Good ride goes bad - Snowmobile Forum: Your #1 Snowmobile Forum

rgoers · 01-10-2006, 07:54 PM

Well, I took my son up to Tug Hill this past Sunday, and there was lots of snow up there. We put on 135 miles.

We were about 2/3 of the way back to where we dropped when my son heard a "new noise" on his sled. We stopped, and checked the sled over. Then I saw it... he had lost a rear skid frame bolt. We were way out in the middle of nowhere, it was around 8:30 PM, and it was already dark. No cell phone signal either...

We tried to find a "donor bolt" to use (something my dad taught me). I opened the ZL hood to get some tools, and the cable must have broke, because the hood just kept opening - right over into the snow. Broke the tabs right off the cowl, and down it went! We couldn't find a bolt to use... so we decided to put the helper spring up on that one side, and take it easy on the way back. Problem was: we had some pretty big mud holes to go through ahead of us. I'm glad I had some long tie-wraps stashed in my toolbox. I was able to tie-wrap the ZL hood in front, so it didn't bounce off and get damaged any further.

The good news is - we made it back under power. We got the sleds on the trailer okay. The tunnel took a slight bend on the opposite side where the skid attaches, but other than that, it looks okay. The hood will be an easy fiberglass fix. The tabs are actually designed to break, to save the hood.

I'm glad I had a good LED flashlight in the sled. I'm glad I had some extra long tie-wraps in the sled. I'm glad I had tools with me. I'm *going* to put some spare hardware in there now. The worst part is that I have extra tunnel bolts at home, I just never put them in the sled.

I'm going to remember the Lock-tite next time too...

Anyway, here's what the trails looked like that day...

rgoers · 01-10-2006, 07:54 PM

Checking the map... Like the new jacket my wife gave me for Christmas? (hint: it's green)

rgoers · 01-10-2006, 07:55 PM

Can you spell "WOT"?

letitsnow · 01-10-2006, 08:05 PM

looks like a nice ride besides the losing the bolt and breaking the hood.

G-ForceJunkie · 01-10-2006, 08:06 PM

Trails look pretty sweet

Glad you managed to get home...it ruins the day when the sleds break down...

On another note, I just realized last weeked my 370 was missing a couple skid frame bolts so I stuck some back in there. I have no idea how long it was like that before I noticed though.

locky · 01-10-2006, 08:14 PM

Im glad I dont have any mishaps like that.

Trails look excellent though.

94zr580 · 01-10-2006, 08:17 PM

i heard some where that the hill was lackin snow. thats not what it looks like to me tho.

YamahaRyy · 01-10-2006, 09:41 PM

wow those trails look fantastic

Cleve · 01-10-2006, 09:44 PM

Still looks like a pretty good ride, Rgoers, from where I sit, mechanical problems and all! You got in 135 miles - that's pretty good. Where did you drop this time? And which trail was that long straightaway? Didn't find much riding like that when we were there. If you can give me a number, I'll look it up on my map! We're gonna be goin' up again in about 3 weeks.

rgoers · 01-10-2006, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Cleve
Still looks like a pretty good ride, Rgoers, from where I sit, mechanical problems and all! You got in 135 miles - that's pretty good. Where did you drop this time? And which trail was that long straightaway? Didn't find much riding like that when we were there. If you can give me a number, I'll look it up on my map! We're gonna be goin' up again in about 3 weeks.

Believe it or not, we dropped in Parish again. Took the Panther and ZL this time... left the Jag home!

The open road pic was on the way to Redfield, just about 1/3 of the way between Parish and Redfield (red circle on map). It was awesome! The pic at the intersection is in the same area as well. That part covered a lot of miles, but we ate it up quickly because we were really moving!

From what I heard, stay low on the hill. North and West is thin. East and South had real good coverage. The only danger was the ice on the trails. Made it hard to turn in many places. My ski carbides are pretty worn though. Probably would have helped to put on a new pair before I went.

SnowRida · 01-11-2006, 03:46 AM

Glad you made it back! Looks like decent snow.

94zr580 · 01-11-2006, 06:14 AM

thats a pic from your garmin right? i was just wonderin if u kept it in your coat or had a mount.

BRPforlife · 01-11-2006, 08:22 AM

Nice lookin' trails. Sorry to hear about the bolt, but i'm glad it wasn't anything serious and noone got hurt.

rgoers · 01-11-2006, 09:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 94zr580
thats a pic from your garmin right? i was just wonderin if u kept it in your coat or had a mount.

I have a neoprene case, and I clip it to the slot in my dash. I loop the lanyard around my reverse lever, in case the clip comes loose. I have ridden some very rough trails many times, and never had it even hint at coming loose!

Just installed a 12v cig outlet on my battery for the Garmin adapter. Check it out...

rgoers · 01-11-2006, 09:04 PM

Adapter plugged in...

rgoers · 01-11-2006, 09:05 PM

Bagged and tie-wrapped for water protection...