Snow Machine vsTracked UTV's??

Originally Posted By: lyotehunterhow many belts have burned up on that ranger,with the tracks
none of mine, although the new 900 utilize a much shorter belt drive system, which is much smoother, and less "jerky"... all you need to know is, use LOW gear when your in rough/steep terrain, which is pretty much common sense...
I would be willing to bet I run my Ranger hard as or harder than anyone, I haven't even owned my 900 browning edition a year and I've got 6K miles on it, and trust me brother, they aren't easy miles, tack in 45 degree + ridges with 1500 lbs of salt and mineral on a 50+ mile round trip sometimes more than 3 times a week... I've literally NEVER had an issue with my belt, I service mine every 100 hrs (after the proper break in 20hr period) which includes grease, oil change, and air filter change, plain and simple, like anything else, you take care of it, and it'll take care of you...
 
I'd go UTV due to the primary usage being hunting, but it also allows for more adaptability and year-round use. Sleds are fun, and there is no UTV in existence that will go where a mountain sled will go, but sleds are purpose built. I'm in the process of actually getting both LOL.
 
I'd like to have one if I had the coin but not likely for a while.

There is a somewhat steep learning curve to running sleds in poor conditions but once you learn most of the tricks there is not too many places you can't go. Even then everyone will get stuck and getting unstuck in a timely fashion goes the same way.

We ran Polaris widetrack 500 2 strokes and went over, through and in between a lot. Also under water, had to come along it out of a creek once or twice. Up and running the next day.

Great on water crossing even with slush a foot deep.

We've pulled up to seven men with these as the low range has lots of torque and works well on incline/decline.

Negatives- widetracks are heavy but not that bad with 2 strokes.

As far as the cold, just dress warmer and get moving once you get off to go hunt.
 
I wish we had enough snow around here to warrant buying a sled, but unfortunately for me, such is not the case.

BUT, it adds a different perspective for the benefits of either a UTV or Snow Sled...

The few times a year (or few times a decade) that I need a sled, I really need a sled, but the rest of the time, it would sit in the shed.

A UTV is always handy, snow on the ground or not.
 
Having been a sled head for close to 30yrs in steep mountain country on everything from the late 70's sleds to new 7-900 mountain sleds there really isn't a lot of places you can't go in 6" or 4' of snow.

But the truth is that mountain sleds aren't made for hunting, they are made for having fun in deep powder. If you want a sled for hunting look at a arctic cat bear cat or one of the other purpose built work/hunting sleds, they are made for just that reason.

If like skinny you need to haul loads during the winter then you need to look at a utv. As for getting cold it just comes down to dressing correctly, theres way to many things on the market now to ever be cold.

As a person who spent a lot of time stuck, (because i never understood i really couldn't go there) i have found that here in the mountains with lots of trees, that there is always a snag around that is happy to burn all night if you have road flares with you.

If you prepare for winter it's the best time of year for hunting.
 
Originally Posted By: bluealtered

As a person who spent a lot of time stuck, (because i never understood i really couldn't go there)

That makes 2 of us, every year I always try and do something stupid I shouldn't even try, but do it anyway.
 
I saw a t-shirt awhile back that said, "Determination: that feeling you get right before doing something really stupid."
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If you buy a new sled with NOS (Nitrous Oxide Systems) then you can leave the guns home and run them over.


This doesn't mean buy a 1967 440 pantera and put NOS (ben) on it and tell him to giterdone
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Another option here at one time was a used snow cat like a tucker, you could pick one up for about the same price of a new mountain sled or utv.

I had one with a full cab on it that i put a bunk and very small wood stove in that i was going to use for my snow camping/hunting rig but at about the same time the feds outlawed any tracked rig other than sleds here so that took care of that.
 
I can hopefully give a report after this year. The last two winters where I hunt in ND, we have had a ton of snow. So much, it has made it almost impossible to get anywhere except the main roads. In March, I picked up a used Ranger XP 700 with Polaris tracks. The tracks had only 50 miles on them. It doesn't have power steering and I was told as was mentioned earlier this is a big deal. Honestly, I find the Ranger without power steering harder to turn with wheels on than with tracks. As long as you are moving, the tracks seem to steer relatively easy.

When I test drove the Ranger, I was worried about getting stuck, but the person I bought it from said if you get this stuck, you shouldn't buy it. My test drive went great as I was on a nice hard pack of snow. When I got to my house after buying it, I was feeling kind of cocky. There was 4' of snow on the level with 5' to 6' drifts in my backyard. This shouldn't be any problem. Wrong, it was a fairly warm sunny day, and the snow was a bit soft. Once my speed slowed down, I started to dig down. Then I had a choice, leave it until Spring or dig it out. 4 hours later, I had dug the machine down enough that I could get it out. Now, I am a bit nervous about taking it out in deep snow because in your back yard is one thing, in the middle of nowhere coyote hunting is another.

What I have been told is keep them away from cattail sloughs, but that is the same for a snowmobile. Just from guys I have talked to said UTVs on tracks are great for icefishing, hauling stuff on the farms, but aren't great in soft snow. It came with a steel cab, and heater, so my hope is that I can go through a lot of areas that I would think twice about going down with the truck once the snow gets deep. As long as the snow is firm, I think it will be OK. Personally, I am a believer you can get through more snow with a snowmobile, but why freeze and try to carry your equipment when you can be in a UTV. The price is steep, and we will see how it holds up. I am a bit nervous of the horror stories you hear about what tracks can do to UTVs, as far as maintenance.

I am running Polaris Tracks which seem to get some negative reviews. They apparently are a faster track, but their footprint isn't as wide and tend to be more prone to breakdown according to lots of Ranger threads.
 
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Originally Posted By: Tbone-AZI have found that a snow machine is faster, however i am not so sure going 50 on snow is a good idea.
I plan to get a UTV and use the tracks since, it's more useful than a snow machine, and in other times of year, when it's soup and muddy, the tracks will shine.
I get the tracks are the same price as a used machine, but gear hauling and utilty has to go to the utv.

The only thing that makes me think twice is.. If tracks were a great thing, why don't you see them being used in Alaska? It's like pulling into the feed store and using the trucks in the parking lot to figure out what seems to work and last. (otherwise it's not going to be there)

I have seen where people are out on Youtube in deep powder and floating on top without an issue, and going up and down hills. One thing that makes me worried is being on a snow machine, you have to lean from side to side to keep it right side up.. Snow is soft.. How do you do that in a UTV? So i am worried about roll over.

We do use them in AK and they work well. Your speeds are reduced so that's why there are so many snowmobiles in use instead. Many areas people gotta cover some miles so the snow machines are the way to go. If you don't mind the speed loss and aren't going 50-100 miles each way then get the tracks. I have a set on my Suzuki Samurai, and at 1500lbs it's heavier than a UTV by a few hundred pounds. There is so much surface area per pound I float on top of the fluff. They sit a bit wider than my tires and stability isn't an issue. If you have lockers you won't get stuck. However if you somehow do it's going to be [beeep] to get it out. A good winch that's over rated for your machine is highly recommended.
 
Originally Posted By: tt35I saw a t-shirt awhile back that said, "Determination: that feeling you get right before doing something really stupid."
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^^^^

I've got an 88 4Runner SR5 that I'm just dieing to track up. Home made job all the way if I do it. 4 new tracks, 4 wheels, 4 axles, a [beeep] load of greasable bogeys and some steel. $3000 should cover it if you use the best bogeys possible.
 
Great info, guys!

Kirsch: What is the better option to the Polaris tracks, the Mattracks? I see they make one that has a bigger footprint than the standard model.
 
Originally Posted By: tt35Great info, guys!

Kirsch: What is the better option to the Polaris tracks, the Mattracks? I see they make one that has a bigger footprint than the standard model.

The Mattracks are better than the Polaris.
 


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