XT PRO - NH Woods Build

[CampHamp]

I thought I'd share the work I did on my machine. I'd be glad to answer any questions or hear any thoughts people have about the decisions I've made so far.

Vehicle upgrades: Plow, polycarb windshields & doors, front & rear LED light bars, bluetooth radio, interior lights, under-dash fuse box, rocker switches, tire chains and storage organization.

 

This BOSS plow was installed by the dealer. It's a straight-blade and has hydraulic lift and angle. The power and control outlets were placed driver's side just in front of the tire. The bumper (XT style) was removed because, I assume, it interfered with the plow.

 

I got the polycarb doors (with mirrors) from SuperATV. The installation was fairly easy with the help of their video.

 

I bought two 32 inch LED light bars online from Walmart for the front and rear. I needed the front for plowing and the rear light for reversing and as a work light. Since I do not have a fold-up windshield in the front, I decided to use those hinge spaces in the roof line to screw down a block of wood with a 45 degree angle to mount the bracket to. So, I used screws instead of bolts to fasten. You can probably figure out what I did from the photo. So, I didn't need any holes in the roof for this front one.

 

The rear light bar required two holes (on the vertical, so probably fine) and I ran the wires under the windshield. I had to bend each of the brackets about 10 degrees to lay flush on this rear one - the pictured one got scratched up a bit.

 

I attached boards for two speakers to the rear roof corners. I decided to install my bluetooth amp up top, since the on/off is on the dash and volume is done on the phone anyway. You'd think that a $30 stereo would sound horrible and it does. It is very tinny with the 4 inch speakers - maybe if I boxed them in, I'd get some bass. That white strip in the first picture is an LED light strip (one on each side) - $5 for 10 waterproof strips -- two are enough for the interior and I may put a couple under the box for engine work.

 

I installed a 6-bay fuse box just to the upper plastic part of the center box compartment and ran the hot/ground from the accessory posts that are just above it. All wiring is through this and through four new rocker switches (no relays).

 

I got a pair of v-bar tire chains. It was much cheaper for the smaller, front tires (Kolpin 50-0030 on Amazon were $60, but now are $70) and provides better steering on ice. If they were the same price, I would have gotten rear ones because with a locked-diff you'd get two chains always ripping.

 

I expect that I'll want more storage to keep all my firewood tools on the machine. Costco has large $9 bins right now, so why not put one on the bed? I decided to just bungee it to my divider plank rather than screw it down to the bed. I've seen folks do both.

 

I expected that I would need to build something to hold my chainsaws in the under-bed compartment. However, there's a small hump that keeps the right-most saw fixed in place and I can slide my other saw through that first saw's handle and it stays put, too. Just got lucky. So, ropes and saws are always handy and out of weather.

 

I got a combo hitch so I can deal with pin and ball-mounts without changing the dang thing each time (like I've done for 18 years with my Rhino!). I can keep the pin stored right there, on the receiver! Sometimes it's the little things.

 

Finally, I already posted that I have a back-up sonar beeper. I need to add a dash switch for it to make it easier to turn off because it wants to beep when I'm towing something or if I walk behind it or dump the bed. I'll eventually flush-mount the sensors and wire it up properly with a dash switch.

Edited January 23, 2022 by CampHamp

[CampHamp]

Diesel Heater

I made a short video of a cheap, Chinese diesel heater that I installed to help defrost windows and warm the cab for plowing. It runs fine but hasn't been tested in freezing temps yet.

I was considering buying the more typical aftermarket heater, one that taps into the cooling system. After looking at the installation steps and the price tag, I decided to give this option a try first. It only costs $79.

Here is the video showing my installation.