mcZEd382

We rent a cottage for a week and day trip out. 100-150 mile loops for 6 days can be easy. We like the Mauricie-Lanaudiere region. Last year we chose a town called St Come. Great trails in all directions and we could ride flat farmlands of the St Lawrence valley or the hills to the north. We were just east of St Donat and south of St Zenon. 2 sledding "hotspots" but traffic was never a problem. Climate has changed in Quebec too so winter is not what it used to be. Where we go we find the week before the Ontario family day holiday can get us decent temps and ok snow cover. And it's just an 8 hour pull from home, mostly on major divided highways

Dude if you're sniping at me, chill. Snow depth is pulled from environment Canada. Volunteers have nothing to do with it. And like I said it's nice but not a must have.

Great post from the OP. All of us that head to Quebec have learned the hard way to navigate the convoluted setup they have. Qc tops the ITG in having an app that functions offline, can show snow depth and weather out looks as well as showing groomer status when online. The weather and snow stuff is not a must have but the groomer tracking can really help in deciding where to ride. But if you wanna know trail status you need to be online and find those other webpages linked in the OP. Which is again where the Risk Management tie in of the ITG limits the OFSC. Can't make an offline version of the app when riders are told to use that app to verify if a trail is limited/available or not. Many QC clubs had to turn to email lists or FB posts this season to disclose grooming schedules since the FCMQ went to a new groomer sat tracking and it failed big time. I noticed there seemed to be more Ontario clubs doing the same so perhaps the OFSC will get over the fear of groomer chasers and consider some kind of grooming tracking model for the ITG in the future.

Yamaha and Polaris marketing to Snow Check only this year shows the Manus are waking up to the reality we've all known for 3 years. Flat land sledding in the east is getting creamed by environmental changes and all those left over sleds are getting to be a real problem. The outcry from the Polaris community got pretty loud when folks realized the 850 Patriot was snow check only. Got even louder when rumours we're rampant that dealers we're faced with an order ratio of up to 15 to 1 for snowcheck'd machines. (15 800's for 1 850). Then reached a panic state with rumours that only "Mega" dealers would be recognized by Polaris, and many dealers we're dropping sleds altogether to focus on ATV's. Time will tell how it all plays out but I figure we'll have 4 manu's for some time to come. The changes we'll see will be in the purchasing experience. Myguess is that with prices increasing but warranties now reaching 4 years we'll soon see some kind of leasing model introduced.

iMotoneige costs $3.99

Sorry, forgot to hang my sarcasm sign on that one.

Quebec app does not really give upto date trail status. Yeah it shows groomers but for details on trail status you must go to another website completely. With the way the OFSC has tied Risk Management to the ITG they can't do two platforms. They even claimed at AGM that part of the delay in ITG v2.0 was finding someone to work with who was not scared off by the risk management implications of the ITG. In Quebec if you want really accurate trail info you gotta go here: http://www.motoneiges.ca/actions/showConditionsSentier?request_locale=fr or here for a more big picture map representation: http://www.motoneiges.ca/magazines/motoneiges/cartes/carte.jsp For the way cool app and associated web page it's here: http://fcmq.viaexplora.com/#map and don't forget both levels of government provide a handsome amount of funding for everything in Quebec. (they just announced another $12 million in March)

Ok wait a sec. According to what I'm seeing here I'm far passed the 4500..(3175+3130).Cripes in my case do I need to go get an AZ? This is ridiculous. Where did 4500 come from anyways?

Did the fine exceed the costs/fees of going thru the sticker process for a truck and 2 trailers? By how much?

Yup that's what we figured. Hence the decline on the offer of sticker when we picked up the new Merhow. At the time we really didn't understand costs or the legalities. We did know that once the power unit is stickered stuff behind it needs one too. Along with costs there's a concern of jumping into the bureaurcratic whirlpool and having to follow up on this stuff every year moving forward. Plus what if the brakes are found to be crap on either trailer when it is in for inspect? Does the inspecting garage HAVE to do the repair work? Or can I DIY the repair and bring it back? 2 years ago the NEO needed all 4 brake systems replaced.

They offered. At the time we were bombarded with opinions, everything from tandem, to electric brakes to if the trailer was built on a day with a blood moon, then it needed a sticker. The whole 4500kg GVWR thing didn't seem to be such common knowledge as it is today. So we declined. The blame for this mess, imo falls at the feet of the MTO and whatever PR company they have under contract. Why can this gov't put out marketing campaigns for pretty much every petty little project the launch but important facts like this lie buried on websites? Would not take much, just a poster to be displayed at dealerships and ONRoute stops would be a big help.

Last year I was told by a buddy that the "J" and "S" style hooks on the ratchet straps were even gonna be a no go soon. He was told only hooks that have a spring loaded closing tab on them would be allowed. 'Tis true or rumour? MTO prefers these?

Good, solid info. Thanks. Good to get some guess-timates on the fines because then we can weigh the pro's and con's within some context. So next step is to gather all the GVWR ratings for Ram, Neo trailer and Merhow horse trailer. But based on info here and what I already know we should be stickered. Then visit local garage and trailer places to get a baseline for pricing. Reading this post out to da wife and the $3000 fine caught here attention and she's starting to get on board with stickers. Do you suppose the fine would be less for having an out dated sticker as compared to no sticker at all?

Right here. A @ L123

Ok thanks for the info. Yea I have black plates on the truck but it's "personal use" defined. The big reason we haven't stickered anything is due to what we anticipate to be a lot of added cost and PITA regarding inspections. We figure $150-$200 per trailer and truck so that's an additional $600/year. Am I even close to reality on those costs? That's alot of sled fuel or truck pull fuel right there. Whenever we pull to a big sled destination in North Ontario we also scout the rigs in the parking lot for stickers. I'd say less than 20% have upto date stickers on both power unit and trailer. Same goes for most hunt events the wife pulls to. Seems barely anyone in the horse business gets stickers. The wife is getting ready to take her Merhow trailer in for it's first once over since she got it new 2 years ago. Now I'm thinking that we bite the bullet and go thru this damn sticker business. Pisses me right off though, it's a damn money grab. Hey if your horse trailer is idle sell that puppy! It's a gold mine. Damn horse trailers are like real estate, just keep getting more and more expensive.