School me on used sleds...

[Shorty_J]

... or just point me towards some useful sites.

Got a new truck so I might as well buy shit to put in it, right?

Just looking for quick things to look for or avoid and good resources.

Don't need a performance machine... just for access.

[XXX-er]

...Don't need a performance machine... just for access.

Yeah everyone sez that and then they start drinking budwiesr just to fit in and eventualy they leave the skis at home!

[adrenalated]

What's your budget?

You'll get every answer from "you're gonna die if you don't buy a brand new sled" to "just buy whatever's cheapest." So your realistic budget is a useful piece of info.

[Shorty_J]

I expected the "you're gonna die" so I'm ready for that.

I guess I don't have a budget and that's a problem. Don't know how cheap I can get into this. What if I said $5000?

[Shorty_J]

Yeah everyone sez that and then they start drinking budwiesr just to fit in and eventualy they leave the skis at home!

12 months ago I would say this is impossible, but I can't make such assurances now.

Still looking for a starter sled for now.

[SB]

5K is good, looking around you could only spend half that (or less) and get sumthing that will fit the bill.

If there are any sled groups in your area that would be a good starting point.

Years ago we had a Yamaha 340 Enticer longtrack 2 up machine that was simple reliable and nearly impossible to kill. Light enough to unstick it by yourself, started first or second pull, rack out back for packs and beer/food, would tow a cargo sled or two skiers no problem.

Look around and take your time to figure out what works best 4u.

[XXX-er]

Yer in alberta so wait for the price of crude to drop a little more & spring breakup ... should be lots of motorized toys fo sale!

unless of course yer that guy

[Shorty_J]

Ha ha... I don't THINK I'm that guy but who knows... I do own a truck now.

[Shorty_J]

What is considered a high enough mileage to be concerned with?

[adrenalated]

Disclaimer: I am a sled JONG, but did a lot of research before and after buying my first sled last season.

"High mileage" depends on the sled.

First you need to decide what kind of sled you want. It seems either a mountain sled or utility sleds are best for skiers. A utility sled will get 3 (or more) people up groomed/packed roads with the least fuss. They are heavy, bulky, and basically useless outside of packed roads, but will haul a lot more people and gear than a mountain sled. A mountain sled will get you a lot more places - on and off trail - but you're mostly limited to two people on the sled.

For a $5k mountain sled, nearly all the skiers around here would pick an Arctic Cat M8. I think it was essentially unchanged from '07 to around '11. Should be able to get an '08-09ish sled for that money. The M8 engine appears to generally be very reliable, and the chassis was very good in it's day (and still decent).
I have an '05 M7, which is the same chassis and engine (with a 700cc top end rather than an 800cc, same bottom end) and run about $3k, but are tough to find.

You should probably plan on doing a top end on an M-series sled at around 3500-4000mi. Bottom end will probably still be OK. That will run you about $500-600 in parts, plus whatever in labor if you don't do it yourself. There's a lot of people (including on this site) that say "don't do rebuilds, you never know when they'll blow." Although I'm a sled jong, I do have a shitload of experience with two stroke motors and have torn apart, rebuilt, and blown up dozens of them over the past 15 years, and I can tell you that is absolutely not true. Someone that knows what they are looking at inside a motor - REALLY knows - will be able to accurately evaluate it and tell you what needs to be replaced in order to keep it running. I some some sleds were notorious for throwing cranks at less miles than that.

[Shorty_J]

^^^ great info... thanks!

I think I'd want a mountain sled considering what you've said here.

[wooley12]

FWIW. I just finished zip tie lace repairing and duct taping a pair of 1999 Arctic Cat Powder Specials that were a gift from a major back country skier. NADA says they are worth $850. Only 900 miles on them but seems snowmobiles engines are good for 5000 or so says the internet. I'm only going to be asking them to transport me to places where me and my honey can ski the fresh between the switchbacks of groomed trails. I'm a complete snowmobile jong. Now I need a truck.

He took me for my first back country tour on those sleds

[crashidy]

Do a search on here. Many of us even from alberta/bc have chimed in. 5g will get you a great sled. 04 to 06 summit 800 for around 4g. Guys are asking alot for sleds right now because they are picking up their new ones. Get a cfr rack. Get a mountain sled because let's face it we have mountains with steep roads and hills. I believe there is another asked forum on here in teck talk and ski gabber.

Locally check out snowandmud. Com and kijiji.

[Shorty_J]

Lots of good info so far... thanks.

I guess I'm not totally surprised but the homophobic banter is off the charts on snowandmud.com ... wow!

[crashidy]

Hahha yeah. It is entertaining. You can read about many issues with each sled on there. Fell free to pm me and i can send you my number. I'm canmore and can point you in the right direction for a few things.

[skisurfmirth]

If you just want to access roads and packed trails I have a skandic for sale (1800$) It's a great access machine but that is all it does. If you want to sled ski or get to hard to reach places get a mountain sled. There are some good deals out on those right now used. Some buddies have scored xp 800 for under 5000.

[theChenzp]

The best deals on sleds for Canucks are down in the states. It's not as hard as you think, and well worth the effort.

i'm not allowed to post links yet, but search dootalk dot com for importing a sled from the usa

[XXX-er]

Personaly I hate the fucking things, I won't own one but I do ride them when someone calls to go

consider while Timmy Tundra may get you into the goods for the hike when you come back a day or 2 later it has snowed 20cms and you realize ...maybe you should have bought more sled?

[theChenzp]

Well, how fair is it when a doo is made in Canada, and costs less to buy in merica?