A good friend has a Phaser . Mountain machine I think it is. He has pulled his 12 ' tabbogan with it. He has a semi trailer load of old and newer snowgos. Most of them he got for free or 50 buck or something. This winter he has mostly been using that one In my pic or another of his Enticers . With his 8' sled he usually bucks his wood to stove length in the woods and loads it in 1 tall rik . ratchet straps it on tight and heads to the shed. He's real good at setting up his trails and his loads seldom tip over. And sometimes he has a mile to go from stump to shed. Yes I would Really like a 570 BearCat. That machine was designed as a puller. I also had an Indy 600. But it was an old 3 cylinder, 3 carb. What a Horrible thing that was. It would go like a rocket but getting it started was at best a 60/40 hard workout. 60% of the time it wouldn't start. Pretty much swore off Polaris because of that thing.
I can attest. My first sled was an Indy 600 triple. Bought it just to see if I enjoyed sledding. I don’t enjoy cleaning triple carbs tho. Once it stopped running I bought a new one. Electric start and all that jazz
Oh boy that was an old indy 600 of it was a triple, and not an xlt 580/600. We had an 87 Indy trail 488cc f//c. It was a huge upgrade from my first sled, an 84 arctic cat panther 440 with the Suzuki fan cooled engine. That panther, and all of my friends newer cats turned me off to never buy one of that brand again. That company has been sold and bankrupt too many times, switched engine manufacturers too many times, and now they are really just a combination of Yamaha and cat. Polaris are really a much better made sled and just a better sled all around, and have been for the past 40 years or so.
If you have a Polaris and like it that's Great. If someone GAVE me a brand new Po for free. I'de sell it and buy a 570 BearCat . I wouldn't even have it uncrated.
Pretty good trailer; I'd say I've moved close to 40 cords of wood with it. A trailer load fits 150 splits pretty easy. That lasts a bit more than a week, depending on temperature, so I just make a weekend trip to the wood pile to top off the trailer. This is my first winter with the wheeled jack stand, and I'm pretty pleased with it. I wish I could find one that is about 2/3 the size of this one, though. It works vertically, but is in the way horizontally. I lose ground clearance and have to watch the sharp turns. Pretty sure that I'll be taking it off as soon as I'm done burning for the year. I also have to be careful to unload from the back first, but I won't say how I learned that lesson... The big benefit is that the trailer becomes my wood pile, which saves me re-stacking it in the garage, and keeps the mess in the trailer, rather than on the garage floor. The wheeled jack stand makes it a moveable wood pile, since I can push it out of the way if I need the space to get at something. Also, if you ever decide that life is too easy, without enough frustration, get a brick driveway, and then hand shovel it all winter.
Polar HD 1500. $450'ish. https://www.homedepot.com/p/Polar-Trailer-HD-1500-22-cu-ft-Poly-Dump-Trailer-8233/202326931 I had been using cheapie metal trailers, which broke down over time. This was 2x the price, has 2x the capacity, and has lasted 2x as long thus far, so I think it has been a good buy. Side rails, hitch coupler, and rocking arm axle cost extra. I got the rails, because it doubled my hauling capacity for splits. The hitch came later, b/c I got tired of taking the gloves off and squatting down to deal with the hitch pin. I got the rocking axles , because of rough trails, and I didn't want 1,000 lbs of wood slamming down on the axle when I hit potholes. Surprisingly, the kids seem to like to ride in it. The nephews and nieces never once asked for a trailer ride until I got one of these. Not sure what it is that caused that. If you're looking for an ATV or UTV trailer, I think this is a pretty good one. I'm pleased with it, and it has held up well.
Imo it sucks that this size isn't still available. Big difference between getting a smaller snogo like a 340 unstuck than a big 500+ size. All snogo's get stuck now and then.
I'm the polar opposite of you, I guess. There's just been too many justifications that I've seen over my lifetime to forgive these issues at cat. These are not gut feelings either, just problems amplified by a company with a lot of financial problems over the decades. Who knows, maybe now that Textron owns them, they might have some stability and start in the up and up, instead of the roller coaster they've been on? Oh, if you want a 570 fan cooled cat, make sure to buy one made after 2005. Lots of piston issues on those before that.
I only get used snogos if they are really Really inexpensive. Either new or really worth the gamble. Like used outboards.
If it works , it works ! If you get a lot of snow, putting sled runners on your cart. Will really change the game for you.
I did a lot of bolting yesterday These are day before yesterday's pics.. Today is hitch building day. Hope I can bend the 1" id steel pipe . Part of the reason this build is taking so long . I'm old, its cold out, But mostly because I'm REALLY having fun building this sledge.
Took longer to make the stays than I thot it would today. I had to heat the middle of the stays on the crab cooker . doesn't heat as well as the woodstove. But well enough to make the bends. Progress.
That's one beast of a sled! I can't fathom living somewhere that has so much snow that I would have to use snowmobiles and sleds like that to move wood. Has anyone ever "upgraded" one of those little metal garden carts with better tires and axle, like from the rear end of a riding mower?
Absolutely. I found it useless with wheelbarrow tires on it. Ok for a yard but flipped it on it’s maiden voyage in the woods The upside down pic was before I added all the buttressing to the axle.
