I know some of you guys use sleds on skis/runners rather than tubs. My question is, what is the ideal stance width of the skis? Do you want them to follow in the tracks of the snowmobile skis, or be narrower than the machine? Does it make a significant difference in pulling or tracking?
I’m building one to haul logs, and I’ve found plenty of pictures online but no dimensions.

Thanks for any help.

Are you hauling logs for firewood, or logs for building? I assume your building a taboggan type sled? I have put runners on toboggans in the past. Runners are for reducing the drag on a hard trail. So the tub part floats (hopefully) on the soft snow places and the runners slide over the hard pack. Not sure on width.
mt

I've got a set of runners to haul logs. The bunks pivot. One set goes under the front of the logs and the other goes on the rear. The front set has a hitch the rear just attaches with a chain and boomer. They are the same width as an old Tundra skidoo. They work great but only on hard packed trails.

Make your sled runners narrower than your snowmachine skis. Use metal runners to help strengthen your runners. Tempered steel would be best, check the grain of the metal so that they will slide on the snow instead of gripping it. Flat bar steel will work if you don't have tempered steel. If you are going to make them with plastic runners your wooden runners need to be thick because the plastic runners don't add any strength to your sled.

I have always built the old style birch basket dog sleds and used them for everything. Runners 2" wide and 20 apart outside to outside. The width, of course, is based solely on tradition.....the width of two 10 inch snowshoes

Wen I build a Basket sled, I shod with a 2 inch wide teflon.

A 'flat sled' made of 2x4's ect, I use 3-4 inch width, depending on whats available. I haul fire wood with mine.

For ''tree sleds' in tandem, one at each end of a full length log of 16inch butts and 30 ft long, I make two small sleds with 4 or , preferrably, shod with 6 inch wide slides on my runners.

I make all my lumber sleds the samw width as my ski's , measured skeg to skeg, while my basket sleds are 28 inches wide.

Good luck!

I have built a few in the past, and I like to use them when going out caribou hunting. I built my first two I think "30 wide and it was nice, until you had to navigate around some rocks on the trail where it got twisty. Thats how I broke my first one. I did so against my uncles instruction, and he was right. When I was living in Utqaigvik some whaling crews had sleds "36 wide and they pulled without a problem.

Here in the mountains I think the few guys that do make them, build them about "16-"20 wide so they pull better in the rocks and what not, and they track better insde your snowmobile tracks. The narrower stance works better for my rocky terrain.

Follow up: here’s what I ended up with. My goal for the time being was just to build a bunk slled for the front end of the logs, and drag the tails. It’s basically what was called a “go devil” back in the horse skidding days. I needed to skid a bunch of 10-12” x 8ft logs out of the woods for a little sawmilling job last week, and this rig served the purpose. Eventually I’ll make another one for the rear end of longer logs. I could also eventually add a pivoting bunk like Yukon, if I decide I need it.

Regarding my original question about ski width, I finally said “quit over-thinking it, dummy” and made the sled to fit the width of my hitch tongue from my tub sled, so I didn’t have to build another tongue. I can swap it between sleds, and it bolts on to some angle strut.

The skis are 5” wide, milled out of birch, and a bit heavier than necessary. But stout . Width is 34” outside, 24” inside, which puts the skids just inside the snowmachine skis. But since I always pack my trails before skidding anyway it doesn’t really matter. I skinned the runners with aluminum flashing. She did the job. Now I just need a better snowmachine for hauling.
Thanks for all the input fellas.
Those are a pair of 10-12" 8 ft logs

The tandem ''Tree sleds'' I reffered to would be exactly you pictured Kenaikid, but with a second sled tied at the rear of the trees. I see that short logs are easy to drag with the one, but if you were to be uilding, say, a log cabin, a second seld would help tremendously.

I couple my two small sleds together with rope teid through attachment holes in the wood.
The rear sled is coupled to the front sled with a heavy rope, with the left ski on the front sled attaching to the rear sleds right ski, and the front skis left side being being attached to the rear right ski, so the roaps tha couple the two sled is an ''X''.......and the trees placed apon and tied down the two sleds.


Harder to write than imagine , Im sure...

I know exactly what you mean Caribou.. we call it X-cabled articulating steering. I’ve helped build a few steel units for North Slope exploration with the same steering setup. Yep, if I get around to hauling long stuff I’ll definitely make another one.