When I was younger would be out west riding tearing up my sled with low snow so I sit and wait. I know of a group of 10 that went out over christmas for a week couldn’t just trail ride. Three of them are waiting on insurance to total their sleds. Three had no damage. Four had 1000$ or more. But there is carryovers for cheap so let insurance write the check and get a cheaper one.
Low snow sled carnage
- Thread starter revrider07
- Start date
Man, that BITES.
I have had several really good fun rides this season and had NO damage at all till my sled fell off the trailer.
hopefully they get a good check before the values will be dropping fast
How did your sled fall off the trailer?
One of my KaneDog straps went missing!!!
Try his leather edition, much stronger than cloth.
Been riding as a kid, since late 70' early 80's and my dad always would constantly say, we'll wait, let the dummies break their sleds, you can go ride once there's enough snow. Now late 90's when I was no longer riding dad's sleds, I didn't listen, but it only took once to realize he was right.
I used to love early season riding... made multiple "thanksgiving" trips, 12+hrs for mediocre snow. Had some really incredible POW in December over the years.
I just cracked 30... have a newborn and will likely only get a couple trips in this year. Zero desire to go meadow mash between landmines. I much prefer the longer days, warmer temps, better roads, fewer people, and ability to ride better/more terrain in February and March. Unfortunately all my friends still like to chase early snow and use up all their vacation time and sledding funds before January is even over.
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Don’t normally ride the little belts but it was a way to burn a few hours on a day off…so I got 25 miles in on trails Montana needs snow…bad!
Montana needs snow…bad! 
I grew up riding the Little Belts and that looks scary there!
G
Man, that BITES.
I have had several really good fun rides this season and had NO damage at all till my sled fell off the trailer.
New turbo sleds and no enclosed trailer! You need an enclosed! Is is so much nicer. Don't know if I could ever go back to an open trailer! Messing with covers and sleds covered in ice and mud sucks!
He left the rear door down on his last one.
for many years I had lovely enclosed trailers.
But as the years went by all of my sleds went away as my boys moved out.
Then it was just me and ONE sled.
Just didn't need the luxury enclosed, so I went the opposite route.
Single axle cheap and SUPER NIMBLE.
Made getting around really nice.
Would have gone to a sled deck, but I have to have that Cab on the back of my truck for other work related needs.
I totally agree with you on Feb-Mar being the best riding time. Half the time I drive three hours (one way) to ride, and the extra hour or two of daylight sure makes it a lot easier to get in a full day of riding without having to get up early and drive both ways in the dark, dodging the dawn/dusk deer rush. Between that and the chance of tearing up a sled, it takes a solid start to be worth it to me to ride in Dec. I have an idea (and most of the parts) to build a fan-cooled beater sled to hopefully open up the shoulder season without risking my main ride, but then if you're on a budget, you're probably still better off building more time at the peak of the season anyway.
I've got a sled deck - it's steel and weighs a ton (well, half a ton anyway), and after the pain of loading and unloading it several times a season (half the time just to haul one sled) I got wise and bought a folding ramp and just haul my sled in the bed of the truck. The deck has no advantage with just one sled, and I burn 20-30% more diesel with it on. When it comes to hauling two sleds, I'd lean toward a deck over a trailer, but if I had it to do over I'd want aluminum. There's less to go wrong with a deck, you get more traction with the weight over the axle, and it's easier to get around. Obviously at some point you need a trailer, and I've been in a few that I'd love to have, but it's a big budget-buster, and sometimes the roads are "fun" enough without 10k lbs. behind you. If I had money to burn, I'd still buy one; be nice to have even if you ended up leaving it behind half the time. Just like sleds, if you have the money and space, you'll build a quiver consisting of a deck and a couple trailers, but most of us have to make do with some sort of compromise.
My personal favorite riding is from thanksgiving to new years before the hard base makes riding too easy. Only got 200 miles in that time frame this year after 600 in the same stretch last year. There is always a stump to hit because they get sawed off at all different heights throughout the years. So far this year in my 300 miles starting OCTOBER 13 I’ve wrecked a grand total of one rear bumper which happened yesterday. Those over us who live out west have a different view on the situation though we see the terrain all summer and have a slight fraction of the drive you midwesterners doo. Oh and thank you to all of you who don’t ride until January you save the best for us and we appreciate you for it. 
Don’t normally ride the little belts but it was a way to burn a few hours on a day off…so I got 25 miles in on trails
Dang, that looks even worse than I expected! I've been tied up with school and other stuff, thinking I've been missing out, but that makes me feel better. Kings Hill is our usual spot...looks like it could use a few more weeks at a minimum.
Thanks for the pics.
H
Hey at least you can laugh about it now ChristopherMan, that BITES.
I have had several really good fun rides this season and had NO damage at all till my sled fell off the trailer.
You have an advantage of knowledge of which open meadows to ride or avoid 90 percent of the terrain i ride have never seen in summer. Glad you got some miles on how the 24 doing?My personal favorite riding is from thanksgiving to new years before the hard base makes riding too easy. Only got 200 miles in that time frame this year after 600 in the same stretch last year. There is always a stump to hit because they get sawed off at all different heights throughout the years. So far this year in my 300 miles starting OCTOBER 13 I’ve wrecked a grand total of one rear bumper which happened yesterday. Those over us who live out west have a different view on the situation though we see the terrain all summer and have a slight fraction of the drive you midwesterners doo. Oh and thank you to all of you who don’t ride until January you save the best for us and we appreciate you for it.
While I WOULD be perfectly OK with a Sled Deck, Its a NO GO for me as I need the cargo space in the truck, and it has to be enclosed and dry all winter long.
Can't take off the rear cab for business reasons.
That reminds me of a couple ideas I've had (and I'm sure somebody's done it). If you removed the bed, you could build a sled deck flat bed. That'd cut down on the steep loading ramp and get the sleds mostly shielded by the cab - less snow and road debris on them, and less wind resistance. Obviously, that's the advantage of hauling the sled in the bed, but you're limited to one. The other idea would be something like a moving van, but you'd probably want to custom-build it, especially if you wanted 4x4 and/or a crew cab. If you really wanted to go crazy, you could build the front half of the cargo area into a camper/sleep area. Again, probably outside my budget, but it'd be fun just to build if somebody's interested in paying me to build them one!
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