When we were thinking about what we wanted to do at Rally on the Rocks, we knew a stock vehicle wouldn’t quite cut it. We wanted a vehicle that could handle every bit of eastern Utah’s rocky desert terrain. So we took a stock 2017 Polaris General 4 1000 and threw some of our best machine protection, suspension, and accessories on it to make sure we got the most out of our visit to Moab.
Here are the top 11 pieces of gear we added that you’ll need to crush the rocks at Moab.
We take our axles very seriously. The last thing we want to break is an axle, which can be especially easy to do when your machine is pitted up against the rocks and shelves at Moab. Nothing puts a damper on your day quicker. So we installed our Rhino 2.0 Axles on this General. They’re twice as strong as OEM, so we can sit back and relax while we abuse our General and take the difficult routes all day long. If you do decide to stick with stock at Moab, we’ll be happy to fix you up with a nice set of Rhino 2.0 Axles when you break them.
When it comes to rolling over things (like rocks), a 4″ Portal Gear Lift really makes it a breeze. We knew that the 30% gear reduction it provides would come in handy as we climbed rock shelves in our General. The extra 4″ of lift it provides lets us cruise over obstacles that a stock machine would grind over. For many reasons, our GDP Portal Gear Lift feels perfectly at home pulling us over rocks at Moab. It brings more power to the ground® and the difference you’ll feel when battling obstacles is extraordinary.
“What tires and wheels should we use for the slick rock at Moab?” This was probably the first thing you thought about. You need something that won’t slip and can handle a variety of trail surfaces, from rock to dust and dirt. For that, we chose 32″ Intimidator Tires. They can handle just about any terrain we throw at them, and they have enough sidewall flex to get us over the trickier obstacles at Moab. We mounted them to 14″ Healy Fast Series Beadlock Wheels because we wanted to run them with a nice low air pressure for maximum grip. Beadlock wheels are an obvious choice for Moab.
We knew we would have a bumpy ride at Moab. Even with high clearance A-arms (which, incidentally, come in at number five on this list) and a 4″ Portal Gear Lift, we wanted to make sure that if we were high-centered, we didn’t wreck the underside of our new General. So we bolstered our underbelly with our 3/8″-thick UHMW Full Skid Plate. We use an industrial router to make these, and apart from that, nothing gets through them. Don’t forget this one when you go to Moab.
High clearance A-arms are a must for navigating rock fields. The difference these things make when navigating obstacles is night and day. We wanted to make sure that when we hit the trails with our General, the trails didn’t hit us right back. The extra clearance from these A-arms gives us plenty of breathing room.
The winch is the ultimate crutch for the less-than-ultimate rider, but even expert riders like you can get stuck sometimes. We wanted to survive even the toughest trails at Moab, like Steel Bender and Behind the Rocks, so we equipped our General with our 4500 Lb. Black Ops Winch. That way, even if we screwed up, our machine could pull us through.
Don’t be caught dead at Moab without a front brush guard. The stock bumper is OK, but we wanted to make sure the entire front end and headlights were protected. So we slapped on our much beefier front bumper in case our driver decided to go straight into that boulder instead of stopping or, better yet, going around it. #justsendit
Nerf bars are an obvious choice for when you want to do some rock crawling. These Heavy Duty Nerf Bars are a great way to keep rocks from grinding away the molded plastic on your vehicle’s body, and to keep you from catching your rear wheels on obstacles along the trail. We threw these on our General so we could have fun slamming into rocks instead of worrying about our custom graphics.
In Moab, the albedo of the desert terrain can be fairly high at times. That’s why we grabbed this Tinted Half Windshield for our General. It keeps the sunlight reflecting off the surface out of our eyes and helps deflect sand and rocks that are heading face-ward, while still letting in enough air to keep you cool, which is helpful in the hot desert.
Let’s not forget that Moab is in the desert. The one thing I’m sure you can find a lot of in the desert is the sun. We protected ourselves from the sun (and also heat) by outfitting this build with our Polaris General 4 Tinted Roof. It’ll keep you cool and sunburn free.
Sometimes it’s the most basic stuff that you don’t think about until last. So don’t forget to put mirrors on your vehicle! You certainly don’t want to be the guy who unwittingly cuts off another rider who’s trying to pass (hopefully you don’t do too much damage), but side view mirrors are also surprisingly handy when navigating rock gardens. What you could do is hop out and check your tire placement every time your passenger rear tire gets hung up on something—or you could just check your mirror.
You can’t just take any old machine to Moab and expect it to perform flawlessly. Tackling Utah’s cliffs, rock shelves, and canyons doesn’t just require skill on the driver’s part—it also demands a machine that’s up for a challenge. The only way to ensure that your UTV can handle all that Moab has to offer is to deck it out with top-quality aftermarket parts from the company you know and trust. So the next time you’re heading out west (or going on any off-road adventure, for that matter), hit up the SuperATV team! We’ll have you geared up and ready to dominate in no time.
