We’ve heard the story before … “this is a simple bolt-on accessory that anyone can install” … only to find a box with 1,000 unlabeled parts and a 1-page instruction sheet that looks like a very poor “Chinese-to-English” translation that leaves the installer more confused and frustrated than ever.
So when Wicked Bilt shipped out a hydraulic plow kit for our Polaris RZR, we were somewhat suspect as to how simple the installation process would be.
The kit showed up in three boxes (looking like 1,000 parts to us). But when we opened the assembly instructions and started going through the process of installation, we were pleasantly surprised how simple and straightforward the process actually was.
Actually, the three most difficult tasks throughout this entire process were: 1) finding a location to mount the relay box; 2) deciding where we wanted to place the joy stick controls; and 3) routing the wiring.
The rest of the install was a mere matter of nuts and bolts—attaching the mounting hitch and assembling the plow and hydraulics. After that’s done, it’s as simple as slipping the plow on the 2-inch receiver system mounting bracket and plugging in the wires. (This kit is designed to allow easy install and removal so your side-by-side can be used for things other than snow removal.)
Once the installation process was complete, it was time to see how the plow worked. And the best way to describe it was “perfectly.”
You will be surprised at how easily the hydraulic plow can be adjusted making snow removal much more affective and enjoyable. And the RZR with the Wicked Bilt plow is capable of moving a lot of snow.
You can see how much tilt you can actually get through the hydraulics that move the plow.
For driveway or parking lot clearance, the 72-inch plow with fold-over springs (in case you hit something that is not intended to move) is capable of making short work of the project. It will push snow to where you need it. The complete kit includes mounting brackets, blade and hydraulic pump, cylinders, lines and controllers.
Installation
Installing the plow can be broken down to three parts: wiring install, plow build and plow hitch install.
Wiring—This is the most tedious part of the build—you’re trying to figure the best location to install a toggle switch and the relay box. Everything else hinges on these two items.
The most complicated of the two can be the relay box. It is designed to attach to the side-by-side by four bolts that are built into the relay box. The design is a little shaky … perhaps the first thing I would change. We tried to locate the box inside the glove compartment … but you have to match a flat surface of the relay box to multi-angle surfaces within the glove box. I think a person would be better off just making his own attachment bracket that can be secured either inside the glove box or some other out-of-the-way location on the side-by-side.
We mounted our control toggle on the passenger side of the shift console. It seemed to be a natural spot for easy access, yet it doesn’t interfere with the passenger’s leg room. We placed our relay box inside the glove compartment.
Regardless of where or how you mount it, the key element is finding a way to get your wires out to where they need to go. You have three wires. On one end, you have the wires that will plug into the plow. It makes sense that you locate your box so that these wires are accessible to the front of your RZR. The other two wires on the other end of the relay box go to the toggle switch and the power source.
The kit supplies ample length of wiring harness to reach their intended destinations.
Once you figure out where you want things, the mounting/wiring process is not that complicated … it just depends on how neat of a job you want to do. We spent about two hours on this when it likely could have been done in about 30 minutes.
Plow Assembly—Wicked Bilt does a tremendous job in packaging the components in such a way that you know what bolts, nuts and washers to use where. This is the part of the build that even a dumb journalist has an easy time with.
A heavy steel blade protects the plow’s edge.
Again, this could be broken down into two parts: building the plow and attaching the hydraulics.
The nice part about the piecing together of the plow is that as you use parts, it makes things simpler because there are fewer parts to choose from. The directions are easy to follow and for the most part there is only one way things can be installed.
By the time you are ready to attach the hydraulics, you are down to specific parts that serve only one purpose. And again, the instructions are most adequate to walk you through this procedure. We spent a little more than an hour on this process, mainly because we wanted to take our time and second-guess the instructions (and the instructions were always correct).
Hitch Install—Although we’re looking at just one item—a large chunk of metal that gets bolted to the front of the RZR—the most complicated part of this process was stripping off the bumper, plastic nose and winch plates to expose the mounting location.
The RZR doesn’t necessarily make it easy to access the frame. Several bolts have nuts located in small cavities of the RZR that make access difficult for big awkward hands. And we did find that a few of the RZR bolts were actually too short to reuse due to the thickness of the metal. So we scrambled to find longer substitutes.
We also found that we needed to modify our bumper due to the location of the hitch. That wasn’t difficult … but it did mean grinding some of the metal off the bumper.
The nice part about the hitch is that once it’s properly installed, the plow can easily be attached and detached. This took us about two hours because we had to find replacement bolts and do some bumper modifications. If you have the parts and a plan, you could do this in less than an hour.
Wicked Bilt isn’t just about snow plows. The Twinsburg, OH, company also offers electronic steering kits, rack and pinion kits and light kits for all brands of side-by sides. For more information call (800) 338-9080 or go to www.wickedbilt.com.
