[Moose]

It comes with the territory that a lot of us live in, it is snow and cold. For the past month I have been operating my Pioneer in a temp range of around -20 to 20 degrees F. I have had no incidents of failures to start or any other issues from the cold. Other than the stiffness of suspension, steering, and shifting that come with the cold. Then of course there is a few more squeaks and creeks as you head down the trail. I'd probably be squeaking too, if I had to plow through the snow this time of year with people riding on my back. Naked nonetheless.

It has been great in the snow. In two wheel drive, she will slip to the side when looking for traction, but locking in 4wd, she quickly corrects course and responds with zeal. I've been over a foot deep in the white stuff in rocks and logs and gotten out of trouble that I was expecting to end up stuck in. Diff lock came in handy there when the back tires were spinning on the edge of a log. As soon as the front tires dug down through the snow and found something to grab, she pulled herself right out and went on her merry way. I've busted drifts over two feet deep and had a blast doing it. The front end can really pack some snow in, but nothing a little hand shoveling can't fix. I haven't been able to get the pioneer stuck yet. Sometimes my king quad can get hung up in deep enough snow packed under her belly. The added girth of the 700-4 has kept me out of that predicament.

The Pioneer has been excellent in the snow and cold. It has allowed me to get out in the timber and extend my work and fun deeper into the winter. Which is great for catching up on work, and for entertaining the kids.







Drift particles ended up in my bed.



The nets seem to do very little to keep out exploded drifts. Made me wish I was wearing my bibs and not just jeans. Lesson was learned.



Took about 8 hours to melt all of the snow back out of the Pioneer. Made one heck of a puddle in the garage.

 

[rich450es]

moose if you continue to ride in deep snow by yourself you need a winch or comealong because you WILL get stuck one of these days .........

 

[Moose]

moose if you continue to ride in deep snow by yourself you need a winch or comealong because you WILL get stuck one of these days .........

Well soon as my winch gets here.... hahaha. Feels like its been months since I ordered it. Oh wait, it has been.

 

[Kyhunter]

I wish warn would get on the ball and start making a bumper and also winch mounts...

 

[Moose]

They make the mounts that Honda sells as "Honda mounts"

I'm guessing its in their contract that they have to wait some period of time before they can market them to the public as Warn mounts

 

[OLT]

Im new to UTV's, did you do any special things to prepare it for optimal winter performance? I know some car guys tend to use thicker engine oil in winter so the oil doesn't freeze as easily and allows for easier starting.

 

[rich450es]

Im new to UTV's, did you do any special things to prepare it for optimal winter performance? I know some car guys tend to use thicker engine oil in winter so the oil doesn't freeze as easily and allows for easier starting.

you use THINNER oil in the winter !!!!!!!!

 

[Moose]

As Rich said. Thinner oil in the winter. The oil will stiffen overnight and while just sitting in the cold. Which makes it harder to crank the engine.

I didn't do anything special to prepare it. Other than making sure I run a little ethanol in the gas and stabil. I've had non ethanol gas freeze up fuel lines here before. The factory oil isnt very heavy. Either is the diff fluid. After a deep snow ride, I will do my best to dig out any packed in snow. Or let it sit in the warm garage to melt overnight. As the UTV cools after a snow diving day of fun. It can harden to ice. Which can bind things up in the brakes and suspension if you dont clean any out. My synthetic rope gets frozen on my winch too, so I will spool that out a little bit and back in to clear the line.

If your not going to ride it often in the winter. I suggest a battery tender. Fuel stabilizer and an oily rag tucked in the air intake and exhaust pipe.

 

[hoops]

anyone ever have problems starting in the freezing cold?

 

[David]

Moose,
I agree 100% regarding winter riding. I have been back in my bush lot a number of times and been out "playing" on the lake a few times just to see how it handles and reacts in different situations in the snow. I think it is better in the deep stuff than my ATV is and I have been deep enough to push drifts with the front bumper and not had a problem. I am running stock tires and can only imagine how it is on upgraded rubber.
It has always started good in the cold and I always let it warm up a bit before moving it as I know it would do for me if I stayed in a cold garage all night long.

 

[rmk700]

Here is a few pioneer pics in snow.

and a big mule deer I come up on.

 

[Moose]

Wow, you got pretty close to that muley. Nice photos!

 

[foggy]

I put chains on the rear of my Pioneer. We had some slush on the ice for a while…..and while I never got stuck, I thought the chains were good insurance. I put the web "tighteners" on and have had no change in the ride and no chain noise. I have kept my speeds to about 25 mph or less.

It's been so cold that I would hate to get stuck coming off the lake in the dark. The slush is frozen now….but the chains don't seem to hurt anything. I think I'll leave em on for my limited driving across the ice. With the wind packing the snow….I ride over the top of the snow mostly now. I was driving thru about a foot of snow previous to the wind and hard freezes.

I think I paid about $40 at F F and had to shorten them up a bit with a bolt cutter. The brand is Peerless and they are made in China….the quality seems OK.

 

[Moose]

Yeah the wind and Arctic cold moves in tonight for us -30 temps and -50 to -60 wind chills. That's not a time to get stuck.

I think those chains look great. Perfect option to add cheap traction.

 

[Ransom Proctor]

As Rich said. Thinner oil in the winter. The oil will stiffen overnight and while just sitting in the cold. Which makes it harder to crank the engine.

I didn't do anything special to prepare it. Other than making sure I run a little ethanol in the gas and stabil. I've had non ethanol gas freeze up fuel lines here before. The factory oil isnt very heavy. Either is the diff fluid. After a deep snow ride, I will do my best to dig out any packed in snow. Or let it sit in the warm garage to melt overnight. As the UTV cools after a snow diving day of fun. It can harden to ice. Which can bind things up in the brakes and suspension if you dont clean any out. My synthetic rope gets frozen on my winch too, so I will spool that out a little bit and back in to clear the line.

If your not going to ride it often in the winter. I suggest a battery tender. Fuel stabilizer and an oily rag tucked in the air intake and exhaust pipe.

hey moose,

why do you run a little ethanol in your fuel? I guess I thought ethanol would make for harder starts due to moisture issues? I've read online that some e85 vehicles have a harder time starting under extreme cold conditions when using e85.
I have a farm tank and my fuel hauler recommended me to buy premium (91 octane) that was non ethanol because the non ethanol fuel will store longer with less problems than 87 octane with ethanol. its takes me sometimes over 3 months to empty my fuel tank so with ethanol I would have moisture issues. he claimed if ethanol fuel sat for longer than 30 days I could have issues. I'm by no means a fuel expert, but so far I haven't had any problems. my ranger started no problem at -2 the other day.

 

[Moose]

The alcohol content of the ethanol blend works to help keep fuel lines from freezing. I also add stabil to keep the fuel from getting "stale" I do a 50/50 mix of the 91 we have here and 89 ethanol. When I lived in Iowa, I could get 93 with the ethanol, frankly the fuel and selection sucks where I live now.

Where you are , I'm sure non ethanol is probably fine. We hit -33 actual temp here the other night. Everything freezes up.

The ethanol in the gas attracts moisture. It needs to be exposed to the air to absorb it. If you have it in just plastic jugs, you want to keep sea foam or stabil in it. If you have a tank storage that is in decent shape, I'd think 3 months wouldn't be an issue.

I'm no fuel expert either, I wonder though if he is motivated more by the price difference in the two.

You could always try a 50/50 blend of the two. End up with an 89!

 

[Ransom Proctor]

the whole issue is confusing to me. we've bought fuel from this guy for years and I don't think its a money thing. he's told me fuel quality as a whole is horrible. but he told me that for extended storage I would be better off with non ethanol fuel. I have a few plastic jugs I use from time to time, but right now the fuel is sitting in a steel tank and to be honest its probably over 3 months old with no problems. in our area you can't buy 87 non ethanol, premium is the only non ethanol option. he made it sound like the fuel separates over time...or draws moisture over time, again I'm not real sure but we definitely never get cold enough for gasoline to freeze in the line.

 

[Moose]

the whole issue is confusing to me. we've bought fuel from this guy for years and I don't think its a money thing. he's told me fuel quality as a whole is horrible. but he told me that for extended storage I would be better off with non ethanol fuel. I have a few plastic jugs I use from time to time, but right now the fuel is sitting in a steel tank and to be honest its probably over 3 months old with no problems. in our area you can't buy 87 non ethanol, premium is the only non ethanol option. he made it sound like the fuel separates over time...or draws moisture over time, again I'm not real sure but we definitely never get cold enough for gasoline to freeze in the line.

I did a quick search, this website goes over the issues with ethanol storage. It doesn't have moisture in it unless it is exposed to it. Saturation point is 3/4 ounce per gallon. That's not a great deal. But if it's sitting open to air it can deposit moisture in the tank and grab more from the air.

If you have ethanol in the tank now and it's running fine, I'd say don't change a thing, if you have concerns, do a mix of the two. If you have problems switch to the 91.

http://www.echo-usa.com/Warranty/Learn-About-Ethanol/Ethanol-Fuel-062512

 

[Moose]

As far as quality of gas as of late, we were talking about this in another thread a few days ago. Seems like quality has diminished on every kind of fuel. Leading to a lot more cold start issues. I got mine to pop off at -26 , so I'm going to stick with what I have been doing

 

[Ransom Proctor]

thanks for sending the link. right now I'm using 91 non ethanol. after reading the link I feel my fuel guy was shooting my straight due to the usual extended storage time in my tank.

we got to -9 the other night, which is very cold for our area. I feel for you. I don't mind the cold myself, I just hate having to deal with the potential problems on the farm with cattle, diesel fuel gelling in the tractors and the potential of broken or freezing pipes.