Stock racks versus aftermarket baskets, went cheap first and paid twice

Picked up a used 2019 Polaris Sportsman last spring and it came with those narrow stock racks. I figured I'd save $150 and just strap my cooler and gear on with bungees. Big mistake. Within three weeks the straps wore through the paint in two spots and my fuel can bounced off going down a gravel road near Bald Knob. I finally bought a proper aluminum basket for $220 from the local shop and mounted it last Tuesday. The difference is night and day, stuff stays put even on the rough powerline trails. Should have just skipped the fancy mounts and gone straight to the basket. Has anyone else burned money trying to make stock racks work?

1 comments

1 Comment

keith_singh5d ago

Man, I can relate to that pain more than I'd like to admit. I did the exact same thing with my old ATV, spent a whole weekend rigging up homemade brackets just to watch my chainsaw take a dive off the tail end. These days I figure if the stock racks were meant for heavy gear, they wouldn't come with all those fancy holes just begging for trouble.