Snowmobile tow setup

I am finally going to get an actual hitch system for the snowmobile this winter. I’ve gotten weary of ropes and other half-axxed methods. I have a Jet Sled XL to carry my gear.
Is there one that is better than the rest? Are there some brands that I should avoid? I would like it to keep the sled level-ish both side to side and front to back. Oftentimes the bank of a lake is steep and/or rough terrain, and I don’t want to take a chance of losing gear. I also need it to be sturdy, I try to be gentle with my equipment, but ice fishing is hard on everything. I need to know which tow bar or system I want to use before I buy the actual hitch, and even though it’s September, I want to have it all installed and ready while it’s still comfortable for doing work outside.
I know between all the people here at IDO, most brands and styles have been used, so your insight is greatly appreciated.

I had the one for my CLAM… worked great.

Attachments:

1. 

   CLAM-HITCH.png
   

I have 2 otter tow bars and one Merican eagle gave me a while back. They mostly all work the same. Towing in a roto molded sled is never easy on anything. They stay as level as the ground you are on.

In the interest of helping others in the future, I am writing a reply to a post I started.
I spent hours searching for the best tow hitch for pulling a sled (specifically my Shappell Jet Sled XL) behind a snowmobile. In my opinion, and in theory only, since we are experiencing high temps nearing 80 degrees in November, and have no snow to test on, this is what I came up with:

The Pelican Tow Hitch Trek Sport 68-75. Excellent side to side stability since it mounts to the outside of the sled with standoff brackets. This also allows the entire tow bar to fold back over the sled, so there is zero increase in overall length of the sled with it attached. Height increases to 21 3/4″ when folded back. The outside mount also means there is absolutely zero restriction on the angle it can tow – up or downhill.
It’s very well made and sturdy, with a shock-load spring at the mount point that restricts the amount of side to side rotation, so the sled can’t tip over past a certain point.
And the great thing is, it fits a Shappell Jet Sled XL perfectly with just a tiny (about 1/2″ each) tweak of the bars (will fit without doing this, but then there’s constant tension on the bar/mounts). Wrap the bar with a rag to prevent scratching, put the hitch end of the bar in a vice, then pull on the sled end just a tiny bit, do the same with the other side until the bends match. The plastic of the sled is sandwiched between the steel outside mount and a steel inside mount plate, so the support is very strong, much stronger than just connecting the tow bar directly to the plastic sled.
I don’t like that the hardware is not stainless, so I may replace that eventually, and I may replace the nut/bolt with a pin on each side where it mounts to the sled, so that it can be easily removed with no tools for towing by hand when not using the snowmobile, and that would allow it to fit very easily under the tonneau cover in the truck bed. It also adds a bit of width to the sled, from 30″ at the widest point to around 38 1/2 inches now.
Price just went from $69 to about $77 at Amazon shortly after I ordered, but I don’t think there’s a better setup available – especially if you own a Jet Sled XL.

I hope this helps others find a sled towing setup.

Attachments:

1. 

   IMG_1144.jpg
   

2. 

   IMG_1148.jpg
   

3. 

   IMG_1149.jpg
   

4. 

   IMG_1145.jpg
   

Bearcat89 wrote:

I have 2 otter tow bars and one Merican eagle gave me a while back. They mostly all work the same. Towing in a roto molded sled is never easy on anything. They stay as level as the ground you are on.

I was wondering where that went lol. That was a prototype from Trophy Angler. I believe they went into production with small tweaks to accommodate all sled mfg’s. Great hitch!

mojo wrote:

In the interest of helping others in the future, I am writing a reply to a post I started.
I spent hours searching for the best tow hitch for pulling a sled (specifically my Shappell Jet Sled XL) behind a snowmobile. In my opinion, and in theory only, since we are experiencing high temps nearing 80 degrees in November, and have no snow to test on, this is what I came up with:

The Pelican Tow Hitch Trek Sport 68-75. Excellent side to side stability since it mounts to the outside of the sled with standoff brackets. This also allows the entire tow bar to fold back over the sled, so there is zero increase in overall length of the sled with it attached. Height increases to 21 3/4″ when folded back. The outside mount also means there is absolutely zero restriction on the angle it can tow – up or downhill.
It’s very well made and sturdy, with a shock-load spring at the mount point that restricts the amount of side to side rotation, so the sled can’t tip over past a certain point.
And the great thing is, it fits a Shappell Jet Sled XL perfectly with just a tiny (about 1/2″ each) tweak of the bars (will fit without doing this, but then there’s constant tension on the bar/mounts). Wrap the bar with a rag to prevent scratching, put the hitch end of the bar in a vice, then pull on the sled end just a tiny bit, do the same with the other side until the bends match. The plastic of the sled is sandwiched between the steel outside mount and a steel inside mount plate, so the support is very strong, much stronger than just connecting the tow bar directly to the plastic sled.
I don’t like that the hardware is not stainless, so I may replace that eventually, and I may replace the nut/bolt with a pin on each side where it mounts to the sled, so that it can be easily removed with no tools for towing by hand when not using the snowmobile, and that would allow it to fit very easily under the tonneau cover in the truck bed. It also adds a bit of width to the sled, from 30″ at the widest point to around 38 1/2 inches now.
Price just went from $69 to about $77 at Amazon shortly after I ordered, but I don’t think there’s a better setup available – especially if you own a Jet Sled XL.

I hope this helps others find a sled towing setup.

I have two of the pelican sleds with hitches and I am super surprised they arent seen more. Some of the best sleds Ive ever owned. Got one at walmart a few years back for $8 then went to the jungle site and got the hyfax, hitch, and cover. Then last year I needed something bigger for when the whole family goes and got the bigger one and did the same.

The reason they are not seen more is that most buy a brand of sled that does not need to be retrofitted to accept a hitch. The big name brands have hitch mounts molded into their sleds so people buy the hitch brand that fits their sled.

Pelican sleds are available with a hitch and look really nice. They seem to be much more popular up in Canada. https://pelicansport.com/collections/sleds