haul my dump trailer or log forwarding trailer.

The Pioneer 520 has been a great match for my needs. It's rated to tow 1000#. I still do that (including on my rolling hills) even with the 27" tires. Stock tires were 24", so my 27" tires would increase the top end speed by 12.5%, but decrease torque by the same amount. I've never driven it with 24" tires, so don;t have much to compare it with. I suspect it doesn't make much difference for my uses: if the load is too much, a lower gear takes care of it.

Having said that, If I were buying new, I'd just run the 24" tires for a bit and see how I liked it. I suspect I would miss the greater ground clearance. The stock set up for my 2022 P520 is 8.5". If I were setting it up myself, I'd probably have gone with 26" tires, but I've had no problems with the 27". There is no rubbing in the turns (though some of that is helped by the spacers the previous owner installed).

If I did not have the tractor and were trying to "do it all" with the SxS, I'd probably have gone with a larger unit rated to tow more.

Great feedback.
Do you transport it anywhere? If so, on a trailer or can this machine fit in a long-enough truck bed?

 

[John_Mc]

Great feedback.
Do you transport it anywhere? If so, on a trailer or can this machine fit in a long-enough truck bed?

I've never tried to get it into a truck bed. The overall width before the spacers were added is 50". In theory, the width would fit in a Ford F150 (which has a bed width of 50.6") but it would be a snug fit. Length might be a problem, since the overall length of the Pioneer 520 is 105" (8' 9").

I haul it in my utility trailer with a 5'x10' bed easily.

 

[paulsharvey]

Great feedback.
Do you transport it anywhere? If so, on a trailer or can this machine fit in a long-enough truck bed?

So, when we where shopping for a SxS, at the time I only had a 5x10 trailer. According to spec, I though the Pioneer 700 would fit, but it was about 2" too wide with the rear tires. (factory tires). So, we ended up getting a much needed 6'4"×16 trailer anyways.

You do need to watch mission creep, the Viking, 6 seat, starts getting into small Suzuki or Jeep territory, and starts being an issue on trails too.

 

[DGZRT]

Terick Solutions out of Wisconsin has some great products .
Tericksolutions.com

 

[paulsharvey]

I would say, you won't ever be disappointed in having a 6'4x16 or 7x18 trailer around, so thats $3500 added to the price of the SxS, that you won't regret