Tow bar for sled

[IndyEFI500]

A guy I work with says that a friend of his got pulled over by a CO for not having a rigid tow bar on his fish house sled (an Otter I think) when towing it behind his ATV. The CO also was going to cite him for having his young (5 I think) son on the ATV with him with out it being a two up model. Apparently the guy got off on these because the CO found he had been drinking and he got a DUI instead (sucks to be him).

My questions to everyone is, from what I see in the rules, you only have to have a rigid tow bar if you are pulling a device with passengers in it which this guy was not. I also thought that if you had a small child, they could ride with an adult operator on the machine. Anyone have any input?

[GotOne]

I am pretty sure you can have a rider under 12 (with helmet on) on a single wheeler. I would really like to know about the tow bar, I only use a rope. I going to the dnr HSOforum to check.

[Shack]

I have been pulling buddies out behind a snowmobiloe for years in otter with a rope on it. I have never had an issue. But something as simple as this could be illegal now in this state of MN. I will have to check it out.

Indy, if you could, what lake was this? I noticed the NW in your location.

[IndyEFI500]

He only said it was up north so I am fairly certain it was out of the metro. He usually fishes Mille Lacs or in the Alexandria/Glenwood area. I'll have to ask him where it was.

I did not see anything online in the regs about the passenger issue. It does say you now have to wear a helmet which seems like a lot of extra weight in the winter if you would go under. The tow bar said only if their were passengers did it have to be rigid. Thanks for the input.

[Shack]

Did this apply to ATV, Sleds or both about the rigid bar?

[IndyEFI500]

This is from the DNR site on ATV regs:

Towing

• A straight-arm bar must be used to tow a trailer or other device containing

passengers.

• A disabled vehicle being towed may contain a person to steer.

• At least 16 square inches of reflective material that is unobstructed and visible

must be mounted on each side and at the rear of a trailer or other device.

I did not see anything about this in the snowmobile area.

[Shack]

Thanks Indy!

[chris63]

As far as passengers the atv states on it if it is a single or double occupancy unit.The tow bar is a safety issue BIG time.When towing anything(or anybody)the use of just a rope can be very dangerous.The gear(and or people)can be launched when the rope gets wrapped around the rear tires on braking or cornering.A tow bar is a inexpensive item when weighed against the cost (ouch)of an accident.IMHOc63