Our long-term loan Yamaha Rhino is proving to be more fun than even we thought it would be. Exploring is easy, fast, and we can fit where our larger 4x4s can't. The Rhino isn't as fast as its competitors are, but its low-speed performance is superior. Crawling in Low range with the front differential locked (the rear is a spool) allows the Rhino to go just about anywhere it fits.
Yamaha offers a number of accessories for the Rhino that we wanted to make our Rhino even better for backcountry exploring. A winch is a must, and the Yamaha/Warn 2500 ATV winch installs easily and even gave us a front receiver as part of the mount, too. A storage box and bag lets us carry equipment relatively dust-free. While the Rhino Sport came with alloy wheels and quality Maxxis tires, we just had to install a set of Interco Swamp Lite ATV tires mounted on a set of their Condor alloy wheels. We've used the Swamp Lites before and can report they work extremely well, not only in sand, mud, rocks, and snow, but on hardpack too. The red Rhino Sport UTV comes with fender flares to cover larger tires, but the silver model doesn't. We installed a set of Yamaha fender flares to keep the mud off of us. It surprised us how often we glanced into the nonexistent rearview mirror when driving the Rhino, so we ordered one from Black Rhino Performance and can now see what's behind us.
We installed a pair of 26x9.00-12 Interco Swamp Lite tires up front and two 26x10.00-12s in the rear. The tires are 1-inch larger than stock diameter to give us better ground clearance. These are strong, six-ply bias tires. By the time you read this, radial Swamp Lites will also be available. We like the bias tires for their strength and the fact they don't have that radial "bounce" when aired down. Interco Condor alloy wheels are light, strong, and look great.
The Rhino's now set up the way we want it. We'll take you along on some exploring trips in upcoming installments.