Getting Started in Snowmobiling

[duck2]

I have never ridden, much less owned a snowmobile. However, as a cabin owner who ice fishes all winter, I am now looking to make my initial foray into snowmobile ownership by picking up a used machine. Here is what i am looking for , perhaps a few of the sage readers of this forum could suggest a model number and reasonable price to pay:
1) I want a touring or two-up machine to use for ferrying my gear and family back and forth to the ice house
2) I need a pretty strong machine for occasionally pulling my 7 X 9 ice house.
3) Speed and thrill seeking is not my objective, but would rather have good reliabilty and minimal mechanical issues to deal with.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[hanson]

Duck-

I'll get the ball rolling for you and throw out my thoughts. I'll try to answer your questions in reverse order.

1) You want reliability and minimal mechanical issues- from a used sled. This could be a tough one to figure out, even for the seasoned snowmobiler. First I would say do not buy a sled because it has "low miles." 30 seconds of my time and I have a speedometer that isn't racking up miles. You pretty much need to get under the sled and take a good look at it. You'll be able to tell if it is really used or hasn't been used much.

2) Power- I'd stick with a 440, potentially more. You also have liquid cooled or fan cooled sleds to choose from. You are probably alright with either but I prefer the liquid cooled sleds.

3) Most of the manufacturer's utility snowmobile models are typically 2-up sleds so you can pretty much kill 2 birds with one stone. I'm pretty religious to Arctic Cat so I'm most familiar with their snowmobiles. AC Bearcat is one heck of a utility sled. AC Panther would be another good choice from the Cat lineup. Polaris used to have the Widetrack which would be an awesome sled for your specific use. Ski-Doo also has a few great utility sled models.

You mentioned you plan on pulling your icehouse, I would recommend putting studs on the track. You will get much better traction than with an unstudded track.

I would say plan on spending at least $2,000. The right deal, right seller- it could be less. The market is saturated with used sleds right now due to a few snowless winters so you could get a pretty good deal.

Good Luck to you. Snowmobiling is a fun activity in the winter, and also a great way to ice fish.

Feel free to fire back any more questions.

[duck2]

Hanson,
Thanks for the comprehensive reply. When I look under a sled, what would be some of the things I would want to look for? This could be either indicators of overuse or signs that the sled was lightly used and/or properly maintained.

[EXTREME]

I like to look under the hood to see if it was stored inside or not...some indicators would be leaves under the hood or rusty pipes/carbs. Storing a sled outside all summer takes the life out of them. Try to avoid this. Make sure it runs before you purchase it. What I mean by runs, is that it runs smooth and starts easy. This can sometimes be a problem because it has not been started since last year. Also look at the general condition of the sled...ie cracks in the hood, torn track, dirty. All of these things point to abuse. Hope this helps, it is hard to explain these things without actually being there to look at the sled...good luck!