New 2008 Rhino

Green_Center · Aug 7, 2008

I traded up my 2005 Camo Rhino for a 2008 Rhino Midnight Armor. I waited to post until I had run 20 hours on the unit and had it serviced. The new Rhino has been perfect for the first 5 weeks.

Overall I have been very pleased with the new Rhino. Yamaha made a number of improvements some of them I knew about others were kind of surprises.

Pluses (over the 05)
* Fuel injection (starts, idles, and accelerates much better than the 05)
* Better handling (The 08 steers much easier than the 05. I did not see this listed anywhere but has been noticeable to all the drivers.)
* Quieter and less vibration.
* Fuel gauge and cup holders are nice to have. Fuel gauge is not quite linear and reads more empty than the amount gas left in the tank.
* Frame is stronger. We noticed this we we loaded it on the trailer.
* Better CV joint protection.

Minuses
* Runs a little warmer than the 05. It did cool down after break in but definitely runs warmer.
* Yamaha did not improve the headlights. I can overdrive these headlights easily.

My only additions are my ITP 14" Terra Cross tires and a WARN XT25 Winch.

TOMMYHPX4X4 · Aug 7, 2008

i bought an 08 700 hunter green rhino . it's been fun to ride but if this thing is easier to drive than the previuos models man they must be rough. i do my best not to lock the front diferentials because when i do this thing just wants to go straight. i can see where a good power steering would come in handy on this thing. other than that it's nice starts real easy.

Flatheadyoungin · Aug 7, 2008

great looking rhino....my buddy has one and i been on the fence for a long time about getting one........tough as nails........he has flat out abused it.....keeps on going....

tell me about your spray insulation for your garage........how big is the garage and how much did it cost, if you don't mind me asking....

Green_Center · Aug 8, 2008

>>tell me about your spray insulation for your garage........how big is the >>garage and how much did it cost, if you don't mind me asking

I do get a lot of questions about the insulation. It is a little different. The building is actually a garden variety pole barn(36*56*12). The insulation is spray foam insulation and expands to about 2 inches. A local company who does nice work did the job. I believe it was 800 dollars back in 1999. I chose this route due to the snow that drifted inside the pole barn following a very big snow storm. I needed a way to seal the barn and this seemed like a good choice.

>>Tommy
The guy at the dealer drove up in the new Rhino and says I did not realize they put power steering on these units. I said they did not have power steering. When I got it home, I noticed what he was talking about. Additionally, the way this handles I would never add the power steering kits due to the cost. I wonder if my 05 had a steering problem???

TOMMYHPX4X4 · Aug 8, 2008

my rhino steers great when in 2wheel drive or 4wheel drive but when i lock the front diferential it just wanna go straight. it does steer alot easier than my hpx probably because of the tires and the weight diference . it's alot easier on my back to ride the rhino though the suspension is great on it .i use it like a small car to get around from one friends house to another . people around here would probably only know me if they seen me in my hpx/rhino because i very seldom drive my car unless i have to go to town.i wanna try and get a polaris and a rtv next.

about that insulation how flamable is it?it looks like regular foam spray insulation. or does it have a fire retardent in it?

Flatheadyoungin · Aug 8, 2008

don't try to steer if you are in differential lock.....the drive train is actually fighting against it's self and if you get good traction or bind the suspension just right, you could break something.......

diff lock is made for pulling something straight, going throught a nasty mud hole......but even if you steer a bit in a mud hole the mud allows things to "slip"......if you are on pavement in diff lock, and try to steer, things could start breaking........usually the traction of the tires breaks loose and keeps things getting destroyed.....it's one of those things, you might do it 30 times and "well, nothing happened" but that one time you may just hear something nasty...

TOMMYHPX4X4 said:
my rhino steers great when in 2wheel drive or 4wheel drive but when i lock the front diferential it just wanna go straight. it does steer alot easier than my hpx probably because of the tires and the weight diference . it's alot easier on my back to ride the rhino though the suspension is great on it .i use it like a small car to get around from one friends house to another . people around here would probably only know me if they seen me in my hpx/rhino because i very seldom drive my car unless i have to go to town.i wanna try and get a polaris and a rtv next.

about that insulation how flamable is it?it looks like regular foam spray insulation. or does it have a fire retardent in it?

TOMMYHPX4X4 · Aug 8, 2008

i never was told anything about not being able to turn it while havin the front locked . i do know not to spin the tires like crazy while trying to get unstuck. thats when people break stuff when they full throttle it trying to get out and suddenly the tires bite . but as for as not useing the front locker unless your pulling something or going straight i never heard of that. the front locker is for tough spots and not all tough spots have straight aways.now i do admit i try to keep it in regular 4x4 mode because of the steering but when i'm in the deep stuff up to the seat i keep the front locked because most times you'll get stuck when you stop to engage it.

Flatheadyoungin · Aug 8, 2008

think about it for a second.....

in a 2wd car, if you have a fully locked rear end (spool??) and you go around a corner, it wants to push the car forward instead of turning the corner......the inside tire will have to slip (break some traction) to make the corner...but you'll feel it in the steering wheel.......hard to to turn.......this is why cars have limited slip and many variations..........the path the inside wheel travels when turning a corner is less distance than the outside wheel......something has to give......either the traction the tire gets, the dirt, or something in the drive line.....

now, just add two more wheels to the front and "lock" all four tires...now they are all pulling equally......you can turn......i just wouldn't do it a lot and would watch what i'm doing it on/in/with etc...

try this..........find a gravel driveway or something.......put it in 4x4 and do some turning.......then put it in lock and do some turning......listen to the difference in the gravel sound and watch your turning radius increase some.....might "feel" it push the front end wanting to go straight.......

this is all the same your your tractor......i really try not to do any turning....the other day i was coming through a small ditch and two of my tires started to spin......i stomped on my diff lock........i cam right up out of the ditch....no wheel spin.......once it got out, i let off of my diff lock (under my heal)..........then i tried to turn to make another swath cutting........for some reason it was very hard to turn and i noticed my front end pushing and tearing up the grass yard......i stopped and looked down and the diff lock lever was still engaged....i put it in reverse and it came right up......then i went about my business........i didn't break anything but the grass gave this time....

TOMMYHPX4X4 said:
i never was told anything about not being able to turn it while having the front locked . i do know not to spin the tires like crazy while trying to get unstuck. that's when people break stuff when they full throttle it trying to get out and suddenly the tires bite . but as for as not using the front locker unless your pulling something or going straight i never heard of that. the front locker is for tough spots and not all tough spots have straight aways.now i do admit i try to keep it in regular 4x4 mode because of the steering but when i'm in the deep stuff up to the seat i keep the front locked because most times you'll get stuck when you stop to engage it.

TOMMYHPX4X4 · Aug 9, 2008

i think if your spinning the tires wildly and they suddenly catch or if you have some over sized tires then it would cause a problem but with stock sized tires all it does is spin the inside tire on the gravel or dirt . sure it puts a bind on the engine because now your havin all the tires engaged at one time and they all have to be turned but the front diferential lock wasn't just made for going straight.i have never read anywhere's on any forum or book about anything like that. a perfect thing to look at for a locking front diferentials abilty to turn is a rock crawler. they turn their front tires all the time going up and over rocks and their suspension travel lets them turn them even further than we would be able too. go to you tube and look up rock crawlers and you'll see some good videos of locked front diferentials being steered .

Flatheadyoungin · Aug 9, 2008

sorry, i think i jacked this thread......

what are the two things rock crawlers break on a regular basis and they spend a lot of money buying the best they can........drive shafts and axles....

like i said, you can do it 100, maybe 500 times but you are stressing the drive train......

i steer my tractor, but only in certain conditions and i sure don't go from stop to stop......