Snowdog with HEAVY Clam x300

[Gunflint]

The cold Minnesota days FINALLY hardened up the slush (not hell but you can see it from there). Things are finally solid but with 12 inches of powder on top of it. The Dog hauled everything through the deep virgin powder. Kind of surprising in that the x300 is nearly 2 feet wider than the Snowdog. Dogs can haul anything if they have traction, powder doesn’t provide much.


Saw Trout, caught trout, ate trout this evening.  Good day in northern Minnesota.

[cwavs1982]

Cool setup Gunflint!  What do you use the smaller sled for? 

[metalbender]

The small sled is the driver's position

[jethro]

I've been wondering if a Snowdog could handle the task of hauling my smaller but still fairly heavy X200. Good to know!

[2labradors]

Gunflint, I see you have the standard snowdog how deep of snow can you go through, I have a compact 13hp one on a couple lakes I fish access is through road ditch ok going down but coming up the ditch I sometimes have trouble. Plenty of snow here in western Minnesota.

[Gunflint]

Gunflint, I see you have the standard snowdog how deep of snow can you go through, I have a compact 13hp one on a couple lakes I fish access is through road ditch ok going down but coming up the ditch I sometimes have trouble. Plenty of snow here in western Minnesota.

Powder is tough, for sure. The issue is not POWER but TRACTION. Today I was hauling all of that through 12 inches of powder on top of the ice. There is also the issue that the Dog is only 2 feet wide and the X300 is 4 feet wide and so it plows the powder as well.

It worked.

Still, it is much easier if there is a packed trail. If there is a hardpacked or iced trail I could pull twice that load.

[jethro]

Powder is tough, for sure. The issue is not POWER but TRACTION. Today I was hauling all of that through 12 inches of powder on top of the ice. There is also the issue that the Dog is only 2 feet wide and the X300 is 4 feet wide and so it plows the powder as well.

It worked.

Still, it is much easier if there is a packed trail. If there is a hardpacked or iced trail I could pull twice that load.

Do you think that the traction could be helped by adding studs or is it just the lack of dead weight? And if you wanted to add a deeper lug track, what size is the track? A 121"? Do you know the pitch of the drivers?

[Gunflint]

Do you think that the traction could be helped by adding studs or is it just the lack of dead weight? And if you wanted to add a deeper lug track, what size is the track? A 121"? Do you know the pitch of the drivers?

I have carbide studs and they are a huge help on ice, but not powder. I lugged track would certainly help but it is tight for room on the topside of the track so I don't think that will work.

True Adventure Story Today:

I set out early on the Snowdog with the 350-400 pound X300 fully loaded to get to a remote lake on snowmobile trails. I was mostly going on the trails left by earlier snowmobiles so the powder wasn't an issue. On the way out I took a route that crossed other lakes, but there was one very steep descent that I had to use my brake on to keep from going to fast, even while the engine was on idle. This made me nervous about returning that way. (I also have a wicked slush story but that will have to wait...)

SO...

A friend on mine with a very powerful snowmobile was set to meet me at the spot. We set up and fished but things were very slow. Then we decided that he would haul the X300 to through the tight uphill trail through the woods to the main snowmobile trail at the top. Then, even at the top on the main big trail, it was very hilly terrain with some very steep hills.  What I found on the steep hills (these hills were well packed) is that the Snowdog had to work to pull both me and the X300 up the inclines.

The engine had enough power but the track simply started slipping. If the hills would have been a little iced it would have been fine, but even packed powder was a noticeable loss of traction.

Lesson Learned:
You should consider your routes and whether you might be hauling heavy loads uphill on softer snow. The Snowdog has limits and I was close to them today.

[Gamalot]

I have the same issue with my SD pulling my gear off the ice and up the gravel launch ramp. It has plenty of power to do it but the traction on the gravel is the issue. As soon as the track gets down to the gravel it just spits the gravel and digs a hole. With just me standing in the drive sled but no other gear being towed it goes right up. My ramp is about 130 feet from the ice up to the top where my truck is parked. I unhook the shanty and drive the dog up. I have a long rope I attach to the shanty at the bottom and pull it up with my truck. Guys pulling shanties with snowmobiles make it up but they hit the ramp doing 20 MPH to make it. I see their gear flying out all the time and I tried doing it once and all my stuff popped out as well.
For out in the back country where you go I highly recommend you buy a cheap Harbor Freight winch and set it up on a plate you can snap to your tow hook. The SD will go up just about any hill by itself not towing anything so at the top just winch the rest up. I paid $50 for a 2500# remote controlled winch and it works perfect if you do get stuck. I also bought a much better battery to replace the little one the dog came with, VMax Charge Tank AGM and about 80 AH that fits where the battery goes with a bit of modification.

Gam