YAMAHA GENUINE ACCESSORY RMAX HARD CAB ENCLOSURE & HEATER
TURN COLD WEATHER WARM WITH A TIGHTLY-SEALED CABIN
Most off-roaders will put up with quite a bit of weather before they pack it up and go home. Many of us enjoy the harsher elements, as it presents a unique experience and a challenge. That being said, we have all been miles out on a ride when the weather turned poor and we came underprepared. Soaked gloves, soggy goggles and wet riding clothes don’t make for a great experience when the temperatures are on the colder side of the spectrum. If you live in an area that frequently experiences extreme cold or snow, your riding season may be significantly shortened by the weather.
UTVs are mostly an open-air experience. A handful of manufacturers have come out with full cab enclosure systems that seal up the cockpit for extra weather insulation, including Yamaha. Soft and hard cab accessory systems could be found in their catalog previously, but the RMAX cabs you are staring at here are all-new. They were designed with a higher quality standard in mind than the last generation of hard cabs, and Yamaha’s accessory team seems to have nailed their goal.
Upon first touch, all of the materials on the Yamaha accessory hard cabs are very high quality. The plastic is rigid and molded extremely well, so all of the panels fit with very tight tolerances, but they don’t rattle and squeak on the trail. Yamaha accomplished this with careful design consideration of where the panels join and how they are attached, keeping the cab system tightly sealed and quiet. All of the windows in the kit are automotive-style tempered glass, which is a great advantage for repeat use in dirty conditions. Just make sure not to follow too close to avoid taking any direct roost shots in the windshield!
Yamaha sells the cab pieces individually. For a two seat RMAX, you’ll need the plastic suntop that comes on most models, plus the front windshield and wiper system, the rear sliding glass window, and the front cab door kit. The RMAX4 requires another set of rear cab doors, which is actually the most expensive piece in the whole kit. The cab heater is also optional, and we do recommend it for cold weather operation. The defrost function alone is worth the price of the kit, but it was very nice being able to keep the cab warm during our mountainous trek in the snow and howling wind.
Installation of the cab kit is fairly simple, as most of the panels encase the ROPS system and use clamps to hold the cab onto the frame. The heater installation is a bit more involved as you must tap into the vehicle’s cooling system for a heat source. The kit is very compact and quite nicely engineered, including a bypass that allows for easier engine warmup at idle in cold temperatures with the heater running. It worked flawlessly during our testing, and actually made the cab warm enough where we had to turn it down. It likely won’t keep up as well in sub-zero temps, but it will still add much needed warmth to the cab.
HEADING INTO THE MOUNTAINS
To test the Yamaha cabs in their element, we headed out to the backside of Arrowhead, California for a trek from the desert floor up into the snowy mountains. Almost as if by design, the weather turned inclement, and it started to snow as we ascended the mountain. The further we got, the worse the weather got, resulting in 60+ mph winds and heavy snowfall by the time we reached the summit. While we were warm in dry inside the RMAX units equipped with full cabs, some of the other drivers on the ride weren’t so lucky. The heated RMAX units with full cab enclosures provided a much-needed spot for other riders on the ride to warm up and dry their gloves while we waited for some of the weather to pass.
After stopping for lunch, we headed back down the mountain in the thick of the storm. Eventually, the snow turned to rain for a bit, which transformed the trail from white snow banks to a muddy mess. Here, we got a great test of the windshield wiper and sprayer kit that Yamaha designed for the RMAX. It keeps the front windshield clear even in the nastiest of conditions, but does leave a small blind spot just above the driver’s side headlight where the wiper can’t reach the corner of the windshield that has to be wiped by hand.
Later in the day, back down on the desert floor, the weather changed again, baking the cabs in the sun while we played around in the rocky sand washes. Here, we were able to get a good test of the cab ventilation with the windows open. The front windows have a latch that allows them to be propped open at an angle for ram-airflow into the cab while riding, or flipped back and pinned for a fully-open half window. The RMAX4’s rear windows do the same neat trick. Coupled with a rear window that can be slid open in the two seat model, it allows for a great amount of airflow through the cab that kept us cool even when the weather got warmer.
THE VERDICT: Yamaha’s accessory RMAX Cab Kit is a well-designed and extremely well-made enclosure that turns the RMAX into the perfect cold-weather exploration rig. The units we drove had stock suspension with minor preload adjustments done to compensate for the added weight of the cabs. The RMAX2 handled the weight very well, as we were able to drive the car at a great pace without any excess bottoming.
The kits are pricey, however, the two-seat cab kit comes in at $6,220.96 with the heater, before installation and tax. The RMAX4 cab kit is $10,092.95 with the heater, before installation and tax. It is a large investment, but after spending some time with these units, we would definitely say that Yamaha built them to last the life of the vehicle. If you’re serious about cold-weather riding, Yamaha’s cab kit will be worth its weight in gold to you.
Accessory Price List
Wolverine Glass Windshield with Wiper and Washer System
$1,413.99 SKU #B4J-F83J0-T0-00
Wolverine RMAX2 1000 Sliding Glass Rear Window
$831.99 SKU #B4M-K750A-V0-00
RMAX4 Flip Up Rear Glass: $1,378.99 SKU #B4J-K750A-T0-00
Wolverine Cab Heater Kit
$774.99 SKU #B4J-K75L0-V0-00
Wolverine RMAX2/4 1000 Hard Front Cab Door Kit
$3,199.99 SKU #B4M-K85A0-V0-00
RMAX4 Rear Cab Door Kit: $3,324.99 SKU #B4J-K85A0-V0-00
Wolverine RMAX Overfenders
Front: $199.99 SKU #B4M-F15E0-V0-00
Rear: $199.99 SKU #B4M-F15G0-V0-00
Wolverine RMAX2 Rear Cargo Box
$573.99 SKU #B8K-F83P0-V0-00
RMAX4 Cargo Box: $468.99 SKU #BG4-F83P0-V0-00
Yamaha 60W LED Light Bar – 15″
$737.99 SKU #BG4-H4104-V0-00
Wolverine RMAX2 1000 Rock Sliders
$446.99 SKU #B4M-F11D0-V0-00
RMAX4 Rock Sliders: $467.99 SKU #B4J-F11D0-V0-00
Wolverine RMAX 1000 Front Brush Guard
$399.99 SKU #B4J-F84L0-V0-00
Wolverine RMAX 1000 Front Bash Plate
$251.99 SKU #B4J-F84N0-V0-00
Side View Mirrors & Cab Mounts
Mirrors: $289.99 SKU #B4M-F62A0-V0-00
Mounts: $77.99 SKU #B4J-F6206-T0-00
Total Accessories Bolted Onto RMAX2: $9,399.87
RMAX2 Vehicle Cost: $25,899 – $27,699
Total Vehicle Cost As Shown: $35,298 – $37,098
Total Accessories Bolted Onto RMAX4: $13,187.86
RMAX4 Vehicle Cost: $26,399 – $30,399
Total Vehicle Cost As Shown: $39,586 – $43,586
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