you will ruin your shock seals over time doing that .

 

I'm not a shock expert by any stretch, but I see people say all the time that the springs only manage the ride height. If that's the case, then what's the difference between using a ratchet strap and raising the spring collars 2"? Keeping the springs compressed for days can't be good, but motorcycle and Atv shocks get compressed when you strap them down.

Not trying to be wise, just asking.

 

Agree.. My neighbor ended up chopping his cage a few inches to make it fit into his toy hauler.

 

I got a friend same problem he changes the tire and rims to a low profile,a little bit of a pain but he said once you get used to it and get your set up it just takes a few min.

 

let air out of tires plus if you strap it down it will also make it a little wider too... or do both air down and then strap just a little

 

Thanks for the quick replies. I only need to compress it to get past the bed then I can release it. Im just wordering if you can even get 2 or 3" from compressing the suspension.

 

Are your bunks removable? I have to remove my bottom bunk for proper clearance. It only takes a few minutes.

 

I may be able to remove the botttom bunk. It will take a little re-engineering because the bottom bunk lifts the top bunk.

 

Mine does as well. The bunks themselves are only held on by a plug and cotter pin. The part that lifts the top bunk, lifts with or without the bunk being on there. It's the part that connects to the chain in the lift mechanism.

 

can you raise the limit switches ? thats what i did on my trailer

 

I had the same problem with my toy hauler beds I found that the bed l brackets could be flip over that gave me another inch

 

thought it was 2" times 2 or 4". Approx
measure it shortly. Just happened to bring it by the office today.
Its 101° outside. Add real humidity.

 

I used to use a ratchet strap to drop my rear down more than 2" to get the trailer in the shop door, but let the strap out once it was in the shop.

 

I ended up taking the beds out. 250# less to pull. Maybe more.
I was the one who reversed them. 7/16" socket probably. The fellers held the beds.
I remember one gas pump was a Wayne 60 on castors and the height was 6'3" or so. Little of everything was in there.

 

My XP4 is a couple of inches taller than the height of my beds also (mainly due to the locknride roof). I back it in and the front tires are still on the ramp door when the RZR clears the bed and then the highest part of the rzr is under the 7.5 ft roof in the toyhauler.

 

I've enjoyed reading everybody's ideas but in the end you have to decide what you want to do. if you stick with the idea of strapping down the back, i would suggest that you approach it this way. Only strap down the back that's where the cage is the highest. place your strap as far back along the rear trailing arm as feasible. the guy who suggested the climbing bolt hanger gave you a good suggestion but i wouldn't put it on the shock bolt. On the rear trailing arm there is a 3/8" bolt hole below the black plastic brake line clamp. i would bolt a hanger (or a piece of angle iron with two holes in it) here.

I would then make a loop of 1" tie down strap about 4" in diameter and loop it over the tube under the bed in such a way as to have both ends meet giving you a place for a hook and when it is unhooked it can be removed easily. these are the two locations that i would place a 1" tie down strap the winch type.

these tie points will keep you from placing any side stress on your shocks and will put you into a location where access will be easy and will give adequate leverage so that winching will also be easy.

Once you get your RZR into the trailer, rig your transport tie down setup so that you pull the back of the RZR down, further compressing the shocks. this will take the pressure off of the straps that you used to give the vehicle more squat.

Neatness counts, keep your lines straight, keep your angles equal, protect paint from scratching and metal from bending. by pulling your RZR down compressing the suspension further when it is strapped down for transport you will be putting the forces in the strongest places, i.e. main framing of your RZR and the trailer floor. (this is only true if the tie points in your trailer floor are actually structurally sound)

concerning wearing out or breaking springs, Your pickup has been setting on the same springs for its whole life. so has your trailer, your motorcycle, the loaded semi-truck on the freeway. I leave my RZR in the trailer strapped down for weeks on end. when i was motorcycle racing my bikes were strapped down in my van all week long and only came out for maintenance, riding or racing. Don't worry about the springs.

 

I use the straps and followed pirates instructions on installation of eyelets. Usually only compressed for an hour or max 7 hours. not long term. I run stock shocks and now SATV springs. NO issues so far...... the eyelets really help out.



Here we go.

First, you need to buy two of these eyelets from REI. You can do that online as the pic below has all the info:

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 799x722.


Then install the eyelets, one on each lower shock bolt as shown in this pic

This image has been resized. Click this bar to view the full image. The original image is sized 800x600.


Then hook a ratchet strap one end over the bed frame tubes under the bed the other end to the eyelet and crank the strap tight. I can pull the top of the roll cage down about 3" to get the RZR in the trailer.

Questions?

Pirate (AKA Stuart Phelps)
Forward Message

 

I sent a long explanation to FJK that might give you some insight. strapping the rear to get 2-4 inches of droop is the easiest way to get what you want, but you have to be careful not to put any side load on the shocks or any other components. if you can't figure this out by what i said to FJK let me know and i will post a picture. well placed straps will be easier than airing tires or changing tires and certainly cheaper than re-manning a cage.

 

regarding shock compression, here's what is inside an XP Fox shock.
There is fluid inside. From science class 101 we know fluid does not compress (oil) but gas does (air).
Armed with that the only way a shock compresses is the fluid has means to bypass the seals in a controlled manner.
The oil passes thru the shim stack via holes and grooves.
Ratcheting down the oil passes easily. No harm to the seals.
Debate s/b about what that does to a spring.

 

LOL if it does screw up the shocks I guess i'll be upgrading down the road. I have to lose 5 inches to get the RZR into the hauler. Air down to 2 psi and rachet strap rear suspension works but I leave it strapped sometimes for a day or 2 until we can get to where were going. Don't think the wife will be down for a new hauler either since we just paid ours off...

 

Great information Thanks for the replies.

Gman Do you know what the items from Rei are called. I couldn't see the pics.

Cbelk. Do u know the title of the thread you sent fjk on the subject. I'll search for it.

 

post 18 this thread

 

sorry copied and pasted it from my messages here are the pics. Let me know if you have any questions. works pretty slick

 

I'm looking at a RZR 4 XP. The problem is my toy hauler beds are 75" from the floor and the RZR is 77" tall. I was thinking the easiest solution would be to use ratchet straps and compress the suspension. Has anyone done this. Can you get a few inches. Thanks.

I sent a long explanation to FJK that might give you some insight. strapping the rear to get 2-4 inches of droop is the easiest way to get what you want, but you have to be careful not to put any side load on the shocks or any other components. if you can't figure this out by what i said to FJK let me know and i will post a picture. well placed straps will be easier than airing tires or changing tires and certainly cheaper than re-manning a cage.

I did not receive anything from you ? In my experience i have had seals start to leak after cross country trips with the rzrs ratcheted down in the trailer ,some of those roads were pretty bad ,and the machines could be tied down for 2 to three weeks at a time , I stopped doing that a couple of years ago and have never had a problem since ,As others have mentioned it's pretty hard on your springs as well .Some people store their rzr in their trailers and its not a good idea to leave them ratcheted down for long periods of time either,for the same reasons .

 

Okay you guys are going to bust my balls for this one but here we go. My buddy owns a can am dealership and I have been known to work there. When they come in the shocks are off of them and a piece of angle iron is in there place. What you could do is take the rear shocks off and install a shorter piece of angle iron in their place. You wouldn't want to ride it much like this but if done correctly it should allow you to fit in your toy hauler. It would be somewhat a hindrance to have to jack it up and reinstall the shocks but it will solve your problem. Before anyone says that you can't ride them that way I rode the 1000 x model that is slammed on the ground for over 20 miles giving it Hell.

Drew

Once again I'm on my phone instead of riding!!!

 

Here is a pic of it

Drew

Once again I'm on my phone instead of riding!!!

 

i allways un do my rzr when i get back and if it sits i jack it up

 

Thanks for the replies. Cbelk, that is exactly what I had in mind.

 

Polaris ships the rzr's with compressed suspensions while they are in the cargo boxes. I plan to compress mine on my rzr 4 900 to get it in my trailer. The dealer even gave me the straps that were on it when he got it in the cargo box. Should be fine. I would think as long as it's not that often and not for extended periods of time, it can handle it fine.