Snowdog

Thanks for the replies. I live in the Cities, but also notice they have a dealer in my hometown of Watertown, SD. I may have to check them all out.
Al

I hope you are in better shape where you are than here in NY where I am.
At this point this winter Snowdogs would need to have Submarine capabilities with zero ice on the lakes. Possibly some small farm ponds could have a few inches but fishing the big lakes will have to wait for a serious deep freeze before I can even venture out.

Hi folks new to Forum pretty sure I’ll buy a snowdog tomorrow to use primarily for ice fishing but have a couple of questions.
1. What if any accessories would you recommend purchasing?
2. I have ice fished for years and have 2 jet sleds which i pull by hand will they work or do you recommend buying the snowdog sled.
3. What are the dimensions of the snowdog sled?
4. Any recommendations on a carrier which slides into the hitch receiver.

Thanks in advance for any information

I highly recommend the Snowdog sled. It is about the same size as a medium Jet sled but under the lip of SDs sled is a solid tube metal band and it has both the correct forward hitch and a rear eye hook. I would fear tying a couple sleds to the dog and expecting just the plastic to carry the loads.
I can’t help with the hitch mounted carriers but if that is the way you go then absolutely do buy the Snowdog cover to keep the road grime off of it. The Standard 13.5 HP Snowdog machine fits inside of the Snowdog sled if that helps on the size of the sled.
For running on glare ice I recommend Kold Kutter ice screws in the track which is designed to accept them and I just added carbide skegs to the bottom rear of my Snowdog sled. Was fishing today on glare ice and the skegs kept the sled directly behind the dog with no issue at all.
I would NEVER recommend you buy one that does not have factory reverse built in. Those of us without reverse on our first year machines have been promised the upgrade but it has not happened and without reverse gear you will be very dissatisfied just like us. I and many others wish we had waited for the reverse option to be available because these things don’t pull backwards easy at all.

Interesting concept. I ran across these earlier this year my first impression was it’s a solution looking for a problem that the snowmobile already solves. I’m wondering why they didn’t design it with a standing deck off the back where you could operate it from like the large commercial mowers the landscape companies use. This would eliminate the need for a sled just to transport the operator but I imagine the extra weight of someone standing on the back of it would lift the front and reduce it’s capacity to go through the snow? But it seems a little more design engineering could overcome that problem. It just seems like it would be tippy with the operator trying to stabalize it with the handle bars from that far behind the machine.

It doesn’t have to be registered like a snowmobile and it’s more compact for storage. But then you have to have 2 or 3 sleds on hand to transport all your stuff that goes with you.

For me it would be a second machine that would be used in situations like now when there is too much snow on the ice for the side by side to get around. I’m not sure it has enough advantages over a snowmobile to get me to go with the Snow Dog instead. Closest dealer to me is in St. Cloud 75 miles away so that means any warranty work is going to have to be done there. After that can you just take it anywhere to be repaired or serviced or authorized dealers are the only ones that can source parts? And being made in Russia what’s it going to be like to get those parts?

Right now Craigslist is full of some really nice sleds that can be had at the price point of the standard Snow Dog. I’d really have to see this thing in action or be able to try one for a weekend of fishing before I’d take the leap.

All valid points Keith but comparing a Snowdog to a snowmobile is apples to oranges. Similar in some ways and different in others and they each have their own purpose, advantages and disadvantages. Multiple sleds towed behind are pretty much the same for both. The front end of a snowmobile will float on top of snow while the dog machines dig in. This is good in some ways and not so good in others. I don’t know how well a snowmobile goes in 2 feet of fresh, heavy snow where no trail has been broken and I am not all that sure how a dog would do in the same conditions. Storing the dog in a 2 foot by 5 foot corner of my shed is a major plus and the same goes for getting to and from my fishing lakes. Not having to insure and register on a yearly basis is yet another major plus. Out on the ice with a foot of fresh snow the dog does great but it is tippy if you get tilted in ruts. Yes it is made in Russia but the engines are standard Briggs & Stratton motors so those parts and repairs should be quite easy. The dealer network is growing every day so I suspect parts should be available.
Snowdog’s certainly are not for everyone nor are snowmobiles or ATV/UTVs. I let guys out on the ice take a few laps with mine all the time and they all seem to like it just fine but they do understand it is not a go fast toy and more of a towing mule. I don’t know if it can out pull a snowmobile but for sure it will out pull any wheeled vehicle that does not have chains all around. I have pulled some wild loads behind mine and have been very impressed with the raw power and traction it does have. I just don’t compare it to other capable machines and figure what ever floats your boat is fine with me. Insurance a registration around here is close to $400 per year and tickets for not having it are way more.

So true Gary each machine has it’s purpose and niche it will fill. I’ve spent the last 2 hours watching You Tube vids of this thing in action and I must say I’m a bit more impressed now than I was earlier. I LOVE the idea of no registration but as these things grow in popularity I imagine that will change. My city now requires us to buy a $10 street permit to drive your ATV or UTV on the city streets even though they already have to pay registration fees and taxes. Bull.

My go fast snow machine days are behind me I just want something that will allow me to get out on the ice with confidence when there is a lot of snow out there like what it is now. I still see a trailer being needed which isn’t a big deal for me I’m used to hooking up and pulling a trailer. But as I see it you have the Sno Dog the operator sled and a sled with your flip over. I don’t have a pick up I have a newer Ford Expedition and I don’t want to start putting dirty, wet snow sleds in the back of that. Besides I already have the trailer with a ramp for hauling my UTV.

Most of the video’s I watched were dealer made and of course they are trying to sell you one. I really wanted to see how this thing did on the lake in a foot to 2 feet of snow on the lake pulling 2 sleds and a couple guys. But I couldn’t find a good example of that. Most of the ones I seen were in conditions I would be using my side by side anyhow.

All things considered I wouldn’t rule one of these out if I decide to buy a second machine to fill the need to be able to get on the ice in all conditions. My first choice is always my UTV but it sure sucks when you can’t get out there.

If I already had a nice UTV and the trailer to haul it on but had issues when the snow gets deep on the lake, I would take a different path and spend the money on a set of UTV tracks.
I watched last year when we had about 8 inches of fresh snow and under the snow was about 6+ inches of sloppy slush. Every machine that ventured out ended up stuck. I did not matter if it was a snowmobile, ATV/UTV and even the ones with full chains all around were having trouble or just stuck like glue. Along comes a guy with a Polaris RZR with the tracks on it. He had no trouble at all and spent the first hour on the ice dragging the other machines off. I talked with him and he said the only thing that gave him any trouble in the slush was turning. He had to make very wide loop type turns or he could also get it stuck. I would consider the Tracked UTV to be the ultimate machine in deep snow and crappy slush below it. I did not even take my Snowdog off the trailer that day and fished right close to shore because of such lousy conditions.
Last year there was a guy selling a set of near new tracks for a Polaris and maybe other machines for $3,000 which is about the cost of a new Snowdog. He had them on but hated how they slowed him down and robbed all of his power but heck, you don’t want to go fast when towing all sorts of gear on the ice anyway, you just want to be able to go.

I have debated the whole tracks for my UTV for several weeks now. I could have picked up a set off CL for my Ranger for a good price. But people are selling them for a reason as well. They don’t solve every problem and nothing will.

My biggest deterrent was not the tracks but the additional costs of upgrading to a larger trailer and having to buy extended push tubes for my plow to get the plow out in front of the tracks. The real deal killer was the Ranger would no longer make it into the garage due to the extra heigth the tracks would add. After all the expenses of adding tracks I’d be into it for about $7000. The cost/benefit just wasn’t there.

So a used 2 up snowmobile sounded like it might be the answer and I could get a decent one for the price of the Snow Dog and added sleds.
But as you point out Gary the Snow Dog does have certain attributes a sled does not. Lots to ponder this off season!

An ATV or UTV that will easily cruise along at 50 MPH will have a real hard time reaching 30 with the tracks and they are a real PITA to steer. I drove a Polaris Sportsman 500 with tracks and it would go just about anywhere but it was a major workout and slowed it down substantially.
There is no such thing as the perfect machine for all conditions so I do my fishing in the conditions I can get through. At almost 67 the get up and go in my legs got up and went but it left me here with the desire to go ice fishing while I am retired and have all the latest and greatest gear I can’t pull unless my younger pals are off work.

Ice Cap wrote:

So a used 2 up snowmobile sounded like it might be the answer and I could get a decent one for the price of the Snow Dog and added sleds.
But as you point out Gary the Snow Dog does have certain attributes a sled does not. Lots to ponder this off season!

Just a couple things to take into consideration.

Can you imagine crossing a breaker or open water near a breaker or deep slush with a snowdog… I do one of these nearly every time out with a snowmobile and don’t think twice about it. The snowdog looks cool in perfect conditions, but IMO it’s a far cry from a snowmobile. To top it off I purchased three great running sleds for the price of one snowdog.

I have never seen one of these breakers over here but what we do have are shorelines that get torn up real bad by the power company raising and lowering the water level in our reservoirs. YUP, I have had a hard time climbing over that garbage but so do the snowmobiles and ATV/UTVs.
One day the ice is flat from the shore out and just 2 days later they dropped the water level by 3 feet and the ice out from shore drops with the water but it leaves very steep ice slopes on the shore line and at the boat launch ramps. I see the snowmobiles take a running start to hit it with some momentum and all the gear in their towed sleds flies out.
I do it different. The Snowdog with the single sled goes right up and over but I leave the other sleds at the bottom before the slope. Once I get the machine and it’s sled up and on the ramp I have a long rope I tie to my truck and pull the other sleds up with it. Out on the ice if I ran across say a 12 inch difference at a crack I think I could make it over because down pressure on the steering bars lifts the track like popping a wheelie. I would not like doing it but pretty sure the dog would climb right up. Guys up in the north part of NY talk about pressure ridges and I suspect this is what you are calling Breakers. Sometimes the snowmobiles have to follow the ridge until they find a spot they can hop over. I do wish some of you guys would post a few pictures to show the others here what these breakers and ridges really look like. I don’t think these small lakes and reservoirs experience these conditions.

Gary Lothrop wrote:

I do wish some of you guys would post a few pictures to show the others here what these breakers and ridges really look like.

Here you go. They can be tough to cross with an ATV as well.

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Gary Lothrop wrote:

An ATV or UTV that will easily cruise along at 50 MPH will have a real hard time reaching 30 with the tracks and they are a real PITA to steer. I drove a Polaris Sportsman 500 with tracks and it would go just about anywhere but it was a major workout and slowed it down substantially.
There is no such thing as the perfect machine for all conditions so I do my fishing in the conditions I can get through. At almost 67 the get up and go in my legs got up and went but it left me here with the desire to go <strong class=”ido-tag-strong”>ice fishing while I am retired and have all the latest and greatest gear I can’t pull unless my younger pals are off work.

I have a 900 XP with power steering so I think turning is a bit easier but from what I’m hearing you still need a lot of room. I’ve been riding in Polaris Crew cabs with tracks when we take guided trips on Devils Lake and yes they are not top speed racers but they get around quite well. I asked the guy I could have bought nearly new ones from why he was selling and he said it was just too wide and big for the smaller lakes. I’m not sure but I think he was going places with no public access but just a canoe launch you had to walk down a stretch of path to get to. I think the wheeler with tracks was too big for that. We have a lot of those lakes around here. If you can get to them the fishing is good because it keeps a lot of people out due to equipment limitations. I’m thinking the Snow Dog would excel in this situation.

My situation is like your’s Gary. I’m retired and all my fishing buddies are still working. So I go myself during the week so I have no help if I get in some sort of trouble or no help loading and unloading so I always have to keep this in mind. I bought the Otter fish house that mounts right to the box of my Ranger and most of my gear will still go in the box or in the cab of the Ranger. It’s the best set up by far for my purposes of going it alone. I drive the Ranger up on the trailer and go. Drive it off the ice up on the trailer and go. No sleds to load or unload.

I think I just have to come to terms with the reality that there are going to be days or stretches of days where I just can’t go out due to conditions of one kind or another.

My best fish catching days come on weekdays when it is just me and my GF a 12 year old Brittany who goes when ever and where ever I go. I have a Clam 2 man Guide pop up for just the 2 of us and her seat is a dog bed. On the weekends when my buddies come I have the Otter XT Pro Resort that is twice the size plus my pals all have their own sleds with their gear. My Snowdog pulls the entire train and you can view me on the Snowdog web site doing it in the testimonials. I have a pond way out back with a single track path I take the kids to fish in and it does great in tight quarters as long as you have the room to turn around at the pond.

Hey Gary,
Do you have a link to your video on You Tube?
Thanks,
Al

Not a video Al, just a picture of me and my Brittany pulling a very heavy load on the Snowdog web site under Experience.
https://snowdog.com/#testimonials

GAry

Great picture, Gary.
There are a couple of dealers near the Twin Cities, where I live and one in my hometown of Watertown, SD. I’m going to have to do a test ride with one.
Al

Anybody used a snowdog without snow on the ground?

I have run it on my lawn and through the woods without snow on the ground. The only place I think I would not run it is on pavement although I have crossed my road a few times. It does fine in just about all terrains.

This is my second year with the dog ice fishing. Overall I’m happy with the purchase. Its handled deep snow surprising well and so far the slush pockets with heavy snow I’ve encountered I was able to float over the top and not get stuck. Slush with no snow pack on top I’m guessing it won’t do well, but I haven’t encountered it. There is a learning curve to driving it. Very different deep snow verses hard pack. In deep snow you basically tilt the machine to turn and mine seems to want to tilt to the right so I weight the left side down more and shifting my weight in the sled actually helps as well. I buried it off a trail one time and thought there is no way it’s coming out. I have reverse and it backed right out, very impressed. Bare ice is the worst for me because my track isn’t studded, but I just ordered some to make it handle that situation as well. It will go on bare ice but it’s slow going and no control. I had 4 sleds, 3 with gear, and 4 guys on it this past weekend with no problems. It will pull if you have the traction, another reason for studs. The biggest complaint I have is my throttle freezes up. When it gets really cold it sticks wide open so when you start it, it wants to take off. It’s something I have to constantly check before starting. I just have to make sure I can move the throttle lever before starting. I’ve lubed it up and it still froze once, but overall much better. I use a otter sled and boat seat behind mine. You have to do a few easy mods to the tow bar but I like it much better. You can haul more gear than the snow dog sled and I like that it’s deeper, plus a better seat. I usually use the snow dog sled behind the otter when hauling more guys.

Thanks kz3 it’s great to get real world input from owners like Gary and yourself especially when your up front about problems or drawbacks instead of just telling us how great of a purchase you made. I’ve decided I’m not doing anything this year anymore but will think things over this off season and see which way I want to go.

I know if I was to buy a Snow Dog or snowmobile this year we will get a total of 6 inches of snow all of next year!

Ice Cap wrote:

Thanks kz3 it’s great to get real world input from owners like Gary and yourself especially when your up front about problems or drawbacks instead of just telling us how great of a purchase you made. I’ve decided I’m not doing anything this year anymore but will think things over this off season and see which way I want to go.

I know if I was to buy a Snow Dog or snowmobile this year we will get a total of 6 inches of snow all of next year!

YUP! I don’t know where you live but that is my exact reason for NOT buying another snowmobile. Some years we don’t have enough snow to even use them except on the ice and some years we don’t even have enough ice to fish on. Lots of times even with my Snowdog if there is little or no snow on the ice I don’t even bother taking the dog out of the trailer because pulling the sled and shanty is so easy. I have lakes here I love to fish but no motorized anything are allowed on them. I am in the southern part of the NY Catskills and close to the borders of NY, PA and NJ.

Just wanted to thank you guys for your input I just put a snowdog and 1 snowdog sled on order and based on feedback I got the snowdog with reverse. This model now has a reverse button built into the handle bar so switching between forward and reverse should be easier. I considered an older snowmobile but then would need to buy a longer trailer as mine would be to short being only 7’long, but as mentioned a used snowmobile also made lots of sense. Currently where I live in Idaho we are having huge snow dumps making driving to the lake not advisable. So I’ll just sit tight and wait for the roads to open and hopefully by then the new purchase will be here. Thanks again

I should live where you are. Great fishing all year around plus great hunting and you guys tend to like the same toys I have. My Yamaha Big Wheel 350 is a very popular off road bike out by you and most of the parts I have found come from either Idaho or Montana.
Tell me if you know, how well do snowmobiles go when there is 2-3 feet of fresh snow and no trail has been broken yet? Up in the NY north country where they do have designated Snowmobile trails they spend a lot of time grooming the trails for the machines to ride on.

Gary Lothrop wrote:

My Yamaha Big Wheel 350…

Thanks a lot, Gary. I had to Google this, and now, I want one.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Gary Lothrop wrote:</div>
My Yamaha Big Wheel 350…

Thanks a lot, Gary. I had to Google this, and now, I want one.

I don’t know where Monteca is but this is a smoking deal I would be on if on this coast.
https://stockton.craigslist.org/mcy/d/manteca-1987-yamaha-bw350/6816554889.html

Pretty cool product, but for 3k you can get a pretty nice snowmobile. I’d go the snowmobile route personally. For anyone whose handy, check this out https://www.ebay.com/i/253239622759?chn=ps
Pretty good deal for a set of plans to build one yourself.

Gary Lothrop wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Keith L wrote:</div>
Thanks kz3 it’s great to get real world input from owners like Gary and yourself especially when your up front about problems or drawbacks instead of just telling us how great of a purchase you made. I’ve decided I’m not doing anything this year anymore but will think things over this off season and see which way I want to go.

I know if I was to buy a Snow Dog or snowmobile this year we will get a total of 6 inches of snow all of next year!

YUP! I don’t know where you live but that is my exact reason for NOT buying another snowmobile. Some years we don’t have enough snow to even use them except on the ice and some years we don’t even have enough ice to fish on. Lots of times even with my Snowdog if there is little or no snow on the ice I don’t even bother taking the dog out of the trailer because pulling the sled and shanty is so easy. I have lakes here I love to fish but no motorized anything are allowed on them. I am in the southern part of the NY Catskills and close to the borders of NY, PA and NJ.

I’m in northrn MN. I would say for the past 7 to 10 years the snow amounts have not been kind to snow mobilers there have been some lean years and this year started our like most of them but lately have gotten 20 plus inches. We always have ice though. Some years it comes later some years sooner I was out pretty early this year well before Christmas but you walked out dragging a sled.

That’s the problem I have. In years with lesser snow falls I won’t need either a Snow Dog or a snowmobile as my UTV is the go to machine. But when you need a track machine you need a track machine.

Do a search on You Tube and a guy on there explains how to make a snow dog and shows each step with pictures. Real simple. Many have been made using a 6.5 HP motor with good results but I think they would work better with a little more HP but it all depends on how they are geared