The Ranger built its reputation as the side-by-side everyone has by being a great utility vehicle. Got a big lot? Get a Ranger. Live up a big hill? Get a Ranger. Got livestock? Get a Ranger.
The Polaris Ranger XD 1500 takes that great reputation and turns it up to 11 with the best specs the platform has ever seen.
The XD 1500 is impressively capable and can do a lot more than get work done.
Today, we’re going to tell you how.
The Ranger XD 1500 already has the bones to make it a great starting point for overlanding. Its nicely sized cargo bed and impressive payload capacity let you load it up with supplies, equipment, and other overlanding racks.
It’s also just a nice vehicle to spend the day in. The cab is roomy and comfortable, and the 64-inch-wide suspension handles bumps better than a lot of other machines.
The point is, the XD 1500 has fundamentals that put it a cut above many other models. It’s not a perfect overlander right off the lot, but it’s a great platform to start with.
The first overland-ready upgrade you want is front offset A-arms. Our offset Atlas Pro A-arms pack in a bunch of important features you don’t get with stock, but they’re great for overlanding.
First of all, they use larger 1.5” diameter tubing with 0.25” thick walls. You won’t find that size tubing on a stock machine (or basically any other A-arm manufacturer for that matter). We make it big so that you can ride through unknown and ever-unpredictable terrain with confidence that your suspension will hold up.
Second, they use a high-clearance design, just like your stock A-arms. You already know how this lets you cruise over more bumps and obstacles without everything banging into your arms, and we’ve retained that feature here.
On top of that, our XD 1500 A-arms have a 1” offset that feels more stable over bumps and when you’re loaded down with gear (we’ll get to that later). But the biggest advantage of an offset is the extra room for larger tires—you can fit up to 34” tires on your XD 1500 with our offset A-arms.
Speaking of tires, our Incursion Tire is a great overlanding boot for your Ranger. It’s a versatile all-terrain tire using an advanced lug pattern that maximizes grip across different surfaces. It’s a radial tire with a durable 8-ply construction rating that rides smoothly, even on hardpack surfaces. They go great with any of our beadlock wheels too.
Grab yourself a set of Ranger XD 1500 A-arms, Incursion Tires, and beadlock wheels for a big upgrade.
With your overlanding suspension established, now we can focus on the really good stuff—cargo.
What you need on a good overlanding adventure is plenty of space to pack camping gear, food and clothes, spare parts and tools, recovery gear, and whatever else you want to make every trip memorable for the right reasons.
While we can’t provide that sick 5-person cabin-style tent you want, we can give you the cargo racks that make it easy to bring along.
Start with our Outfitter Roof Rack. It gives the dead space on your roof about 18 square feet of extra storage capacity. But it’s more than just a big box. It uses standardized and adjustable T-slot rails to make mounting accessories easy, along with tons of slots for mounting points to keep you organized. Plus, it has slots for cube lights and easy lightbar mounting locations.
Now you need to figure out what bed rack you want. Our Outfitter Bed Rack is just like our roof rack, just more of it. On top of that, it has MOLLE panels on both sides (so you can attach any MOLLE-compatible accessories, of which there are thousands of options), and it can be set level with your roof rack so they can act like one extra-long rack. If you’re bringing kayaks or other long items, the Outfitter Roof and Bed Rack pair is probably your best bet.
But you have more bed options than that. Our Bed Rack Delta is much smaller and acts as a shelf in the front of your bed (complete with dual MOLLE panels of course.)
And our Sport Accessory Bar gives you tons of mounting points and is compatible with our Sport Accessory Bar Shelf. Oh, and the accessory bar has two massive MOLLE panels, of course.
Whatever you go with, you’ll have space enough for the stuff you need, and you’ll have room to organize your gear the way you want and keep heavier items low in the bed. Keeping yourself organized will save you time and frustration when you’ve just gotta go and you need to find the TP.
If you don’t have a NorthStar Edition, you’ll want to gussy up your cab with a front and rear windshield.
For overlanding, we like to recommend our glass windshields. Our front glass windshield comes complete with vents and a driver’s-side manual wiper. The point of the vents and wipers are obvious (keep you cool and clear rain or dirt out of your view!), but glass has another huge advantage—it’s extremely scratch-resistant. That’s what you want when you’re spending days cruising through dusty and dirty trails and not trying to set a land-speed or airtime record with your UTV.
Pair that with a rear glass windshield with a sliding window for more protection. You might not think a rear window is as important as a front, but you really want both. Without a rear windshield, you get dust suction caused by your tires kicking up dust and the airflow sucking it in through the sides and out the back. Pardon the pun, but it sucks. A rear window keeps that dust-grabbing airflow going past the cab instead of through it.
Another consideration for non-NorthStar owners is recovery. You’ll want a winch, and there are a couple of ways we try to make that easy for you.
The traditional method is to get a Ranger XD 1500 winch mounting plate and a 6000 lb. Black Ops Winch. This gives you a mounting surface on the frame of your machine and a powerful winch to pull yourself, or your friends, out. We make the color-coded wiring as easy as possible, but if you don’t want to mess with mounting and wiring your solenoid, we have another solution for you…
Our Polaris Ranger XD 1500 Ready-Fit Winch comes premounted to a plate and prewired to the solenoid, which is also premounted to the plate. All you have to do is mount it to your machine with four bolts, and run the switch to your dash and power to your battery and busbar. It includes the wiring, connectors, and switch you need to get it done. It’s as easy as we can make it.
And be sure to check out our winch recovery kit that gives you more options when you need to winch out. It’s not out at the time of publication, but it will be launching real soon.
With the right gear, the Ranger XD 1500 is a capable, reliable, and comfortable overlanding machine.
Remember to choose your upgrades wisely, instead of buying whatever random cargo accessories land in front of you. Plan your whole build before you buy the first part.
More important than any upgrade is your preparation. Bring a GPS, tell people your plan, check in regularly, and know the routes. When you’re way out in the middle of nowhere, your own personal preparation and experience is the only thing that can keep your adventure in one piece.
When it comes to upgrades for your Ranger, that’s where SuperATV comes in. Check out our full lineup of Ranger XD 1500 parts and accessories to get ready for your next adventure.
