Can you ride sleds in the dunes w/o damaging stuff?

[bassman]

For some reason this just popped in my head. Would the skis go bad fast, or the track?
Or do people ride'em regularly? Or does it all depend on the sand?

[84honda200s]

i would not try to ride in the sand with a sled. the bearings in the idler wheels do not like dirt/sand. plus the snow is what lubs up the track and slide suspention.

[200xman]

The snow is also what cols most of the liquid cooled sleds. I think it would be fun to try though with an old air cooled beater.

[Chevy200s]

I agree, I think it would be a blast with an old beater rupp or something like that as long as it was free air. The lighter the better though. I would never do this because I love the John Deere sleds, but something like a Spitfire 340, free air, only wieghs 275 pounds, that would be a lot of fun.

[RedRider_AK]

I think to ride the dunes in one successfully, you'd need to do 3 things:

1. Have a bogie suspension. If you have a slider suspension, the slides will wear down in like 3 minutes cause of the track rubbing sand on them

2. Have a forced-air cooling system of some sort, or run richer than normal jetting and premix so you don't overheat the engine.

3. Figure out some way to keep the skis from wearing on the sand and also promote steering. Sand is in most cases looser than snow, so the stock skegs won't work too well. Maybe a 4" long steel keel on each ski would though. ;)

[Nick_R_23]

I think that would be something interesting to try, but id bet you cannot steer for crap. If you like doing stuff like that, try mud bogging with a sled, I took my 1980 Arctic Cat Jag 340 mud bogging last year. It was great but it would only go in a straight line. :lol:

-Nick :TrikesOwn

[RedRider_AK]

Hey Nick_R_23, I took my Bravo waterskipping yesterday and sank it! :p

[Nick_R_23]

Lol where'd you do that at?

-Nick :TrikesOwn

[Klondike1020]

I go to grass drags every year and they do great on solid ground and mudd
but i wouldnt go to the dunes i think the sand would just spin out and bury it quick
snow sticks and packs beneath the track i think sand would just blow out

[okieRrider]

There is video I saw somewhere, can't remeber right now where they were riding in the dunes on snowmobiles. i'll see if I can find it and post it up.

[gravelord]

on a crusty demons video there is a snow mobile with two front tires off a quad on it. that would take care of your ski problem.

[toocheaptosmoke]

I have also thought about riding a sled in the dunes. I think if you removed the slides and added some extra idler wheels along the rails the track would be OK. Use a fanner with a good air filter, and maybe some high profile wearbars for better steering.


here's a pic I found somewhere,

http://i20.photobucket.com/albums/b211/toocheaptosmoke/sanddrag.jpg

[trimoto.125]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5gdg5KISdE

Check this out! An old arctic cat eltigre in some sand.