Wednesday, August 30, 2006

A Little about Polaris Ranger being used here.


This past November I purchased a Polaris Ranger to use during the winter to get in and out of Trinity instead of a snowmobile for medical reasons, I had planned to purchase tracks from Litefoot Mattracks but when I went to get the Ranger the dealer had some tracks made by Polaris and was told that they would perform as well as the litefoot tracks, so I gave them a try on the Ranger while a friend put the litefoot tracks on his ATV so we got to use both of them. On the groomed trails the tracks performed ok, but less than 48 hours after they were installed the right rear track assembly fell off after less than 45 miles that is one trip in and not all the way back out I ended up having to walk out 6 miles, not a great way to start out. Over the winter I was able to go in and out of Trinity fairly easy with the Ranger with tracks but the lugs aren't designed to help much with the kind of powder that we get here, at times there is just no bottom to the snow and with the large surface area on the bottom of the Ranger it is easy to high center the Ranger then the tracks just spin. The Ranger low gear is extremely low and when using the tracks only goes about 5-7 mph which makes for a very long trip out especially when it is 23 miles to the garage where the trucks are parked. Personally I would like to see a higher low range and more top end than what the Ranger comes with and the 2007 Ranger does that gaining 10 mph on the top end. After less than 6 months use of the tracks from Polaris while on a trip out in May the front left track totally demolished itself in the middle of the only steel part on the tracks the hub, it cracked and then broke and again I had to walk out which for someone with healthy knees but I wore braces on both knees just to walk after being run over in Seattle in 2003, and have difficulty walking at all much less in deep snow. Needless to say that those instances and several others completely turned me off to the Polaris tracks but I gave the dealer and Polaris the opportunity to make it right but they weren't willing to stand behind them or take responsibility for their poor quality. I like the Ranger it is a great way to be able to get in and out of here in the winter and it makes it much easier to being in supplies instead of like the year before when everything that came in did so in a backpack on a snowmobile, not so easy a task. I would not recommend the Polaris tracks to anyone interested in them especially if you plan to use them alot during the winter as they won't hold up according to what I experienced this year. I put over 350 hours on my Ranger in the 5 months we had snow which means the tracks had 350 hours when it demlished while going out which caused me to be stranded for almost 35 days not able to go out because I had to put the wheels on to get home, not an easy task since the snowpark was still open and only tracked vehicles were permitted, we live and learn. I returned the trackes to the dealer and was informed that the tracks were mine and not Polaris' problem. Not good customer service from the dealer or Polaris. I have ordered new tracks from Litefoot for this coming year the new improved M3's they are 2" wider and 6" longer than last years modle and they also have a 1-3/4" lugs which should move the Ranger through the snow and powder much better and without the problems incurred while using the Polaris tracks. The Mattracks litefoot tracks that my friend had on his ATV held up all winter without any mechanical problems other than snapping CV joints. We'll just have to see what happens this year. Right now I wouldn't recommend the Polaris tracks until they have corrected the problems they have and willing to stand behind their product.

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