Hi Crimson
I bought the wife an 03 rancher 4x4 and she loves it. I kept the heavy hardware off it (She'd never use it anyway), it can pull my car up a steep hill, in the low 1st gear, and honestly there is no effort for the Rancher at all. The tires that come on it (Dirt Hooks) are great, she had to blaze the trails for me in deep snow (Then I was running a stock Rincon w/ those crappy stock tires ) Since then I put 26" Mud Lites on my Rincon and we can do pretty much the same terrain. I did notice though, (Her skill on gears is not really good just yet) but if the Rancher was in 2nd gear on a steep hill, and she didn't keep on the gas, she would bog, stop, shift to 1st then boogie up the hill with no problem. When it bogged in second, it was like a clutch slip (motor revs up a bit but no wheel spin) I would be concerned here, if you must put such big tires on yours.
See ya on the trails
Oilcan
PS.. I was in Lynchburg Tn. not too long ago! I would love to ride in you state in the fall! Must be nice there! Eh! ;-)