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Broken Heim Joint

christopher

Well-known member
Staff member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 1, 2008
81,519
27,382
113
Rigby, Idaho
I must be the only one set back by this, 3 posts in three minutes on a public forum asking us to serve as your messengers...versus sending a text to the vendor?

Then requesting people to navigate delivery for you??

All for an issue that the vendor provided you options to prevent?

Sorry, but terribly poor form!!!!!

Especially since you have their number and email and could have communicated with them directly....

Secondarily based on how you handled the whole transition to paying for membership here....

Simple actually.
On top of the mountain I could navigate the TAPATALK ap easily.
I could not navigate the browser and I did NOT have any of their contact info in my phone. My phone does NOT have any of my e-mail on it as that lives only on my desktop.

So, knowing full well that TIME was of the essence and that their ability to ship something to me would be sorely limited I choose what I thought was the most expedient route available to me.

Sorry you're offended by my asking for assistance. Luckily for me there was one of our members who wasn't offended and fired off a note to SPG and got the ball in motion for me before we got back in off the mountain at 9:00pm that night.

Had the roles been reversed, difference is, I would have been happy to make the call on your behalf and try to help you salvage a 2,500 mile sledding trip to meet with other SnoWest Forum Members.
 
M

MTdream

Well-known member
Nov 28, 2007
2,548
541
113
Simple actually.
On top of the mountain I could navigate the TAPATALK ap easily.
I could not navigate the browser and I did NOT have any of their contact info in my phone. My phone does NOT have any of my e-mail on it as that lives only on my desktop.

So, knowing full well that TIME was of the essence and that their ability to ship something to me would be sorely limited I choose what I thought was the most expedient route available to me.

Sorry you're offended by my asking for assistance. Luckily for me there was one of our members who wasn't offended and fired off a note to SPG and got the ball in motion for me before we got back in off the mountain at 9:00pm that night.

Had the roles been reversed, difference is, I would have been happy to make the call on your behalf and try to help you salvage a 2,500 mile sledding trip to meet with other SnoWest Forum Members.

First, say what you want..poor form!!!

Excuses of not having numbers is just that, you had your iPhone, your knowledgable, sync to it.....sounds like another case of poor planning on your part...

If tapatalk works, so does your browser.... Let's see...if text works, so would your email...Www.skinzprotectivegear.com..... Yep that would have worked......and hmmmm jeff@skinzprotectivegear.com or Tammy@skinzprotectivegear.com or jake or Ike....

Again drama for your forum at the expense of another....poor form....
 

ruffryder

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Aug 14, 2002
8,468
1,258
113
This is funny.. Look at chris' sled. Its a fricken skins advertisement. Look at his posts detailing installation of all of their nytro products...

and you guys call him out for "blasting" a company putting out a poor product.

:baby:
 
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T

TRUEBLUEMAX

Well-known member
Aug 4, 2010
751
280
63
Hooper, Utah
So I am curious, if this was just a "glancing blow" how did it manage to bend the tie rod also. It looks like you came to a stop just a few feet after hitting the tree in soft snow so I can't imagine that happened after the joint broke??? I was also curious why is the joint blue? It even looks like the inside on the metal is.
 

christopher

Well-known member
Staff member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 1, 2008
81,519
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113
Rigby, Idaho
Can't explain it.
Clearly something caught on that steering arm and bent it.
Maybe it wasn't the tree on the side of the ski at all??
 

m8magicandmystery

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Jan 20, 2008
7,786
3,724
113
Yukon
the helm joint don;t look sheared..weird..looks almost cut with a torch..why the thread distortion similar to high heat..??.

i agree with the suggestions that the back up sled arms should have been swapped and you could still run nytro city..

i don;t mind the thread..its interesting and i think its fine to start it...i don;t think its any attempt at drama,the snowest peeps are part of the snowmobiling family and all you were doing was asking for a bit of help from someone in an easy chair at home to pick up a phone and expediate things abit...nothing wrong with that.

But willikers,the half inch helm is suspect for a certainty , any trips should include a spare handy...but hey 20/20 is always nice..

Nothing against your sled being a skinz sled...mines a timbersled sled..
 
A

acutah

Well-known member
Nov 27, 2007
646
289
63
Kaysville, UT
So I am curious, if this was just a "glancing blow" how did it manage to bend the tie rod also. It looks like you came to a stop just a few feet after hitting the tree in soft snow so I can't imagine that happened after the joint broke??? I was also curious why is the joint blue? It even looks like the inside on the metal is.

When mine broke it took out the tie rod also. When the joint broke the ski went skiwampus and caught under the sled and twisting upward because of the motion of the sled it caught the tie rod and bent it. The fact that they are already bent makes for an easy bend.

*****************************************************************
I don't see the big deal with Christopher reaching out and asking for some help from some fellow riders. Sure he could have done it himself, but time was of the essence and I'm sure he had other more pressing things to worry about. Like getting off the mountain with a scabbed front end. We weren't there, we don't know. All I do know is that if one of my friends asked me to help I would be all over it. If you're not one of his friends and don't care, then just ignore it. Don't blast a guy for asking for help because next time it could be you, or any one of us.

People that have issue with Christopher or anyone else for running their business the way they do...Get over it and or don't so business there. I've never met the guy but I appreciate being a member of Snowest, and if you don't, then log off or say something useful.
 
P

pylon

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2009
473
88
28
in the triple slide
looks like your bolt through the ball joint wasn't tight judging by all the black crud on your spindle . sucks it happened . Ill be upgrading my own lower joints . talked with skins and they said the bottom holes just have to be tapped to 5/8th . should be able to do this while their on the machine
 
W

wilmot

Well-known member
Feb 3, 2010
508
101
28
Clearfield, UT
So you can't say nothing bad about Skinz even after you drove all the way up to Revy for your dream trip and then the junk breaks even after you upgraded the 1/2 heims. Thats commitment right there ! How many trips have been wrecked this year ? Nothing like being the test pilots for the aftermarket, its not just Skinz ! :face-icon-small-con:face-icon-small-con:face-icon-small-dis:face-icon-small-dis
Ya you don't:crutch: need to worry about the stock subframe and a-arms bending or breaking. Cant we just HIT stuff and keep riding?
 
W

wilmot

Well-known member
Feb 3, 2010
508
101
28
Clearfield, UT
Its funny how a 600lb sled with a 200lb guy on it can clip a rock or tree or anything and something breaks. Whats wrong with these things. I had to replace tunnel and skid but hiem joints are good. Im just happy if im ok. I have relaced a-arms, spindle and a subframe hopefully next time its JUST a hiem joint.
 
J

jsandgren10

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2008
499
184
43
Northern California
First, say what you want..poor form!!!

Excuses of not having numbers is just that, you had your iPhone, your knowledgable, sync to it.....sounds like another case of poor planning on your part...

If tapatalk works, so does your browser.... Let's see...if text works, so would your email...Www.skinzprotectivegear.com..... Yep that would have worked......and hmmmm jeff@skinzprotectivegear.com or Tammy@skinzprotectivegear.com or jake or Ike....

Again drama for your forum at the expense of another....poor form....

Man I sure hope you never need help from somebody outside of a manufacturer if something goes wrong. The whole point of snowest is for people to gather for a sport they love to do, and most look out for each other.

I stand behind Chris on tapatalk because it is 10x faster than trying to browse through a browser if you're up on a mountain with 1x speed. All he posted was he had a heim broke and if someone could get ahold of Skinz to get the ball rolling on a new heim. He never talked down on the company, and admitted it was HIS fault he didn't upgrade to 5/8" heims before. It was him that put a nice set of install instructions on here since the instructions included in the skinz was lackluster.

Get off your high horse and realize some people need help once in awhile, and the quickest way was to reach out to the community that should care. He got in contact with Skinz when he made it back off the mountain.

And to be honest I have NO problem paying for a premium membership because unlike you I have ran a forum before and it takes an insane amount of time to keep it cleaned up, takes a lot of space and server use. And if you don't like it go find a forum that doesn't charge instead of knocking down those that keep snowest organized and up to date. The membership includes the magazine which I no longer have to buy. Even RZRforums I support and pay a membership on because I don't want to have to be the one to take the time to watch over the forums and ensure they are up and running for all of us. The forums have a huge amount of knowledge on all aspects of sleds, etc. and paying a small amount for good advice and the ability to ask any question is a lot better than paying for nothing and then trying to buy parts, etc. off of an advertisement or by only the vendors themselves that will only promote their own product.
 

bholmlate

Well-known member
Premium Member
Dec 3, 2009
1,400
778
113
Reno, Nevada
I can understand where MTdream is coming from and i can also understand where Christopher is coming from regarding this. However i think with the nature of this exact issue, It should have been handled a little differently. Lets move on.
 
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summitboy

Well-known member
Premium Member
Nov 26, 2007
2,146
851
113
What is with members calling out other members who post negative stuff on issues that need to be brought up. Calling it "poor form" or "going about it the wrong way" by posting instead of calling the party/manufacture. Lets call a spade a spade !

Unfortunately the truth hurts. If we swept everything under the rug nothing would change and people could possibly get hurt or spend unnecessary money or waste time and effort on products or services. This sport is expensive and i think people want to know of potential issues.

You see it all the time, someone gets on a thread and says something negative or negative experience about a manufacturer/service and all their best friends get on here and start personally attacking that individual. If its junk its junk ! If its good its good ! Post it

Chris has stood by Skinz defending them at every avenue since this pile of junk front end has been on the snow. Everyone knows of the issues, Skinz, him, me, you, everyone. Yet their most loyal customer gets it from all the guys who love Skinz. Saying he went about it all the "wrong way". Really ? I think he has been more than fair even saying it was his own fault for not doing the 5/8 upgrade. Give him a break !
 
B

BigFish BC

Well-known member
Jan 27, 2005
3,348
1,139
113
kitimat b.c
What is with members calling out other members who post negative stuff on issues that need to be brought up. Calling it "poor form" or "going about it the wrong way" by posting instead of calling the party/manufacture. Lets call a spade a spade !

Unfortunately the truth hurts. If we swept everything under the rug nothing would change and people could possibly get hurt or spend unnecessary money or waste time and effort on products or services. This sport is expensive and i think people want to know of potential issues.

You see it all the time, someone gets on a thread and says something negative or negative experience about a manufacturer/service and all their best friends get on here and start personally attacking that individual. If its junk its junk ! If its good its good ! Post it

Chris has stood by Skinz defending them at every avenue since this pile of junk front end has been on the snow. Everyone knows of the issues, Skinz, him, me, you, everyone. Yet their most loyal customer gets it from all the guys who love Skinz. Saying he went about it all the "wrong way". Really ? I think he has been more than fair even saying it was his own fault for not doing the 5/8 upgrade. Give him a break !


the front end is not junk,it seems to have a issue iam not going to argue why or anything else it works great & does what they said it would.that iam happy with mine has not had a issue, will it:noidea:will they fix the prob yes i guaranty it.
 

richracer1

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Feb 2, 2011
3,626
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Idaho Falls, ID
Hey Christopher, since I was the person that got the ball rolling to have Skinz get you a new heim joint, which I had no issue with what so ever, in the future if you know I'm at home and your on a sledding trip and are having problems, just send me txt with what you need and I'll get on it as soon as I can or get you the info so you can work it.

Oh and in regards to the "SnoWest Tax" comment, get a clue buddy, the money you paid for the "Premium Membership" went to Harris Publishing's pockets, NOT Christopher's.
 
C

constech

Active member
Dec 31, 2010
67
25
18
Payson, UT
Get real

This is a free market country if Christopher or any one else wants to start a forum that is their choice, what they charge for it is also their choice. Just a thought I do not think anyone was forced to subscribe to it either. Personally I think it has a great benifit and I think it is worth every dime I spent to be part of the community and it has been invaluable. Saying your taxes paid for his trip is like your boss saying he paid for yours, its BS. If you dont want to pay a few bucks to be involved dont, if you dont want to help a fellow sledder out don't, but dont get upset with the producers who understand the value this forum creates. If you dont like people charging for their service go to a socialist country and enjoy your free crappy service. Rediculous!!! As for Skinz every company and every product can and will have some glitches, there is no way to have a perfect product especially when the very thing you are trying to accomplish is better performance with less weight. You are probably the same people complaining about why yamahas are so heavy, but as soon as they lighten something up and it breaks you wpould want Yamahas head on a platter as well. Get in touch with reality and contribute to the sport instead of complaining about its imperfections.
 

Scott

Scott Stiegler
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Lifetime Membership
Nov 1, 1998
69,618
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51
W Mont
This is a free market country if Christopher or any one else wants to start a forum that is their choice, what they charge for it is also their choice. Just a thought I do not think anyone was forced to subscribe to it either. Personally I think it has a great benifit and I think it is worth every dime I spent to be part of the community and it has been invaluable. Saying your taxes paid for his trip is like your boss saying he paid for yours, its BS. If you dont want to pay a few bucks to be involved dont, if you dont want to help a fellow sledder out don't, but dont get upset with the producers who understand the value this forum creates. If you dont like people charging for their service go to a socialist country and enjoy your free crappy service. Rediculous!!! As for Skinz every company and every product can and will have some glitches, there is no way to have a perfect product especially when the very thing you are trying to accomplish is better performance with less weight. You are probably the same people complaining about why yamahas are so heavy, but as soon as they lighten something up and it breaks you wpould want Yamahas head on a platter as well. Get in touch with reality and contribute to the sport instead of complaining about its imperfections.

Just a point of clarification..Christopher didn't start snowest forum. It was here 12 years before he came.
 

LoneViper

Well-known member
Lifetime Membership
Nov 28, 2007
515
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63
75
Great Falls, Montana
All this over a broken Heim Joint, anybody would call in a favor to try and salvage a trip, anybody would. I say fix it and move on as they say Sh..t happens no sense in crying over spilt milk!!!

Christopher, you've taken enough heat.
 

christopher

Well-known member
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Nov 1, 2008
81,519
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Rigby, Idaho
Christopher, you've taken enough heat.

Not likely.
Some people just like to bitch and moan and complain regardless of the situation. Let em vent to their heart's content. At the end of the day I had an UNBELIEVABLE trip to Canada and got to ride on a Frikin GLACIER!

I would do it all over again in a heartbeat just for another Blue-Bird Day up on the Pemberton Ice Cap.
Totally worth whatever petty grief I get from a few members...

Just look at the photos.
http://www.snowestonline.com/forum/showthread.php?t=308200
 
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