considering selling my buggy for RZR - advice from those who have done it?

knaffie · Apr 19, 2015

I bought my buggy 3 years ago because I wanted something that does well going fast and crawling. It finished KOH in 2011 (before I owned it), so it's not a turd, but it's absolutely not an Ultra4 racecar by today's standards by any means. I don't race it, but I do enjoy being able to go anywhere I want in it, usually as fast as I want to go. I do everything from the hardest rock trails around to the biggest dunes around, and enjoy the occasional 100 MPH sprint. It's been a blast, but I'm finding myself looking for something else new and fun.

I don't have $100+K to build a new buggy that would take it to the next level. I'm thinking a new RZR 1K plus about $10K in add-ons will get me 90% of the places my buggy would go (all but the hardest rock trails) and a whole lot more trials my buggy couldn't go before for about 1/3 the money. If I wanted to do a race or two for fun, I could probably be fairly competitive with a machine or that caliber (???).

Who has made the switch and loved or hated it? I'm sure I'm not the first person to be considering this change.

I figure I would need:
real cage and bumpers
wheel / tires
better seats
better belts
better lights
turbo or something to make better power
better axles
shock tuning
else????

Could also sell my gas-guzzling expensive diesel truck and huge trailer in favor of a 1/2 ton truck and smaller trailer.

pholmann · Apr 19, 2015

Is this about downsizing or a buggy vs rzr? No way in hell I'd sell my crawler(s) for a rzr. I have both and can tell you in my personal preference that if something had to go, buh bye rzr. Just my personal opinion and we all know about opinions.

Are you saying that your buggy cannot fulfill your needs offroad and a rzr could? Could we see what your buggy is?

knaffie · Apr 19, 2015

pholmann said:
Is this about downsizing or a buggy vs rzr? No way in hell I'd sell my crawler(s) for a rzr. I have both and can tell you in my personal preference that if something had to go, buh bye rzr. Just my personal opinion and we all know about opinions.

Are you saying that your buggy cannot fulfill your needs offroad and a rzr could? Could we see what your buggy is?

Hard to explain. I really don't know to tell you the truth. I'm just feeling like I just want something different. My seat time in a RZR is limited (and only in a 900), so I it's hard to judge between the two.

lowbudgetjunk · Apr 19, 2015

I have a friend with a buggy and a RZR. They fill different voids. You can't build a RZR to have power and be indestructible; I dont care how much money you throw at it. And a RZR with 10k in add ons won't be competitive, it will just be like the rest of them. Fast, good in the woods, hill shooting to an extent, but there will always be that 10% of the trails you just won't be able to get on.

lowbudgetjunk · Apr 19, 2015

With those ^^^^ pictures keep the buggy! You will be disappointed long term in a RZR after riding that terrain.

knaffie · Apr 19, 2015

lowbudgetjunk said:
I have a friend with a buggy and a RZR. They fill different voids. You can't build a RZR to have power and be indestructible; I dont care how much money you throw at it. And a RZR with 10k in add ons won't be competitive, it will just be like the rest of them. Fast, good in the woods, hill shooting to an extent, but there will always be that 10% of the trails you just won't be able to get on.

What are the major weak links? I know the shafts, which is fine, I'll buy some RCVs or whatever.

creepycrawly · Apr 19, 2015

While I certainly didn't have a rig that was on par with yours, I went from a stretched TJ on 42's to a RZR. I bought the RZR then sold the jeep before I rode the rzr. I immediately realized they fit 2 different needs and accommodate 2 different riding styles. It sounds like you have the go fast covered with your current rig but you also have the ability to crawl. While you can certainly build a rzr to crawl, they don't crawl and go fast well on the same setup in my opinion.

I also sold my diesel and 18' enclosed when I sold the jeep. That was a big reason I wanted to downsize. I bought a new Tacoma and a 10' open trailer to pull the rzr and they work fine so you are correct in that regard.

What I found was that while the rzr is a blast to ride, it is not a replacement for a crawler so I bought a streetable TJ. I would say you will probably regret going from the buggy to the RZR, based on my experience plus what you put here. My advice would be to do one of 3 things.

1. Borrow or rent a rzr for 2 separate weekends of riding. I say 2 because they are fun for a while and the second weekend will have a little less novelty to it.
2. Buy a RZR BEFORE you start selling stuff. Ride it stock for a little while. If you don't like it, sell it and you'll take less of a loss than selling your buggy and tow setup and then trying to get into another one.
3. Find a nice used RZR and keep both. In my opinion, the turbo setup stupid HP RZRs break parts faster. There isn't the plethora of aftermarket support for them like there is for buggies. Axles can be had but it moves the weak link to the diff or trans. Not a ton of support there that I am aware of.

Just my .02. Hope it helps.

knaffie · Apr 19, 2015

^^^^ Granted we only did the easy rock trails, but he kept up just fine. I realize a rzr is not a crawler. On the twisty roads, I couldn't lose him, and I mean foot on the floor drifting every corner. I was impressed with how well it worked.

knaffie · Apr 19, 2015

creepycrawly said:
While I certainly didn't have a rig that was on par with yours, I went from a stretched TJ on 42's to a RZR. I bought the RZR then sold the jeep before I rode the rzr. I immediately realized they fit 2 different needs and accommodate 2 different riding styles. It sounds like you have the go fast covered with your current rig but you also have the ability to crawl. While you can certainly build a rzr to crawl, they don't crawl and go fast well on the same setup in my opinion.

I also sold my diesel and 18' enclosed when I sold the jeep. That was a big reason I wanted to downsize. I bought a new Tacoma and a 10' open trailer to pull the rzr and they work fine so you are correct in that regard.

What I found was that while the rzr is a blast to ride, it is not a replacement for a crawler so I bought a streetable TJ. I would say you will probably regret going from the buggy to the RZR, based on my experience plus what you put here. My advice would be to do one of 3 things.

1. Borrow or rent a rzr for 2 separate weekends of riding. I say 2 because they are fun for a while and the second weekend will have a little less novelty to it.
2. Buy a RZR BEFORE you start selling stuff. Ride it stock for a little while. If you don't like it, sell it and you'll take less of a loss than selling your buggy and tow setup and then trying to get into another one.
3. Find a nice used RZR and keep both. In my opinion, the turbo setup stupid HP RZRs break parts faster. There isn't the plethora of aftermarket support for them like there is for buggies. Axles can be had but it moves the weak link to the diff or trans. Not a ton of support there that I am aware of.

Just my .02. Hope it helps.

It does help, thanks. I know nothing is unbreakable. That's why half the field of Ultra4 cars don't finish most races, and they have a lot more invested than I do. I know stock = dependable, but I don't know if that will satisfy my need for speed. That being said, most of the 1Ks don't seem to be lacking in power in the videos I see.

creepycrawly · Apr 19, 2015

knaffie said:
It does help, thanks. I know nothing is unbreakable. That's why half the field of Ultra4 cars don't finish most races, and they have a lot more invested than I do. I know stock = dependable, but I don't know if that will satisfy my need for speed. That being said, most of the 1Ks don't seem to be lacking in power in the videos I see.

Man, I missed those pics while I was typing. DONT DO IT! I guarantee a RZR won't make you happy for long.

You are correct, the 1k's have plenty of juice from the factory. I don't know where you are wheeling mostly. I could see a turbo setup for the dunes, but I don't think they are worth it if you are bouncing. If your intent is to do the race courses, sure the turbo will be fun. But spend a little time in a 1k and you'll see that they have more juice than you can squeeze in most places.

Do yourself a favor. Borrow one, rent one, buy one...spend some time in it before you part with your buggy.

knaffie · Apr 19, 2015

creepycrawly said:
Man, I missed those pics while I was typing. DONT DO IT! I guarantee a RZR won't make you happy for long.

You are correct, the 1k's have plenty of juice from the factory. I don't know where you are wheeling mostly. I could see a turbo setup for the dunes, but I don't think they are worth it if you are bouncing. If your intent is to do the race courses, sure the turbo will be fun. But spend a little time in a 1k and you'll see that they have more juice than you can squeeze in most places.

Do yourself a favor. Borrow one, rent one, buy one...spend some time in it before you part with your buggy.

Yeah, sounds like I need to spend some time in one for sure. I'm in Louisville now, so maybe I'll go to one of those big bouncer events and see if I can talk some guys into a good ride.

I ride everywhere, coast to coast, literally. My buggy has plenty of power on the trails (stock LS1) but in the sand, it could use some more, even with the 35" tires. It only goes 30 MPH in low, so I have to use high. It either needs a 1.5 or 2.0 case or more power for the sand. But more power = **** breaks that much easier and I don't wan to go there.

I suspect the RZR 1K would be similar power feeling on trails versus sand. You can always use more power in the sand.

Mortalis5509 · Apr 19, 2015

Re:

If you keep the buggy look at the new hero cases for a greater range of gear options to help in the sand. Never ridden an rzr so have no input.

lowbudgetjunk · Apr 19, 2015

knaffie said:
^^^^ Granted we only did the easy rock trails, but he kept up just fine. I realize a rzr is not a crawler. On the twisty roads, I couldn't lose him, and I mean foot on the floor drifting every corner. I was impressed with how well it worked.

Give it two weekends worth of riding and you would lose him. Replacing bearings, bushings, brakes, etc. RZRs are very high maintenance even if you log easy miles. You will wrench on a RZR a lot more often than you will on your buggy.

Neal3000 · Apr 19, 2015

For around 35k or so you can build a VERY competitive RzR 1000 that you could run KOH, baja, BITD etc., it sounds like you really love hauling ass and imo nothing anywhere near the money that a rzr costs can beat it for cloud o' titties high speed fun or racing.

Rootar · Apr 19, 2015

I like mine a lot but I want a rig to go along with it.

If or when you make it to Arkansas let me know I'll swap seats with you on some trails. Mine can hang in the big rock trails better than most.

knaffie · Apr 20, 2015

Mortalis5509 said:
If you keep the buggy look at the new hero cases for a greater range of gear options to help in the sand. Never ridden an rzr so have no input.

No room for a 3 speed or I would have already done it. 1.5 or 2.0 would be good in the sane, but too high for crawling. And I'm sure not swapping tcases for sand and trails.

lowbudgetjunk said:
Give it two weekends worth of riding and you would lose him. Replacing bearings, bushings, brakes, etc. RZRs are very high maintenance even if you log easy miles. You will wrench on a RZR a lot more often than you will on your buggy.

That's great input. I talked to one guy that has a RZR 900 that has 6000 miles on it and has done zero maintenance besides oil changes. He also does fairly easy trail riding too. I didn't realize they were that high of maintenance. Part of why I'm considering this is my buggy does require more maintenance than I would really like to do, especially in a rented 1 car garage with no power.

Rootar said:
I like mine a lot but I want a rig to go along with it.

If or when you make it to Arkansas let me know I'll swap seats with you on some trails. Mine can hang in the big rock trails better than most.

That thing is pretty cool!

Neal3000 · Apr 20, 2015

lowbudgetjunk said:
Give it two weekends worth of riding and you would lose him. Replacing bearings, bushings, brakes, etc. RZRs are very high maintenance even if you log easy miles. You will wrench on a RZR a lot more often than you will on your buggy.

I totally disagree with this