How do they do it?

[Northern18]

Let me first start off by saying this is just a question based solely on curiosity , not jealousy. I've always been interested in knowing how people do it.

So if you follow some of the well known names in the business , you see that these guys always run the latest and greatest , sleds, parts, clothing, trucks, trailers, decks , etc. Many are in their late teens to early 30's. How do these guys manage? Do sponsors provide them with these free of charge, at huge discounts, maxed out credit? $60 000 trucks with $30 000 in accessories, $15 000 sleds with $6000 turbos and another bunch in accessories, thousands in gear, $20 000 trailers, etc etc. And when the new season rolls around , they start over again with new stuff.

I know some run their own businesses and clinics but how do the others manage?

Coming from the ATV racing scene, professional riders paid their own way , atvs were on loan and these guys never made enough to buy a Happy Meal.

 

[joshkoltes]

just be rich and you can do it too, it cant be that hard!

 

[dootime3]

When you are on here you think everyone is driving a new 60000$ diesel pickup with a brand new enclosed trailer with heat and sleeping quarters. When you get up to the mountains you see a lot of open 2 place and 4 place trailers being pulled by 10 year old gas pickups. Also you realize you are not the only one with a 5 year old Sled. A lot of these guys on snowest are hard core.

Funny thing is my group been going for 15 years now we always talked about how nice an enclosed trailer would be. We always pull a 4 place open. 3 years ago we took an enclosed trailer On a trip from Mn to the snowies. Hit ice and a 50 MPH wind on way there and fought a 30 MPH wind all the way home. Miserable. Everyone agreed, I'd rather pull the open trailer any day. At least wind isn't gonna tip us over and take pickup with it. So for us we'll take a cheaper price open trailer over a 8-10 thousand enclosed any day.

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[rpmboy]

ive been going out west since 95,bought a 24ft feather light enclosed in 01,we use a diesel truck as well and have never ounce had an issue with wind ice ect!!! we try to buy new sleds every couple yrs,they will never go on an open trailer with all the slop wind scuffing ect. we have converted many people as to how nice enclosed is. I think these younger guys must get help or are maxed out???

 

[05M7]

Sponsors...they get you everything at a deep discount or free. also most of the "sponsored" riders are from well off families or have a very well paying sumertime job. Then theres the rest of us that have the 10 year old diesel pickup and 5 year old trailer that dump 75 percent of our income into sleds, clothing, and costs associated with the sport.

 

[eyefish123]

It is a very good possibility that the banks and finance companies own a lot of the new sleds, trucks and trailers you see in the parking lots on weekends.

 

[Vern]

Credit, who needs money when you got good credit. As far as sponsors go, visa has been the best sponsor I've had except for some reason I keep gettin these weird bills from them. I swear they send me one every month, need to look into that

 

[CO Powder]

No wife, no family and an oil field salary??? I have also seen parents that have a lot of money funding such ventures. My ex's family was like that. Her little brother raced for both Polaris and Cat at different times. Daddy bought the truck and trailer, the manufacturer sold sleds at a discount. One time he told me they made money racing that season. I asked him if he had taken into account how much his daddy spent to make that money LOL.


A few are definitely self made and kudos to them for following a dream and making it work for them.


Move to the mountains, buy a video camera. get your buddys to get footage of you trying to kill yourself climbing stupid chutes and hucking yourself off huge cornices. If you live through it, you just might make a name for yourself and be able to roll with the big boys. More than likely you will end up busted up and broke but that is the risk some of those guys took.

 

[Pro-8250]

$.02

Northern18, I have wondered the same thing. But I think almost all of the younger guys you are talking about don't have sponsors. They probably don't have a house payment, live at home, no kids, no student debt, don't put money into savings or a 401k, work as much overtime they can to do what they love doing the most, snowmobiling. dootime3 made a good point about about a lot of guys on Snowest are hardcore but I think they are in the minority. I would guess many of the younger guys you are referring to will cut back when they get older and start taking on more responsibility later in life. Nice post!

 

[Northern18]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Like I said , Just curious to know how these guys do it and you all came up with some logical answers. I thought maybe I was doing something 'wrong' and should be running a new sled every year and driving a new jacked up truck instead of my '13 sled and 10 year old truck haha.

 

[Adventurer2014]

My 2c:
1.Many people rent, live w mommy and daddy, pay credit for everything, but make sure they have the "best" gear, sleds, trucks, and they are in debt up to their eyeballs. Is this a bad thing? Nope, Not to me...just different priorities than I grew up with and desire to have.
2. Some folks were born with lots of family $.
3. Some have worked for it and created their own success. To me, This seems more rare than the above two.

It is easy to get caught up in the "latest and greatest" BS, especially when going to online forums. The older I get the more I realize that enjoying your time is what is truly important (cliche, I know). To this day the most fun I have ever seen someone have on a sled was a couple years ago we came up to a guy on a 70's Arctic cat...sled was beat up, ran like crap, he was getting stuck every 25 feet, but he didn't know any different. You could hear him laughing from miles away. Kinda reminded me of being a careless kid again. Was pretty cool to see.

 

[capnkirk]

I too have wondered the exact same thing. When I was in my early 20's money grew on trees, and I spent every penny in search of fun. As you get older your priorities change, you start thinking about, ugh.... retirement, so you change your ways. Or, at least I did. I don't mind riding older iron, driving an older truck, and wearing the same gear 3-4 years straight now. Leaves me with more cash to ride. The experience is worth more to me, than having the latest and greatest.


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[Mafesto]

The experience is worth more to me, than having the latest and greatest.
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For those of you that do not recognize this, it is called wisdom!

 

[black z]

The trucks, trailers, fuel, and many other questionable "expenses" are tax write-offs to a lot of the self employed guys coming from the Midwest. :rofl:

 

[Northern18]

The trucks, trailers, fuel, and many other questionable "expenses" are tax write-offs to a lot of the self employed guys coming from the Midwest. :rofl:

That makes sense. Seems like a lot of the guys are either self-employed or seasonal workers.

 

[Dirty Steve]

The trucks, trailers, fuel, and many other questionable "expenses" are tax write-offs to a lot of the self employed guys coming from the Midwest. :rofl:

Bingo! Who doesn't need a heated jobsite trailer that just so happens to work nicely to haul 4 sleds?

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[black z]

Bingo! Who doesn't need a heated jobsite trailer that just so happens to work nicely to haul 4 sleds?

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You also need a truck to pull that trailer that you can depreciate on your taxes every year! :face-icon-small-hap

 

[Dirty Steve]

That's right! Why not some cool wheels and tires and other bling...advertising & promotion write off?

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[Sage Crusher]

That's right! Why not some cool wheels and tires and other bling...advertising & promotion write off?

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Yep- and it works on sleds also- as now with wraps these day's it is a bit of advertising just with a twist........

S/C

 

[ynotride]

I NEED a reliable means to check grain bins at another farm site. I also HAVE to be able to search for the 2 steers if they would get out of the barn in a blizzard. I have never had livestock get out, but seem to rack up 700 - 1000 miles a year. Weird