New 2022 Roxor owner looking for guidance

[Jive Turkey]

Hey Team,

I just purchased a base model 2022 Roxor a few weeks ago. I have practically no experience maintaining mechanical equipment outside of my riding lawn mower. I've always wanted to learn though, and I'm not a complete idiot. I needed a SxS so I feel like I've made a solid purchase. Anyways, I was hoping to run some idea's I've had about what I want to do with my Roxor, and see if anyone could give me some guidance.

To give you an idea of what I plan on using it for and the terrain I'm dealing with...I live on a little over 60 acres of wooded property in Southern Ohio in the end part of the Appalachian Mountains. It's more like steep ravines and hollars around here. This part of Ohio is an off-roading destination for a lot of people, and I think it might be fun to get more into that. However, my primary goal is using it on my property for hauling stuff around, and being able to drive it directly to hunting destinations (also in other counties in S. Ohio) and up in the woods to retrieve deer. My property in particular has logging trails (property was selectively logged in early 2000's) I maintain with my Mahinda tractor. Secondarily, as I get more experience I can see myself getting into off-roading more. Right now I have a fear of something breaking and me having no idea what to do.

I honestly haven't spent too much time reviewing these forums, but I have seen some comments about a few gotchas from the factory, like not enough grease in the bearing and low fluids. If there is anything else I should be looking for or tips, please let me know. Also, are there any tutorials on packing the bearing for these?

Here is my list of things I'm wanting to do, but I'd like to mention I want to make this street legal ASAP:

• Street Legal:
  • I need a windshield. Do I also need wipers? I was looking at the Diesel Freaks vented windshield.
  • I know I need to get blinkers set up. Is there any guidance on that or could I figure that out with a wiring diagram?
  • It looks like I need a Tune as well. I'm assuming the Diesle Freaks #2 tune would be the one to get?
• I want 33" tires I think. It seems like it would be a good balance without having to lift to high
  • I'm afraid to lift the Roxor too high, there are a lot of hills around here and I'm leery about rolling this thing if it's too high off the ground.
  • I'm assuming I need to lift the front to get 33" tires on? Is there a good lift for this?
  • Does anyone have a recommendation on tires/wheels for slippery hills / steep terrain to prevent sliding and the tires getting to loaded with mud causing a higher "slide down the hill" scenario?
  • Any recommendations on what I should do with the suspension?
• Diesel Freaks has a pretty nice 9500 lb. wench I'd like to get. I know I'll need to swap my bumper and I was looking at a stubby bumper they had for that as well.
  • Do I need to upgrade the factory wiring harness /etc. to facilitate this? I was thinking about adding additional lighting too and I'd read some things about needing to upgrade the wiring harness for that.
• Does anyone know if there are full cab soft body enclosures that look decent for the 2022 Roxor model? I really am not interested in a hard enclosure. I couldn't find anything. I was considering with going with a windshield, hard top, and half side doors.
• I do plan on replacing the front and back bumpers. any recommendations? Bear in mind I'd like a beefy wench on the front.

Definitely appreciate any guidance you guys can provide. Thank you!

 

[Grump Fish]

Welcome to the forum, Jive Turkey. I have 33" tires on stock wheels with the 2" Rough Country lift. I have been very happy with that setup.
I used a stubby Jeep CJ bumper with some modification and it looks and functions great. Here is a link to how I did it.
Stubby CJ Bumper
I also installed a Jeep TJ bumper on the rear that has worked great.
TJ Rear Bumper

There is a wealth of info on this forum and a lot of good people willing to help! Use the search function and ask questions. Talking and thinking about things helps us all.

 

[txroadkill]

You’re gonna want wipers and washers so install them with the windshield. Blinkers are easy. Just add some lights up to then run wires to the back as you already have lights for blinkers that aren’t being used. Or you can tap some existing wires for the rear blinkers but I didn’t know which wires so I just ran a set to the rear. Lots of info here about blinkers. Really easy mod.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Welcome to the forum, Jive Turkey. I have 33" tires on stock wheels with the 2" Rough Country lift. I have been very happy with that setup.
I used a stubby Jeep CJ bumper with some modification and it looks and functions great. Here is a link to how I did it.
Stubby CJ Bumper
I also installed a Jeep TJ bumper on the rear that has worked great.
TJ Rear Bumper

There is a wealth of info on this forum and a lot of good people willing to help! Use the search function and ask questions. Talking and thinking about things helps us all.

Thanks Grump. I like how the tires look in those pictures from your bumper thread. What kind did you go with?

 

[Jive Turkey]

You’re gonna want wipers and washers so install them with the windshield. Blinkers are easy. Just add some lights up to then run wires to the back as you already have lights for blinkers that aren’t being used. Or you can tap some existing wires for the rear blinkers but I didn’t know which wires so I just ran a set to the rear. Lots of info here about blinkers. Really easy mod.

Copy that. Thank you for the info! I figured I could handle blinkers without to much prior knowledge. I actually grew up in Texas btw...up in the panhandle.

 

[GnadenAce]

Welcome J.T.. Sounds like we might be neighbors, I've got the same setup using a Mahindra 1635 with a grapple on front and 6' brush hog on the back. I'm in southern Tuscarawas county, with 100 steep acres behind the house, all old growth timber. I've harvested my timber twice in the 43 yrs I've lived here, and all my property is registered with the State of Ohio as Commercial Agricultural Use Value. I don't remember exactly, but CAUV land in Ohio is taxed at about 30% of what land open for development would be taxed. It's how they help the farmers keep their land.

This is NOT legal advice. I've done some research on running a Roxor legal on roads in Ohio. There is a law in Ohio that says a town, city, township,etc. may allow golf carts, atvs, and utvs to operate on the roads in their jurisdiction only. You have to register the vehicle with the Ohio DMV and then with the specific gov't. entity. What I tell you from here on has nothing to do with this law.

In Ohio you are required to register your Roxor with the OHIO DMV to ride anywhere in the state that isn't on your property. Ohio law is written to prohibit the licensing (plates) of atvs, utvs, and mini-trucks for use on public roads . Research it if you like, and every state is different.

There is a method which may or may not be more trouble than it's worth, but it's only one of two ways to run a Roxor legal IN OHIO. There are internet entities that for a fee will set up an LLC in a specific state that allows Roxors to run legal on their roads. Every state in the US has a reciprocity agreement with the others, that as long as a vehicle is legal on the road in a specific state, it will be recognized as legal in all the states. After you have an LLC with a valid physical mailing address (which is part of a package that you buy online), you send your title away and receive out of state plates and registration for your Roxor, that is now legal in Ohio. The reason for the LLC is because if you owned it personally, by law you'd have to change registration and plates within 60? days of moving into Ohio. Don't like this because it's a strange looking vehicle running out of state plates. I'd have every law man in the county wanting to stop me just to check me and my machine out. I don't set myself up to have to interact with law enforcement.

The only other way to run a Roxor legal in Ohio is to be a farmer with property under Ohio's CAUV law. If you qualify by CAUV property ownership, you can legally stick an SMV sign on the back and "primarily" travel on Ohio roads between fields. It did not say "your" fields. I'm in the country and don't have any interstates or limited access highways to travel, so it works well for me, it may also for you if you have CAUV. Haven't had any interest from the law yet.


Some of the many references in the Ohio Revised Code:

Section 4519.02 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

codes.ohio.gov

Section 4511.216 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

codes.ohio.gov

Section 4503.37 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

codes.ohio.gov

Good article with CAUV info at end:

Are Side-by-Sides Street Legal in Ohio? | OutdoorTroop

It's the dream to be able to drive your side-by-side around. It is such a fun experience, especially during the summer. But if you live…

outdoortroop.com

Info on licensing your Roxor in another state:

UTV Street Legal Services - Dirt Legal

Make your UTV or Side-by-Side (SxS) street legal with Dirt Legal's specialized registration services.

www.dirtlegal.com

 

[GnadenAce]

J.T., On the muddy steep hillsides, I've had a few friends who I thought were very capable get severely injured or killed on a tractor on a steep hillside. I was heavy into mud while running the family mining business, and what we have on our hills when it is really wet is usually only doable with a track machine. I haven't tried yet it on the Roxor, but I did by a set of four H.D. tire chains and slack adjusters for the stock tires. From experience, this should get as close to a track machine as you can get. Do beware, you should try to always move your machine up and down the hill, and not travel across the hill, or "sidelin" as we say around here. If you should turn your machine sideways on a hard frozen or icy hillside, the tire chains (or dozer tracks for that matter) will act as sled runners and gravity will do it's thing and if you're lucky you won't upset before you come to a stop. "Don't do anything stupid".

 

[Grump Fish]

Thanks Grump. I like how the tires look in those pictures from your bumper thread. What kind did you go with

Mudstar Radial M/T

 

[Jive Turkey]

Welcome J.T.. Sounds like we might be neighbors, I've got the same setup using a Mahindra 1635 with a grapple on front and 6' brush hog on the back. I'm in southern Tuscarawas county, with 100 steep acres behind the house, all old growth timber. I've harvested my timber twice in the 43 yrs I've lived here, and all my property is registered with the State of Ohio as Commercial Agricultural Use Value. I don't remember exactly, but CAUV land in Ohio is taxed at about 30% of what land open for development would be taxed. It's how they help the farmers keep their land.

This is NOT legal advice. I've done some research on running a Roxor legal on roads in Ohio. There is a law in Ohio that says a town, city, township,etc. may allow golf carts, atvs, and utvs to operate on the roads in their jurisdiction only. You have to register the vehicle with the Ohio DMV and then with the specific gov't. entity. What I tell you from here on has nothing to do with this law.

In Ohio you are required to register your Roxor with the OHIO DMV to ride anywhere in the state that isn't on your property. Ohio law is written to prohibit the licensing (plates) of atvs, utvs, and mini-trucks for use on public roads . Research it if you like, and every state is different.

There is a method which may or may not be more trouble than it's worth, but it's only one of two ways to run a Roxor legal IN OHIO. There are internet entities that for a fee will set up an LLC in a specific state that allows Roxors to run legal on their roads. Every state in the US has a reciprocity agreement with the others, that as long as a vehicle is legal on the road in a specific state, it will be recognized as legal in all the states. After you have an LLC with a valid physical mailing address (which is part of a package that you buy online), you send your title away and receive out of state plates and registration for your Roxor, that is now legal in Ohio. The reason for the LLC is because if you owned it personally, by law you'd have to change registration and plates within 60? days of moving into Ohio. Don't like this because it's a strange looking vehicle running out of state plates. I'd have every law man in the county wanting to stop me just to check me and my machine out. I don't set myself up to have to interact with law enforcement.

The only other way to run a Roxor legal in Ohio is to be a farmer with property under Ohio's CAUV law. If you qualify by CAUV property ownership, you can legally stick an SMV sign on the back and "primarily" travel on Ohio roads between fields. It did not say "your" fields. I'm in the country and don't have any interstates or limited access highways to travel, so it works well for me, it may also for you if you have CAUV. Haven't had any interest from the law yet.


Some of the many references in the Ohio Revised Code:

Section 4519.02 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

codes.ohio.gov

Section 4511.216 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

codes.ohio.gov

Section 4503.37 - Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws

codes.ohio.gov

Good article with CAUV info at end:

Are Side-by-Sides Street Legal in Ohio? | OutdoorTroop

It's the dream to be able to drive your side-by-side around. It is such a fun experience, especially during the summer. But if you live…

outdoortroop.com

Info on licensing your Roxor in another state:

UTV Street Legal Services - Dirt Legal

Make your UTV or Side-by-Side (SxS) street legal with Dirt Legal's specialized registration services.

www.dirtlegal.com

Thank you for all that information man, greatly appreciated! I'm located in Vinton county. I bought my Roxor from Specialty Tractors in Lancaster. They made it sound like it could be semi-street legal as long as I stay off of limited access highways and interstates....jives with your CAUV article you linked.

I talked to Wade a Diesel Freaks and he made it sound the out of state licenses were basically motorcycle licenses. I'd have to agree that that would be a recipe for getting pulled over frequently, and more trouble than it's worth. Honestly, all the places I'd want to go do not require me to get on any limited access highways or interstates so I think I should hopefully be good to go. I primarily hunt in Vinton, Ross, and Pike counties.

 

[Jive Turkey]

J.T., On the muddy steep hillsides, I've had a few friends who I thought were very capable get severely injured or killed on a tractor on a steep hillside. I was heavy into mud while running the family mining business, and what we have on our hills when it is really wet is usually only doable with a track machine. I haven't tried yet it on the Roxor, but I did by a set of four H.D. tire chains and slack adjusters for the stock tires. From experience, this should get as close to a track machine as you can get. Do beware, you should try to always move your machine up and down the hill, and not travel across the hill, or "sidelin" as we say around here. If you should turn your machine sideways on a hard frozen or icy hillside, the tire chains (or dozer tracks for that matter) will act as sled runners and gravity will do it's thing and if you're lucky you won't upset before you come to a stop. "Don't do anything stupid".

GnadenAce,

I'm very aware of that on my tractor. Luckily, practically all my logging trails are straight up and down, so no sidelining involved. I have considered getting chains though. The mud here is more silty and gets slick as hell when it gets really wet. My tractor has Ag tires though so they are very aggressive...and I had them put the tires on where the deep part of the wheel faces out so I've got a much wider rear footprint with them.

 

[Jive Turkey]

Mudstar Radial M/T

Thanks again, Grump. I've been looking at tires and have already come across those.

 

[Jive Turkey]

It's been a while since I've been on here. Been very busy! Anyways I thought I'd provide an update on what I've done:

• Diesel Freak Stage 2 Tune (and waist-gate booster)
• Intake connection kit
• Hard Roof
• DF windshield frame, CJ-5 glass, and wiper kit
• XTC Turn signals
• LED lighted license plate mount
• Side-step bars
• Front bumper
• Rear bumper
• 9500 lbs. wench
• Spare tire mount
• Half side doors
• Mirror kit
• XTC fuse panel
• 33" Kumho Road Venture MT71 Tires
• 15" American Racing AR172 Rims
• 1.5" front shackle lift
• Street legal in US

I have more stuff that I wanted to do this year, but that will probably be on hold for now as I've got other fish to fry for the time being.

Unfortunately I assumed that the break-in period for the Roxor was 500 miles like many other vehicles and I was wrong. Before I did my first oil change this weekend I was at 46 operating hours and 475 miles. The manual says the first oil change and fluid level check should be 10 operating hours or 300 miles. I hope I have not done any major damage because I have been pushing it hard a few times. the oil was very dark when I did the change. Again, this is all new to me. Frankly, it's the first time I've changed the oil in a vehicle. I do change the oil in my whole-house generator and riding lawn mower but it's not quite the same, and it's never come out as dark as it has in either of those compared to the Roxor. If anyone has advice on that I'd greatly appreciate it.

I've been reading here and there on the forums about over-heating issues and I wanted to get some guidance on that if possible. You can see what modifications I've made now. I don't intend to be pushing the Roxor very often above or close to 70 mph, but I do need to jump on high-ways now and then were I need to go at least 65 or get ran over. Without modifying my cooling any, am I at risk of overheating or causing any major issues in that regard? I can say with pedal-to-the-metal I'm topping out around 3400 - 3500 RPM in 5th gear. I can't say for certain but I think I'm hitting around 70mph or a little over. I've only done this about 3 times though. I think going about 60ish I'm in the mid 2000's RPM wise. I would like to do longer cruises in the 55-60MPH range. Can I maintain that speed for long without worrying about overheating issues with my build so far?

Lastly, I have already greased the zerks for the leafsprings (I think these are the only zerks?) because I was hearing some squeaking noises, which it didn't fix. All of the fluid levels under the hood all looked to be topped off still. Is there any other maintenance items I should consider like repacking the bearing, etc.?

 

[reedcharlie75]

There is a grease zerk on the rear axle , right beside the tire on each side. When it’s full, grease will come out a hole on top of the housing, right above where you’re putting in grease. It may take a lot, mine took almost 80 pumps per side to get grease out, I thought I was doing something wrong until I read on here several other people had the same problem. Then I was worried I ruined bearings or something; being that dry, but I’m over 25k miles and had it just under 5 years, and it’s still fine(knock on wood). I’ve found on mine, if I wrap a rag/paper towel around the leafspring fitting and grip it as I grease it, so it makes the whole thing take grease, it doesn’t squeak as much.

 

[Jive Turkey]

There is a grease zerk on the rear axle , right beside the tire on each side. When it’s full, grease will come out a hole on top of the housing, right above where you’re putting in grease. It may take a lot, mine took almost 80 pumps per side to get grease out, I thought I was doing something wrong until I read on here several other people had the same problem. Then I was worried I ruined bearings or something; being that dry, but I’m over 25k miles and had it just under 5 years, and it’s still fine(knock on wood). I’ve found on mine, if I wrap a rag/paper towel around the leafspring fitting and grip it as I grease it, so it makes the whole thing take grease, it doesn’t squeak as much.

Thank you for that info, and the tip for the leafsprings!