I am thinking about my next sled. I was curious if anyone had any experience with the new tundra LT in both the 550 fan and the 800.

I am specificaly intrested in

1-Top speed on a groomed trail

2-reliability of the 800, I already know the 550 fan is a runner

3- gass mileage difference between the 2 powerplants

Right now I have a 2004 440 LT and I love it but now that my 2 kids are going to be big enough to go out with me and my wife next year I am planning on a second sled. I mostly like to ice fish, go off trail, look for moose antlers and ride powder. But with the family along I am thinking we might dabble with some trail riding trips. That is why I am intrested in a machine that can cruse along a groomed trail comfortably at 65 mph or so.

In a perfect world I would walk into the dealership and get a new Tundra LT in either a 550 fan or the 800 LC for my wife and an Expedition TUV in either the 600 of 800 for myself, get them studded, put them both on a new trailer and away I go. However I would need a spare $20,000 US for that fantasy to become a reality.

Thanks in advance for any info

They will both do 65, but the RF chassis machines are not comfortable at that speed. The power to go that
fast is there, but above 40 or 45 their handling leaves something to be desired. Then again, how often do you
REALLY cruise at a sustained 65 vs just a burst? If you are going to maintain that 65 you need a short-track REV,
or you'll end up wiping out and we all here on dootalk will ahve a bunch of spare parts cheap.

The 800 motor ... from all the talk I hear around town, is a good motor. No issues with it. The 550 has a well
earned reputation to be a reliable gas guzzler. Figure 10 mpg on the 550, and 20 mpg on the 800. The price
difference on the machines is $2500, which will buy about 700 gallons of gas; that is 70 tankfuls. The 700
gallons will take you 7000 miles on the 550. That is a lot of miles on a machine.

Now let me tell you about the 800 LT. I was at the airport a month ago, picking up some freight and stuff, and
the SkiDoo dealer happened to see me there, and he called out to me: "Hey, come check this out!" So I
went outside on the ramp, and followed him and there was this machine there, an LT. BUT, this was the
4-stroke one. He reached over, turned the key and brrrrrrrrrrrrrr there was this machine purring like a kitten,
so quietly, no fuss, no bother. I almost had a voyeuristic moment!

Of course, no one could lift it, took a fork lift and those don't go out in the snow .... but still, its a sign of the
coming times.

I have the 550 and I love the platform. GREAT RIDE! The 550 is a bit of a hog on gas. But, with a great reliability record. I thought about both rides and decided on the 550 mostly to avoid the extra weight and complications, not to mention price.

It might be worth checking out this thread on the V800 though. Not sure if it is a widespread problem, but worth the read I would think. It sure made me happy about my choice and since that model is reputedly removed from next year, LT V800, it would give me pause.

http://www.dootalk.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=192673

Hey,

There are numerous posts that get into the details of your questions that you can find by subject on this forum. About 4 of us new Tundra LT 550 owners have been contributing our observations, and recently the V-800 crowd has chimed in. Its all very cutting edge, highly engaging prose. I think you'll find it useful.

Go all the way back to Etienne's posts in November to read the banter about deep snow performance. The LT is a winner there. Some guy named Dozer posted mileage stats a few weeks ago. And the folks concerned about the low speed overheating on the V-800 chimed in last week.

Pull up a chair. These are pearls we're giving ya'.

Prose you say....? How's bout a haiku?

My Tundra LT
Powder snow it rides on high
shovel gets lonely

My Tundra LT
Powder snow it rides on high
shovel gets lonely

[/quote]


BRAVO!! Not Bravo, as in Bravo LT...I mean BRAVO, as in thanks for making us all look like well groomed, erudite, well socialized citizens.

I own a v800 Expedition Sport. I love the engine: very quiet, no blue smoke, no smell and great gaz mileage. Very powerful on starts but loses torque over 70 km/h. I find it handles well on groomed trails but I would compare it to a good SUV: comfortable, quiet, but definetely not a sport car. It is a great long rides machine. The skis are large and float well in deep snow but that is an inconvenient in groomed trails. You have to exagerate your body movement and lean forward to help the skis get a grip. I plan on adding snowtrackers on the skis when my current carbide runner blades need replacement to increase tracking (http://www.snowtracker.com/).

As for deep snow and powder, it rides grat but never slow down or stop! When it is stuck, it is extremely heavy to try to move around. I now carry a shovel and bongee rope to help "unstuck it".

I used to ride a 2 stroke engine but my wife was complaining all the time about noise and smell. With the 4 stroke engine, she now wants to come with me all the time and finds the passenger seat very comfortable.

Good luck,

After riding an SWT V800 in deep powder, alder and trees and compared to my 550F SWT under the same conditions you could not give me any sled with a V800 in it. Just plain too heavy (engine) for a snowmobile application. This is getting too far away from snowmobiling (light and agile) for me. I've since even sold my '06 550F SWT (second one I owned) and purchased an LT550. So far (60 miles) I really like it.

Greg

UglyStick,

I realize that this question was posted nearly 1 month ago. I have had my Tundra LT 800 for about 3 weeks now and have put nearly 500 miles on the machine. My mileage has ranged from 16-17.5 mpg on conditions ranging from off trail, groomed trails, open lakes, slush, and towing moderate to heavy loads. So far I am very impressed with the capabilities and versatility of this machine.

As much as I like the sled, I will say this, it is a "Big" machine to ride. With its high center of gravity and weight, it wants to go where it will, in an off camber situation. At 185 lbs., I find myself wishing that I were 250 lbs. with longer legs and arms. This sled is a good straight line machine but requires body english combined with brakes when cornering at speed on the groomed trails. I would not recommend this sled for a novice rider, or for an amateur rider of small stature, the sled is just too big.

The low RPM engagement and pulling power of this motor is spectacular. The 154" ripsaw track gets the power to the ground while pulling heavy loads or getting out of a tight spot without spinning the track. It will back up as well as any sled I have seen, short of a SWT. If I were choosing a sled for my wife to drive, and was adamant to get an LT, I would have to consider the 550, for it's weight reduction. I may sooner consider a freestyle backcountry for it's light weight an easy handling characteristics. The lightweight of the Backcountry makes it fairly capable off trail, and much easier to handle for a smaller rider than the LT. For me, I am extremely happy with the 800, but would be skeptical to buy one for my wife, because of the weight. The ride of the LT is smoother in the bumps and on the drifted lake than the BackCountry. Either way you will have a great sled. Good luck with your decision.