TheFamousGrouse wrote:

My main question for those of you who own SxS vehicles is this: Solid windshield vs vented. How important or useful is a vented or flip-up / down windshield.
I have a Pioneer 1000-5 with a flip open windshield. I’ve had it on the machine since new (2016). I like it for the fact that I can open it for ventilation, and also remove most of it very easily. In the summer, you don’t need it and I often take it off.

First off, the flip-up windshields look like a complete cluster waiting to happen to me. The thought of driving around with the windshield propped open and hammering up and down just looks to me like stuff is going to start breaking and flying off sooner rather than later. The flip-down ones are similar, they look like they’d damage the hood or fly off if you left them down and did anything more than 5 MPH. Maybe these things are built way tougher than I’m anticipating, but the whole way they work just looks like they are going to be fragile and problem-prone.
It is a very strong. In cold weather they rattle where the two pieces meet, but with foam sealant it can be greatly reduced.

The units with the bottom-style opening vents are interesting, but an expensive option if vents aren’t really that necessary or useful.

I understand dust/snow swirling into the cab is an issue with solid windshields, but how big of an issue is this really for the non-trail rider? I also see comments online that this issue is easily solved with dust deflectors? Is that the case?
I can’t speak for the 2/3 model, but if you have the Pioneer 4 or 5 with the full roof, you will get a lot of dust swirling in the cab area. That is why I like the removable front windshield. I bought the rear zippered enclosure behind the driver’s seat and it works well at keeping dust and snow out

Is a solid windshield too hot for summer use assuming the rest of the cab isn’t enclosed? Or are vented windshields a solution looking for a problem in this part of the world where more than half the UTV use is in conditions where you don’t want any airflow because it’s butt cold?

Yes, without ventilation in my Pioneer, it will get hot in the summer.
Your experiences, please.

It has been one heck of a tough fall for hunting. Deer, ducks, pheasants…Mother Nature has just been extremely mild with record temps.

I hunted Manitoba this fall and had one incredible hunt thanks to lots of scouting; our late October hunt was the toughest in 10+ years for our group.

I saw some incredible, unusual migrations all fall. Massive amounts of mallards migrated 2 weeks ago into a SE wind. On a Monday! I witnessed and hunted one lake with thousands of mallards, but there was no wind, no weather and we were bird watching. It was cool though.

Last Friday evening, when the blizzard subsided I snuck out for an evening hunt. It was dismal. I still held hope and went out to the same spot for Saturday morning, and it was probably the best hunt in MN in 15 years. Mallards, Redheads (many!), Canvasbacks and some bluebill/ringbills. I shot my limit and had to watch those massive flocks of Redheads… By Sunday, there was not much for birds and winds switched to SE.

I have not seen much for birds since. I hope for some birds over the long Thanksgiving weekend, but I have a feeling I’ll be likely pulling more walleyes over the side of the boat than ducks. Fishing has been great, and no pressure!

There are still reports I’ve received that Canada is holding a lot of ducks. Canada has been super wet all fall, super mild and they don’t have snow cover in southern provinces. I really don’t know if we will see the final migration that I love so much because the weather is just, again, too mild.

Good luck

Great season IDO fishing crew!

Loved the last show and showing some great information. Keep up the great work!

Incredible fish bud!

Late May…I’d highly recommend Rainy Lake. Late May and early June are my all time favorite times to fish that lake. There are some resorts there to consider. I personally do the camping thing, and my wife loves it too. I’ve never had poor fishing and I have no problem finding fish.

Camping in Voyageurs NP now requires a fee and reservations if that is an option. It’s a great time with fantastic scenery. Like mentioned, Kettle Falls Motel is there for a meal and housing.

Heck, I’ll give you advice and spots for huge pike, walleyes and smallies.

I have owned a cedar sided house and I always treated it with a coat of stain periodically. I often see cedar siding on homes that get one treatment and then the owners do not maintain, and mold forms. You can see the mold when the wood is wet.

I now own a log sided house and when I bought it I knew the owner did not treat the wood correctly. He put one coat of stain, no UV clear coat and quit. I had to remove the old finish and start over. I chose to sandblast all the mold and old finish off the wood. It was a lot of work, and it still is. Log/siding is a labor of love.

For an old building like that you can certainly refinish it, and there are options to consider. You will need to talk to a pro of some kind for options on that old building.

Schroeder Log Home Supply in Grand Rapids, MN was (and still is) a great help for advise, instructions and all the products I needed. loghelp.com

I have a friend that re-built a late 1800’s cabin many years ago similar to that one and it has never been treated with anything. It’s a hunting shack..

The report I got from friends in Manitoba is the bird numbers are higher than last year. Last year was insane; best trip ever and most ducks we’ve seen for our group.

Good luck! Please share a report when you return.

My in-laws have a big Central Boiler unit to heat a large pole building and their home. The more square footage to heat means more wood to burn. Burning wood is cheap, no doubt. But, add up the equipment and time to get the wood out of the woods is another story. About 10 loads like this gets them through a lower Michigan winter.. It’s a lot of work.

I watched some demented dude throw several rocks at ducks in the lake off Fairgrounds Rd last week.. The ducks must have stood in the road too much for his liking, so he took it upon himself to teach them a lesson?

Sounds like a loose connection in the ignition. Bring it on over.

OT ice report I heard the other day (38″ of ice on OT) was from a resort owner concerned about opener. Not necessarily fishing, just curious on ice depth.

If this lake loses 2.25″ of ice per day it will be ice free by opener. It’s going to be close.

Sounds like a lot of big lakes in Otter Tail County have iced over. Small lakes should be in good shape.

I walked on 4″ this evening and my ice season will begin soon! Just need to finish the work week first.

What do most guys use for the new thermal houses; particularly Otter Lodge?

I’ve always used a Sunflower cooker w/ 12′ hose. I’m worried it may cook me out of a thermal, or the fumes would be overwhelming/dangerous with less air movement through the fabric? Anyone use a Little Buddy in 0 degrees?

The best polish compound I have found is 3M Marine products.

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Marine/Home/Product/Selector/

It is the only product I found that eliminated heavy oxidation on the gunnels of my glass boat, and removed various issues in the clearcoat. It really improved the finish. I recommend a buffer. What ever you do follow the directions! You don’t want to coat the whole boat with compound and let it dry..

I have a full cabinet of other polishing compounds you could have if you lived nearby.

FICHT or carb? Evinrudes were FICHT; Johnsons were carbed then. I had a 115 Johnson. Unsure if they still made the Faststrike carb in that year..

Fuel, electrical and compression. If it’s a FICHT don’t overlook compression.

I’ve seen power packs fail with similar symptoms. A mechanic will have to test that one.

Fuel pump, primer bulb, fuel filter and if you can rule out fuel then it’s onto the electrical side of things. Hopefully it’s as simple as a spark plug.

Wade,

I performed the exact same mishap years ago, pulled down a solid wood garage door without paying attention.. the worst pain I’ve ever experienced.

At the Dr. office they will use a tool that is super hot, melt a hole in the nail to relieve pressure. I don’t recall if they use local anethetics or just burn the nail. They will send you home and tell you to keep it bandaged. The hot paper clip trick should work too.

I worked construction with this injury and it was total pain with every swing of the hammer . The nail finally fell off a couple weeks later.

Quote:

---

I bolt mine through the transom and use a bar lock across the tighteners. Not completely thief proof but they would have to work at it for some time.

---

Bolt it to the transom and then spot weld the nut(s) to the bolt(s). Makes for more work.

Sorry to hear about the motor, I hope it gets recovered!

Yep, that was us. Our group split up our hunts and you ran into my friend Saturday night.

We got hit hard with poor weather during most of our hunts out there…warm (hot), lack of wind and lots of sun.

Hopefully next year will be better, this year was a tough one!

Hey Jake, great video!
We were hunting near you guys around this time. I recognize the guy in the beginning of the video talking…a friend and I met him on the road one day looking at a big roost. Nice decoys too, thanks for the samples.

Guessing that big wind hit that Sunday morning for my lovely drive home. I missed the best shoot of the season for our group!

Very nice farmboy!

I know first hand what you are experiencing on this project. I spent 19 months completely gutting a house and rebuilt it from the inside and out. It was very challenging, but very rewarding! Even better that buyers wanted it quickly and fell in love with it. One piece of advice…keep it long enough so capital gains don’t ruin the experience. I’m on project #2 under much different circumstances.

I’ve had cold feet issues forever, but I hated lugging around a heavy boot.

A friend of mine picked up a pair of Steger Camucks a couple years ago, and he absolutely swore up and down about these. I thought he’d never give up the bunny boots…

I needed new boots so I bought Camuck Extremes this year, and every day I wear them I feel this was the best purchase I’ve ever made. They are so incredibly light and warm. I’ve hiked many miles. My back thanks me too..no more back aches standing and walking all day. Something to consider.

Congrats, Joe!
The fun has only begun! In no time she’ll be fishing right along side of you.

Have you lost your touch? That’s unheard of…

Wish I could have met up with ya, you know too well how things don’t always go as planned.

A friend, his 10 year old boy and I made a last minute trip to the DU contest. We couldn’t locate any big fish, so we had fun with some tiny perch that placed several times…The kid won a 12 gauge over/under, fishhouse, gas auger and muskie tackle. His dad won binocs, launch and I won a fishhouse too. Great event and wonderful weather to be outside!

I purchased the MarCum 625SD. This past weekend I gave the Marcum camera and LX-5 a workout at the Alexandria fishing contest. It was a mighty cold weekend and it wasn’t the easiest way to scout for fish chiseling through 6″ of ice in pre-drilled holes, but with a little effort transition areas and fish were located! Weeds and sand were easily visible, even a yellow chisel that was found in the bottom of the lake. Numerous sunfish, bass and pike were attracted to the camera head…a wonderful sight to see in these situations.

I found my spot fairly quickly and stuck it out, well I guess I had to since all the other holes were claimed eventually. My small silver/glow Slender Spoon was my choice lure and it was a waiting game until start time. 12:00 rolled around and small sunfish were all over, and all I wanted was to get on the board. I ended up weighing a fish I thought was a joke, but that weight lasted the whole tourney. I upgraded one sunfish and waited out for a pike to seal the deal, but the pike hit a tip-up and got off.

With the assistance of the MarCum 625, LX-5 and the Slender Spoons it was a winning trio of $700 when it was all said and done for my wife and I.

Time to attempt one more contest and then bring on open water. I can’t wait to use this camera in the summer! And use the camera to go get that chisel back if I can find a magnet…

1448 Alumacraft Jon, 25hp Yamaha 4 stroke and Beavertail 1600 blind with grasses.

That is a sweet view!

It will definitely be an interesting spring! Curious if this weather will continue. I’d personally love a deep snow line in Canada, myself.

22.7 lbs total
7.1 lbs – walleye

Unless you absolutely need a canopy, consider sea legs. With a push of a button in the pontoon is up in the air. I went through this debate and having another lift would be a real pain… It wasn’t that much more cash.

Consider a high efficiency gas furnace, like in your home. I have 24’x 30′ (10′ ceiling) room heated with a 75K BTU 92% efficient Goodman furnace. Paid $1000 new. Some duct work will be required, but you can use your imagination and set it up how you like it. It’s very efficient!