One more noob buying a Rhino - Best Deal?
 

Hey everybody. Great forum! This is probably the main place that sold me getting a Rhino 250. A friend of mine happened upon 250D that a customer didn't make full payment on or something. I said, "How do you get a NEW quad for 1200 bucks?!" I heard about Chinese quads before but didn't look into it much. In fact, I had a Chang sidecar rig in the past. Yep, I was one of those guys. Now I'm glad to see some machines with reportedly faaaaaar less maintenance without the high $$.

That said, I'm about ready to pull the trigger and get this puppy here. I'll be using it primarily for work on the homestead, hauling hay, wood, dirt etc. in a small trailer (16 cu/ft. 1200lb capacity) although I don't know if it can pull that max weight. So, first I'll need to attach a hitch. Then is it a foregone conclusion I need a sprocket upgrade? Will changing only the back one work? I need to keep to the least mods as I can due to dexterity issues with some nerve damage I had.

Lastly, I'm looking at Texas Motorsports... best deal I found so far. I've seen them mentioned here, but I know "deals" can change day-to-day. Any input on them or other dealer recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Welcome to the forum Uphill.
See what you have before you do upgrades.. I did the sprockets because of really steep hills and creek beds I climb out of. On flat terrain you might be alright.

If you have nerve issues the front sprocket would be easier to change then the rear. Think the saying goes 1 tooth on the front is equal to 4 in the rear.

Carb upgrade will give you more unrestricted throttle and seemed to open up some more HP for me.

I used txpowersports for mine. Call them first to see what colors they have... one of the only ones that picked up the phone when I was shopping around.

Thanks for the input! That would be good if I could get by with stock or changing the front only. I have a long driveway that is a little steep at the top, but it'll probably be rare or never that I pull anything up it. No more than trips to the mailbox most likely there.

Have you found it to be pretty reliable?

Yes the Rhino is pretty reliable.

I have an issue with the battery holding a charge but suspect the winch I installed might be the culprit. Other then that no real problems or issues.

Just remember... if you have any issues with what you bought... TxPowersports will NOT be that friendly dearly you once thought them to be... once "Manny" has your $$ it quickly goes 'down hill' from there :tup: you have been warned :hehe:

I'm doubtful many of the online dealers will be helpful if things go wrong. I couldn't get most of them to respond to a simple email or pick up the phone to answer a question before purchase. If I was able to leave a message, I never received a return call.

Do you have a dealer that you can recommend Azhule?

Well, I guess I'll be prayin' everything is good! I pulled the trigger this morning. I've read some good reviews, including Darth's, about them.

So Darth, if I understand your first response on mods, just try it out around my property stock, and then see if I need to change anything?

Also, that truck does lift gate drop off, right?

It should go fine... some here had an issue with them buying road bikes that needed titles or some sort of paperwork.

Yeah after you put it together... run it as is and go from there with any needed mods.

You should have lift gate service to your house if you selected residential delivery. I opted to pick it up at the local hub when it arrived there and shipping co gave me a call. Otherwise I would have had to wait some more time to get it. Didn't feel like waiting for the truck to come on delivery day either.

Gotcha. Looks like I might have some good help in the equation now. My nephew might be able to help me, and he works on quads a lot. I'm wondering if I should just take advantage of that and do the full best sprocket upgrade front and back right out of the box. If I go down one in front and up one in back, do I still need to change out the chain too? I figure if he's gonna be here, and although I probably won't do much hill climbing, I know for sure I'm gonna want to haul a bunch of firewood around, might be smart to just upgrade right away. Then I could also sell the OEM parts as basically new on ebay. What do you think? If you can give me links on the parts, I'd appreciate it. I'll probably do it sooner or later if not immediately anyway.

Yeah the chain will end up being short with the larger rear sprocket. Get something decent as some of the dirt cheap chains can fail.

The choice is yours on the sprocket upgrade... will give you more torque for sure and easier take offs. Will take some of the burden off of the clutch to I think.

If you saw the hills I climb with all my gear in tow you would understand why I did the upgrade. If its flat where you are running it the carb upgrade or reject should be enough.

The links to the parts are on my thread titled Soon to be Rhino Owner.

A days use testing shouldn't hurt the resale of the stock parts if you go that route.

Yep, makes sense. So the things I should do immediately would be:
- Change oil - 10W30 synthetic going into colder weather? It doesn't get much colder than teens / twenties here for lows in winter
- Change to NGK spark plug
- Better air filter - recommendations on that?

Also, here's the trailer I'd like to get: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/to..._content=46443
Any idea what weight max is safe to pull with the Rhino?

Don't use synthetic oil until after the engine is broke in.

You want to use 15/40 Rotella oil... not sure how 10w/30 would be on the clutch.

Yeah, I've wondered when so many people say run synthetic right away. I remembered guys recommending that when I imported my CJ 750. Then other guys would say that's crazy. Here's where I got the 10W30 synthetic specifically: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16ju9BsHejI

Darth are you running that heavy weight oil all through winter??

Winters out here in MD/VA are mild. Only oil I use in it.. was the only grade that was recommended by the manufacturer to.