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Looking for your thoughts ...... My old knees and oversized gut makes it hard to get to my favorite ice fishing spots. I'm torn between an atv which I can use year round and a sled. Without getting into tracks for the atv, how are they in deep snow.
Thanx in advance
:santa::santa::santa:
ATV's are ok for up to a foot of snow, add chains to the rear and you can go a bit deeper. I toyed with the idea of tracks, then reality set in. The cost is pretty steep, they cut down your speed, eat a bunch more gas and are a little less manouverable. They also add about 14 inches to the width of the ATV and about 2 feet longer. Might not fit your trailer. If you go in powdery snow, you'll look like a snowman.
I general, Eastern Ont is seeing winters with less and less snow accumulation. Some winters the local trails have so little snow coverage they are only good for only 3-4 weekends all winter. Most guys I know drive up north of Petawawa on the weekends to do any serious sledding ( poker runs etc) .
Lots of guys have sold their sleds and now use ATV's all winter.
If you fish larger lakes most times an atv will be okay. If you plan on going inland to smaller lakes you need a snowmobile.
An ATV with tracks will provide you with a 4 season vehicle. You can probably buy a nice one with tracks for what a decent sled will cost you.
Up to a ft of snow will be really hard on an ATVs drive system and rear end/front end gears. I wrecked a drive shaft on my Honda 350 trying to use it on a lake. What really ticked me off was that I had a perfectly good ski-doo liquid 500 Grand Touring sitting in my garage.
The second you get into any depth of snow the undercarriage gets hung up and its push or walk from there.
Do other fishermen break trail to your favourite spot? If so you are good with an ATV. Usually, the snow on a lake is wind blown and not that deep in comparison to what you would find in the bush. Additionally, a lot of clubs are grooming ATV trails during the winter months now so truly a 4 season machine.
You live in Eastern Ontario so should be good to go if you fish in this area.
Both. Lol . Cant believe no one suggested it by now.
I have a sled and if theres snow on the lake I have no problems for the most part but when I gotta ride a good distance to get to the lake and theres not much snow to be had it gets difficult to steer or maneuver to the ice. my dads got an atv and its the complete opposite of the sled. we fish simcoe mostly and theres been a couple times I had to push him out of some drifts. to me I think an atv will give you more bang for your buck if you use it year round. I think if you had to invest in a set of tracks your further ahead because you get best of both worlds. throw the tracks on for winter and tires for summer. my neighbour had tracks on his atv and loved it. he recommended power steering though if he were to buy another machine, I guess its a bit of a bear to steer the atv if you don't have some forward motion. or like hunterjohn said.....BOTH.lol. that's my 2 cents......
Snowmobile everytime I take my atv out in the spring to break my trail for maple syrup I wish I had a snowmobile, once you get into some deep snow its a struggle to get free. Mind you I only have a 350cc atv but fulltime 4x4.
u could get away with a 4x4 atv 95% of the days ice fishing, a winch and a piece of metal to spread the load that will fit down the size of hole u can drill with your auger will help get u out.
both .............i fished simcoe alot last winter and was stuck a few times and could not get to my spots with the quad.........if the lakes are wind blown and have very little snow coverage the ATV's are best...........sleds need snow to cool the sliders..........i also ran into problems on the soft shoulders of the roads if they are muddy and you have to run a sled down them........ buy a good quad for year round use and try to pick up a 1000 dollar sled for ice fishing when and if it gets to deep for the quads.....
I only have an atv ( Honda 500 ) and most years it's all I need. Last year on the BOQ we had a lot of drifting snow that made it a little bit difficult, but most years we get a snow fall , then it warms up and then freezes again giving you a crust that can be ridden on top of. Not last year though , it was deep and then slushy ( deep slush is the worst on a quad ). Around my house where I ice fish , I will go out after a heavy snowfall to break trail . That way it packs a trail and makes access easier.
A set of chains is crucial in deep snow and on ice, and cost a lot less than tracks ( tracks will get you further, but they also get stuck in the really deep stuff ).
With all that said, I still "want" a sled, but my quad does the job 90% of the time.
Well, I've had a quad for fifteen years. Bought a sled about the same time. When I got too old to wrestle the sled out of the slush and deep snow I bought a new quad and put a set of tracks on it. That was many years ago.
The quad on tracks will get stuck, but is still great for breaking a trail for the sleds...Once a trail is broken, then the sleds are quicker. I have never got stuck in snow that a sled would go thru.....but I have often towed sleds out of the slush on a lake, and carried the surplus gear for them.
If you are going to travel skidoo trails over private land, then you have no choice...you cannot used a quad on them.if you travel forest access roads, then you are ok. If I won the lottery I would buy a sxs with tracks...
Thank you very much for all the comments lots of ideas ..... But I'm still CONFUSED on what to get :whacked: :whacked: :whacked:
Maybe both is the way to go LOL
Different spots call for different machines....Last year I used my quad on tracks to go to some spots, other times I used my sled to go to the same place, depending on snow conditions.
My advice, from using both for trapping and ice fishing. If you're planning on using the atv on ice, do not buy a big, heavy machine that will make you end up walking. Prob. the best machine I've used was a 4X4 Honda 350. Nice and light, yet lots of power to carry you and your gear. You'll be driving an anchor once you go above 600lbs. Some of the new ATVs now are absolutely ridiculous (size and weight). I used to laugh when I used to fish Simcoe a lot. I'd leave the parking lot on the light Honda, which would stay up on the hard-packed drifts, and keep you out of the slush. You'd pass a line of the big ATVs, less than 200 ft offshore, all buried to the gut pan. Not fun trying to clear a mired 800-900 machine. I use both an ATV and a skidoo (Tundra). If it's fresh,deep snow above 12", I leave the atv at home. For backlakes, it's usually the skidoo, unless we've had a thaw, or it's late season.
I would rather have a two thousand dollar sled and a two thousand dollar quad than a 4000 dollar one or the other. If you shop around there are some good deals to be had for sleds my buddy just got a 1991 Indy trail long track for 600 bucks with 2500 miles on it. Atvs a are a little harder to find cheap usually you need to spend 1500 plus to get something in decent shape.
I think my mind MIGHT be made up if there was a Tundra out there at a nice price :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Fenelon
One final word from me on the topic. I don't know what kind of temperatures you're dealing with in your area but around here it can darn cold. Its far warmer on a snowmachine than sitting up on an ATV fully exposed to the wind when driving.
Cold? A wind-shield, heated grips, heated jacket etc. on your ATV takes care of that problem. I have done poker runs in -20C and it was not that bad at all.
Since I put tracks on my ATV, my sled has stayed in the garage. I have double the ground clearance, it will go through slush where my sled would get stuck and will go through snow you wouldn't dare to try with tires. The only drawback is that you need a large machine.
Roe+
The new tracks come geared to the size of your engine. There is a trapper in our area who has tracks on his 300 (approx) Honda. My bike is 600cc but my next will only be 500 with tracks....
I was with the same dilemma three years ago, and I ended up buying a sled. It's made to work in cold winter days, faster and could get you out of open water if needed. Lots of ATVs couldn't go out last year because of the snow and slush.
What ever you buy make sure it's reliable, if you do a lot of fishing on your own you don't want to spend the night out on the ice.
I had both, and from my experience for ice fishing the sled reigns supreme. Yes the atv and sled are pretty evenly matched with their pros and cons when the snow isn't deep, but once you hit that threshold where the atv's flounder and fail, hung up and stuck, the sled just floats along on top of the deep stuff. All it took was a weekend of towing and digging myself and others out of deep snow last year, (not fishing), to get a sled. I got a 91 safari for $600 and had a great remainder of the season and got to back lakes I've never seen before that nobody had been to from what I saw because I broke the trail, nailed a pile of trout back there, it was awesome.
My sleds not going to win any beauty contests, but mechanically it's all in good shape and does what I want it to do, get me to and from the fish.
Thanks again folks .... some interesting stories :thumbup: :thumbup:
I have a honda rubicon with tracks, its been my experience that they are more versatile then a sled. Ive gone places that sleds have not been able. i have a 3500 lb winch and can get myself out of most situations. It is harder on gas ,but I can get up to 60 km/hr on the flat.. I generally like to go slow anyway. to go all out you can get an atv with 1000 cc of power and a power steering package.. then you would have the ultimate all year machine in a nice 4 stroke pkg. This year Im putting a winch on the back too. I pull a homemade sled, gas auger, chainsaw and 3 kids to backwoods lakes with no problems at all.
Which is a great setup no doubt but how much do you have invested in that? $12-15K I would guess? You could buy a very reliable used snowmobile and a mid sized ATV for that and not have to mess with tracks.Quote:
Originally Posted by toddc
Just curious, how long do you have the tracks for and what the maintenance on these things?Quote:
Originally Posted by toddc
Thanks
i have had the tracks for 2 years,, and believe it or not there is no maint on these things, all sealed units,Quote:
Originally Posted by seabast
One machine for all seasons only one insurance to pay for and maintain , have a 1000cc cat ATV with tracks not too many places I can't get into versus a sled.
I had the same cat and found it to be very hard on brakes I sold it before my dad or one of the kids got killed on it ,crazy fast quad .how do you like the tracks on yours .DutchQuote:
Originally Posted by Old Yellaw
Both! I have a 2013 grizzly 700 that i use in the spring summer and fall for hunting and then an 88 Safari 503 long track for ice fishing and the odd trail ride in the winter.. you can find an old 503 and 503r or similar in classifieds for cheap (usually less than 1200), and only $14 a month insurance! For a big guy they are great, im 6'1 and a big guy and it takes me everywhere no matter how deep the snow.. trail or not!
As with all things that have moving components they require maitinance .Quote:
Originally Posted by seabast
Heres a good how to video on a popular model of tracks
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pMz71SxO39Q
I've put literally thousands of miles on the 503r both on the job and my own personal machine. They were great machines in their era and still are. But my newer SkiDoo 500 liquid Grand Touring blows it out of the snow. Speed is the only answer for slush.
Even with the liquid after 10 years I've never had an issue with sliders heating due to lack of snow cover on ice.
that video was good ,but in reality it has more to do with machine maint then the actual tracks, other then a good inspection.Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffD
My tracks are going on ten years old and I've got a bridge to sell you... ;-)Quote:
Originally Posted by toddc
Some of the new tracks are MUCH better than my old Catracks, (which have sealed bearings) which I hope to replace this winter. (The tracks, the bearings have been replaced numerous times...)
Hey Bear. Like a lot of outdoorsmen on here, I have wrestled with this problem. At the end of the day, like most things it comes down to $$. Moving to the Ptbo area in '91 from north of the French Rv my sled became useless for about 4 yrs in a row. Sold it and bought a Kodiak. Tough for me as I had trapped, hunted and fished off a sled since I was little. The bike worked well for a yr....then it snowed again! Bike became virtually useless. Truth is, here in the south, where the weather is so unpredictable, you need both if you don't want the weather to dictate whether you fish or not. I have since upgraded the bike to a grizzly to accommodate the kids etc. Toyed with the track idea as a good buddy of mine has some Tatou's on his.....with out question they go pretty much anywhere BUT they are not a sled and god help you if you get them stuck in the slush! I brought a old 250 Tundra down from Chapleau(home) a few yrs ago and having both was perfect. I sold that sled last yr and replaced it with an '04 Venture, again to accommodate an expanding family and their interest in fishing and sledding. One of the Worst decisions I have ever made....selling the Tundra not the family expansion :) Boys...keep your Tundra's. Even with the rusted tunnels and slower, single, two strokes....they are irreplaceable. Good luck. Spartan
Love it brotherinlaw has 700 grizzly nowhere we can't go ,have to adjust your driving style with tracks as you don't need to bull your way through back off on the gas backup then try again. Any problems you have a winch to pull yourself out. I drive slow to enjoy the scenery anyway. Semiretired whats the rush!!! lolQuote:
Originally Posted by dutchhunter
Just wanted to say thanks for all the input folks ....... Finally decided :D :D :D
http://i231.photobucket.com/albums/e...ps652aa6f4.jpg
Calabogie bound next weekend
Looking good , one suggestion slap a piece of 1/4" plywood on the front about 36" inches high keep the slush from the roadway off it. On the sides only up to the railing.
Enjoy your new ride !!!!!
I thought you were going to buy a quad? That's not a quad, that's a Polaris... Lol
what's the engine size on it? Is it new or used?
Those look like stock tires. For general trail, or private property they'll be fine, but in deepere snow or muddy trail conditions aftermarket help out considerably. Oem usually are like an all season tire. But you have an off road machine, and purpose off road aftermarket tires will give you more bite and with larger sizes you will get more ground clearance.
Great idea OY .... thanxQuote:
Originally Posted by Old Yellaw
Renfrew County-land of HIGH hills.
If you are replacing your stock tires, take a lesson from Honda and go wide and soft if you want to get thru the snow. I still have the OEMs on my Sportsman after ten years but my BIL on his little Honda rides higher on packed snow. :rolleyes:
A set of chains makes a huge difference for the atv in the snow/ice, and are around $100 .
An upgrade I did on my ATV was to install ITP Mud Lite tires. They made a big difference for traction in the snow. They are also very smooth when trail riding.
http://www.itptires.com/cms_uploads/Mudlite_XL.png
Another thing ive done when I've gone on the ice is screwed 1/2 long sheet metal screws on centre portion of treads that help bite on bare ice areas. Slotted hex washer heads. End of season just take out. Just make sure not to use longer screws than lug depth or your screwed!
I run the exact same tires and they are worth every dollar. You can have all the power in the world but traction is what gets you through.Quote:
Originally Posted by impact
A couple of the guys at our camp put those ITP's on their ATVs....then they totalled destroyed some the trails behind the camp. Ripped and dug huge deep ruts and made some trails totally impassible.
Destructive tires in the hands of guys who like hot dogging :)
Impassible for you but not for them.....:joker:Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
No...that's the rub...they get high centred on them too..NO one can use the trails anymore...Quote:
Originally Posted by impact
add: it's actullay so bad we have to pay to have a dump of pit run bought in and then bucket it back to fill the holes...extra cost for the camp..
Exactly, we had one guy this weekend onthe Haliburton forest trail with those bloody things, all he did was make ruts and make it difficult for the rest behind him to ride.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
You guys are implying that aggressive tires destroy trails. In fact, that is not the case. The idiot behind the handlebars destroy them. I ride my bike around my property all the time and there is not one rut to be found anywhere and the same goes where I hunt deer. I sure appreciate the extra bite in the snow this time of year. Pretty difficult to rut frozen ground.
Thank for all the tips folks ..... gotta rebuild the bank account before the tires LOL
Pretty sure that's what I said...Quote:
Originally Posted by impact
Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
Sled all the way for me....there have been countless times where my buddies on bikes can't get out because of pressure cracks like the ones on Simcoe over the past few days....also I have helped pull more atvs out of slush or deep snow then I have sleds...and I own both...atv blow in the snow..come to my place and I'll prove it to you
Saw this pic today...reminded me of this thread..
This will do you nicely :)
http://img.izismile.com/img/img8/201...686_640_25.jpg
Saw that last fall ..... Best of both worlds and I think i read it's heated as well ... LOL
There is a reason that sand tire are wide and flat. They are designed to ride ON TOP of the sand. Mud lites dig holes and throw the mud out the back. Works the same with snow except the snow does not have the weight of the mud. For ice or packed snow you need STEEL to get a bite.
Either way, once you bottom out, you stop.
I have two areas with erosion problems on the hills, both are from a visitor spinning aggressive tires trying to get traction. Been going up that hill for ten years before any damage was done, been five years repairing it.....
This winter I added chains to the front of my tractor. Normally I just have them on the rear. I am now dragging logs out of areas that I could not even drive thru in the past ten years....but I still must plow off enough snow so I am not bottomed out.
just get an 8x8 Argo and have the most fun you can legally have with your clothes on.
get tracks for said argo ^^
=)
I prefer smowmobile. Been stuck to many times in deep snow and slush with a quad with chains. So this is my rig now.
However if the lake you primarily fish is not snow covered like simcoe is this year then i would go with a quad with chains at least on the rear. My 2 cents.
I had an ARGO 6x6 for about 6 years, full kit, top, tracks etc. Excellent machine, however they do have a few drawbacks. Can't use them on ATV trails, too wide and heavy, top speed is limited by ground surface, you are your own suspension. If I didn't do anything else than ice fish, I probably would still have it.
Make sure that you get tracks with cleats instead of the smooth plastic ones they used to have on the Argos. Even with tracks they still bottom out at certain times. Right now our lake has too much slush to use a sled but it's no problem for a quad on tracks....(if you plan on stopping to fish)