2021 Polaris Ranger XP 1000 Trail Boss Accessory Roundup Review

During our long-term testing of the 2021 Polaris Ranger XP 1000 Trail Boss, we found the rig capable, but not without some flaws. We decided to hit the expansive collection of accessories and aftermarket parts to try and solve our biggest issues with the Trail Boss. After several more months of work on the farm and the trails we are ready to render a verdict on which of our accessory choices made a difference and which ones we’d skip next time around.

If you’ve read any of our Ranger XP 1000 Trail Boss coverage or listened to any of our podcasts, you are likely aware of how we all felt about the factory mesh doors that come with the Ranger. The attachment mechanism is just too finicky and cumbersome to use when you’re in a hurry or if you need to enter and exit the machine multiple times in a short period. To remedy this we snagged a set of the Polaris Half Doors, and we’d do it again for every Ranger we ever own.

By going with the half doors you lose some weather protection, but the trade-off is worth it for the ease of use. With no window or upper door frame the half doors are surprisingly light. Not only does this make them much easier to install, it means that you won’t wear yourself out opening and closing them all day long. The doors are also solidly built. The entire inner surface is covered with a rubber material that resists scuffs and feels a lot more premium than basic plastic. The doors also give you a bit more storage space thanks to a set of small cubbies near the bottom.

There are a lot of reasons to go for full-size doors, especially if you live in an area that sees a lot of cold weather, but for most users, we think the half doors are the way to go. The extra $1,000 it costs to get the full doors is better spent on more accessories like a roof or windshield.

If we could make any changes, we’d get rid of the pointless door lock on the handle and add a catch strap at the hinge as there is nothing to stop the door from swinging all the way around and hitting the bed. While discussing minor complaints, it is frustrating that Polaris doesn’t offer a choice of colored accent panel when ordering. The doors always come with a gloss black panel, which means that when you pay the $100 to get your matching panels, you are left with a useless pair of black panels. Polaris should just save the plastic and ship the doors without the accent panel.

The main job of our Trail Boss was farm duty. Livestock don’t care what the weather is, they need to be fed and tended to. That means we needed to find ways to keep some of the wetness out of our rig. Few things are as miserable as getting into a wet seat after fighting with four horses on a rainy morning. At $350, the Poly Sport Roof was an obvious purchase. It takes less than 10 minutes to install and instantly increases the comfort and usability of the Ranger.

Thanks to the large foam seal, the roof never rattles against the frame and keeps dust and water out of your face when at speed. Polaris offers a premium version that comes with a padded roof liner, but since our rig doesn’t have HVAC, it wasn’t necessary. It could also be an absolute hassle to keep clean if you didn’t have a fully sealed cabin.

Our biggest complaint is that the plastic of the roof is pretty soft, so it is hilariously easy to scuff and damage. We laid it in our driveway before installing it and that was enough to score the panel. After our time, the roof is covered in small scuffs and cuts from every branch it’s contacted. Still, it’s cheap to replace and the roof is not exactly a visible piece of the rig. Just something to be aware of.

What seemed like another no-brainer option was the addition of a full glass windshield. In the end, we made the wrong choice, but only barely.

It costs an extra 50 percent to get glass over the polycarbonate, but at $730 we don’t consider the glass unit to be an extravagant addition. The extra resistance to scratches is well worth the cost here on the heavily forested East Coast. That goes double for daily use considering how much hay and sand ends up on our rig here at the farm. In use the glass windshield did everything we wanted and more. It keeps the wind, weather, and debris out of your face on your ride while making the cabin quieter at speed. The Lock & Ride mounting system means it takes just a few seconds to install or remove.

The real problem with the windshield is keeping it clean. We didn’t get a wiper system, and that created several problems. When we installed the window we covered the thing in Rain-X, so when you are on the move, the water rolls right off and keeps the view forward clear. But when you stop for a few minutes or when the rain dries on the window, you are left with an absolute mess to try and peer through.

All that said, we still don’t want a wiper system.

Adding the wiper system brings the cost of the windshield up to $1,300. Instead, we wish we had opted for the Tip-Out Windshield. It costs $1,240, saving money over the glass and wiper combo, and for low-speed moving during weather, you can just tip the glass up and out of the way. It is also just nicer to have the window you can open when the weather is really nice. As easy as the front window is to remove, you have to make the choice before your ride to leave the glass or take it. You aren’t feasibly going to remove the windshield mid-ride and strap it into the bed. Getting the tip-out window comes with all of the advantages from the standard glass unit, with almost none of the drawbacks.

If you decide to get front glass, the rear glass becomes an absolute necessity. When moving at speed the front windshield creates a turbulent pocket around the cabin that will dump every single ounce of dust and dirt directly into your lap if you don’t have rear glass. For farm use, that little slab of glass also kept hay, gravel, mulch, or whatever else we filled the bed with from infiltrating the cabin and covering the back of our neck over every bump.

Going glass here serves the same basic purpose as it did for the front windshield. The glass is nearly impervious to damage and scratches in basic use. It also provides a stronger barrier to wind and noise than a thin sheet of polycarbonate.

Our only real problem with the rear glass comes at night. The perfectly flat sheet of glass sitting at a 90-degree angle to your seat means that it essentially acts like a mirror at night. With no light in the bed or reverse lights to counteract glare, trying to turn your head around and look through the window is basically pointless. You are better off hanging your head out the door to back up in the darkness. Polaris does sell a version of the rear window with sliding glass, so that could be an option if you find yourself doing a lot of reverse maneuvers at night.

The first of our “great in theory” additions is the Front Storage Hood Rack. This little chunk of powdercoated steel looks to add extra storage to the front of your Ranger, while also making it appear absolutely badass. From a visual perspective, the hood rack did the most to transform the look of our Ranger XP 1000 Trail Boss. Combined with the already aggressive front bumper and Ghost White paint, the hood rack gives the Trail Boss an air of force and purpose.

Sadly, that hood rack is a whole lot of bark with very little bite.

We wanted the rack mostly for carrying extra bags of animal feed when the bed was full of hay or other materials. However the front rack’s max capacity rating is just 100 pounds. That means we are limited to only two bags of feed.

Put anything on the front rack and you will realize the second issue with the unit: It is just too tall. The front of the Ranger is already large and imposing. Put a few items on that hood rack and suddenly half of your windshield is filled with cargo, dramatically reducing your ability to see where you are going.

It was nice to have around when we needed to move something quickly a short distance. Throw a few camp chairs or a bag of mulch across the hood to move around the farm, and it works just fine. But during normal use we just skipped the rack and stacked stuff in the passenger seat instead.

We don’t think the addition of a winch needs too much explanation. One of the most versatile tools of any well-equipped rig, the venerable winch has saved countless riders and farmers across the decades. For our choice, we went all-out with the Polaris Pro HD 6,000. A winch is a tool, and we wholeheartedly believe you should always buy the best tool you can afford.

A 6,000-pound capacity is more than enough to pull even the largest rigs, and it provides more pulling power for tasks around the farm like moving fallen timber. Going with a synthetic cable over a steel one also adds a certain level of safety if there is a failure, and reduces weight. Finally, make sure you get yourself a unit with the wireless remote like we did. If you ever find yourself alone, having an option to operate the winch from outside your UTV can literally save your life. Along with the hard doors, we think every single Polaris Ranger XP 1000 needs a winch.

One final addition we made to our 2021 Polaris Ranger XP 1000 Trail Boss was a 10-inch Rigid light bar. Having adequate lighting can be the difference between getting a job done on the farm or getting yourself hurt. We grabbed a 10-inch spotlight version with a lumen rating of nearly 8,000. In the end though, we ended up wasting our money.

The standard LED headlights on the Ranger XP 1000 are so bright that our additional light bar did almost nothing. It could provide good distance lighting on open trails, but for farm work it was rendered pointless by the amazing lights Polaris already equipped our Trail Boss with. If we were to do it again, we would choose some lighting for the rear of the rig or some area lighting. Polaris offers a 360-degree work light that mounts behind the cab that seems like a much better option for farm use.

At the end of the day, we took our $19,799 2021 Polaris Ranger XP 1000 Trail Boss and threw almost $5,000 in parts at it, bringing the total cost of our particular Ranger to $24,600 and some change. While not exactly a cheap rig, that makes our unit about $5,000 cheaper than a NorthStar Edition Trail Boss, so we consider the cost of our upgrades a major win.

We fully admit that we didn’t get everything right. The front storage rack and our choice of accessory lighting were total busts, but on the whole we took what was already a good machine and turned it into a great one.

There are still a few gripes that would need addressing going forward if we buy the Trail Boss. It is in dire need of some mirrors. Not only is this a requirement for road-legal status in our home state, but trying to back up and maneuver the Trail Boss when the bed is loaded with hay is a nightmare without mirrors. We’d also look to add some general area lighting, like the beacon work light ($239.99) we mentioned earlier.

Finally the last major accessory we want to add is the CargoMax System bed rack ($549.99). We actually had one on order, but it lives in the back-order purgatory and never arrived. The bed of the Ranger is just too shallow to properly utilize its full payload ratings. Having a better way to mount and secure gear is a must-have in our book.