Cost of being towed

[revrnd]

On 15/02/2017 at 10:53 PM, sledjunk said:

I have only been towed any distance three times (touch wood).  Once was by my son, (on my other sled), once I offered to replace the belt and was told not to bother, (I think I bought his dinner that night), and the other I gave him a new  belt.

 

Definitely, a worthwhile tradition and gesture.

Never look a gift horse in the mouth  .

[irREVerent]

3 hours ago, Canuck said:

 

Too funny.

 

I carry a yellow rope, to match the sled being towed.

Ahem...whose YAMAHA sled(s) wouldn't start and had to be boosted in Gowganda last year?... 

[PISTON LAKE CRUISER]

2 hours ago, revrnd said:

Never look a gift horse in the mouth  .

Gifthorse has nothing to do with it. He rides a YAMAHA

[coolbane]

YOU GUYS ARE A LONG WAYS OFF TOPIC!!!

 

I came up with some riderless towing ideas which may or may not work. Next time on trail, I'll test them with whoever has the misfortune to be my riding buddy; it can be a diversion from tell lies about how good our sleds are on gas. 

[Techdenis007]

I towed my blown 670 with the Cheyenne last year using a ratchet strap. This year the wifes Rev with my XS 800 Rev, with the 2 pieces of emergency recoil starter rope. Same way both times.

 

Pass the strap twice around the tow bumper and back to the dead sled lower control arms, but through ONE SKI LOOP ONLY. This keeps the rear sled properly tracking while towing, while pulling against something solid instead of the ski loop.  Never bothered putting a passenger on the sled being towed, need em for traction on my back seat ... just remember to pretend you have no brakes or you might cram a ski up your own backside....

 

[Zertrider]

Have towed a friends Apex and my brothers F800 with my ZR6000, both times probably 10 miles or so. That was 1000kms ago and I am still riding the same belt. Didin't expect a thing from either of them, as there were days in the past that I was the one on the losing end of the rope. 

 

Both of them were a bit frightened at the speeds that I was towing them at.

[coolbane]

12 hours ago, Denis007 said:

I towed my blown 670 with the Cheyenne last year using a ratchet strap. This year the wifes Rev with my XS 800 Rev, with the 2 pieces of emergency recoil starter rope. Same way both times.

 

Pass the strap twice around the tow bumper and back to the dead sled lower control arms, but through ONE SKI LOOP ONLY. This keeps the rear sled properly tracking while towing, while pulling against something solid instead of the ski loop.  Never bothered putting a passenger on the sled being towed, need em for traction on my back seat ... just remember to pretend you have no brakes or you might cram a ski up your own backside....

 

Sounds good, looks simpler than my plan!!

With passing one leg of tow rope thru the one ski loop, I'm assuming the towed sled will not track directly behind, correct? 

[Techdenis007]

1 hour ago, coolbane said:

Sounds good, looks simpler than my plan!!

With passing one leg of tow rope thru the one ski loop, I'm assuming the towed sled will not track directly behind, correct? 

 

Yes, it'll be a little bit offset.  I like the strap short so the skis are about 2-3' behind my flap.  Any more and the sled tends to wander and not track properly.  

 

Any way you tow it is usually ok, I like this way myself as the dead sled naturally follows yours and gives good traction to your sled, saving track spin and belt wear.

 

[AC+YA]

3 hours ago, Denis007 said:

 

Yes, it'll be a little bit offset.  I like the strap short so the skis are about 2-3' behind my flap.  Any more and the sled tends to wander and not track properly.  

 

Any way you tow it is usually ok, I like this way myself as the dead sled naturally follows yours and gives good traction to your sled, saving track spin and belt wear.

 

So Denis, are you saying that when the tow strap comes tight it actually lifts the ski front off the ground and thus holds more down pressure on the tow sled rear?

 

Guess it will depend on the sled combo between bumper heights of front and rear, but when pulled tight it may lift and depending on the tension required to keep the sled-in-tow moving per flat, incline, down hill, or snow resistance the ski may lift or set flat.

 

Never have done it that way, but sounds like it may be OK on flatter types of terrain.  The shorter tow strap length is a good idea with this setup.

 

Lashing tight is only necessary when it is a dead sled with no braking and uneven terrain.  Put plastic under a locked track and the dead sled can take you sideways right off the trail.  Not really a problem up in your neck of the woods.

 

When the worst happens and tracks won't turn it gets lots more complicated and not what I ever want to do again.

 

 

[zoso]

I once towed my 250 lb buddy sitting on his yamaha rxwarrior about 30kms and part of that was up oh crap hill south of nairn center, took two sleds towing to get up that hill, both no studs and hill was icy. Another time we towed a buddy with a blown engine from about 70km south of shining tree to 3 bears, he stayed the night an I drove up the next day to get him and the sled. That was the second time he blew that sled running up to three bears, both in about the same spot. 550 fanner trying to run with two four strokes... never asked for a dime nor expected one, we take care of each other out there.

[Cuyuna]

12 hours ago, zoso said:

I once towed my 250 lb buddy sitting on his yamaha rxwarrior about 30kms and part of that was up oh crap hill south of nairn center, took two sleds towing to get up that hill, both no studs and hill was icy. Another time we towed a buddy with a blown engine from about 70km south of shining tree to 3 bears, he stayed the night an I drove up the next day to get him and the sled. That was the second time he blew that sled running up to three bears, both in about the same spot. 550 fanner trying to run with two four strokes... never asked for a dime nor expected one, we take care of each other out there.

True friend... very, very rare.

[Techdenis007]

17 hours ago, AC+YA said:

So Denis, are you saying that when the tow strap comes tight it actually lifts the ski front off the ground and thus holds more down pressure on the tow sled rear?

 

Never have done it that way, but sounds like it may be OK on flatter types of terrain.  The shorter tow strap length is a good idea with this setup.

 

Works for us up here in general.  Doesn't necessarily lift the ski, but it does keep it positively tracking behind you.  In fact, I'll often pull  sleds around the yard at work, just from the control arms and they follow along pretty well, for 200 feet I'm not concerned.  Longer distances I want to be looking forwards, not back ...  

 

[zoso]

6 hours ago, Denis007 said:

 

Works for us up here in general.  Doesn't necessarily lift the ski, but it does keep it positively tracking behind you.  In fact, I'll often pull  sleds around the yard at work, just from the control arms and they follow along pretty well, for 200 feet I'm not concerned.  Longer distances I want to be looking forwards, not back ...  

 

Where you guys live towing could become a real adventure being you may end up being very far from any town. One thing I love about northern Ontario, the way complete strangers will bend over backwards to help. It is in their blood.

[revrnd]

On 2/22/2018 at 9:42 AM, Zertrider said:

Both of them were a bit frightened at the speeds that I was towing them at.

Reminds me of my tow into Heyden. It scared the crap out of me going up & down those hills.

[Zertrider]

6 minutes ago, revrnd said:

Reminds me of my tow into Heyden. It scared the crap out of me going up & down those hills.

It's really too bad someone didn't have GoPro footage of the F800 jumping driveways on the end of a tow rope.