Joined
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90 Posts
I think it is in my DNA to ruin millions of R&D dollars from OEMs. I completely worked over my 2014 RXR XP 1000 and I told myself I would wait till the warranty ran out in 6 months before I broke out the welder...well I made it 2 weeks!
I couldn’t stand the seat geometry! Reviews say the RMAX is 90% sport and 10% utility. Well the seat geometry is 90% utility and 10% sport! I went on a rougher rock crawl wash run and found myself constantly sliding out of the seat with the lap belt digging in to keep me in. The seat base is also extremely short when compared to my Super Duty. Not acceptable, time for the cutoff wheel and grinder.
![89388]()
RMAX seat at 17”
![89389]()
Super Duty at 21”
Modified seat frames with rear tube moved 2” forward and front lock flipped and moved an equivalent amount to get the base out to 19”. Frames were also bent to raise the front an inch for better retention.
![89390]()
The next project regarding the seats will require major surgery. I am going to lower everything 2-3” Because the whole seat position is just way too tall for my liking. When I took my RMAX down for the warranty repair I sat in a YXZ and the seat geometry was vastly superior. The cushions appeared to be the same and I like them, which is why I went for the frame mod instead of replacing the entire seat. Scoping out the drive’s side looks like it will be fairly simple. The passenger’s side will require a new gas tank. There is a bunch of wasted space in there too, so I may end up being able to increase the capacity of the tank in the process.
Even more annoying is the total height of this thing. Wouldn’t even fit in my ATC toyhauler so a little bit of rework to the cage was in order. 3” cage chop turned out to be real easy. Major warning here, head clearance to the cage is critical and I am only doing this because I know I will be lowering the seats anyway and I am going to redo the crossbars on the roof for better helmet clearance and strength. For reference, at 6’ tall with my helmet on, I still have ~1.5” of clearance to the crossbar but this is way to close for proper safety.
stock
![89391]()
minus 3”
![89392]()
ground out the weld on the A pillar cage coupler and cut the same 3” as the rear and down she goes.
![89393]()
![89394]()
All welded up with the rear upper x-brace cut, coped and burned in to look very close to stock
![89395]()
With the full 3” chop, the top of the plastic roof sits at 73.25” and barely clears my happyjack bed in the toyhauler.
![89396]()
My girls said it looked a lot less like a golf car too.The original didn’t bother me but I agree that lower does look a lot better.
![89397]()
I couldn’t stand the seat geometry! Reviews say the RMAX is 90% sport and 10% utility. Well the seat geometry is 90% utility and 10% sport! I went on a rougher rock crawl wash run and found myself constantly sliding out of the seat with the lap belt digging in to keep me in. The seat base is also extremely short when compared to my Super Duty. Not acceptable, time for the cutoff wheel and grinder.
RMAX seat at 17”
Super Duty at 21”
Modified seat frames with rear tube moved 2” forward and front lock flipped and moved an equivalent amount to get the base out to 19”. Frames were also bent to raise the front an inch for better retention.
The next project regarding the seats will require major surgery. I am going to lower everything 2-3” Because the whole seat position is just way too tall for my liking. When I took my RMAX down for the warranty repair I sat in a YXZ and the seat geometry was vastly superior. The cushions appeared to be the same and I like them, which is why I went for the frame mod instead of replacing the entire seat. Scoping out the drive’s side looks like it will be fairly simple. The passenger’s side will require a new gas tank. There is a bunch of wasted space in there too, so I may end up being able to increase the capacity of the tank in the process.
Even more annoying is the total height of this thing. Wouldn’t even fit in my ATC toyhauler so a little bit of rework to the cage was in order. 3” cage chop turned out to be real easy. Major warning here, head clearance to the cage is critical and I am only doing this because I know I will be lowering the seats anyway and I am going to redo the crossbars on the roof for better helmet clearance and strength. For reference, at 6’ tall with my helmet on, I still have ~1.5” of clearance to the crossbar but this is way to close for proper safety.
stock
minus 3”
ground out the weld on the A pillar cage coupler and cut the same 3” as the rear and down she goes.
All welded up with the rear upper x-brace cut, coped and burned in to look very close to stock
With the full 3” chop, the top of the plastic roof sits at 73.25” and barely clears my happyjack bed in the toyhauler.
My girls said it looked a lot less like a golf car too.The original didn’t bother me but I agree that lower does look a lot better.
