Electric Polaris Ranger

[PRCWI]

Xfaxman What kind of winter temps are you operating in? Do you store in a heated area in winter? Just curious how these work in colder climates.

 

[Xfaxman]

Xfaxman What kind of winter temps are you operating in? Do you store in a heated area in winter? Just curious how these work in colder climates.

Very mild winters here: Climate Oklahoma City - Oklahoma and Weather averages Oklahoma City

Sets on the horse barn porch or in the unheated garage, doesn't stay cold enough, long enough to affect the batteries.

Here is a rare 3 inch snowfall from last February.

 

[sawtooth]

I love our EV's. Only thing is the rear suspension seems to be very squeaky once it gets muddy a few times. We really try to lubricate all the moving areas in the suspension but almost sounds like its coming from inside the shocks. Just never are able to get rid of the sound. Since we use them for hunting sure would be nice to fix this issue. As for winter if you keep the batteries charged you shouldn't have a issue. Reason I say this is that batteries freeze at certain temps but the more charge they have at any given point in time raises the freeze point. I've seen temps down to -8F in Ohio and cart does fine. Range is reduced a little but just keep it charged and your fine.

 

[PRCWI]

Thanks, we live in central Wisconsin, not unusual for us to have temps reach -15 or lower in winter. Last couple of years we even had nights quite a bit colder than that. We've got a land pride treker that is gas but we keep having issues with gas getting into the oil. Thought it was fixed after we put a new carb on last year but it sat for a couple months this summer waiting for parts to repair the drive train. Now after its fixed the gas in the oil issue has reappeared. I going to have the carb cleaned again but no idea if that will fix it. It's a great vehicle when it runs right.

I wonder how hard it would be to convert it to electric. Right now it's a 20hp Honda v-twin gas.

 

[Xfaxman]

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I wonder how hard it would be to convert it to electric. Right now it's a 20hp Honda v-twin gas.

It would be real easy, Take it to a Polaris dealer and trade it in on a EV. :thumbsup:

I traded our Bobcat 2200 diesel in on the EV that we have now.

 

[PRCWI]

It would be real easy, Take it to a Polaris dealer and trade it in on a EV. :thumbsup:

I traded our Bobcat 2200 diesel in on the EV that we have now.

LOL, ah but then I would lose my nice big 48"x52" bed in the back for hauling/feeding hay bales and other such things. I'd get a 32"x42" bed instead. 16" shorter and 10" narrower.

Right now we use the UTV daily for feeding horses on our track system. (Basically a 1600' long 15'-30' wide track around our pastures that we feed flakes every so far. The horses walk a lot more and it keeps them in much better condition and keeps their hooves in better shape. We load 3-4 bales in the back and there is still room for a person to ride too to throw flakes. I lose much bed space and it will not work nearly as well.

Toughest criteria for me when searching for our replacement UTV is finding ones with larger beds that are more designed for work than play. Gravely Atlas is the best all around one I've found so far but there is squat on the used market and I can't quite choke down the $12-13k starting price right now. If I can't get the motor figured out I'll likely just trade it in on one of those. If the intimidator Truck's had a dump bed instead of a fixed bed they would be my choice hands down.

 

[Xfaxman]

You could pull a trailer (or two). I think the EV will out pull any other UTV, due to it's power and weight.

:thumbsup:
For those that didn't see the drawbar pull test, click this: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/...c-polaris-ranger-post3544626.html#post3544626

 

[PRCWI]

True I could but I'd rather not have to, especially during the winter, we get lots of snow and cold here. I also wouldn't want to overwork the drive train. It's rated for 1500lbs tow capacity though which is pretty good.

The atlas and intimidator are rated 2000 or over. Which would be nice since I have a 325 gallon water wagon I pull around with the tractor now. Would be nice to pull it with the utv instead. I've used my treker to pull it but it really works it and so I quit because I had some drive train components fail on it. I would guess the water wagon fully loaded is about 2800 pounds including the weight of the trailer/tank.

 

[PRCWI]

For reference the UTV I have now is rated to tow 1200lbs.

 

[Xfaxman]

The red tilt trailer scaled 1660 on the tires, not much tongue weight. so I don't know the total weight.

Never weighed the other one, but the EV pulls them easily.

 

[PRCWI]

Thanks, we live in central Wisconsin, not unusual for us to have temps reach -15 or lower in winter. Last couple of years we even had nights quite a bit colder than that. We've got a land pride treker that is gas but we keep having issues with gas getting into the oil. Thought it was fixed after we put a new carb on last year but it sat for a couple months this summer waiting for parts to repair the drive train. Now after its fixed the gas in the oil issue has reappeared. I going to have the carb cleaned again but no idea if that will fix it. It's a great vehicle when it runs right. I wonder how hard it would be to convert it to electric. Right now it's a 20hp Honda v-twin gas.

Well tore apart the carb today and couldn't see anything obvious but cleaned everything and reassembled it. Changed the oil and filter as well. We'll see if that helps. If not I'll be looking for a "new" utv.

 

[PRCWI]

If you are talking about the Ranger EV, it is a 48V system with a 30 horsepower three phase AC induction motor.

It has more than enough torque from the 650 Amp Sevcon Gen IV controller to spin all 4 tires if chained to a tree!

P.S. Edit worked earlier today for me in another thread.

Not sure on your 2013 model but the current EV rangers are rated to tow 1500lbs That's pretty **** good. If they had a bigger box on them they would be very high on my priority list when we replace our Land pride Treker.
Polaris Ranger EV box LxWxH = 32x42x11.5
Land Pride Treker box LxWxH = 48x52x12

Losing 16" of box length and 10" of width would really hurt, especially considering our primary use is hauling hay around for the horses. I wonder how hard it would be to fabricate my own box for it? It would be great for the wife and kids to never have to worry about gas, oil etc...

Xfaxman, one question about the tires, is there a difference in the smoothness of the ride with the different tread? Also any issues with sinking in worse on softer/wetter ground since the tires are narrower?

 

[Xfaxman]

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Xfaxman, one question about the tires, is there a difference in the smoothness of the ride with the different tread? Also any issues with sinking in worse on softer/wetter ground since the tires are narrower?

The R1 tread is rougher on concrete, can't tell much difference on dirt or the gravel driveway.

I can say it has never been stuck, but I don't have to use it in the mud. Haven't noticed any ruts on softer/wetter ground.

I have thought about making a bed extender, using the receiver hitch, but it is pretty far down on the to-do list.

 

[PRCWI]

I was trying to think of ways to extend the existing bed but I'd want it to still be able to dump.

Our ground here is primarily dry and firm/hard but when we get rain our clay content means it can turn into a real mess, so much so that even our light footprint treker can have issues getting through some areas. I've had to use the winch to get it out several times.

 

[4570Man]

You could pull a trailer (or two). I think the EV will out pull any other UTV, due to it's power and weight. <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/atvs-utility-vehicles/445587-electric-polaris-ranger-p9190081-jpg"/> :thumbsup: For those that didn't see the drawbar pull test, click this: http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/atvs-utility-vehicles/287792-electric-polaris-ranger-post3544626.html#post3544626

Did you ever hook up to a bigger tree? If so what was the draw bar pull? The ranger weighs 1,700 pounds. A Kubota RTV weighs more, so with equal tires should be able to out pull it.

 

[aczlan]

I have thought about making a bed extender, using the receiver hitch, but it is pretty far down on the to-do list.

What about making an extension for the sides of the bed that goes up (to the top of the bed), then out 6-12" then up another 6-12"?
One of those for each side (made from 10ga steel?), and a piece to go across the front to tie it together could make your bed 1-2' wider.

Aaron Z

 

[Xfaxman]

Did you ever hook up to a bigger tree? If so what was the draw bar pull? The ranger weighs 1,700 pounds. A Kubota RTV weighs more, so with equal tires should be able to out pull it.

No, it is still on the to-do list. The crane scales have to have the weight steady for a minute to lock in the reading, so I will have to have my wife drive with me in the back watching the scale readout. With the shutter lag on my camera, I might not get the max pull in the picture, but it would be close enough.

What model RTV? The one that showed up when I searched "RTV" was under 1400 pounds and a 16 horsepower engine.

Our EV has a three phase AC 30 horsepower motor with tremendous torque in low range.

The best way to find out which can pull more would be to chain them back to back. :thumbsup:

 

[4570Man]

No, it is still on the to-do list. The crane scales have to have the weight steady for a minute to lock in the reading, so I will have to have my wife drive with me in the back watching the scale readout. With the shutter lag on my camera, I might not get the max pull in the picture, but it would be close enough. What model RTV? The one that showed up when I searched "RTV" was under 1400 pounds and a 16 horsepower engine. Our EV has a three phase AC 30 horsepower motor with tremendous torque in low range. The best way to find out which can pull more would be to chain them back to back. :thumbsup: <img src="http://www.tractorbynet.com/forums/files/atvs-utility-vehicles/447541-electric-polaris-ranger-rtv-jpg"/>

The RTV900XT weighs 1863 pounds without a cab and 1,995 pounds with a cab. I doubt the electric ranger is 30 hp continues. There is 745.7 watts in a hp. That is 22,365 watts for a 30 hp motor. If my math is correct the batteries are going to have to produce at least 466 amps continues. The hp on either rig really doesn't matter as long as they are both capable of spinning the wheels in 4x4.

 

[Xfaxman]

Yep, it will definitely spin the wheels.

The Sevcon motor controller is rated at 650 amps. The advantage of the electric motor is it develops max torque from zero RPM.

So I think the EV would drag the RTV backwards until (and depending on the transmission) it got the RPM up into the power band.

 

[blin]

Can your electric Ranger handle water crossings. It's obvious with combustion you have air intake and exhaust issues. Is there a fully water proof compartment to hold the batteries? If not, how deep can you get before there is shorting or worse?
I saw another post about your ranger dealing with ease of access. Do you still recommend this unit in general, and for those not so young?