Help!!! New to Sledding. Need Advice.

[BrianF]

Hi, I'm committed to buying a sled for our new cabin, but have never ridden before. Can someone make recommendations for a 4 stroke sled, 2 up, to be used for trail riding and pulling a clam?? Probably will be lightly ridden, maybe five or six weekends a year. Hopeful of getting a quiet, clean burning, and low maintenance machine. Budget is $15K. Stopped in at a Polaris dealer recently who steered me away from their 4 stoke engines due to 'issues', but said the 2 strokes require more maintainence and will need to be rebuilt after a certain number of hours. Now, I'm even more confused. How is a newbie to know? Any other machines to stay away from?

Since I know almost nothing of sledding, help from experienced riders (anyone who has ridden!) is appreciated.

Brian

[Ballyhoo]

Any 2 stroke engine will need to be rebuilt before a 4 stroke engine. That being said, the way you described the way you would use it, you will probably get 8+ years out of the sled before you have to do anything to it. If you maintain the sled, properly fog the engine in the spring (keeps internal parts from rusting) you will enjoy a lot of usage out of it. I am partial to Polaris as I have been riding them for years. Arctic Cat, Ski-Doo and Yamaha all make good snowmobiles. Each one is a little different and offers something a little different. One thing you have to think of between a 2-stroke compared to a 4-stroke is starting. The 4 stroke engines are harder starting at colder temperatures and do not have a recoil backup so if you battery goes dead, that is it.

If I was going to recommend a sled for you, I would say a Polaris 600 Widetrack or a 550 or 600 Indy Voyager. They all have racks for carrying gear etc and pulling portable fish houses. The Widetrack is not as nimble in the trails but a better fishing rig. The 550 is a fan cooled engine and won't go quite as fast as the 600 Indy but is less expensive.

I could go on and on but that will give you enough to think about.

When choosing a brand, pick one with a good dealer close by you. The brands all make good sleds, the dealers make the difference. If you have to drive 100 miles everytime you want your sled serviced, that makes a difference.

[gquist]

You should really buy from a dealer that is established and near where you will be using the sled the most, It is a pain if you need to haul the sled 200 miles to get some small issue took care of,

I have a Arctic cat touring sled I use for ice fishing and trails, They are proven performers and reliable.

Arcticcat.com TZ1 LXR is a 4 stroke touring that would fit your needs, I have 2 strokes, Like the simplicity of them and they are 1\2 of what a 4 stroke costs.

[BoxMN]

Here is the best advice I can give you, and it is not what you were after though

Don't get ONE sled for a cabin (unless you are the only one using it, and your friends have them). One is not fun. Two is fun. And at a budget of $15k, I would first say, don't spend that much money on one sled, or on your first sled. You don't even know if you will like it yet (you will though ) but really I mean it. Get a couple $2500 sleds for the first year(again assuming there are two drivers). And at $2500 each, that they will be nice sleds in very nice condition.

Use them, learn about them, how to ride, they will start great, ride great, and after the first year, a $2500 sled will still likely be worth about $2500. Turn around and sell them and get what you really want, and after a year of using them, you will find what you WANT, not what some salesman tells you that you want or need.

I have 3 at my cabin, an old 25 yo Polaris that runs great! and two 11 year old sleds that run like new, always start, and are comfy. Even with a covered trailer, I don't have $5500 into it all...

edit - assuming again you have more than one person, since you want two-up - But really, getting one sled (even a two up touring which I have) is like getting a one seater car... not much fun if you have more than one person...

Anyway, don't be afraid of 2 strokes, and 4 strokes are nice too, but likely heavier. Friend has Yammie touring 4 stroke Venture and he loves it, and I have an older 02 Venture 600 2 stroke and love it. But it is more fun on the lighter nimble Polaris XC haha!

All will pull fish houses and work for ice fishing just fine. A rack on back is nice, but you will be towing a sled so everything can go in there.

Good luck! You will have fun with whatever you get. But I would much rather have two or three $5k sleds than one $15k sled.....

edit again - heck for $15k get two nice sleds (08ish) and one ATV (if you don't have one). ha! I love helping people spend money!

[BoxMN]

Re-read and saw that you specifically want quiet and clean, so that is why you want 4 stroke. Okay, my above post still applies but my buddy with the Yammie Venture 4 stroke says it sips gas, runs great, handles great for a heavy two up, and it flies! Really fast machine, really nice. I have had nothing but good luck with my Yammie so far, rides like a Cadillac.

Others here know more about sleds than me, and more about the newer ones. Good luck, have fun! I use my sleds every weekend from snow until lake is unsafe, but I don't think I could ever spend that much money on a sled, ha!

[icecold]

Yamaha 4 strokes all the way, reliable economical on fuel, lots of 4 stroke yamahas with over 20,000 plus miles make a nice touring 2 up sled.

[Augusta]

Check into the T series from Arctic Cat. Sounds perfect for what you are looking for. Plush ride for two and 4 stroke. Your wife will love the two up seat. It has heated hand grips for her. Just my thoughts.

[yoppdk]

I have a 09 A/C TZ1 that is used primarily for accessing a remote cabin and for pulling a fishing sled. I also use some for the trails. It's been a good and reliable sled. All brands will have something that will work very well for your needs, but you might want to consider that your needs may evolve once you start riding. I know mine did. I started with an A/C Panther and enjoyed it until I couldn't keep up with my buddies. Then I got a hotter sled and was able to keep up, but as I got older I realized I didn't need to go so fast, so I went back to a 2-up, though the TZ1 is somewhat convertable from 2-up to 1-up.

I doubt if you'll ever find any single sled that is "best" for your needs ... so many sleds can be well suited for what you want to do. I agree with others that you might want to find a good dealer that is convenient to you and maybe get their input and see what they have to offer. I'll bet after you look around a bit you'll find a few sleds that really seem better than the others and you can choose from there.

[CANOPY SAM]

Some really great advice here. All of it is good.

I have to agree with BoxMN 100%. I wouldn't drop $15K on just one new sled even if I did have that much money to burn. If you do just a little research on line you'll find thousands of really good used sleds of all makes, models and styles for WAY, WAY less then your current budget.

I'd bet the farm for $15K you could find a pair of very nice mid-2000's 2-up sleds, and a good quality trailer to move them with to boot!!! Heck, for $15K you could almost certainly buy 4 good used sleds + a trailer!

I have to confess, I find it pretty funny that a Polaris dealer basically steered you away from even buying a Polaris! Suppose I'm a bit biased though, living in Thief River Falls, MN., home of the Arctic Cat snowmobile!

Trust the advice that's being given here. From what I can see, all these guys know sleds, and have done a significant amount of riding. This is a really good place to get solid, reliable intell.

[PurpleFloyd]

Some really great advice here. All of it is good.

I have to agree with BoxMN 100%. I wouldn't drop $15K on just one new sled even if I did have that much money to burn. If you do just a little research on line you'll find thousands of really good used sleds of all makes, models and styles for WAY, WAY less then your current budget.

I'd bet the farm for $15K you could find a pair of very nice mid-2000's 2-up sleds, and a good quality trailer to move them with to boot!!! Heck, for $15K you could almost certainly buy 4 good used sleds + a trailer!

I have to confess, I find it pretty funny that a Polaris dealer basically steered you away from even buying a Polaris! Suppose I'm a bit biased though, living in Thief River Falls, MN., home of the Arctic Cat snowmobile!

Trust the advice that's being given here. From what I can see, all these guys know sleds, and have done a significant amount of riding. This is a really good place to get solid, reliable intell.

I agree with these guys too. I haven't had a sled in a few decades but decided to get one for me and the kids last year. I ended up getting an Arctic cat 570 ESR with electric start and reverse ( yeah, I guess I am getting old lol). They are inexpensive, reliable and great sleds to start out with and I paid 1700 dollars for this one. I see AC Panthers which are similar but cushier for around 3 grand and that would be a really nice first sled. Buy 2 of them and a trailer and if you enjoy them you can sell them and trade up in a few years. One way or the other 2 used sleds will be more fun than one new one. IMHO.

[BoxMN]

One more tip that is important if you pull an ice shack - make sure to use a rigid hitch. I have used ropes (don't do it!), homemade rigid hitches (using rope through PVC tubes, with hooks on the ends - it works, but is still flimsy and doesn't prevent tip overs, and not that great around corners), and found that using Otter hitches (about $50) on any make tub is the best option out there.

They are pretty universal, or at worst you just put some eye-bolts (two for each arm, backed by big washers) on the front of your tub to fit the outside edges of the hitch. Then put a U-bolt or eye-bolt on the rear of your tub and you can hook up another in tandem, or triple... It just works solid, and I think it is the best hitch out there. Haviing all your tubs, and those of buddies you fish with, using the same hitch pattern makes for easy hooking up out on the lake. Oh yeah, wrap some Blaze orange duct tape around your pins, so when you DO DROP THEM in the snow you can find them easier. You can guess how I learned that lesson, haha! And keep an extra one or three pins in your pockets or sled storage. Good luck, sorry for the "book" again...

[BrianF]

You guys have given me alot to think about! Glad I asked the question. At this point, I'm re-considering my original plans and taking BoxMN's advice to downsize my budget and buy a couple of older sleds. I've written down the recommendations you guys made for specific sleds and found a dealer close by who has some of these in stock. Will pay them a visit this weekend. In the meantime, I'm appreciative of any other advice or thoughts you might want to pass along. I'm all ears and considering all advice. Believe me, as a newbie to all this, one can imagine how intimidating this feels.

Brian

[luckydog25]

I would add that it might be a good idea to wait until we have enough snow to test drive them. Go test drive each brand and see what feels the most comfortable to you.

[CANOPY SAM]

And don't be intimidated at all!!! It's your money, and your choice what you do with it. Don't let a salesperson sway you one way or the other. Take your time, and get what you want. As stated above, if you're dealing with a private seller, make sure you test drive the sled before you write the check.

One thing to keep in mind with used sleds. They say 3000 miles on a used sled is about in line with 100,000 miles on a used car. I suppose this is likely true with the average user. I don't think very many snowmobiles are ever really "gently used". They all take a pretty good beating, whether thru simple trail riding, or thru off trail riding.

I'm not afraid of a car that's got 100,000 miles on it, as long as I can go thru it thoroughly, and see it's still in good shape, and hear that it purrs like a kitten. A used sled can be an entirely different story.

Whenever I look for a used snowmachine I always try to find the sled I want with the lowest mileage I can find. At least then I can feel a little more confident about how many more years I'll get out of it without major mechanical issues. Anything with more than 3000 miles on it, I'd be pretty leery. That's a pretty high mileage sled...at least one with 3000 miles that I don't know how it was used.

[Macgyver55]

One thing to keep in mind with used sleds. They say 3000 miles on a used sled is about in line with 100,000 miles on a used car. I suppose this is likely true with the average user. I don't think very many snowmobiles are ever really "gently used". They all take a pretty good beating, whether thru simple trail riding, or thru off trail riding. Anything with more than 3000 miles on it, I'd be pretty leery. That's a pretty high mileage sled...at least one with 3000 miles that I don't know how it was used.

I'd personally disagree with that ratio. It would have been more accurate in years past, but today's sleds will often do that with minimal problems. My last sled had over 14000 miles, the one before it had nearly 13000 and close to 9000 on the one before that and I don't baby them! Admittedly this may not be the "norm" but with the technology of lighter sleds, better suspension, stronger alloys, synthetic fluids, fuel injection and more, I believe that ratio is no longer very close to accurate.

[CANOPY SAM]

You could be right Mac. It's just what I'm often told, and I thought it might be important to pass along.

Honestly though, there's not a snowball's chance in heck that I'm buying someone's used sled with 13,000 miles on it!

[Meat-Run]

If you knew MacGyver you would have bought his older 600 skidoo

MR

[leech~~]

Not sure how others feel about this, but one thing to watch for when buying used sleds from a dealer. There are tons of reconditioned "rental" sleds out there. Most of them will be long track or 2 up sleds from out west. The dealers will buy a few or a truck load and clean them up and some times change out the odometers which I don't believe there are any laws against it for sleds as of yet? I know this happens for a fact because one spring when in West Yellow stone I stopped and talked to a guy working in a rental shop that had his garage door open so I thought that I would stop and talk some sleding with him. He was putting up each one on a lift and going through used rentals that they were going to sell and cleaning them up. He said that they will put on a new seat if ripped, skis if bent, new windsheld or hood if cracked, buff them out and take off any rental marking numbers and change out the odometers if the miles are way to high. Most of them are newer sleds and don't look to bad once all the dings are cleaned up. But you maybe buying a sled that has 10,000 miles on it when you thought that you were getting one with only a few 1,000 on it. You can ask the dealer if it was a rental which they may tell you, but look for faded number spots on the front or sides of the hood or where old rental Lic, tab marks were.

The rentals from some places don't look to beat up because they are from places that do touring with families and stay on trails only doing about 40 mph at the most with trail guides controlling the groups speeds, but they put on tons of miles on them each season. Some like car rental places will dump their sleds when the factory warranties are up or are almost up. So, just a word of caution, you may not always be buying what you thought you were!

[BrianF]

Okay, I'm still moving forward with my research and trying to stick with the great advice I've rec'd here. Learning quite a lot. Also learning it's not easy to follow the prescribed advice, at least for me. Use machines that are recommended are in short supply. And, what I'm finding is that you cannot trust every dealer of snowmobiles. Some will roll-back the odometers as pointed out by Leech. Not being very mechanical or familiar with the sport, I feel vulnerable. So, my question is: Do you guys have recommendations of dealers that are trustworthy?? I don't want to find out after the fact that I've bought a used sled that looked lightly used and in great shape, only to find out that the odometer was rolled back a few thousand miles and there were some busted parts under the hood. A good dealer wouldn't do this to a new customer. Any one want to point me in the right direction there? Thanks for the info and advice so far. Strangely, I feel I can trust you guys. Brian

[MN Mike]

I wouldn't sweat the odometer roll back too much, the amount of previous rental sleds out there compared to ' customer ' sleds is pretty small, my buddies bought some of those rental sleds a few years ago and they were a disaster! BUT there were 2 tell tale signs something was up, the price of the sled was too cheap to begin with for the miles on the sled and if they would have checked the factory warranty, you will find out Cat only puts a 3 or 6 month warranty ( I can't remember which one for sure ) on a sled that a rental place buys, where your consumer sleds get at least 1 year if not more depending on how they were ordered.

Sleds are moving FAST these days and you have to be ready to pounce if you find a good deal.

Where are you located?

I know most of the dealers I talk to, I can trust them, look them right in the eye and ask them if that sled was a rental and they would tell me yes or no if they knew for sure but like I said, the VIN number will give you a good idea.

Mike

[CigarGuy]

The "list" has a dealer is St Paul that posts a fair amount of nice looking used sleds that were rentals. A guy posts on the site talking about how he or a buddy (can't remember) got a sled with the miles turned back or different speedometer. He was able to verify with vin number and the manufacturer. I understand it's not against the law??? Sure doesn't seem right! When you find his name, google it and get more info if your interested.

[Abndoc]

Here is a brake down for what i did this year. Now granted I spent alot of time, but my wife wanted to get a sled, I wanted a 4 wheeler and like they said one sled is ok, 2 are great.

I ended finding someone that was getting rid of his toys.

2006 Honda rincon. 400 miles 60 inch plow and winch.

2002 MXZ 600. 1500 miles

2001 Polaris xc 600 1500 miles

Drive on/off sled bed trailer all for under 9000.00. I did my research checked them all out. I feel I got a pretty good deal and everyone in my house is happy. 15000.00 you can really get a sweet deal. Shop around!!!