New (to me) Sled Suggestion

[Fred_Bear]

Need a sled for STRICTLY fishing. Want something that can absolutely eat up slush and deep powder and has enough power to pull a portable with ease and occasionally pull a broken down snowmobile through tough conditions. Looking for something in the early 2000s and preferably less than $2500.

Pretty much narrowed it down to Polaris RMK 600, Ski Doo Summit 600 or MXZ Renegade 600. Want something with at least a 136" track by 1.5" paddle.

Open to any and all thoughts! (except cats... meow)

Edit: Sled will get majority of use in NW Ontario in the middle of nowhere.

[dan z]

first one mentioned is going to be tough to beat in the price range.

should have posted this a week ago I just took apart a 700 RMK with a 136" track with 2" paddles. A friend of mine had it on the bay of e but the reserve was not rerached. I will keep my eyes peeled for ya

[CrappieBart]

my 2 cents, your going to have to spend a little more then that and from what you said you will want a dependable one condsidering you will be in the middle of nowhere. Buy something cheap and having it breakdown might give you huge trouble. Spend the extra $ if you can and get something like your talking about.

[stretch]

the two sleds that you have picked out will work great for what you need. i use to have a rmk 700 and that sled was awesome hands down. the only crapy thing is if you want a 2" paddle you need to run in loose powder so you don't melt the hyfax. you can get by with a 1.5" paddle. and if you power you can regear it so it doesn't have alot of speed but alot of power.

[NAMASafetyDirector]

I would also reccomend looking for a Polaris Widetrak. Reliable, tried and true engine, tons of floatation, low gear for heavier pulling, excellent wind protection, and plenty of storage under the seat for gear (ropes,clevis',oil, etc.) They're a little tougher to find but they're worth every penny for a great utility sled!

[leech~~]

Fred Bear, Like NAMA said the Polaris widetrack is a bullet proof sled, my buddy has a 97 and he uses it mainly for fishing. I have a 2000 Polaris 550 Sport Touring 2 up with a long track and it works very well for pulling my porty and is a good sled from running the trails as well. One warm weekend we were out bumbing around on my buddies lake and there was some good deep sticky and slushy snow. I had his son on my 2 up with me and we were just flying down the lake. My buddy was on a 500 Skidoo and he kept dropping back and finally stopped. When I went back to see what was wrong he was p i s s e d that I was flying so fast and he fried his eng, trying to keep up with us, with only him on his sled! So I would get either one of these sleds for what you want to do. The ones you talked about are kind of hot sleds for maybe running in powder, more then pulling!

[Tyler23]

if u want something over 2000 and only pay $2500 your probley going to get something thats either been well beat or has a ton of miles. for that kind of money you might have to go a little bit older. or just spend acouple more hundred dollars and get a good reliable one.

[leech~~]

man, I have seen some nice sleds on C/List with low miles, elec, start and rev's for around that. Just keep looking until one comes up, but you may have to stay in the 550-440 motor area. The one's you had listed are going to be harder to find at that $. You can find those good ones that some old guy had in storage and never used, or someone that just doesn't know what things are worth! It's fun looking for the Diamonds!! You always feel great when you find a deal! Good Luck! leech.

[PierBridge]

I've been looking for a Polaris Wide-track for years.

Tough to find and they sell quick!

[NoWiser]

As mentioned, the Polaris Widetrack is a great sled, and I don't think you will find a more reliable engine than that Polaris 500. One thing to consider, though, is weight. You DO NOT want to bury the Wide-Track in slush, especially if you are alone. They are heavy sleds by themselves. Fill the tunnel and track up with slush, and I hope you have a good back and plenty of advil. Trust me, I've done it more than once.

I used a wide-track for many years for fishing until a lake-trout trip 2 weeks ago in NW Ontario when, 25 miles from the nearest road, something blew in the transmission shooting a bearing right through the chaincase, spilling all the oil out. Luckily it must have been something in the low or reverse, because in high gear I was able to limp back to the truck.

My new fishing sled is an '02 MXZ 600. I just finished an auger rack for the front and bucket and rod holders for the back. This engine has been very reliable for me since I got it new. If I had my choice of sled for what you are looking for, I would probably go with the MXZ Renegade 600. My dad uses an '02 MXZ Renegade 700, which is great, but has never run quite as good as the 600 engine in my sled. I'm sure you would be happy with the RMK as well, they are good sleds. If you plan on doing A LOT of heavy towing, the Wide-Track is the way to go. Just be careful around slush! Good luck.