P500 My P520s day of reckoning

crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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The blue ones seem to be slower, especially when parked. The red ones look fast all of the time. Green and camo blend in and can only be heard. Brown, white and yellow are rarely seen and are mythical creatures in the forest.
 
J

JRF

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Amazing transformation. You have a considerable amount of money into this project way above MSRP., probably the most expensive documented P520 on this Forum no doubt. Looking forward to your report on the improved/change in ride characteristics. I refrained from investing more after the windshield, roof, power steering, and larger tires and rims install.
 
crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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Hi,

I appreciate the kinds words. It has been a fun build.

I seriously doubt that I have spent the most on my build. I would say I'm in the top 10%, but for sure not in the top 10 builds that we know of on our site. Anyone with portals or tracks has likely got more invested than I do.

I built this Pioneer up so my wife and I could take it on some serious trips that we want to do in the future. This fall was just one such trip. We were planning on the Arizona Peace Trail ride that was being organized or attended by @Montecresto, @PJon, @Keebler and @Pilgrim... Sadley the trip was put on indefinite hold. There might be a couple of the participants still going.

The Overlanding build is still a work in progress. I just had very specific goals in mind for this trip we are going on.

Wednesday morning, we set off for Wyoming. I will post a picture of the final product as we head out. Should be an interesting sight for most people... kayaks, mountain bikes and the P520 getting shuffled down the road via a built, Land Rover Defender. Pretty easy to see what we like to do for fun.

Rob
 
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J

JRF

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Hi,

I appreciate the kinds words. It has been a fun build.

I seriously doubt that I have spent the most on my build. I would say I'm in the top 10%, but for sure not in the top 10 builds that we know of on our site. Anyone with portals or tracks has likely got more invested than I do.

I built this Pioneer up so my wife and I could take it on some serious trips that we want to do in the future. This fall was just one such trip. We were planning on the Arizona Peace Trail ride that was being organized or attended by @Montecresto, @PJon, @Keebler and @Pilgrim... Sadley the trip was put on indefinite hold. There might be a couple of the participants still going.

The Overlanding build is still a work in progress. I just had very specific goals in mind for this trip we are going on.

Wednesday morning, we set off for Wyoming. I will post a picture of the final product as we head out. Should be an interesting sight for most people... kayaks, mountain bikes and the P520 getting shuffled down the road via a built, Land Rover Defender. Pretty easy to see what we like to do for fun.

Rob
Good luck and enjoy, we moved on (as of next week) to a CanAm Defender Limited as the P1000-3 with full enclosure is close to a 2 year wait here in Ontario Canada (at least in my area).
 
The Green Goat

The Green Goat

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Power steering is amazing! Between that and the shocks, it felt like a new machine.

More to come in a new thread from the Medicine Bow National Forest.

Rob
Let me know how the black bear situation looks over there. Planning on a Spring bear hunt next year in that area.
 
crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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We saw one today. A baby ran across the road in front of us. We waited for mama, but she never came. My wife was so excited to see her first bear in the wild. It was cinnamon color but very young. Maybe 100 pounds tops, likely more like 70-80 pounds.

I started a new thread and threw some pictures up.

Rob
 
crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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OK, back after our vacation to the wilds of Wyoming...

I can tell you that the p520 was flawless on the trails. Based on my observations of everything I have done to this little buggy, I would rank the following mods from best to nice to have. This is based on my usage. Others that ride mud will differ significantly.
  1. Larger tires - the obvious reasons are increased ground clearance, floatation/absorption, and traction. 27 x 11 x 14 Maxxis Big Horn 3.0
  2. Top, EMP
  3. Power Steering, Super ATV
  4. Trigger Shield
  5. Fresh Diff fluid, Mobile 70 - 140w
  6. Windshield, Honda Hard coat
  7. Shocks, Elka Stage 1
  8. Skid plate, Super ATV
  9. Locking glove box, box LLC
  10. Turn signals, Turn Pro
  11. Arched a-arms, Super ATV
  12. Warn Winch/KFI mount
  13. Locker, Torque Locker
  14. Side Mirrors,
  15. Cupholders, Crossroads 3D
  16. 2" Receiver hitch, Moose
  17. LED Headlight bulbs, Diode Dynamics
  18. Aux Light, PIAA
  19. Wheels, Tusk 14 x 7 bead-locks
  20. 4-pinTrailer wiring, Turn pro
Some reasons I ranked things the way I did:
  • My trip to the mountains never required 4wd in my Pioneer. Actually, I used it one time after exiting a deepish stream with a lot of round boulders on the other side. The trail was pretty steep and I used 4wd for this. I can't tell you that the locker made a huge difference for me, but it was there if I needed it. Same with the winch, always on hand, but never got used. Same with the skid-plate... as far as I know. I will look at it today and see if it touched anything. For so many reasons, the tires are the winner on best mod.
  • Comfort was a big factor in my list. My wife had a great time, and I attribute this to a lot of the parts I added. Last year in Leadville, in stock form, I was making excuses for the ride and noise. This year was way different on the rocky trails. Having a top, and windshield was nice, but the shocks, tires, and additional measures to cut down on dust and noise was huge, (Thanks a million Trigger!). Same with the power steering. My wife hated to drive the 520 with the big tires, now she loves the buggy.
  • Being able to drive on the streets was a big deal to us too. Turn signals, a horn, and better lights were a bid deal. Finish things out with the mirrors and the slow moving triangle to be street legal for most areas. We drove the Pioneer around town a lot and even went on a date night to a fancy place, and still drove the Pioneer.
  • Storage sucks in the little Pioneers. A glove box that locked and was weatherproof was a big deal. Cup holders big enough for our Yeti's was a nice to have.
I will finish up the write up in my other thread about the trip. Since this thread was about the build, I wanted to let everyone know what I think gets you the best bang for the buck and I why I chose this order on my list. Like I said, if I were muddin, I would likely place more traction enhancements at the top over the comfort.

Rob
 
J

JRF

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Sep 24, 2021
56
342
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Canada
Ownership

  1. 520
OK, back after our vacation to the wilds of Wyoming...

I can tell you that the p520 was flawless on the trails. Based on my observations of everything I have done to this little buggy, I would rank the following mods from best to nice to have. This is based on my usage. Others that ride mud will differ significantly.
  1. Larger tires - the obvious reasons are increased ground clearance, floatation/absorption, and traction. 27 x 11 x 14 Maxxis Big Horn 3.0
  2. Top, EMP
  3. Power Steering, Super ATV
  4. Trigger Shield
  5. Fresh Diff fluid, Mobile 70 - 140w
  6. Windshield, Honda Hard coat
  7. Shocks, Elka Stage 1
  8. Skid plate, Super ATV
  9. Locking glove box, box LLC
  10. Turn signals, Turn Pro
  11. Arched a-arms, Super ATV
  12. Warn Winch/KFI mount
  13. Locker, Torque Locker
  14. Side Mirrors,
  15. Cupholders, Crossroads 3D
  16. 2" Receiver hitch, Moose
  17. LED Headlight bulbs, Diode Dynamics
  18. Aux Light, PIAA
  19. Wheels, Tusk 14 x 7 bead-locks
  20. 4-pinTrailer wiring, Turn pro
Some reasons I ranked things the way I did:
  • My trip to the mountains never required 4wd in my Pioneer. Actually, I used it one time after exiting a deepish stream with a lot of round boulders on the other side. The trail was pretty steep and I used 4wd for this. I can't tell you that the locker made a huge difference for me, but it was there if I needed it. Same with the winch, always on hand, but never got used. Same with the skid-plate... as far as I know. I will look at it today and see if it touched anything. For so many reasons, the tires are the winner on best mod.
  • Comfort was a big factor in my list. My wife had a great time, and I attribute this to a lot of the parts I added. Last year in Leadville, in stock form, I was making excuses for the ride and noise. This year was way different on the rocky trails. Having a top, and windshield was nice, but the shocks, tires, and additional measures to cut down on dust and noise was huge, (Thanks a million Trigger!). Same with the power steering. My wife hated to drive the 520 with the big tires, now she loves the buggy.
  • Being able to drive on the streets was a big deal to us too. Turn signals, a horn, and better lights were a bid deal. Finish things out with the mirrors and the slow moving triangle to be street legal for most areas. We drove the Pioneer around town a lot and even went on a date night to a fancy place, and still drove the Pioneer.
  • Storage sucks in the little Pioneers. A glove box that locked and was weatherproof was a big deal. Cup holders big enough for our Yeti's was a nice to have.
I will finish up the write up in my other thread about the trip. Since this thread was about the build, I wanted to let everyone know what I think gets you the best bang for the buck and I why I chose this order on my list. Like I said, if I were muddin, I would likely place more traction enhancements at the top over the comfort.

Rob
This exactly, thanks for the validation. Great job sharing this with us.
 
crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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I like the shocks a lot and I would buy them again in a heartbeat. But given my experience, they were on the list where they were simply because I feel the tires add so much flotation and cushion. the shocks, while nice and certainly were softer, we’re not at the top of my list like some of the other things comfort wise.

And to be honest, yes they are expensive at $949 delivered to me. Which I think is absolutely crazy considering the entire machine cost just over $10,000. I would much rather see a shock that was $150 each which would make a $600 bill instead of a $950 bill. But I’ve spent far more money on more ridiculous things.

Rob
 
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futzin

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And to be honest, yes they are expensive at $949 delivered to me. Which I think is absolutely crazy considering the entire machine cost just over $10,000. I would much rather see a shock that was $150 each which would make a $600 bill instead of a $950 bill. But I’ve spent far more money on more ridiculous things.

Well said . . .
 
crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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Image
Image


Image Image
 
crewcabrob

crewcabrob

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I got to spend some time cleaning up after our Wyoming trip. And I installed the new seat covers that came after we had already left. My wife had requested seat covers simply because she finds the vinyl to get really sticky after a while.
 

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