Looking for some feedback from sled users. I am hoping to purchase a snowmobile to pull my gear before next season. Where I will do most of my fishing, there may be many years when there is very little to no snow cover on the ice.
What problems and or issues will I have to deal with running a snowmobile over bare ice? I have heard a little about “ice scratchers”, do they help? are they sufficient? Any other issues I need to consider?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
Studs in the track and carbides for the skis will help on bare ice. The studs will help in slush also.
with no snow you will wear out those plastic slides under the track. snow lubricates between the slides and track!!
If you have little to no snow I would skip the sled and get a wheeler. I run scratchers on my sleds but they won’t do enough to save your slides on bare ice. Fan cooled is a non issue without snow cover but liquid is asking for trouble even with scratchers.
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with no snow you will wear out those plastic slides under the track. snow lubricates between the slides and track!!
This. They will actually melt. I remember the last time I ran a sled hard on bare ice. When I stopped the slides melted to the track and stuck. I was able to easily free it but learned a lesson. You would likely also overheat with no snow hitting the cooling fins. Sleds need snow for prolonged use.
As mentioned, there are 2 issues with running a snowmobile on bare ice with no snow.
#1: Engine overheating. Liquid cooled snowmobiles need snow to cool them, this can also be an issue on hardpack trails. This is a non-issue with fan cooled snowmobiles. You would need a fan cooled sled, no questions asked.
#2: Slides not being lubricated and wearing fast, possibly even melting to the track in extreme cases. Ice scratchers help somewhat and another option is squirting dish soap on them every couple miles.
I use my snowmobile in no snow conditions all the time early and late ice. I need it to fish where I want for most of the season and don’t have a four wheeler. It’s fan cooled so overheating is no worry and I use the dish soap to help protect my slides. I only make short runs (less than 2 miles), watch the slides for wear, and change them when needed. A new set is less than $30. Be careful driving and keep the speed down on glare ice, don’t touch the brake unless absolutely necessary. It’s really easy to get the sled spinning cirles and if you catch something at the wrong time, you will roll it.
If there are times in your season when a snowmobile is absolutely necessary and you don’t want to buy an atv as well then follow these steps and you’ll be fine.
If you don’t get enough snow to NEED a snowmobile then get an atv.
I run Snowmobiles on bare ice every year. Many times the entire winter. One of my sleds is over 20 yrs old. It’s in excellent shape and I have never needed to change my slides. I have run over 14 miles at a time across Lake of the woods with zero snow. I have yet to have a slide issue on any of my sleds. I’m not saying you won’t have issues but I know I never think twice about driving on bare ice.
If the sled has studs and carbides you can drive as fast or slow as you want and be in total control as well. You have a lot of traction. If you want a dedicated ice rig I’d go with a snowmobile all the way!
Two person sleds work great too but they’re much harder to find. Have fun!
Liquid cooled and no snow asking for trouble. As mentioned above I have learned that lesson too 
There is no need for a sled for ice fishing Iowa. Get a wheeler and you will be fine on 98% of Iowa lakes.
Thanks for the feedback. I figured I’d get feedback from sled users having both good and bad experiences. Just didn’t know what I was looking at when running on bare ice.
As to the debate between a sled and a quad,,,,,, That is a whole different issue. A good friend of mine has both a quad and a sled. That would be great and I understand that, just like having different boats for different applications is ideal, it is not always possible.
Quads have issues with deep (relative term) snow and there are ways of dealing with that.
Sleds have issues with no snow and that is why I am asking about those issues.
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Quads have issues with deep snow(relative term)
I don’t think so……..
Superdo,
You misquoted me by only using half of what I said.
“Quads have issues with deep (relative term) snow and there are ways of dealing with that.”
Yeah, sorry.
Poor man’s “Kinda” tracks.
http://j-wheelz.com/
I’ll be looking for a forewheeler this year. Not going to spend the $$ on tracks, but i will get a pair of JWHeelz
Check out the durability video.
My dad has tracks on his forewheeler. Last two winters i’ve done my best to get them stuck but haven’t found anything that i couldn’t back out of and then drive right back through it…So tracks are the cat’s meow. However, i’m not sure i’d want them in slush.
Where in NE IA are you going to find snow drifts too deep on a lake to get around with a wheeler? This winter we had near record snowfall and I never saw any places where a wheeler couldn’t get around… aside for the IGL and Clear. We aren’t on lake of the woods….
I assume you are running the cedar and its backwaters?
Kevin,
I never asked about snow depths for any particular location. My inquiry was concerning the operation of a snowmobile over bare ice conditions.
Thanks for your concern but your response did not address my inquiry.
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Kevin,
I never asked about snow depths for any particular location. My inquiry was concerning the operation of a snowmobile over bare ice conditions.
Thanks for your concern but your response did not address my inquiry.
oh man! your now on Kevins black list for that reply
We keep an old Yamaha sled around that is light and easy to load. There are times where you need a sled on bare ice, thin shorelines, small heaves and such. I’ve never tried scratchers. We have burned up one set of hyfax, but it took 3-4 years to burn them up. We have lucked out and had thick enough ice to drive trucks around, but it’s nice to have a sled to do some searching. So look at something cheap, light weight fan/air cooled, carbides on the skiis help with steering, no need to have the whole track studded, and on top of everything easy to maintain and fix yourself. Oh and just because I’m from Iowa doesn’t mean I fish in Iowa!
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oh man! your now on Kevins black list for that reply
You say that like it’s a bad thing. 
BTW, Thanks for your real life feedback. It is info like this which will help me when running a sled in the future.
I don’t have a list. 
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I don’t have a list.
Now I am just disappointed. 
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