Many of the Polaris ATV
Many of the Polaris ATV's utilize an accessory system in which the call the
"Lock-N-Ride" system. The system is a quick release system the allows you
to attach various Polaris accessories such as gun racks, tie downs and several
other items which are available from your Polaris ATV dealer.
When I receive my Polaris Range RZR one of the first things I noticed was the
lack of places in the bed / cargo area to tie down and secure equipment and
such. Polaris in their infinite wisdom likely did this to purposely make
it so you would purchase their own system in order to allow you to secure your
equipment.
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Here you can see what the Polaris Lock N Ride system looks
like. It is a nice setup, however they run anywhere from $40-$55 for a
pair. I thought this was a bit on the steep side to tie my stuff down.
They are nice and they are fancy...but really, it's a tie down. |
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I was walking through my local hardware store the
other day I noticed a system that has been around for as long as I can
remember. This system uses the same concept as the Polaris Lock-N-Ride
uses, only a little less fancier. An idea came to my mine and I
thought I have seen some things that would do very much the same thing that
I could use for my RZR. |
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I did some searching around the hardware store and came
up with what is called an expansion plug. This is a product which is
used in the auto industry mainly to plug holes in firewalls or wherever else
one needs a hole plugged. A bolt with washer and nut sandwiches a
rubber plug, as you tighten the nut, the plug expands getting larger in
diameter sealing off the hole. The expansion plugs I purchased were 1"
to 1 1/8" hole size; they cost me $3.05 including tax.
Next I picked up a 5/16" x 3/4" eye bolt to create the
tie down point, this was $.99 including tax. I disassembled the
expansion plug discarding the bolt and small rubber O-ring. Inserted
the eye bolt in thour the large washer, the rubber plug and then the small
washer, finally securing the net onto the threaded end of the eye bolt. |
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Once complete, you can insert the assembly into the holes on your RZR or
other machine equipped with the Lock-N-Ride holes and have completely
customizable tie down points. Simple insert and twist until snug;
sometimes you will need to back up the nut with your finger in order to prevent
the plug from spinning. It works great and a set will set you back less
than $10 in most stores.
Special thank to
ATVTorture.com for permission to re-publish this article.