I have spent the last 2 weeks enjoying/ getting used to the new Tundra LT V800. This machine has a tremendous amount of versatility. I am especially impressed with the off trail capability of this set up. The gearing and clutch engagement are both very low, resulting in little track spin even in powder. I have never been on a sled that would back up hill in a difficult spot! My only complaint is trying to keep it upright in an off camber situation. At 185 lbs., I cannot seem to overpower the sleds will, to go the direction it wants. Both feet on the running board, grab handle in left hand and I still end up going the direction of the terrain. I have the suspension set on its lightest settings (as it came from the dealer). Is there any adjustments that you have tried to make this sled more stable on an off camber situation? I think if I could stay on it, I could go nearly anywhere!

Are skis staying above the snow?

Remove V800 and replace with 550F, try again.

Unfortunately the heavy 4 stroke engine will take quite a bit of performance away. There has been a lot of reports of having a heavy front end on the V800s. Enjoy the fuel mileage and take the weight with a grain of salt.

I have found my tundra lt to be great breaking trail through the bush or up hills but i have had problems sidehilling. I believe part of the problem is the 154 in. track. Once that track gets leaning down hill it is a real bitch to get it leaned uphill again.. but i also agree that a heavyer front end from a 800 4 stroke would make the problem worse. just remember when in dought gas it out.

Hi,

Even the 300F 2006 RF Tundra seems a bit top heavy compared to the old style Tundra. The old style will sit leaning downhill on a steeper side hill than the 06 without a rider on it. I have had to catch the 06 a couple of times with my shoulder when not on it stopped in the middle of a side hill because when it goes over it goes fast. But overall, the 06 Tundra with my 144" track side hills quite good. The 136" is a little easier to pull up on side hills due to less track area. However, the 2.3" paddles on my 144 help since they can carve a bench nicely. I would guess that the Tundra LT (550 or 800) is a bit less nimble on side hills due to the wider ski stance and the bigger track. The wider ski stance may be necessary for that machine.

Dan

I have noticed that it is easier to keep the sled upright when going sideways cross a slope if I lean "forward and sideways". Imagine getting your weight on top of the "hill side" ski spindle.
"Boondocking" is much easier if I do like that.

I see also that the Tundra 550 has much larger "drop brackets" than the Lynx Ranger 550, wich mean it probably has higher center of gravity, but perhaps better deep snow capabilities?

Gentlemen,

Thank you all for your responses. I can see one common theme in all of your responses. This RF chassis is tippy by nature. The high ride height, and track length also make it the smoothest riding machine that I have ridden to date. It is also the most capable off trail machine that I have operated. I rode 80 some miles today with a new Freestyle Backcountry. I drove the backcountry and found it more predictable in the tight turns on groomed trails, but it too, was on the tippy side when off the beaten path. I noticed, several times throughout the day, that he was off his machine to keep it upright. On the steep and deep stuff, we found the 154" ripsaw track, even with the weight of the v800, to be superior to the lighter Backcountry. The Backcountry was less fatiguing to drive than the heavier LT, as one would expect. The big difference at days end, after 80 some miles of groomed trail, off trail, open lakes, and a climbing experiment in a gravel pit, I had burned 5.1 gal and he had burned 7.9 gal with the 550. (Surprisingly, his odometer read 89.1 and mine read 86.5 for mpg's of 12.5 and 16.9 respectively).

I did increase the spring rate on the front shocks to the third lightest setting as well as up the rear spring rate 1 click. This seemed to help with stability on groomed trails, but I could not notice a difference off trail. I noticed that the backcountry has a swaybar? assembly attached to the front arms. I would expect that this coupled with the HPG shocks, may help account for the more stable front platform on the Backcountry. Has anyone used this setup on a Tundra LT? Are there any drawbacks to having the swaybar? I agree with Dan that BRP may have to widen the stance a little on the LT, at least on the V800, to stabilize it. In the meantime, I am getting more used to the machine and its limitations every day.

The Lynx Ranger 550 has the swaybar as standard also.
If you ride mostly trail, "high speed cornering"= use swaybar and harder supension settings.
If yoy ride mostly off trail, and want manuverability in deep loose snow, remove the swaybar and use as soft suspension settings as possible.

If I were to put a swaybar on the Tundra LT, is this something that can be connected, or disconnected and left on the sled, or does the swaybar need to be completely removed to operate?

It's bolted on so it takes a little while to remove.
I have never removed mine, because I think the sled is easy to handle any way.
These are the parts you need:

I don't know for the LT,

but for my V800 '07, there is no brackets on the A-Arms to attach the sway bars. If it's the case, you will have to do some welding.

Listen Pepper, I'm surprised (and deceived) this is still an issue with the LT. With the larger ski stence, I was expecting better behaviors. Anyhow, here is what I did on mine, but remember that my V800 has only 32" ski stence. First, my problems started on the first day of trial. When I was turning, the outside shock (they are much too soft in general at BRP) was slowly compressing transfering the weight slowly out 'til I started to tip. It was very hard to predict 'cause you wouldn't feel the inside ski lifting or the lightness of the handle bar. It was realy bad. So, I put sleeves of more than 1 inch that BRP was selling for early 300F that had problem with inner skis wear, in order to get a bit of pre-damp harder shocks. The result was good at first and I was happy with that,...until this year. I modded my sled during fall by putting a 151" track and I started to find the sled a bit more tippy again. I had 2 after market shocks with pre-damping adjustment home, so I just changed the 2 BRP ones with the after market one which are a few inches shorter. So I ended up with the front about 2 or 3 inches lower and now I'm able to get the best pre-damping adjusment needed and a center of gravity 2-3 inches lower.

The only problem I saw doing that, was that I transfered more weight to the front. BUT, I also changed my entire suspension at the back and my new one has adjustments in all manners and I was able to adjust it to relief about 100 pounds off the front. Believe it or not. And everything works very good for now. I didn't ride a lot with this setting though, cause I broke my handle bar, but I think I'll be O.K.

Luman,

Thanks for the info. The Tundra Lt does have the bracket on the A-Arm for the sway bar. I may check into the price of a sway bar kit. This seems like it might be the route for me. The more I ride, the more I get used to the higher center of gravity. I have had the sled on its side twice now, both low speed rolls. The second time, It went nearly upside down into a washout. I could not get it upright without digging out my come along, straps, snowshoes and even my spare drive belt to reach the only tree in sight (I am much better prepared now). The sled leaked oil, coolant and gasoline in the 15 min. upside down. It started right up once I got it back on its feet with no issues. I was alone in a remote area when it happened and I have never had a sled in a position where I could not get rolled back over by hand. All is well that ends well, I just thought I might explore some alternatives to going on my side once a week!
Thanks for the diagram Catastrophix. That is exactly what I was referring to.