Polaris RZR Build Ep#8

A winch to an off roader is as important as ice cream is to apple pie. They just go hand in hand, one tastes really good and the other will get you out of a really tight predicament. One of the first things I do when buying an off road toy is install a winch, and generally speaking I make sure it is waterproof, the largest capacity for the application and of course I install it myself. Installing a winch might seem intimidating but in reality is it very easy...buy winch, buy mounting kit, install mounting kit, install winch, route wires, get stuck, use winch to pull yourself out.

For this particular application I went with the Superwinch Terra 45, a 4500lb capacity winch on the last wrap: ie. it has the best pulling capacity when most of the 55′ rope is out and the last wrap is on the drum. (See the rest of the specs at the end of this article). It also comes with a toggle in/out switch and a wired remote with plug that I can install in a place of my choice.
There are two basic mounting options for a winch on the 2013 Polaris RZR 900XP, one is the stock factory location and the other would be on an aftermarket bumper. While the aftermarket bumper provides an easy install for the winch and keeps it up nice and high and usually out of the water I find that by installing a 4500lb capacity winch in that position puts an extreme amount of stress on the bumper mount points and most often either ends up with a bent bumper or worse, bent front end components on the RZR. So, since I often find myself in the worst possible stucks and always try to push my equipment to the limit, I had better go with the stock factory mounting location... inside the front area of the RZR between the shocks.

In order to mount the winch in this location, a special mounting plate is required, and for some reason the only way to get this plate from Polaris is to buy the winch kit, and since I didn't buy the winch from Polaris I went with the KFI Industries 900XP winch mount kit http://www.kfiproducts.com/index.php?...

If you think you can easily build a winch mount plate for the XP900, then chances are you will find it harder than you think. Because the winch sits tucked inside the frame of the RZR, there is no direct route for the cable to come out, so a mount with a roller to direct the cable out is needed. It is a poor design in my opinion but that's just the way it is so I'll deal with it.

With the KFI mount installed the Superwinch Terra 45 bolts into place quite easily, route the cable though the fairlead and fasten the mounting hardware as instructed. One instruction that comes with the KFI mounting instructions is the use of the shorter battery leads to be used from the winch to the solenoid, this will allow you to use the longer cables to run to the battery. I prefer to keep as much of the electronics out of the water as possible so I mounted the waterproof solenoid on the inside of the cabin at the top firewall just in front of the driver.

Don't let the mounting or wiring of the winch intimidate you, on a scale os 1 to 5 with 5 being the hardest I would rate this at a 2.5, meaning anyone with tools can do this. Total install time was about 3 hours.

What next? Well, time to test that winch out. Thanks for watching PowerModz!

Specifications

Rated Line Pull 4,500 lbs (2,041 kgs)
Motor Sealed 1.6 HP Permanent Magnet
Gearing 3-Stage Planetary
Gear Ratio 191:1
Solenoid Sealed Solenoid with Circuit Breaker
Clutch Free-Spooling, Ergonomic Control
Brake Automatic 100% Load Holding
Rope 1/4″ x 55′ (6.5mm x 16.76m)
Hook Heavy-Duty Clevis Pinned Latch
Fairlead Heavy Duty 4-Way Roller
Remote 10′ Sealed Hand-Held
Dimensions 15.1″ L x 4.5″ D x 4.8″ (383mm L x 114mm D x 122mm H)
Drum Diameter 2.0″ (50.2mm)
Drum Length 4.9″ (124.5mm)
Mounting Bolt Pattern 3.0″ x 6.66″ (76mm x 169mm)
Installed Weight 22.0 lbs (9.98 kgs)
Shipping Weight 34.0 lbs (15.42 kg)
Warranty Limited Lifetime Warranty
UPC 0 22705 00346 9
Line Pull: 0 lbs 21 Amps Motor Draw / 15.0 FPM (4.6 MPM) Line Speed
Line Pull: 4,500 lbs 178 Amps Motor Draw / 5.5 FPM (1.7 MPM) Line Speed