Comments on: Nathan’s Snowmobile Ski Carry System

By: Nathan

Nathan — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:56:33 +0000

Rick
I am getting to the point that I would love to only carry my own pair of skis. But I’m sure you know, dirt bag friends will always weasel their way into you getting them into the backcountry. Which posses the problem of how to get their crap 13 miles back there. Towing is always a good bet when they’re not that good of friend but you need someone to dig you out in the case of an avalanche. But that takes too long to stop every couple miles to let their legs rest. And standing on each side is sketchy and not affective when your co-pilot doesn’t know how to shift weight. And doubling up on the saddle is super bad for the suspension, constantly bottoming out. I guess what I am getting at is that any way you put it, snowmobiles can really make what should be a fun day into a huge headache.

Getting back to your concerns, I do believe that the bike inner tubes solve a lot of problems with the gun rack system. They will break way before your skis will. And if you tip over the sled, just tip it back. No, biggie. Ya they are a pain and in the way when you get stuck, but if you have nice friends that end up in the same boat as you, they won’t mind yanking your sled out, even with crap in the way.
I have been on some pretty rough trails this year due to lack of snow, and the rack has held up great. The bike inner tubes act as a second suspension, allowing the skis to flop around without flexing like they would if I used fixed straps. And I don’t really notice the added weight to the rear of the sled. Somewhere you’re gonna have to compromise something in order to go skiing with a sled. If it were easy, it would have a lift.

By: Rick

Rick — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:51:30 +0000

Im a bit of a ski rack enthusiast/breaker

I personally dont like that much weight on the tunnel. Especially that far back. I have a similar set up using a gun rack but my skis are 2 inches from the dash, and the middle mount (which carries most of the weight) is at the back of the seat. I only put one pair on, one ski on each side and they do not hang past the rear tow bar. I know you said youve used it for three years

#1 if you flip or get stuck you’ll be taking off your skis or quite possibly break them.

#2 if you are on rough packed terrain, you are going to beat the heck out of your sled, the gun racks will break and it will really effect performance.

just my $.02 and if your just cruising out flat packed trail, it would be fine.

By: Caleb Wray

Caleb Wray — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 00:22:23 +0000

That is a pretty nice system Nathan. I can see the advantages. What I am really interested in is your exhaust modifications. I think I am going to replicate. Looks perfect. Thanks for sharing.

By: Nathan

Nathan — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 23:30:32 +0000

Frank, yes there are 2×4′s used. This gets the skis high enough so the bindings don’t hit the tunnel. Without them, you could only mount one ski per side. As for the gun racks, I have no idea what brand or size they would be. I just bought what the shop had on the rack. And they work solid. I found some scrap steel around the garage and used them on the outside of the 2×4′s to clamp them to the sides of the tunnel. And I also used steel plates to mount the gun racks to as well as clamp the 2×4′s to the running boards.

By: Frank K

Frank K — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 19:15:03 +0000

Yeah, Lou, it looked pretty trick. Bonus: “I’d let you drive, but your skis don’t fit”

Nathan, it looks like you started by bolting 2×4′s to the sled, and then Cabela’s gun racks to the 2×4′s, right? And are the racks the XL’s or the regular sized ones? The more I look at it, the more I like it.