Need 2 new snow machines. My others are worn out,and won't bore you with what they are.
Looking for what is the best now days, ( I can't believe how much things change in 10 years ).

I need machines with im-pecable indurance, good power. Need for extensive trips in the winter, as they will need to go to far out locations( 300 mile trips not uncommon )I go from Iliamna to Sleetmute at times. Can't afford a breakdown, and yes i know now matter what you have it is still possible.
What would your sugestions be? I feel money is no object here. No I am not rich just won't cut corners on something like this.
Thanks Maddog

It really is getting confusing. 10 years ago I bought a new wide track skandic. I really like it and has served me well but my one complaint has been that it sucks fuel like a sherman tank. Also I have been unhappy with the one weak point being liquid cooling especially when pulling a heavy load of cabin logs.

I've thought that the answer would be to buy a new light weight fan cooed machine for the most of my riding(running around the lake socializing) and keep my old skandic for a workhorse but now with the new 4 stroke sleds out their that are getting two and evan near three times the fuel mileage I'm not sure which way I'll go.

.........I decided for myself to go with the Skandic Tundra LT 550 ..............It will haul 2 people and pull a sled .............I don,t know how great a sled it is but so far I don,t like Polaris.....get stuck specials ,,,,,,.......But alot of other people do .............A guy that I work with has close to 30,000 miles on his Polaris long ,wide track ............That probably means something ......

used to use Ski-doos, just don't favor the electronic reverse. The previous Tundra's with the electronic reverse would fail on me along with the rest of the stator.

Bought a 03' Arctic Cat 570 bearcat, 156" track, 1" lug, mechanical reverse, an excellent 2 up seating, excellent rack, a rock solid tow hitch, virtually unbreakable skis, AWS front suspension-a very relliable machine it is.

It breaks trail quite well even with 2 people on it, as I hunt and trap with it in the winter. Fuel consumption is excellent for a 500cc and over engine. It is fan cooled - no belt. A 2 stroke oil injected, I prefer to use Skidoo Bombardier Mineral oil about 24.00 per gallon with virtually no fouling of plugs.

2 inherent problems that I find with the Cat is the electronic ignition is fine so longs as the flex shaft that connects to the starter gear doesn't break or the fasteners work loose on the flywheel starting gear. The other is the extreme temp like 25 below or colder and extreme iding will cause the fuel pump to ice up and shut down. I have to take the fuel pump out of its factory position and move it high enough that the pulse line of the pump is higher than that of the pulse line at lower block, this allows the condensatin to not build up at the port of fuel pump(pulse line). This tends to help considerably, I don't have a problem now but eventually it happens-too big of a block? Not sure but it is my guess.

The speedometer key down at the front axle will break in time and could cause premature bearing wear but any key breaks. Outside the 2 or 3 noted problems this machine is without fault.

Soon I too will be looking at another machine-more than likely the 570 Bearcat. It is a very reliable and hard working machine-lots of pull and good on gasoline.

Hows that?

edit: I am not sold on EFI or liquid cooling in bush Ak. nor Liquid cooled 4 strokes-too damn risky.

The problem with sno go's is the markets are geared towards powerful mountain sleds, go fast sleds, or groomed trail sleds. Folks that actually use a sno go for work and want a mechanically simple machine that is light enough to easily extract when stuck don't have much at all to choose from in current offererings.

I had an Arctic Cat Bearcat fan cooled and it was a reliable machine that was used for hauling heavy loads and going long distances. The reverse was worth its weight but the rest of the machine was pretty heavy if you got it stuck (and everyone gets stuck eventually). It's too big to pick up by yourself.

I see a lot of Skandic Tundras being used by trappers and they are usually particular about their equipment.

I went to the Artic Cat site ,,., the 570 BearCat looks pretty good and its a little less $$ than the SkiDoo....The biggest problem is it,s red ,,,,,,,Artic Cats are supposed to be , Black Green or lavender .........But it looks like a good machine ........At least the Skandic is yellow ....

My Bearcat was black but that was 3-4 years ago. Another thing I liked about it was it had a good windscreen on it. Granted I was using it above the arctic circle but a good windscreen can keep you from getting fatigued.

quote:

The biggest problem is it,s red ,,,,,,,Artic Cats are supposed to be , Black Green or lavender

thats too funny!

edit: Paul that is correct with not having much to choose from-pretty drastic when one goes from a Tundra to a BearCat, I am happy with the Cat.

When I lived in Barrow I used to use a 2 stroke Polaris long track and it was pretty much worthless, it must have been a 1998.

Now two stroke sleds are the dominant way to go, and ease of fuel and reliablility are paramount.

I would get the longest most powerful touring four stroke I could get.

As a kid in Wyoming we always had Arctic Cats and Ski Dos. I honestly don't think brand matters as much as some do. I have seen good and bad in both.

Talk to several dealers and find out what people are buying the most of.

Price is a seller, but so is quality. If a guy buys a sled and then comes back a month later and get's 3 more of the same sled for the family, probably not a bad way to go.

Make that four strokes are the way to go!