Author Topic: Anyone with new Skidoo Skandic SWT, WT, or Tundra? EDIT Or Expedition?  (Read 18146 times)

Offline SnowPlane22

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Due to the Park Circus's regulations for my local lake requiring a 4 stroke sled I'll be upgrading my old broken Yamaha for next winter.

I'm looking at the Skidoo Skandic SWT or WT with the 900 4 stroke, or the Tundra long track with the 600 4 stroke, unless they offer the 900 for it next year.

I was mostly wanting to find out how these monsters handle the slush. The big wide tracks give a whole lot more track on the ground, but I don't even like thinking about getting one of these beasts buried in that stuff and was wanting to see how people with them like them in the less than ideal conditions that we are often plauged with here.

Offline carcus1

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Re: Anyone with new Skidoo Skandic SWT, WT, or Tundra?
« Reply #1 on: Feb 01, 2019, 05:31 AM »
I just bought a 2019 expedition with the 1200, basically its a skandic with a arms, I went with the 20" track, only reason I went with the 1200 cc was for slush, I think the 900 would be fine with the 90hp as my venture multipurpose did good with its 80hp.  Look at the expedition line, pretty much the same price, you can get the super wide if you want and it has a better passenger seat with heated grips, and you can get the 1200cc but its a pricey option.  I have heard the the SWT skandics are very tippy, guess because the track is as wide as the ski stance? Check out dootalk
Ladywood, Manitoba, Canada

Offline Woodsman

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Re: Anyone with new Skidoo Skandic SWT, WT, or Tundra?
« Reply #2 on: Feb 01, 2019, 08:59 AM »
I have a new 2018 Tundra LT but with the 550F.
It handles slush good.

Living proof that "beer builds better bellies"

Offline eiderz

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Re: Anyone with new Skidoo Skandic SWT, WT, or Tundra?
« Reply #3 on: Feb 01, 2019, 09:23 AM »
I have an Expedition Sport with a 550, awesome in snow/slush. The 550 is very similar to the Ace 600 power and weight wise. Lighter weight is your friend in junk. The Expy Sport and Tundra LT are the same basic chassis with different front suspension (A-arms vs Pogos). Expy a little more stable, Tundra more maneuverable in tight places.

Offline SnowPlane22

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Re: Anyone with new Skidoo Skandic SWT, WT, or Tundra?
« Reply #4 on: Feb 01, 2019, 01:47 PM »
Man I must have been totally blind or had bad tunnel vision when cruising Skidoo's website. Definatley a fan of the A arms vs the pogo sticks! Like I said due to the Park Service's regulations, I'm limited to a 4 stroke, and thinking that there's no replacement for displacement power vs weight wise. They don't list the 1200 on their list, but the one from the website hasn't been updated for winter 18-19 yet. If available that 1200 looks sweet.

So I guess I'm asking is the 20" or 24" wide track going to be my cup of tea?

Not really too concerned with maneuverability, this is pretty much going to be a dedicated lake sled. I picked up a 850 174 Polaris as a 'fun' sled this year, and quickly remembered I don't remember how, and wasn't that good of a mountain sled rider the first go around 15 years ago, and 90% of the mountain sled's miles have been cruising around on a lake in pursuit of good fishing!

Offline Rex in OTZ

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You need a 4 cycle to go Ice fishing on a Park.Service lake?
Of would a 4 wheel ATV do?




Offline niru_04

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I have TundraLT600Ace of 2016. But I recommend Expedition sport. Tundra is a narrow ski stance, and tippy. If you ride in a place where ice quality is stable, I think Scandic SWT is a good sled.


Offline Skywagon

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I have a full size 2015 Expedition SE with the 600 Etec (120HP), it is strictly used for ice fishing.  As carcus1 mentioned, HP is king for slush, is the 900 enough HP, maybe, I don't know, the 1200 is.  What I do know is that my former machine with a 20" track and 75HP engine was not enough, it was stuck frequently, the Expy has only been stuck in the slush once in the 4 years (6000 miles) I have had it.  I always carry an 18" length of fence post with an eye ring in the middle and a rope come-along (masdam) on the machine, if needed you can drill a hole in the ice, lower the post in the hole with a rope attached until it is crossways (an anchor), then pull the machine out.

                                                         


Offline splaker

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I have a tundra lt 600 ace and it is a very easy handling sled on hard pack. It does take more input to ride it effectively in deep snow. It also does well in deep slush do to the boat like belly pan and little front end drag.
Splaker

Offline carcus1

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Re: Anyone with new Skidoo Skandic SWT, WT, or Tundra?
« Reply #9 on: Feb 15, 2019, 04:53 AM »
Man I must have been totally blind or had bad tunnel vision when cruising Skidoo's website. Definatley a fan of the A arms vs the pogo sticks! Like I said due to the Park Service's regulations, I'm limited to a 4 stroke, and thinking that there's no replacement for displacement power vs weight wise. They don't list the 1200 on their list, but the one from the website hasn't been updated for winter 18-19 yet. If available that 1200 looks sweet.

So I guess I'm asking is the 20" or 24" wide track going to be my cup of tea?

Not really too concerned with maneuverability, this is pretty much going to be a dedicated lake sled. I picked up a 850 174 Polaris as a 'fun' sled this year, and quickly remembered I don't remember how, and wasn't that good of a mountain sled rider the first go around 15 years ago, and 90% of the mountain sled's miles have been cruising around on a lake in pursuit of good fishing!

You have to look at the expedition LE or SE to get the 1200, its there, its an expensive option over the 900, I haven't used mine much but a couple days ago I was passing a snowbear on a creek that leads to the lake,  I was doing 45km/hr and I hit it and did a big wheelie while passing the snowbear!lol  Thats with 2 big guys and towing a heavy sleigh!  The 2020s will be announced soon and I am hearing about a all new expedition, looks like its based on the gen4 wide body and the big motor option will be a 900 turbo with 150hp, I like the hp but I'm not ready for a turbo in a utility snowmobile, to many moving parts!
Ladywood, Manitoba, Canada

Offline aquarium234

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On the narrow ski is why theyvare so good in slush and deep snow youll love either model. I wanted scandic but no dealers had them around me i gotbthe long track tundra its a beast through the slush just get a studed track i did those mini studs likeva carvtire blanking on the name right now
Its all fun and games until someone loses a walleye.......

Offline tswoboda

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If this is for lake travel then definitely stay away from pogos.  The skandics and tundras are for bush travel... fitting between narrow trees and not breaking a-arms on rocks or stumps, better side hilling too.  The downside to pogos is they get really tippy and squirrely  at high speeds, especially on drifted up lakes or when you cross old rutted tracks.  There's a reason the 1200 was never put in a pogo sled... wayyy too fast and they would be legit dangerous.

Expedition is where it's at for lake travel.  Choices from there depend on how you plan to use it.  16" vs 20" vs 24" track and 900 ace vs 1200 power plant.

If you plan to pull a sled of any kind then stick to the 20" or 24" widetracks.  I personally never pull a sled for ice fishing so the 16" wide Expy Sport 900 is plenty of sled and I don't need to deal with the extra weight and transmission.

I'm assuming you pull a sled as most fishermen do so the widetracks are more useful in that case.  The 2-speed gearbox will probably be of use as well.  24" track will give you lots more flotation for small weight and mpg penalties, only problem is you can't get it with the 1200.  Then pick your engine, 900 ace or 1200.  They both have their pros&cons so it comes down to what you want from the sled and what you plan to do with it.

Pros for the 900 are slightly cheaper, slightly quieter, slightly lighter front end, slightly better mpg, slightly (reportedly) more reliable, slightly better cold starting, and there's probably more.  It does a lot of things a little better than the 1200, but it's not a drastic difference.  The most important positive to the 900 is that it's the only option in the 24" Expy SWT.

Pros for the 1200 will be more HP and wayyyy faster top end.  Think 75-80 mph top speed vs 100+ mph top speed in optimum conditions.  I'm sure you won't be driving around WOT all the time but if you routinely cruise at 50+ on the lake or trail then the 900 is going to be working a lot harder than the 1200 to cruise that speed.

The difference in the engines won't be noticeable at low speeds.  The ace motors are super torquey down low so they don't get bogged down in deep snow or slush, they just don't have the top end to go fast like the 1200 does.  If I wanted a tractor to use as a utility sled and never wanted to go super fast and play with it then I'd definitely get the 900 SWT.  If I wanted a sled to use fishing and still be able to play around with it and have some fun on it then I'd get the 1200.  Either option is a good one and I think you'll be happy with whatever you choose.

Offline dsupercat

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I have. 17 expedition with a 900 ace.  Use it in northern Ontario And believe me there was plenty of slush there this year.  You will break threw walking before the sled will.  Many times park sled where you think there was no slush and got off to drill hole and break threw.  Great sled.


Offline Skywagon

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I have. 17 expedition with a 900 ace.  Use it in northern Ontario And believe me there was plenty of slush there this year.  You will break threw walking before the sled will.  Many times park sled where you think there was no slush and got off to drill hole and break threw.  Great sled.


With the 2'-2 1/2' of snow we now have on the lakes, slush will be a problem the rest of the season.  Under powered narrow tracks and tracked ATV's are struggling and getting stuck.  Pulling a sleigh in this stuff with any machine is asking for it if you are in undisturbed snow.

Offline carcus1

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Well the new 2020s expeditions are on the website,  big changes, no more 1200, 900ace and 900ace turbo, glad I got the 2019 1200, not crazy about a turbo'd utility sled, to many moving parts and it weighs the same as the 1200cc, other thing I am unclear of is it looks like the four strokes have a electronic reverse actuator now, not cool with that either!
Ladywood, Manitoba, Canada

Offline markacruciani

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I've got a '17 900ACE SWT that's not even broken in yet due to the previous lack of snow so not a lot of datapoints but I've so-far been across stuff I float across at home and being curious, stop and step off to find probably close to a foot of snow under the track and 3-6" slush below that.   My old 2010 550F SUV (20") could occasionally get way further down in it so while I'm still testing the waters so to speak in more closed conditions, I'm very impressed with the SWT so far and it's ability to float at 24" where the 20" track would start to sink in.   We're under ideal conditions here in middle MN for slush so I have a few more weeks of experimenting.

Yes, I've stuck the old one in 18" slush on a 1000ft run to the trees across the bay and 200ft of line and a Lewis winch on a large Husky powerhead was the only solution by myself though I have got one out with a Hi-Lift jack previously.

Offline jethro

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Well the new 2020s expeditions are on the website,  big changes, no more 1200, 900ace and 900ace turbo, glad I got the 2019 1200, not crazy about a turbo'd utility sled, to many moving parts and it weighs the same as the 1200cc, other thing I am unclear of is it looks like the four strokes have a electronic reverse actuator now, not cool with that either!

My 900 Turbo has been flawless for it's 2000 miles. Best sled I've ever owned and I've owned dozens. I traded my 1200 in for it, which was good but unfortunately a wide, nose heavy pig and too slow. One thing great about the 1200 was how warm it was. That chassis is wide and keeps the wind off you real nice. This 900T is just amazing.



Quote- fishslap: I use a variety:  whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser

Ice safety link: http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

Offline Skywagon

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Well the new 2020s expeditions are on the website,  big changes, no more 1200, 900ace and 900ace turbo, glad I got the 2019 1200, not crazy about a turbo'd utility sled, to many moving parts and it weighs the same as the 1200cc, other thing I am unclear of is it looks like the four strokes have a electronic reverse actuator now, not cool with that either!

I ended up ordering a 2020 Expedition with the new chasis at Snowcheck time this year. I went with the new 600R e-tec, as I liked how the 600 e-tec in my 2015 Expedition has performed, the new R series has 5 more hp.  Like you, I am disappointed they have put the electronic reverse in the new series, I have had that on other sleds, but prefer the manual shift.  The new machine has not arrived yet, but when it does I will switch the rack system over and put the 2015 machine on market after first snow.  It will be interesting to see if the new re-designed sled is really much better, it will be hard to beat the old one.

Offline jethro

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I ended up ordering a 2020 Expedition with the new chasis at Snowcheck time this year. I went with the new 600R e-tec, as I liked how the 600 e-tec in my 2015 Expedition has performed, the new R series has 5 more hp.  Like you, I am disappointed they have put the electronic reverse in the new series, I have had that on other sleds, but prefer the manual shift.  The new machine has not arrived yet, but when it does I will switch the rack system over and put the 2015 machine on market after first snow.  It will be interesting to see if the new re-designed sled is really much better, it will be hard to beat the old one.

FYI, you can install a mechanical reverse lever in any of the new Doo 4 strokes that come with an elec. actuator. Someone makes a kit, I will try to find it. In my opinion you don't need to anymore, the new actuators have been good for most everyone. Just make sure you carry spares for the two relays since they seem to freeze and fail on occasion.
Quote- fishslap: I use a variety:  whistlin' bungholes, spleen splitters, whisker biscuits, honkey lighters, hoosker doos, hoosker don'ts, cherry bombs, nipsy daisers, with or without the scooter stick, or one single whistlin' kitty chaser

Ice safety link: http://lakeice.squarespace.com/

 



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