On Ice Vehicles

[JohninAB]

I run a 2002 RMK 700 for ice fishing. Works well for me. As for reverse, I have a drive on, drive off trailer so no issues unloading. Biggest issues with a mountain sled is the paddle track which is not the best on bare ice and running in low snow conditions and keeping it cooled down. But that is an issue with most liquid cooled machines.

If I was going to go with a 2 up style touring or utility sled I would look long and hard at one with the four stroke engine. More reliable and a bit more giddy up and go hp wise than a fan cooled sled. Issues for me with these style sleds is the weight and the fun factor equivalent to a root canal.

If I was just looking for a simple, light sled for ice fishing then the older Tundra be my choice.

My two rigs:

Sled is towing my new flip shelter. Has everything for a nice comfortable day on the ice.

My old quad (upgraded to a new one) pulling my other setup which is a hub style tent, plus all the other goodies.

Both are very basic setups but get the job done.




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[Moosetalker]

Have not owned a sled for eons.

My Ranger 6x6 is good once ice hits 10" scales out at 2K loaded so not as light as a Quad.

Should dredge up some ambition get my ass in gear and re build my Argo

Then find $2500.00 to buy and equip it with a set of Adair tracks Flotation and ability to climb up out of the water if a break thru happens.

[OL_JR]

Nice set ups JohhinAB. There are a few good mountain type sleds from the era. I kick around the idea of getting something like that but I'm finding this year so far the prices sure have jumped it seems. Must be part of this toy rush that covid seems to have brought on.

[Zip-in-Z]

Seen these pic's on a MB Fishing F/B thread.... happened yesterday, not far from my relatives farm near Dauphin Mb happened on Lake Dauphin by Dauphin Beach lake access, 6-7" ice, I could see the 1/2 ton going down but was surprised to see the side-x-side go down. Stay safe out there. Check out buddy's ice foot wear ... flip-flop saddles.

D.

[Moosetalker]

People really need to get a realistic weight on what they use on the ice.

A quad is anywhere from 500-800 lbs add in rider and gear is can tally over a 1,000 lbs easy So needs to be 5"-6" a side by side at 1,600 lbs with gear and rider needs to be 6"to 7" thick at least

Also take into account footprint and ground pressure, a sled or tracked Argo spreads its weight over a larger area than a quad.

[AlbertanGP]

My Ranger NorthStar weighs 2,400 lbs. from the factory...probably closer to 3,000 with the tracks and other gear. Now throw in at least two adults, and you'll understand why I don't plan to take it on the ice until January currently.

Good to know the seats float if I ever need a makeshift PFD.

[fordtruckin]

Originally Posted by raw outdoors

I melted down a set of track sliders on my sled from driving on a lake with no snow. Then when I stopped it welded the plastic to the track slides and I was anchored, lucky I had an ice chisel to painstakingly smash each track slider off of the track to get myself home.

You must have driven down a looooong lake to heat the hifax up that much! Those are the kind of experiences you do once learn and never again! I’d have abandoned the sled there if it was me lol

[Reeves1]

Originally Posted by AlbertanGP

My Ranger NorthStar weighs 2,400 lbs. from the factory...probably closer to 3,000 with the tracks and other gear. Now throw in at least two adults, and you'll understand why I don't plan to take it on the ice until January currently.

Good to know the seats float if I ever need a makeshift PFD.

Had no idea they would weigh as much as a V8 Pinto

Now imagine your rig with 550 HP & you'll know what my car is like to drive....

[mapleleafman3]

Snowdogs are becoming popular in some places in the US. Only 5k CAD. not too bad.

https://snowdog.com/ca/

[35 whelen]

These are my two ice fishing rigs my truck never goes on the ice

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[FlounderPounder]

What are you guys using for auger mounts on your atv? I've seen some actual power auger holders for like $200 + but I'm thinking that there's gotta be a cheaper way lol. I was thinking an atv gun rack, but I would think it would have to be modified height wise for a an auger power head and 10" flight so it doesn't hit the rack

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[dth_]

All the guys heating their sleds up and melting hyfax... are you running ice scratchers? Mountain sleds have come with them from the factory for over 10 years probably and they make a huge difference. They dont work great on clean ice, but on hard wind blown snow my RMK with 2.5" track still heats up but is atleast driveable.

[35 whelen]

Digger auger mount

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[JohninAB]

I used the Kolpin Rhino Gun mounts to haul my Eskimo Stingray 8”” inch ice auger on my old quad. The Rhino’s were mounted on my 6””” inch box on the front rack. No issues with clearance as the power head hung over the outside of the rack which I think the 6”” inch box helped with clearance on front fender. Only issue was, with all the bouncing across lakes, the gun mounts broke at the pivot mount point. I just put bolts thru and it fixed them good as new.


On my new quad, I have the new Kolpin gun boot mount which you can get the auger boot for which I have. That is how I will haul my auger this year.



Alberta Bigbore used this system last year and it works well.


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[Supergrit]

Originally Posted by mapleleafman3

Snowdogs are becoming popular in some places in the US. Only 5k CAD. not too bad.

https://snowdog.com/ca/

I think these would be nice get a person on the ice and don’t take up much room in a truck bed

[AlbertanGP]

Originally Posted by FlounderPounder

What are you guys using for auger mounts on your atv? I've seen some actual power auger holders for like $200 + but I'm thinking that there's gotta be a cheaper way lol. I was thinking an atv gun rack, but I would think it would have to be modified height wise for a an auger power head and 10" flight so it doesn't hit the rack

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Digger on a MinnDakota mount, with a custom setup coming from ProFab Outdoors after Christmas.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by FlounderPounder

What are you guys using for auger mounts on your atv? I've seen some actual power auger holders for like $200 + but I'm thinking that there's gotta be a cheaper way lol. I was thinking an atv gun rack, but I would think it would have to be modified height wise for a an auger power head and 10" flight so it doesn't hit the rack

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image.jpg

These work awesome, attach righ to your rack and can be used to hold other items too.

[Double-Eh]

I don't intend to hijack this thread. But how deep is too deep when it comes to snow for a quad? Or is it snow consistency dependent? I ran a Honda 350 today for the first time on ice and it zipped around one an inch of snow. I wonder when I'd be causing it too much strain.

To get back on track, so far I'm pumped on the early season. Quad. I use a light one fo moose hunting anyway so it does a dandy job on early ice. By the time the snow adds up I'd expect the ice will hold my truck

[fish99]

thanks guys for the reply on what type of snow mobile to use . now the hunt is on to find a good used one.

[Drewski Canuck]

Originally Posted by Double-Eh

I don't intend to hijack this thread. But how deep is too deep when it comes to snow for a quad? Or is it snow consistency dependent? I ran a Honda 350 today for the first time on ice and it zipped around one an inch of snow. I wonder when I'd be causing it too much strain.

To get back on track, so far I'm pumped on the early season. Quad. I use a light one fo moose hunting anyway so it does a dandy job on early ice. By the time the snow adds up I'd expect the ice will hold my truck

Its not the snow depth. Its the DRIFT depth.

Many years back ran my Grizz 660 on Gull. Tried to go from the west side to the east, and travelled for miles without a problem, until I hung in a set of drifts. Problem.

If the drifts get hard, and are anything over 18", you are going to have a bad day as the tires will crunch through the drift and you will be hung up, and you will then spin down to ice with no traction.

Odds are you will not have a shovel with you, and the best you can do is to drill a partial hole and leave the auger in the hole to winch against. Then turn around and head back to safety. Or at least that's what I did.

Drewski

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by Drewski Canuck

Its not the snow depth. Its the DRIFT depth.

Many years back ran my Grizz 660 on Gull. Tried to go from the west side to the east, and travelled for miles without a problem, until I hung in a set of drifts. Problem.

If the drifts get hard, and are anything over 18", you are going to have a bad day as the tires will crunch through the drift and you will be hung up, and you will then spin down to ice with no traction.

Odds are you will not have a shovel with you, and the best you can do is to drill a partial hole and leave the auger in the hole to winch against. Then turn around and head back to safety. Or at least that's what I did.

Drewski

No shovel...jeepers eh...but your right all machines have thier limits but if I was to bet on one and only one a sled would be my go to dedicated ice fishing machine....in fact still looking at a Yamaha RS venture TF...until then the quad and truck will have to do....no problems to date with either but I like options.


image.jpg

[rcales]

I Agree. If you get any amount of snow consider a snowmobile, Quad is useless once you get too much snow.
If you like north of calgary get a sled, if you live south of calgary get a quad
Highly recommend the scratchers if you go the sled route as well

[Penner]

If you have clearance, quad will make it thru it. Quad is simply more versatile and can be used 365 for the most part but a quad or SxS has limits. Sled no question far superior in the snow. Quad or SxS with tracks however are pretty impressive.

[Drewski Canuck]

58thecat,

I have a 2007 Yamaha RS Venture 1000 cc 4 stroke. These are incredible sleds but are a bit heavy. This is a 3 cylinder engine. It requires a valve adjustment at 40,000 km ( yes really 40 K). Mine is 14 K and when I got it, had to go through it to change rad fluid, soak the carbs and de gunk, new sliders and a number of seized boggie wheels replaced, jack shaft end bearings replaced, etc.

The motor will still be going strong long after the sled is worn out

Only thing is they are not good at backing up in powder. With good skis and upgraded track, they do go through deep powder pretty good, but they are tough to turn in deep powder because of weight.

Still, if you can find a VK 540, you will be very happy.

On the Alberta Surplus Website there are a number of Skidoo Skandic 500 Fans with varying milage and vintage. I have one of those as well, and they are a nice riding trail machine and the 503 Austrian build engine is truly rebuild able, and very much bullet proof.

Drewski

[honker_clonker]

Originally Posted by FlounderPounder

What are you guys using for auger mounts on your atv? I've seen some actual power auger holders for like $200 + but I'm thinking that there's gotta be a cheaper way lol. I was thinking an atv gun rack, but I would think it would have to be modified height wise for a an auger power head and 10" flight so it doesn't hit the rack

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Kolpin makes a product called the Rhino grip pro. Its an aluminum U shaped bracket that holds a 8" well. Ive used the ratcheting robot hands from kolpin too but blew one up in -20. The aluminum ones are rock solid.

[markusbrainus]

No one's posted the Predator yet? $1500 for a 1-man golf-cart that's powered by your ice auger
https://www.iceaugermachines.com/store

I guess if you don't use a Jiffy, you'll have to be good at driving in reverse.

[sns2]

Originally Posted by stubblejumper01

Definitely depends on where you are going to be fishing. I go to the narrows north of Kinuso on Lesser Slave. There has always been too much snow to use a pickup. A side by side works some years but most times you need tracks on it.
Most years a snowmobile is the best option. There’s a guy that has a Snow Bear track unit which would be ideal but I can’t afford one
The conditions really vary on that lake. Most years you see minivans running around at Canyon Creek but at the Narrows only a tracked machine will get you out there. You really have to watch it in late March as in the morning you can get out fine on atv’s and side by sides but as it warms up it gets soft and you break through to the water under the snow crust and you can get really stuck. You can get stuck with a snowmobile too but not as often.

I fish the Narrows all the time too which is why I bought a snowmobile.

[Dean2]

I put a one piece nylon skid plate on my Honda 400 Rancher. It goes from the front all the way back past the motor and drive system. It dramatically improved the Quads ability to travel in deep snow. It effectively makes the quad into a toboggan with outboard drive wheels. Notice the tread pattern on the tires is slightly less aggressive, paddle style tread works better than the big digger patterns. We have travelled two up in 4 feet of snow, as long as you keep your speed up a bit it is great. This is two of us coming back up a trail we cut down this line. If you step off the packed track the snow was just over knee deep most places and as much as crotch deep in the open.






Same trip

[Moosetalker]

Got High hopes these guys might be able to figure an option for my Ranger 6x6

https://www.tracksystem.co/en/index.php

They got front covered just have to make an adaptation for the independent 4 wheel rear suspension.

[OL_JR]

Dean2 that is cool definitely going to try that on our quads. Where did you get the material?