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Getting set up for retirement and some full time wilderness trapping. Lower Nowitna area. Have 2 bravos and an elan for day to day trapline use. Assumedly the wife will be there also. I want a travelling work snogo also. Will have to run around 80 miles round trip to re supply, refuel the camp. Putting 2 drums in a sled to pull back to camp is part of the plan. The bravo can pull a load, but not as much. Choices seem to 4 stroke, 2 stroke etec, 2 stroke efi, or plain old carbureted 2 stroke. Have been looking at the 600 ace or etec. Great mileage. More power in the etec apparently. But how about reliability, maintenance? The expectation is to also have my small plane there once freeze up is good. I did this once before from this cabin, 30 years ago. Same snogo, bravo/elan and the plane. No 4 strokes then. Hauled all the gas with the plane. I can only haul about 50 gal. at a time tho. Let's hear your ideas!
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7240831 04/11/2103:26 PM04/11/2103:26 PM
I’d say get an ace. Keep up with oil changes and you should get a lot of miles out of it. 80 miles round trip will probably burn between a quarter and half a tank.
If you take care of the land the land will take care of you
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7240991 04/11/2107:33 PM04/11/2107:33 PM
I have a 600 ace in a tundra and it’s great on fuel. I have the dealer do a fall checkup on it at the start of every season ($400) includes the oil change. Does great river running pulling a siglin with weight. The 600 can struggle on hills or if you get a dumping of 18” of snow or more. 1sled has 6500 miles the other 5500 and I have never been stranded or have mechanical issues with it. We do keep a generator at the cabin to plug in if colder then -30.
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241009 04/11/2107:57 PM04/11/2107:57 PM
Might think of the WT of SWT if you are planning to be using it on unbroken trails quite a bit, especially pulling heavy loads. The low range can be really nice. I second the ACE suggestion, whether 600 or 900. The Tundra would in my opinion be a better machine breaking trail and pulling hills if it was lower geared or had the two speed transmission the Skandics do. Otherwise it is a nice machine.
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241228 04/12/2101:57 AM04/12/2101:57 AM
Swap out the 8 for a seven tooth driver and you have your lower gearing. Wahl or Avid have them. It makes a world of difference. But if I was hauling I’d go WT or SWT. Tundra is not a great heavy haul machine.
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241229 04/12/2101:58 AM04/12/2101:58 AM
If you only have to go 80 miles. Get one of them new 300 Yamaha Transports. Light you won't hurt yourself when you get stuck. Orgo old school and get a Polaris Star like Tom on Mountain Men.
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241237 04/12/2103:54 AM04/12/2103:54 AM
MT, if it is pretty much flat country the 600 ace should be fine if you have any steep stuff pulling to drums you might move up to the 900 ace. I just sold a 2013, expedition sport with the 600 when I snow checked the 900. moved up to the 900 as I wanted more power in the mountains when the snow got deeep between checks. You will love the gas milage it may even do better than the bravo
We get out of life only as much as we really want and work hard enough to achieve
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241507 04/12/2101:49 PM04/12/2101:49 PM
I have a 2015 Skandic Wt with the 900 Ace. Just over 9200 miles on it now. I've only had tow issues with the motor.
One was the starter going out (twice now), cost from Skidoo is 400+. I found a thread on DooTalk that had found one that works on Ebay for roughly 50 bucks. I now have a spare in my box!
The second is a oil pressure sending unit that will shoot high pressure oil out through it. This then ends up on the exhaust and lets you know really quickly. Part is about 40 bucks and a quick fix. Easy access too.
If your going to be running trails to and from while freighting your stuff in and out I would look at the expedition LE...nice ride. But if you foresee using it on the trapline, then the Skandic is a good way to go.
Just my .02
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241528 04/12/2102:15 PM04/12/2102:15 PM
It sure seems to me that a guy could make a lot of fuel runs with the Citabria for the cost of a new machine just to haul fuel. I get it about the efficiency though. Seems like you should be able to suck a few extra gallons out of the wing and still have enough to get back to the fuel point with a bit of safety margin
Mean As Nails
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241859 04/12/2109:10 PM04/12/2109:10 PM
I have two expeditions with the 900 ace and love them, smooth running, great fuel mileage, quiet and reliable. I don't think you can go wrong with either a 600 ace or 900 ace.
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7241993 04/13/2112:40 AM04/13/2112:40 AM
You are correct Ken. The citab would likely suffice for hauling fuel. I could even go to FAI to buy the fuel tho that is a 2 hour flight one way, but cheaper gas. However, other factors come into play. If I get the trail cut, brushed out (some of it is old trail I used years ago) then checking traps could be part of the trip. Another aspect is a camp on the Yukon which could provide another place to stay, trap out of, store fuel, etc. Just made a deal for a very low time tundra LT, 600 ace. Picking it up tomorrow. We have one more year here in FAI so can play with it here and if I don't like it, sell it. I have looked at, handled, ridden some heavier machines. Drove the VK540 a little today. Just can't imagine having an 800 pound snogo at a wilderness camp. Even those skandics, expeditions, other heavy machines seem like a potential for a big problem. This Nowitna line will be run on a fair amount of ice. Lakes, sloughs, the river. Overflow will be a possibility every winter. Got my bravo stuck in overflow a couple weeks ago in a pond by the airport. Had to tamp down the snow with snowshoes around the bravo, then lift it onto the tamped down area. Dang heavy with that little bravo full of slush. Let it sit overnight to freeze and drove it off the pond the next morn. Not sure how I would get a heavier machine out. Even this tundra is going to be a learning curve.
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7242008 04/13/2102:28 AM04/13/2102:28 AM
You are correct Ken. The citab would likely suffice for hauling fuel. I could even go to FAI to buy the fuel tho that is a 2 hour flight one way, but cheaper gas. However, other factors come into play. If I get the trail cut, brushed out (some of it is old trail I used years ago) then checking traps could be part of the trip. Another aspect is a camp on the Yukon which could provide another place to stay, trap out of, store fuel, etc. Just made a deal for a very low time tundra LT, 600 ace. Picking it up tomorrow. We have one more year here in FAI so can play with it here and if I don't like it, sell it. I have looked at, handled, ridden some heavier machines. Drove the VK540 a little today. Just can't imagine having an 800 pound snogo at a wilderness camp. Even those skandics, expeditions, other heavy machines seem like a potential for a big problem. This Nowitna line will be run on a fair amount of ice. Lakes, sloughs, the river. Overflow will be a possibility every winter. Got my bravo stuck in overflow a couple weeks ago in a pond by the airport. Had to tamp down the snow with snowshoes around the bravo, then lift it onto the tamped down area. Dang heavy with that little bravo full of slush. Let it sit overnight to freeze and drove it off the pond the next morn. Not sure how I would get a heavier machine out. Even this tundra is going to be a learning curve.
That does make a difference if you have a half-way camp that you can use also, as well as checking traps at the same time.
What does the plane burn .......about 9 gph??
I can't even imagine an 800 pound machine........even if it wasn't stuck !!
Mean As Nails
Re: New snogo use/maintenance in the wilderness.
[Re: martentrapper]
#7242298 04/13/2101:20 PM04/13/2101:20 PM
Even a small 4 wheeler is 600lbs. I have both a tundra 550 and a skandic 600ace-both good machines,the skandic is much more comfortable ride and can break trail in 2 foot of snow at 60k/hr. And great gas milage,especially compared to the 550. Early in the season if I have a bit of water skipping to do,I use the 550.
Last edited by Boco; 04/13/2107:00 PM.
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