Mark

That's pretty sorry that they took your Cousins money for an extended warranty and didn't honor it.  Good reason to change to Can Am.  I actually had a good experience with Can Am.  My DPS went out at 7 months and I had a 6 month warranty.  Can Am replaced it at no cost because they said it shouldn't have gone out that soon even though they legally didn't have to.  I'll certainly keep that in mind when buying future products and likely go with Can Am again. 

As far as the oil is concerned there is certainly nothing wrong with using the manufactures oil and is not that much more if gives you piece of mind and ensures your warranty is in force.  In my Seadoos I run the XPS oil and wouldn't think about using anything else because of the super high rpms those things run at and high potential for a blown engine.   In my defender it doesn't really feel like there is much chance of a blown engine or torn up gear box , mainly because of how I use it, but everyone is different on where and how they drive theirs.

Yes, Solid=overbilt.  I could have definitely used something lighter but I tend to grab whatever I have laying around the shop and in this case was some heavy flat bar. I would recommend 1/8" instead of the 3/8" I think that was.  The front brace will be lighter.  

Thanks!  The spare is nice out of the way.  It has been a work in progress to get right.  Initially I mounted it over the center support(see 1st picture) but when i tightened it down it pushed the roof down in the rear a little.  I added a brace to solve that(2nd picture) and now it's pushing down the roof in the front a little.  My next step is to add another brace towards the front and it should be solved, hopefully.

I would guess they can't blame it on the oil as long as it meets the spec lifted in the manual,which all of these do.  And since I'm changing yearly and only have about 600 miles on it I can't imagine the oils ever being an issue in that small an interval.  

I probably shouldn't but I just use the pressure washer.  I usually use the 25 degree tip for the outside of the machine and the 40 for the inside and keep the wand back a good distance.  So far no issues.  I am amazed how many places there are on this thing that can hide mud.  I use Honda spray polish on the plastic parts and the polycarbonate windows.

That's what I'd assume also

It's odd there isn't a relay or a fuse in the kit.  I'm like stapleton and wired mine up from scratch so I'm not familiar with the kit.

www.instructions.brp.com should have all the diagrams and contents if you enter the product numbers and see if you are missing something.  If I was to guess I'd say the two circular ends of the wire in the right pic goes to the hot and ground on the bus bar under the dash and the the other end of the wires go to the push connectors on the orange and black from your switch.  Then connect the lightbar to the switch via the waterproof connectors.  Maybe the harness in the second pic on the left is just an extension as it looks similar to the one in the first picture.  Attached is a picture of the bussbar.  Connect to the teminals under the black cover but test them first to make sure whats hot and whats ground.

Kinda reminds me of the Iron Dog in Alaska.  In the iron Dog they have mandatory layovers to rest, in the Dakar it looks like they have 10 segments and race one each day.  I'm having trouble figuring what kind of speeds they are averaging.  Either way 3100 miles is a long way to go.

My opinion of Land Rover just went way down

That's not too bad since the standard shocks are about $1k. A good set of shocks can sure make a difference, but so far on my defender max I have barely noticed the potholes and rocks i've frequently run across so I'm not changing until I start feeling it.

I haven't had any battery problems yet on my defender after 1 year.  It seems to have a really good stator in it and keeps up with all my lighting I'm running without draining the battery.  I do however have 2 seadoos that use the 30ah batteries and I have not had good luck with the ETX30LA.  I believe it goes under a lot of brands at different stores but has that same part number.  I have tried everything with all the small batteries i have, from battery minders to solar panels to bringing them in in the winter and they just don't seem to last very long.  The flooded type that are cheaper seem to  last longer than the AGM and cost about half as much.  I get about a year and half from the agms and three years out of the flooded.  I'm thinking i need to just buy the cheapest flooded battery I can find and replace it at 2 years or when it starts to struggle.  

Looks like they have a defender XT-P model now that has fox 2.0 shocks on it.  I can't see where you can actually buy the fox shocks for the defender but I may be missing it.

Very Nice! and you really did achieve a clean factory look while getting plenty of light behind the machine.  If I didn't already have two backup floodlights i might copy you on this, on second thought i may add these in addition to the lights I have.

Here is a video of a hydraulic snow blower on the front of a UTV.  They put the pump in the bed of it and it looks like it's working pretty good.  I'm not sure it would handle 55cm though.

I agree with the flip windshield being number one.  I really like mine.  I went with the hardcoat poly and it needs to be babied a little more than I thought, I might should have spent the extra on the real glass one.  After a year I have a pretty big list of what I've added and a ever growing smaller list of what I'm still planning on doing.  See list below.  Items 1 to 17 were must do's for me. Nice gun by the way!

Good to know.  I'll try that again and leave it in work mode and see if it helps.

The mode doesn't fell like it makes a difference.  In Low Range it's much more noticeable.

Mine is right over the center tray in the dash.  Just look up in there while laying on the floorboard and you'll see it. If you have the factor heater then access may be a real challenge.  Might be easier splicing into the #2 or #6 post on one of the other switches or else you may have to loosen the heater and pull it out far enough to get to the bus bar.

I agree with Dragoon on the slow speed issue, my brother's Polaris and my Father in law's Kawasaki don't do that.   I'd also like the front dash cup holders to have a lighted halo around them so I can find in the dark.  Might as well make the gear labels lighted as well. The soft doors I have could be improved if they used a better frame instead of the wire frame so they fit correctly and didn't have to be constantly adjusted or slammed shut.  I'd like them to offer a center review mirror that isn't parabolic.  They could add a tiltmeter to the dash gauges.  Make the dash lights a little dimmer.  Make the nets for the front dash shelves with more elastic so you can get stuff in and out.  Replace the headlight bulbs with LED.  Put a little bigger CV boot protector on the Lonestar and XT models that have the curved A Arms or offer one as an accessory for those models.  Add a filter/screen on the fuel filler.  Make the 4wd switch so you can throw it on at any speed.  Maybe integrate some courtesy lights into the footwell areas in the front and back.  Other than that it's perfect.  I have had problems with the DPS and also smelling  raw fuel vapor after about an hour of riding but I'm not sure if those are design issues yet or just a problem with mine. 

On the 2018 there is an accessory buss bar in the dash kinda behind where the cigarette lighter is.  Mine came with the winch installed so I'm not sure how they wired it.  I added a lightbar, Sidelights, Backup Lights, Dome Light, and some front bumper red lights.  I added relays, a fuse box and additional switches.  I put the relays and fuse box in the back battery compartment, removed the passenger side floor panels and ran the wire from the relays to the dash switches in the floor.  I powered the switches and in turn the relay trigger wire from the accessory buss bar in the dash so nothing comes on unless the key is on.  I ran all the power up to the lights through the back right roll cage pillar.   Looks pretty clean and has worked well for almost a year now.  Attached are some files with my wiring diagrams and a picture of the relays and fuses in the battery box.  I don't have any photos of the wiring routing but if someone wants them let me know and I can take a few.

fuses and relays.pdf

Canam Light Wiring Diagram.pdf

relay.pdf

I haven't changed mine yet but it isn't quite a year old.  The manual does cut the service interval in half if you operate in dusty or muddy conditions which is defiantly what I have.  It say 100hrs for oil and 200 hours for gear box and differential.  I'll probably just make it a yearly event and change all 3 at the same time.  Changing the 1st one early can't hurt.

On my 2018 Jerky is an understatement.  When going about 5 mph and slightly downhill it acts more like a mechanical bull than an expensive UTV.  It's been doing this since it was new.  I took it back to the dealer for them to fix and they said it was normal.  I don't really believe that.  I tried cleaning the clutch out with compressed air to remove any dust that may be causing it to stick but that didn't fix it.  It's funny I don't really notice it when I'm my deer lease because I'm always going faster but at my house putting around the yard I really notice it.  My current thoughts are I need to change the belt.  Maybe it was made wrong and is acting like a flat spot got burned on it or maybe I did burn a flat spot on it but I can't recall when that could have happened or it could have happened at the dealer before I bought it, it had 10 hrs on it so it's possible.  If the belt doesn't fix it there are some after market springs that lower the engagement rpms of the clutch that could work but it seems when this happens I have enough rpms going that the clutch should be staying engaged.  I'm also thinking maybe the vehicle speed sensor could be causing it since it's so rhythmic.  If anyone comes up with a solution to this I'd sure like to know.

In the service manual there is a method to flip the light switch in some sequence and the machine will display the actual error code on the digital display which would tell you more specifically what went wrong with the DPS.  Many of the recommended repairs are simply delete the error message and if it comes back replace the DPS.  An expensive fix if it keeps coming back.  I don't think you would get stranded if it goes out.  I'm not 100% sure because I haven't tried it but if you pull the fuse or disconnect the DPS harness the steering should work as if it didn't have power steering.  If it goes out completely you'll likely not even have to disconnect it.  I got the service manual online for $25 for my 2018 defender max, It gives a lot more info than the owners manual.

I would check the DPS Steering system.  Mine was doing the same.  Jack up the front of the machine with wheels off the ground, point wheels straight ahead and turn the key on.  If your steering wheel turns by itself then the DPS needs to be reset to center.  This can only be done by the dealer with their buds software unfortunately.  If the DPS isn't the issue then you may need to manually align the front wheels or you have differing tire pressure that's causing it.