bfisherman11

Joe, I hear you. I'm retired so last year when I needed a new truck I went the slightly used way. I had a 2016 Ram 1500 I bought for about 40k and I was going to get a 2500 this time. I also wanted a few more options. I stopped looking new when I was seeing 70k. It's shocking how this government keeps burdening tax payers with spending and is so out of tune with the costs were are dealing with.

I find it encouraging to hear that you've gotten 20yrs of work. I mostly only use mine as a worker with the occasional ride over to the neighbors. I'm lucky in that the road in front of my home is an ATV route. I guess it would be an interesting thread to poll the folks on this site on the years of service. I think that's interesting. That's for the reply! Bill

In 2016 I bought a midsized Ranger ETX. I don't recall exactly my out the door price but it was probably less than 8k. I've used it as a work machine around our home and 38acres. It's always run great and requires little maintenance. Still running strong. So, for no reason I checked out a local dealer. I like the midsized UTVs so that's where I started. I was shocked the cheapest 570 I saw was a shade under 18k. I know an ETX Ranger was a budget SxS but wow, that's a 10k jump. When I was shopping back in '16 I think a 570 was about 1k more than my ETX. Well I guess I will be running this ETX till it breaks. Anyhow, I'm a big fan of the Rangers. When the time comes I'll be back but I had no idea. I haven't posted in a while. The ETX must not have sold a lot because you don't see many things posted. Hope other ETX owners had the same reliability I have had. I'm guessing if a cheap Ranger series like mine has been reliable then the guys with bigger ones are enjoying those as well. So, great machines, probably priced per the market but I had no idea. Ha

I bought the 66" KFI plow kit for my 2015 Ranger EXP and I could not be happier. My driveway is gravel and once I got the skid plates adjusted it works great. As good as my experience sounds, one thing might make me even happier, ha. I would like to add the power turn option but at over $800 I think what the heck, I can do that way cheaper. I looked at a few designs, some guys have used a winch and cable arrangement, others tried a Linear Actuator. I found a guy that did this but he used too light an actuator (300#?) and it busted. I found one on Ebay that pushes 1,320#. For the money I think it will be worth trying. I won't do it this winter but after the season I might design something. First change I would make is the included brackets look way too thin. Other than that though, this looks workable. So, has any other DIY guy like me ever tried this? My online research found a few ideas but very little info on how they held up over time. Thanks! Bill