Yamidude59
New member
I read all these posts on craigslist about guys storing their sleds in a heated garage and saying its trailered in an enclosed trailer...
Well i don't have the luxury or the money to trailer my sled in an enclosed trailer... i trailer it 2-4 times a winter to go to the U.P. on a open two place does that mean i have neglected my sled?
My garage is heated... but not 24/7, only when i'm working in it.... does that mean my sled isn't as good as a guys sled whos garage is heated 24/7???
At least i keep my sled in a garage not on the trailer during the winter....
sorry, it just bothers me that those two things make a dif. If i were to trailer my sled weekly, then yea, i'd look into a enclosed trailer. but its rare.
Well i don't have the luxury or the money to trailer my sled in an enclosed trailer... i trailer it 2-4 times a winter to go to the U.P. on a open two place does that mean i have neglected my sled?
My garage is heated... but not 24/7, only when i'm working in it.... does that mean my sled isn't as good as a guys sled whos garage is heated 24/7???
At least i keep my sled in a garage not on the trailer during the winter....
sorry, it just bothers me that those two things make a dif. If i were to trailer my sled weekly, then yea, i'd look into a enclosed trailer. but its rare.
It's a selling point. That's all, It means nothing to me B/c I know 99% of the time it's BS!
I must be the 1 % because I have never trailered my four sleds on a open trailer and they have spent there life inside. If you trailer uncovered then the best thing is to get the road salt off as soon as possible. And I don't know how many times I have seen sleds on a trailer with out a cover completely covered in sh!t. Duh!!
progold
New member
I would say 60% of the snowmobiles in northern new Brunswick are trailered in enclosed trailers and 40% of that are people from outside the province ,here in New Brunswick the city and the goverment love to salt the roads even the guys and girls who put their sleds in the back of their trucks usually have covers on them,but for having them in a heated garage 24/7 mine gets fogged at the end of the season and gets put in my baby barn/ shed for the summer no heat and then fired up for the next season.,so i would say that your sled if it runs and starts everytime you want to go for a rip and it put`s a smile on your face evertime is as just as good as the guy that has his in a heated garage that does the same thing for him. 
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xsivhp
Active member
Up until I bought my viper in '04 all of my sleds sat outside on a trailer with a cover on them year round, after trailering I stopped at the car wash and hosed everything off for $2. I sold my 1988 el Tigre, that I bought in 1991, to a guy in 2003 and he said it looked like new still.
imho snowmobiles were designed to be outside. stored outside and ridden outside. if you can afford to keep them in a heated garage that's great, but I would never build a garage or heat one just to preserve my sled.
There have been issues noted in these forums where condensation inside the crankcase (bring a sled from the cold into a heated garage) can (and possibly has) caused crank bearing failure.
My garage is heated only when I'm working in it too!
imho snowmobiles were designed to be outside. stored outside and ridden outside. if you can afford to keep them in a heated garage that's great, but I would never build a garage or heat one just to preserve my sled.
There have been issues noted in these forums where condensation inside the crankcase (bring a sled from the cold into a heated garage) can (and possibly has) caused crank bearing failure.
My garage is heated only when I'm working in it too!
03viperguy
Moderator
Just means they tend to be in better shape, less or no rust in the motor and suspension. I keep and trailer mine indoors, and it looks a lot like new, and I am fussy. I don't even want any rust or corrosion on the motor. I am fussy 
Just a selling point that is usually a lie!!
I keep my sled in my unheated shed when not being used,for theft reasons,and most times I have to transport it on the back of my truck with a cover when going riding.When any rust shows up on a painted part I sandblast and paint it and when bolts get nasty looking I change them with stainless where I can,being metric and all can make it hard to find stainless bolts/nuts.
The thing about a sled being stored in a heated garage 24/7 is that from what I've read and been told it is more prone to develop moisture in the fuel system,now someone correct me here if I'm wrong.
The storage issue may be a sticker for some people but if you look a sled over carefully and check the obvious things for wear and rust and all checks out then a prospective sled should be ok.
The thing about a sled being stored in a heated garage 24/7 is that from what I've read and been told it is more prone to develop moisture in the fuel system,now someone correct me here if I'm wrong.
The storage issue may be a sticker for some people but if you look a sled over carefully and check the obvious things for wear and rust and all checks out then a prospective sled should be ok.
I think the enclosed trailer idea is great, except when people keep them in the enclosed trailers over the summer - the air inside can get damp, and there is no air movement, and then water gets in the fuel, inside the crankcase...etc. I've heard bad things about that more than once.
Yamidude59
New member
yea... The only kind of rust i have on my sled is minimal, its just below the spindle on both sides, but that will be fixed next summer. no rust on the skid anywhere..... when ever i trailer my sled its covered.
Agreed to the point above about them being designed for being outside....
I keep my sled in the garage in between uses, its warmer then the outside temp because its insulated...
Agreed to the point above about them being designed for being outside....
I keep my sled in the garage in between uses, its warmer then the outside temp because its insulated...
03viperguy
Moderator
designed to take it being outside, but they do hold up better indoors and on a covered trailer. what would you rather buy, a car from a sunny state, or here where I am in NH?? why is a sled any different? I think it really comes down to how picky a buyer or owner is, nothing more. my sled stays in an unheated garage, but it does stay inside. makes a big difference over the long haul
I'm from Illinois, another state that loves salt. I used to have an open trailer and I've seen what salt does to the front end and motor of a sled. It also destroys covers and by the time I get to Eagle River, Wi 360 miles away, a sled can look ugly. And when I get home from that 360 mile drive, the last thing I want to do is go look for a car wash. When my buddy and I bought new sleds, I insisted that we buy a covered trailer, and I cringe at the thought of going back to an open.
The last trip of the season last year, to the UP from IL, was the first time in 3 years that we did not use my 2 place covered trailer, opting to save gas by taking an open 4 place trailer with a salt sheild. My Viper was covered with an underliner and the normal Yamaha cover. I could not beleive the amount of corrossion I had picked up as well as the scuffing on the hood and WS. The time I spent cleaning and buffing would have been better spent in $ at the gas pump, by taking my own truck and trailer.
Call me picky, but the sled listed for $8K, add to that the price of a differnt track, studs and an M-10, etc. and you can see why I would like to keep it nice for as many years as posssible.
Back to the resale value, I also like "gently used".
I once owned a Polaris Pro-x that was never raced. probably true due to numerous issues with the engine...
2datrl
Call me picky, but the sled listed for $8K, add to that the price of a differnt track, studs and an M-10, etc. and you can see why I would like to keep it nice for as many years as posssible.
Back to the resale value, I also like "gently used".
I once owned a Polaris Pro-x that was never raced. probably true due to numerous issues with the engine...
2datrl
back when i was still in school, we didn't have hardly any money for even a salt shield. I did have two sleds though a 89 Exciter which was first new sled and a 78 exciter. The 78 was the sled that alway ran and towed all of my buddies Ski doo's back to camp. The 78 was the slush gaurd, we just put it sidways in front of the nice sleds, some days you wouldn't even believe their was a snowmobie under all of the ice. lol.
jwurl
Member
Sleds that have been towed on an open trailer are USUALLY a mess under the hood. Pipes are rusty, aluminum is white and pitted up, and the plated stuff under the hood is all messed up. Road salt messes up everything. Sleds towed in an enclosed trailer and stored inside usually still have the original paint on the pipes and skis. Also if you tow with the cover on, eventually all the paint gets rubbed off the corners of the hood and panels. I would never tow open in the future myself. Jeff
horkn
New member
Blkhwkbob said:
Yep, these craigslist ads that state that they are only towed in enclosed trailers is a huge selling point.
In Wi, it is plain to see what sled has been towed on an open trailer, and ones that either don't get trialered, or in enclosed trailers.
My venture points out that it was obviously trailered on an open trailer, a lot. One look at the engine of a sled will show you the truth.
Our old 96 XCR was spotless compared to the crusty oxidized aluminum and steel on the venture.