UTV Communication
Complete 2 Seat UTV Car to Car Package
Rugged Race Products
Information:
One thing that drives me crazy about UTVs is how hard it is
to communicate while driving. With the engine, exhaust and wind noise,
it is really tough to talk while driving. Add an aftermarket exhaust
and you can pretty much forget about it unless you are driving less than
about 20 mph.
There are a few different solutions when it comes to being
able to communicate with you passenger or car to car in a UTV. We will
cover a few of the options, then show you what we tested.
The first thing you will need is an intercom. Add headsets
or helmets with ear bud speakers and you are good to go.
Intercom
In order for you to communicate with another UTV, you will need
a radio like this:
Car to car Radio
Communication Options:
-
Intercom only
This allows you to talk easily to your passenger and
also listen to music from a MP3 player.
-
Intercom with hand-held radio
Add a hand held radio with the proper cable to your
intercom, and you now have car to car communication too. Communicate
with your passenger just like the intercom only option, but use the push
to talk button and you are now broadcasting to anyone within range on
the same channel.
The benefit to this system over a built-in having the
flexibility to move the radio to different vehicles or standalone, and
cost. The downsides to this method are the shorter
transmit/receive range and keeping the radio battery charger (some
hand-held radios can be charge while in the car, but others can not).
-
Intercom with built-in radio
This is the top of the line setup for UTVs. Talk
with your passenger, or push a button and you are talking with another
vehicle.
Installation is a bit more difficult due to mounting and
also running the antenna, but the increase in range is greatly increased
over a hand-held radio.
Installation:
Polaris RZR - Intercom with Hand-Held Radio
RRP600 Intercom from Rugged Race Products mounted under dash to a
small aluminum bracket.
Icom hand-held radio with right angle intercom cord
iPod mount from Axia Alloys
was used to hold the radio on the roll cage.
Kawasaki Teryx - Intercom and Built-in Radio
Vertex VX2200 50 Watt Mobile Radio and RRP600 Intercom from Rugged
Race Products mounted in aluminum Teryx glove box bracket from
Side x Side Outfitterz.
The radio mount fits snugly in the glove box and
won't move around. It allows you to still use the area on top
of the radios for storage.
Wires are run through a hole cut in the glove box.
Fused wire lead is run down through the tunnel and connect directly
to the battery.
How does it Work?:
We took our RZR and Teryx to
Dumont after Christmas for
several days of riding in the dunes and desert.
Communication within the car is fantastic. No wind
noise issues. Music interface was great and cut out nicely when
talking to your passenger.
Car to car communication was pretty good. Surprisingly
it was better than I expected with the hand-held radio.
We had a sand car in our group that had a radio setup as
well so we were able to test things out from several angles. The 5
watt hand-held radio definitely has a much shorter range and is more
line of site where the built in 50 watt radios could reach into bowls
and over tall dunes.
The hand-held is satisfactory in you know you will
always be close together. I figured that would be the case with
our RZR since my wife normally drives it and she typically follows me.
But I quickly found out that isn't the "norm". I took the RZR out
with the sand car once, and another friend took it out another time.
We got split up looking for another person. The hand-held did OK,
but I can easily see that it is best to have a setup that can handle all
scenarios or you could end up in trouble.
The good news is that it works decent enough and I
didn't have to spend anything on the hand-held since I already owned it.
If I decide it is worth it, I will just add a 50 watt built-in radio
If you do decide to go with a hand-held radio, check
first before you buy. Some have 12 volt charging capabilities so
you don't have to worry about the battery going dead.
Contact Info:
Radio and Intercom:
Rugged Race Products
3621 Sacramento Drive #1
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
Toll Free: 888-541-7223
Website: www.ruggedradios.com
Teryx Radio and Intercom Mount:
Side x Side Outfitterz
Website:
www.sidexsideoutfitterz.com
Roll Bar Mount for Radio:
Axia Alloys
Website:
www.axiaalloys.com
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