I have just spoken with SuperATV and they will be sending me 2 replacement parts. I will post photos of the complete install once the replacement parts are here and installed.
Let's start from the top. Shipping from them was prompt and the items arrived well packaged. Interestingly the boxes had "Made in China" printed pretty large on them.....I believe that was a bad omen.
My 08 Ranger XP came with the Polaris brushguard and headlight protectors as well as the regular rear bumper. We were removing these to install on my partners 08 Ranger and adding the Extreme kits to mine given the amount of time I'm in the trees etc hunting, cutting wood etc. First thing that came to mind was the difference in weight on the Polaris guard I was removing vs the one from SuperATV that I was installing.....new one weighed alot less. All went according the plans, though I have to admit that the included install instructions are very, very limited in scope..you better be able to visualize. First problem came with installing the upper hood protector as the passenger side hoop was cracked all the way through the metal on the outside radius. Second problem came with the drivers side fender protector as the radius bend was off so much that it left it 2" from being able to bolt up to the attaching point under the access cover......passenger side went on just fine.
On to the rear install. The rear bumper was a pretty easy install as it was virtually identical to the Polaris one that I removed. The issues came on installing the bed protectors. I was finally able to get the passenger side part to line up with the bolt locations after alot of twisting, tugging and a bit of pounding (keep in mind that I left all the rear attaching bolts loose to give me some wiggle room so to speak). Well onto the drivers side is where the real fun began. I simply could not get the bed protector to slide over the rear bumper attaching point anywhere near far enough to get even close to under bed bolt up positions. After about an hour on this one part I finally cut about 1.25" off the bumper attaching point to allow the bed protector to slide on far enough. It may just be me but that seems like quite a bit for a bolt on kit.
Installed the nerf bars and was quite pleased with both the material and the installation ease....it went really smooth and seems very secure.
So here is where I stand. They are sending me a new drivers side front fender guard & the replacement piece of the hood protector. A few more comments: First, the quality of the nuts, bolts etc is substandard in my opinion, they are light weight and will strip with minimal torque. I will be replacing each and every bolt on the kit in the very near future at my expense. Second, the design of the front hood protector has such sloppy tolerances that I think if a limb smacks the protector there is still enough play that the plastic is still likely to be damaged.
I had planned on ordering another one of these kits for another of my partners if this one was of good quality. Well to say the least that order won't be placed. In fact I'm not sure I will leave this stuff on my Ranger for very long as I don't have alot of confidence in it to do the job it is supposed to do. I guess the old adage of "you get what you pay for" is still alive and strong as this kit was half the price I would have payed for Polaris parts. Pick your poison......pay now or redo it later.
James
