Deffinetly a Skandic 20in with 900ace in my opinion

Wide track for floatation and big motor to stay above slush

 

Definitely a Skandic 24" with any motor you like. No point in getting stuck in the slush and you will have room for carrying things.

 

My home lake is a tame 1/2 mile drive on hard pack a little pavement and 2 miles out on a lake. Up north Lake Trout is off trail, lake slush and 12 mile runs out.
What should I get?

My suggestion would be a 600 ace tundra lt......

https://www.ski-doo.com/ski-doo/tundra/tundra-lt.html

 

I live in NWO and have a similar setup/location. Live a couple miles from the "home" lake and get to trout on the sled when I can, drive/unload normally makes it is easier/shorter rides. Everyone has their own take on this and it totally depends on you/driving habits, but I have a 2006 skandic 550f which has been great for pretty much everything but keeping up with my buddies.

I'm a big guy and try not to haul a sleigh, so the 20/154 track gives lots of space to bring everything and it has always kept me on top of the snow. Room for a rack/box on the back and the under-seat storage is my "tickle trunk" on the ice. It eats slush no problem, but I guess I haven't pushed it too much. Doesn't run water great...

Found the suspension harsh and the 550f slow, but I loved it and walked into my local dealership to buy the exact same rig for 2018 with the 600 etec. Talked to the sales rep a little and he pointed me to the Expedition lineup, I landed on the SE 1200 which I spring ordered.

Lots of options but it seems the ski doos do this type of thing best. If you're looking for something affordable/reliable, let me know and you can come buy this skandic from me!

 

Live in northern MN and use the sleds for the same purpose you do. Trout fishing in NW ontario in Atikoken/Dryden/Ignace areas. Would highly recommend Expedition Sport with 900ACE. Stable running lakes with drifts, lots of power for slush and pulling, lots of room for augers totes etc, light enough to manhandle on a bush portage if you bury a ski under a blow down. Efficient, extremely good on fuel, quiet. We have 3 in our group now. And I'm not biasied - I don't have on yet. I have a Yamaha VK Pro and a Renegade Enduro 900 ACE. The Exp Sport is far more stable than than Tundra chasis and a much better ride. Take the tundra on a wind drifted lake and you are really working to keep it upright. We have one in our group with the 550 fan and he burns twice the fuel and is exhausted when we need to put the hammer down to cover some ground. You can't stop the 900 ACE in the tough going slush and you no longer need to bring extra fuel. Start in -30 like its + 30 .

 

I live in NWO and have a similar setup/location. Live a couple miles from the "home" lake and get to trout on the sled when I can, drive/unload normally makes it is easier/shorter rides. Everyone has their own take on this and it totally depends on you/driving habits, but I have a 2006 skandic 550f which has been great for pretty much everything but keeping up with my buddies.

I'm a big guy and try not to haul a sleigh, so the 20/154 track gives lots of space to bring everything and it has always kept me on top of the snow. Room for a rack/box on the back and the under-seat storage is my "tickle trunk" on the ice. It eats slush no problem, but I guess I haven't pushed it too much. Doesn't run water great...

Found the suspension harsh and the 550f slow, but I loved it and walked into my local dealership to buy the exact same rig for 2018 with the 600 etec. Talked to the sales rep a little and he pointed me to the Expedition lineup, I landed on the SE 1200 which I spring ordered.

Lots of options but it seems the ski doos do this type of thing best. If you're looking for something affordable/reliable, let me know and you can come buy this skandic from me!

You'll need ski skins or wider front skis. DS2s are crap skis for an Expy 1200.

 

You'll need ski skins or wider front skis. DS2s are crap skis for an Expy 1200.

I read a little about that, do you have a 1200? Was going to ride it before making a purchase, are the ski skins any good? Heard the polaris skis are the way to go? Sorry to hijack a thread...

 

I read a little about that, do you have a 1200? Was going to ride it before making a purchase, are the ski skins any good? Heard the polaris skis are the way to go? Sorry to hijack a thread...

The 1200 SE is probably the perfect big guy sled (save for the skis). It "fits", has a usable wind-screen, and the air ride is excellent. The weight capacity is unbelievable with the air ride and factory springs. I keep my springs at "1" and my air at 2-4 normally.

I never tried the skins (I want to use the DS2s on a tow-behind, so I got new skis), but they look like they should work much better than without.

Maybe the DS2s work fine for for mountain sleds and the expy sports being lighter sleds, but they have no business being on the big expeditions at all.

My $0.02, don't even try the sled with the DS2s. Take you skis off while you can still sell them as new or have the skins installed during the dealer prep

 

Skins are pretty cheap an easy to install. Like American Express;..........don't leave home without them.

 

Skins is a must if youère headed into any powder at all...even moreso on the bigger heavier sleds like the 1200..on the lighter sport chassis they're not needed so much.

 

Honestly haven't seen need for any ski other than stock DS2 on the expy sport and yes we have dealt with very deep no body powder with them. All have the full factory skidplate and that helps. The 1200 Expy weighs a good bit more than the sport and I don't doubt that it could use wider skis. I installed Simmons Flex ski 2 on my Yamaha VK for exactly the same reason. I set up my Enduro 900 ACE to be an off trail sled by putting the DS2 skis on it instead of the narrow adjustable carbide ones that came with it, full skid plate, 1.75 " paddle track, and dropped 3 tooth on the top sprocket. With the 137 inch track it does just fine in deep powder and crawl around breaking woods trails, and the 155 Expy Sport does even better. Light and maneuverable with power is key to breaking out bush portages and the Exp Sport fits the bill. I would give a slight nod to the Tundra in the woods trail breaking because of pogo stick suspension and big bell pan and narrower, but in my opinion you pay too high a price once you hit the lakes since they are just too tippy. the one in our group put the skins on his 550F Tundra and it helped but it still scares me to ride it on the lake unless it is baby butt smooth. I have the air ride rear suspension on my Enduro and while real nice when you put a lot of weight on the rack, it's just one more bell and whistle to go wrong plus the extra weight, complexity with a compressor etc. I'd skip it if I had the choice. Another nice sled for ice fishing we have in our group is a Summit 600 Etec. With a nice rear rack on them they haul a great load, are narrower for breaking trail in the woods and can be flipped on their side like nothing with the T motion track, and are simply unstoppable in powder/ slush with the 2.5" track and snappy two stroke. The 600ETEC gets about the same mileage as our 900Aces. They are geared low for easy start stop in deep snow. The Summit only weighs about 450 pounds also so your are saving about 75 pounds vs the expy sport in a very similar chasis. And you can get them without battery to keep them light and simple and they start one pull. the ACE engines and the 1200 require a battery to start - no pull start backup. I wouldn't shy away from a 155 or 146" summit with the 600 ETEC and you can find some fair deals on used ones. Up North Technologies makes a beautiful rack to put on any Ski doo and you can modify them to carry all kinds of stuff. Have one on my Enduro and my sons Summit and they are great for fishing gear.

 

I thought the DS2s were OK off trail, but like I said, i never got them in the real deep stuff. The Floats I replaced them with were much better though. The ski tracks are higher that the track track. They used to be a bit deeper than the track before.

The real place were the DS2 stink is on trail or low snow conditions. There is way too much keel there for a heavy sled. It leaves ruts like nobody's business, and all the problems that causes (especially hitting the same trail after your ruts set-up).

The area where the floats made the most dramatic change to the sled was hitting puddles. It was like hitting the brakes with the DS2s. The floats just skim over.

I suspect the skins will lessen the effective keel quite a bit, and that keel is the big downfall.

I suspect if my sled came with 6.9s, I would not have purchased the Floats or skins, save for maybe a trip out West. The DS2 keel is the problem.

I know most here don't like it and think it is just a gadget waiting to fail. I thought so too, until I tried it.

It lets you change spring rate characteristics (not just increase or decrease the rate) since the shock is more rising rate than the springs, makes adjusting for changing load or trail conditions easier, and lets you crank up the back-end for reversing off-trail or even just to tweak your headlight aim height. You also still have the standard duty springs, so you could just crank them up and be no worse off than without air-ride if it fails as far as load capacity is concerned (save 5 or 10lbs for the equipment). The air ride shock is also a higher quality shock than what comes with the non-air-ride sleds, so even if the pumps get mangled the first day, you are still better off than if you never had the air-ride.

Of all the SE "bonus features" The air-ride is the one I like the most.

 

The real place were the DS2 stink is on trail or low snow conditions. There is way too much keel there for a heavy sled. It leaves ruts like nobody's business,

Agreed...the ds2's suck big time on the heavier sleds....i switched to the ds on my 900swt and it's like night gone to day when it comes to handling/darting..

 

I had the air shock freeze on mine when cold and when that happens you have zero rear travel. You could definitely break something if you continued to ride it if that happens. No way I could break it loose either had to bring it in a heated shop. Also had the compressor replaced under warranty. So while I love the ride it provides and the ability to adjust for heavy loads, I'm not sure that upside balances out the downside of more crap to go wrong which I've experienced. Don't get me wrong, the 1200 EXPY is a nice fishing sled also. If you're mainly just running lakes and have very little bush wacking to do on portages etc its great. But, they are damn heavy and not all that maneuverable compared to the Sport. I'm not a fan of 20 inch wide tracks having owned one for many years. If you're pulling monster loads on packed trails they are great. The 146-155 length tracks in 15 inch width give you more than enough floatation, are lighter, and easier to get the sled to bank in deep snow. There's a reason you don't see 20 inch width on mountain sleds. I've been on the 1200 Expy and it is not a sled I would like to manhandle in the powder moving slow - down a lake sure - but I don't want to be breaking the portages open with one. I think a previous poster about a "big man " sled is correct. If you got 250 pounds to hang over the side then maybe the 1200 expy will maneuver for you. I wish the summit chassis came with a 900 ACE option. Kind of like the Lynx Boondocker. You get real used to the silent motor and anything else starts to make your ears ring.

 

Sounds like a trade off. My swt pushes in the corners big time in heavy loose snow, sometimes it won't turn at all, even with a tightened limiter strap.

 

Sounds like a trade off. My swt pushes in the corners big time in heavy loose snow, sometimes it won't turn at all, even with a tightened limiter strap.

Maybe the skins hurt turning, but the DS2 are not the end-all be-all of loose snow turning.

I think my sled turns better with the wider skis than with the DS2s in all conditions, even the ones you are mentioning. That extra high keel is a small % of the total turning surface, and the other skis have more in other areas, and an over-all better shape.

 

Maybe the skins hurt turning, but the DS2 are not the end-all be-all of loose snow turning.

I think my sled turns better with the wider skis than with the DS2s in all conditions, even the ones you are mentioning. That extra high keel is a small % of the total turning surface, and the other skis have more in other areas, and an over-all better shape.

But the total surface is mostly flat with wide skins and it's the vertical part that digs in.

 

T The full brunt of the DS2's is felt mostly on the 900/1200....the more heaver front end sleds...not so much on the lighter front ends of the 600ace/etec....i swapped out the DS skis off my '13 600swt to my 900swt last winter and vice versa....end result is the 900 handle much better with the DS...not much darting with the DS2's on my 600 either, i don't see a difference between either.

 

The stock skis on my 2008 SWT 550f with 10" skins (not ds2 skis) were so bad that often I couldn't get it to turn at all sometimes in deep wet snow even with me, at 225 pounds, hanging off one side and with the limiter strap tightened all the way.

 

side rant;

Take a look at Polaris Floats. I don't have a ton of miles on them yet, but I have never said to myself "my old skis would be better doing X". The Floats are literally better at everything than the DS2 skis on my sled (save fitting through my old back yard gate). DS2s are mountain sled skis. They are not utility sled skis. These sleds cost way too much to let crap OEM skis hold you back when they can be replace for a few hundred bucks.

I am sure there are several other skis that also outshine the SkiDoo skis as well (like the Lynx skis made for the chassis maybe?). My $0.02, BRP is hurting the whole segment with their penny pinching on skis. Polaris and Cat both have well thought out utility skis that don't need added skins to work on a utility ski. I never tried the skins, so I can't talk to their performance, but the OEM DS2s stink as they come with the sleds. If the sled needs skins to work as it should, it should have come with skins stock.

 

. Polaris and Cat both have well thought out utility skis that don't need added skins to work on a utility ski.

Now they need to think about improving the rest of the sled! :wink_old:

 

Now they need to think about improving the rest of the sled! :wink_old:

Oh, I think they have been.

The Cat WT with a Yami engine, flip up hood, 3 speed transmission and isolated radiator is a big step in the right direction.

Polaris is held back by their corporate engine selection and lack of a decent WT chassis, but they are doing pretty decent with what they have.

Doo hasn't done crap in several years besides dumping the 6.9s for DS2s and add the now obsolete 800 etec to the work sled line-up. They could have done that much sooner if they cared to. Lynx did.

 

Thanks for all the feedback. My main concern was oil was clean at 1000 miles, then at 1200 came out like this. I know I don't have nearly the miles you guys put on. I'll keep on running it.

Oh, I think they have been.

The Cat WT with a Yami engine, flip up hood, 3 speed transmission and isolated radiator is a big step in the right direction.

Polaris is held back by their corporate engine selection and lack of a decent WT chassis, but they are doing pretty decent with what they have.

Doo hasn't done crap in several years besides dumping the 6.9s for DS2s and add the now obsolete 800 etec to the work sled line-up. They could have done that much sooner if they cared to. Lynx did.

That's because they are already way ahead of the others. The 800 was dumped on the Expy, probably to get rid of their inventory but it's surely great for someone that can use it. :dry_old:

 

Putting the 800 in the Expedition chassis was a great idea. So great that Polaris had to copy the idea with their only new widetrack sled in years.

Polaris could/should have released a 600 Titan as well, and they've got to get their **** together and come up with some 4 stroke sleds. I don't know what they're thinking.

 

I have a polaris 800 4 stroke in a side by side, i see nothing wrong with have that engine in a snowmachine, i started it up a few times last winter -30 with no problems...the engines are the least thing that make a good work sled, all manufactures imo have reasonable dependable motors...2 & 4 stroke, what puts BRP miles ahead is the actual overall design of the skandic/expy, the combination of a lightweight chassis...reasonable low maintenance suspension & good gearing/traction......all combined to make the top utility in the deeper snow environment it`s intended for..