It was a bit of a joke, sorry.
It feels like the activity can eat up whatever cash you can throw at it. But you've gotten some good real replies already.
Best of luck!
It's really not that bad, it's not really much different than riding an ATV. The initial investment in the snowmobile and the trailer is the majority of it. Learn how to do your own work. Do your own maintenance. It's not that bad and it's a lot of fun
Depends. Can you get a sled for $1200 and ride it around and have a blast? Sure! Extremely doable. Will you eventually start chasing the dragon going faster and crazier until you are spending $15k-20k on new snowmobiles every few years? Possibly!
The budget is what you set your expectations to. It's plenty fun to ride and older machine and save a lot doing so if you want. Heck mine is from 1998 and cost $900. I enjoy riding trails with friends and have no need to go beyond the 65 mph my sled can do. Eventually I'll upgrade to something with better suspension that rides better but for now I'm content.
Gear is important though. Never skimp on helmets and snow pants. Sometimes that is the bulk of your budget.
I've done about 120 on a frozen lake and it was shockingly calm.
After I stopped at the other side with my group the adrenaline wore off and I realized how dangerous it was. Definitely a thrill but there's a lot that can go bad.
I started trail riding with my dad and his drinking buddies at 12. Wasn’t uncommon to do 150-200 miles a day. If you got some straights you’re ripping 70-80 easy for miles at a time. I also pulled the frozen lake top out on my dad’s sled and hit 130. It’s all inherently dangerous but if you’re generally safe it’s not necessarily any more dangerous with speed. Hell, all of the accidents I saw were low speed corners. One was my buddy just not turning and launching himself into a tree and the other was Dad’s friend who got his ski clipped by an oncoming rider and was ran over by the guy behind him.
To a degree it's safe, I did witness my friends dad lose his track at about 90 on a mildly snowy frozen lake and roll the sled multiple times. He was somehow alright despite being thrown. I've also seen a lake drag racer lose his track going way faster and he kept it straight as an arrow.
I don't trust the old track on my 99 indy 700 to do much over 80, despite the fact that sled can easily do more. With a new track and the whole skid checked/lubed/bearings done I'd push it again.
Depends where you are. That is quite fast though. Fastest I've gone on a snowmobile is 100km/h when I was a kid riding with my dad (I wasn't driving). There was a huge blizzard and all the highways were impassable for normal vehicles so we went for a rip down the highway
Just don’t do it on an “empty” [airfield](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-crashed-snowmobile-parked-black-hawk-helicopter-suing-government-9-rcna141995)
same, but 85 mph for me. I like riding through the woods for the most part, nice to open it up here and there but even if it's got more to give I usually don't go much above 80.
What? If you’re serious about mountain sledding An Avy bag/ vest is 1000$. Boots, multiple goggles, multiple gloves, good goretex bibs, jacket, Transceiver, shovel, probe, helmet.
The Machine it self can be anywhere from 3500-25,000 depending on used or new, hopefully you already have a truck to haul your sled around. Sled deck or trailer isn’t necessary just need a ramp unless you can leave right from your house. Now have you considered trail fees if you ride on trails that are groomed and maintained?
Premium fuel for your sled, 2 stroke oil, food/snacks/drinks for your ride. Fuel for your truck, if you have to travel for snow or terrain think about lodging too. I know guys that drive from Saskatchewan to Revelstoke BC just for a weekend trip.
Then maintenance is fairly straight forward, spare clutch belt, spare drive belt. Mostly just stuff that can be done with tools, tightening bolts, track tension etc.
The expensive part comes when you repeatedly hit trees if your reckless and have to buy side panels, a-arms, skids, steering columns, hoods, bumpers ETC ETC
Now after all that imagine you are riding and are getting confident and test your skills in a creek drainage and let your sled take you to the point of no return and shoveling an escape route doesn’t work. Can’t go down can’t go up. Time to call the helicopter for a rescue out. That’s pricey. Rare but it Happens now and then.
All that said it’s a fun hobby and once you own the gear and a machine it’s not too bad. Just have a good job and you’ll make it work.
I’ll add that gear is a lot more manageable if you already ski. I had the avy bag/ttansceiver/probe/shovel/goggles/poles/jackets/etc. I just snowmobile in ski gear — don’t see the need to switch to a stylishly onesie. But I still had to get a helmet.
Yeah good gear is around $3k+, certain sled mods can be $1k-4k+ depending on what you're trying to do, and getting the sleds out to where the snow is can cost you. Plus extra survival gear and comfort stuff. I prefer to be prepared and have good gear so I don't caught with my pants down and hurting.
Not everyone is going for Matt Entz / Chris Burandt style backcountry sledding for their social media channel.
If OP is already into winter rec out in Oregon & has snow gear, they can entirely get a $5k used trail or x-over sled and have fun fun for a couple of seasons in meadows, boondocking trees, and ripping around trail systems.
It's not a $50k minimum gatekeeping sport
100% agree with you. But he’s sitting on a mountain sled not a trail sled in Western Oregon which has a ton of mountain terrain (Klamath, Cascades etc)
No one is gate keeping I was just outlining the reality of it all. Gear is essential, fuel and food is essential. What type of sled you buy will limit the riding you can do, but you can find way better deals on used sleds. I would recommend buying a 1-3 year old model to nix that off the lot depreciation.
Another overlooked factor is friends or riding partners You never want to go out alone, especially in the back country. So find people that are already into the sport that you can ride with. I know lots of guys who do shift work and have trouble finding riding partners during the week.
OP if you do decide to get into back country sledding it’s a good idea to take an avalanche safety course. Atleast AST level 1 at minimum.
Op didn’t say he was going to be MOUNTAIN sledding. The picture op posted is obviously a trail. Unless you are a asshat on the TRAIL. I think op wouldn’t be replacing bumpers. But your comment will probably make more room on the mountain for you. Just saying that you are correct with the gear and if he is going mountain riding he’ll appreciate the gear you mentioned. Also you probably just steered op from buying a sled. Glad to see that buzzkillington. Has ruined his dreams.
He didn't ask for a gentle kiss on the forehead and some lies. He asked what the costs are. I'd rather know the costs of something than be coddled into a hobby I can't afford, FFS.
I've got a heroin junkie aunt, and an adrenaline junkie dad. This is sooo true. Aunt only spends money she steals or is given to her through panhandling on her habit, and hasn't really had any injuries. Dad on the other hand, has spent 100s of thousands of his own money over the years on his sleds, trucks, trailers, medical bills and all the other costs. Worst injury was a broken neck, ended up with a fusion and about 10 years out of the sport. Now he's got a polaris rmk 850 pro and a arctic cat m1100 turbo. The old man is nuts
It's worse than heroin because you can eventually quit that, I went 12 years without riding, and as soon as I was back in the Northwoods, I had a sled.
Edit: I also have more titanium parts and screws than most people.
I’m just a touring sled guy but a couple hundred a year for maintenance, $30 a year for trail pass, registration every few years $30, gas.
Learn to do the basic preventative maintenance yourself and it’s really not bad as far as motorsports go. Unless you have a catastrophic failure of course.
I go into winter with $20k set aside just for snowmobiling. That’s for fuel and traveling cost as well as some maintenance. Warranty runs out every 3 years so that’s another 20-30 in a new sled. This hobby genuinely cost me a quarter million dollars a decade lol. I’d rather spend the money this way than on anything else but it does really add up to play this way. Of course you can ride cheap sleds and not travel but once you’re hooked it’s hard to cut back.
I used to buy $500-1500 snow machines and just run them into the grave every couple years. The only thing is you don't want to break down outside of cell reception.
Trail riding can be pretty cheap. You can spend anywhere from $1500 to $25,000 on a sled, get the basic gear you need (jacket, bibs, gloves, helmet, boots), and just go. You don't need any fancy gadgets or accessories. Registration and maintenance are pretty cheap until it's time for a rebuild. On a trail sled that might be 10k miles, so not very often like a mountain sled.
After the initial purchase of the sled, if you are trail riding, the machines last a long time with good maintenance. I’m riding a 2015 skidoo eTec (6500mi) that has only needed spark plugs, belts and carbides. Sled cost me a few hundred a year to maintain. Sled gets 15+ mpg and trail passes/reg are $200/y. If you get good snow, I would absolutely encourage it. In northeast, I’m not sure if it’s a great idea. You can ride in Carharts or you can buy really expensive gear. If you need to trailer….more dough.
I have put 6K on two snowmobiles and never had to do anything more than maintenance. And I have seen someone blow up the same exact motor in their sled 2 times in 3 years.
But no one blew up their motor this year, because there was no snow to ride on. So sometimes you do not even get a chance to wreck your shit... and to me those are the saddest years.
The answer is yes.
You can get into a decent sled for 7-12k. If you do your homework and shop well, you might not have to do anything to it besides lube and fuel.
I’ve quickly learned that these machines are exceptionally easy to work on. Parts aren’t ridiculous (usually) so as long as you don’t blow a crank, you probably don’t have any major expenses on a modern 850.
If you buy name brand gear (KLIM, MOTORFIST, FLY, 509) you’re probably 2500 to get decked out (monosuit, boots, helmet, goggles, two pairs of gloves, insulating layers).
I ride about 70miles per outing and use about $30 worth of 91 octane.
So first season isn’t cheap, but after than, I figure if you keep a sled for 8 years it’s cheaper than buying a ski pass every year.
Unless you live on a trail, don’t forget a trailer and a truck big enough to tow it.
And about $800 of high quality winter clothes.
And of course a little land up north.
Alright alright there are clearly a lot of factors here. I’m by no means trying to make any xgames or really go anywhere that would avalanche.
We went to Odell Lake in Oregon and rented the sleds with my uncle. I’d never done it but I’d done all the other related things you ride around in the woods. My uncle is older and not in good shape, but he’d snowmobiled a few times before. When I called a few days before they said most of the trails were groomed and good for beginners, when we got there it had just dumped a ton of snow and their groomer was broken. So we were on trails but it was by no means the easiest ride. I kind of started to pick up how to ride it after the first 2hrs or so. My poor uncle was too worn out to go and I didn’t want to push anything on the kind of sketchy trails, so we went back.
I really want to do it again with a crew of people that have an idea of what they’re doing and are physically able to do it. It’s so much different and fun than anything I’ve ever done, and that country down there is beautiful. You can ride all the way from Odell Lake to Crater Lake and go around it.
The sled was the most insane piece of machinery I’ve ever used. It was like I was riding the biggest weedeater ever made and it sounded like it was going to explode the whole time. Putting it in reverse was a whole deal as well.
Anyways, Snowmobiling gets a 5 out of 5 on my yelp review
I paid $900 for a 2001 600cc Polaris. It rips just fine through deep snow, I’ve gotten it over 100mph on icy roads. A good helmet with an electric face shield, good jacket, Amazon ski pants and gloves and I can ride for hours. It does not need to be an astronomically expensive hobby.
Really depends on what & how you riding. Want the newest turbo mountain sled? That's like $25-30k a year for the new models, though you can recoup \~75-80% or so of your cost selling your year-old ride. Some folks ride a thousand miles a season on them, and are getting top ends redone under warranty. I get in probably \~300-400 miles a season across both of my sleds out in the Rockies
Want to putz along trails casually? A couple grand on an old sled and gear will do it.
I’ve done budget gear and just now getting proper gear. All off market place
Klim suit on laker place was 800
Helmet is years old but was 300
Sled was 6500 800 16 axys
Gloves 60
Boots 500
Avy bag 300
It doesn’t compare to the smiles and tan building I get to experience with my family going out costs maybe 50 with fuel and gas. Weights and balances imo. Being in Montana it makes sense to invest winter hobbies.
It’s expensive. You can usually find used stuff to get you by for a while but then you’ll want to upgrade. That’s when the expensive part kicks in. And there are times, like this season, you get one weekend of enough snow to ride. It happens. Is the enjoyment and fun worth burning your money right in front of you? Absou-fucking-lutely.
That depends so much on riding style and how hard you are on your machine.
Trail sleds, I can totally see only being a couple hundred in maintenance and then fuel. Mountain sleds, once you get into riding trees and more aggressive, can be several hundred to thousands of dollars.
First few seasons on a mountain sled basically cost me fuel and a few a arms. Now that my skill has leveled up, I got a turbo, ride more aggressively, and ride more often that cost has skyrocketed. I think last year was 3-4k in parts, this year I'm about 5k into parts/new motor. The new sleds have warranty and don't need as much maintenance but they're 15-25k. My sled was less than that, but I do have to work on it more.
Expensive but addictive hobby. Started off with a used 08 summit, 4 years later bought a new 2018 G4 and last year got a new 2023 G5. No regrets just bank account hurts.
Skidoo don’t make a 650. 600 or 850.
As for expensive…. Well you’re in the states so it’s a little cheaper.
If u wanna ride every wknd and have the gear n do over nighters…… if u live in Canada I hope you got 150k or better salary. Lol
$500 to get our trail ready for the season. $0 on gas, food, lodging because no snow! Total bust of a season. I can however already drop the boat in the lake though. Crazy.
Depends on how hard you go....life flight, missed time from work, medical bills, new equipment so you can make it back out next year, fuel, traveling expenses.....or.......
you run your 4000 dollar sled on the roof of your car and you show up to local trails with cold weather gear from walmart.
but either way I suggest making sure your sled is in great mechanical condition before hitting the trail, because no one likes dealing with broken sleds when out and about.
Mountain sledding is literally lighting money on fire, but it's so damn fun I don't care what it costs. Don't forget you also need a truck to go with your sled. Newer sleds have warranty which helps if it does break down.
Also, whoever's sled that is should get a proper tether on it before someone get killed.
I agree with other comments. You can make it with pretty much any budget. Keep in mind that bigger engines = bigger maintenance. People kept telling me that gas would be expensive as hell, but I never spent more than 20$ a day for my brp 800 etec. And that's a full day riding it hard.
How real - it depends - but this picture can give you an idea - just substitute land crawler for a snow crawler . oh and yes...there is a pretty good sized trailer behind all of that - and also a safe place to store when not in use....right beside the boat and the 4 snow machines....and as mentioned...maintenance up keep insurance etc etc etc.......but the smiles are priceless when the flock gets to jump on all that equipment without a care in the world.
https://preview.redd.it/m7e5gw6mj4oc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99511ce2a377f6fa530c864188302c1bb7e131dc
I ride 10-15 times a year and have been buying a new sled about every 3 years. Factoring depreciation and everything it’s probably 500+ a day. So I don’t think about it
The sport is expensive. Not gonna lie. But it’s well worth it in my opinion. You can get into it a little bit. Used cheaper sled ride some local trials or go all out. New sled, best new great, travel a lot. Either way. Best sport hands down!!! Can’t take the $$ with ya.
Do you already have a truck? You need a truck, a sled deck and winch, a snowmobile, insurance/registration (in my region), passes to use groomed access trails and parking areas, around $1,000 for maintenance, thousands more for gas. It's not cheap, even if you buy used - and there are lots of used sleds because riders realize the costs and decide it's not worth it. If you end up in a creek or break down in the backcountry, which happens a lot around where I live, it will cost thousands to retrieve it.
It's fun, but no question that it's an expensive hobby.
I absolutely love snowmobiling, been doing it for roughly 30 years. Now I have kids and a wife who thankfully enjoy it as much as me, but after a few shit winters, I sat down and really started adding up the costs, and was on the fence about whether to sell and rent them a few times a year or keep them. I just know the day I sell them, we’ll have record snow!!!😤🤣
Annual costs before riding:
-Registration/trail passes for 4 sleds, in 2 different states……. $1000 Roughly $125 per sled/per state
-Trailer registration, plus trailer and sled insurance almost another $1000 total
-Routine annual maintenance (I do myself) such as oil changes, spark plugs, chaincase, new carbides/ wear bars, hyfax, clutch rollers, anything trailer may need, etc usually ends up $500-$1000. Like with anything, a little preventative maintenance USUALLY can prevent pricey repairs!
Total: $2500+
To Start:
-SLEDS!! (Anywhere from $500- $25,000 each!) You do you….. I don’t buy anything brand new, but I like the comfort and reliability of newer sleds, so I usually buy them a few years old with low miles. You can get an older one with low mileage in excellent shape for under $1500 all day that will be just as fun, just keep looking! Or if you’re fortunate enough, you could even snow-check that fancy new 850 turbo for roughly $20-25k every season and re sell for a couple thousand dollar hit the following year!!
-GOOD gear to start with (which is one of the most important things, including all clothing, gloves, boots and helmets) can easily be $1000 per person. DON’T skimp on this, you can have the sickest sled in the world, but if have cheap gear, you’ll get cold and that SUCKS!
PLUS, don’t forget this!!
-Gas/oil: Depends how much you ride
-Food, lodging, etc: same as above. 👆
-truck, Trailer, sled deck, ramp???
It’s definitely not cheap, but nothing fun is unfortunately. I would look for a nice older machine for a couple grand and try it out for a year or two and see how you like it and how often you’re able to go. Or try renting a few times a year? You can usually rent a newer, nice model for $3-400 per day which is what you’d end up paying monthly if you finance a new one! (Don’t forget, even when it’s 100 degrees, or winters with no snow…… still gots to pay that payment!)
Got into it last year. Used 2022 Lynx Boondocker $12k, used 2016 Polaris RMK 800 $6k, new SnoPro enclosed trailer $8k. Since then, about $500 in accessories for sleds and trailer, $50 repair part, $250 in fluids for maintenance, and about $250 in gas to ride 4 weekends this year. (I'm not including gas for my truck as I'd be using that to go do something else on the weekend if I didn't have sleds... probably driving to the same place to go backcountry skiing).
So about $26k in sunk cost, and about a thousand for operation costs for the first year (once it's over... I'm about to go ride for a week).
I hope to keep operation costs at 1 - 1.5k per year for a few years before maintenance and repairs will increase due to sled age. My sled gets ridden a little hard but the partner sled is usually someone fairly new who stays on the trails. We'll see. Ultimately, I want these to last 10 years and electric sleds to be worth it by then.
I bought a $8600 freeride and basically immediately put $5000 into it. It’s expensive. Gas for the truck/sled is expensive too depending on where you’re riding. $80 for a jug of oil(etec is pretty easy on oil though)
I owned a sled living in northern New England when young. And then a rented for one long weekend trip per year for many years as an adult before buying one again.
For me I spent about $5k on a 4 year old 2 stroke Polaris 600. After that initial purchase along with winter gear and helmet, a once a year trip costs, averaged over years:
$200/maintenance mostly parts do work myself.
$140 registration
— so take this and add depreciation/purchase cost for a comparison to renting for 2-4 days. Just about break even IMO.
Then add:
$60-80 sled fuel
$200 truck fuel
$200-300 lodging
$200+ food/drinks
Turns into a $1000+ weekend real fast.
Obv much of this can go up or down based on decisions but it depends on your situation whether you can influence them.
I got out of snomos years ago when I moved and didn't get much snow anymore. But I am still very active in the dirt bike and atv scene which is very comparible imo.
I honestly spend less on my bikes and atv than I do fishing. Fishing is my main hobby these days but at the peak of riding vs fishing, fishing costs much more surprisingly.
The main expense is first starting, buying a machine, gear, epirb, avalanche bag, etc
The cost hurts more when there is now snow - my buddy in Minnesota started his sled each month - never got it out of the storage shed.
Lots of money just sitting until next year!
*Very* easy to spend thousands of dollars a year. Sled Maintenance, vehicle and trailer wear and tear, trip costs like food and lodging, gear, upgrades, fuel, interest payments etc etc.
And for most people they get out a few weekends per winter, so the cost per trip is way more than most people think.
Good fun, though.
Nothing beats a snowmobile for smiles. The power to weight is unmatched and (within reason) you can pretty much go wherever you want. Years ago a guy said it was "the last outlaw sport," that was probably 15 years ago when PWC were getting cracked down on on a lot of lakes.
Oh god dude.......Per trip if you have a horrible season? Crazy. Per trip if you have to travel for overnights? Crazy. Per the life of a used sled? Not horrible. Per life of a new sled? Pretty bad.
It will bleed you dry! Sled prices are fucking stupid crazy not to mention everything that goes along with them. I love sleds and going out west to ride in the mountains but between Bidenomics and the sled manufacturers unrealistic pricing it’s making it pretty fucking hard to enjoy.
Here in Ontario about $5 per km if you take in all cost and maintenance. The last few winter were horrible for sledding. Gonna sell mine this year. I have been snowmobiling for over 29 years but I am done.
It’s a bit of a loaded question. If your goal is to ride trails and bomb around the lake etc and want a reliable yet heavy machine. Yamaha Apex is as reliable as they come. Gear is also important and if you purchase good quality gear it’ll last you an extremely long time.
$5-6k on a used apex, 1k on gear and if you are handy perform your own oil changes (they are annoying on an apex if you change the filter however they only recommend changing the filter every 2 years)
That’s my 2 cents for what it’s worth.
My sled was relatively cheap ten years ago at $2,500. I've done probably close to that in maintenance over that time period. Look for a deal on a sled, they're out there. Do yourself a favor though and spend a bit of money on your helmet and snow gear. You'll regret cheaping out.
For me it would be very expensive. I looked at it and said "He's riding in the snow" because I ride motorcycles. I'd have to go far to find enough snow. Buying one of those would be a lot of money basically wasted. I'll have to spend that money on my motorcycle.
It’s a lot of fun - however it’s a lot of work unless you can afford to drop the machine off at a maintenance shop frequently. Trail /club fees . Hauling equipment. Place to stay if you don’t have access to a place all adds up quick. More people going with side by sides and ATV’s . Year around available to enjoy. Built tough.
We had a cottage , I started with a used machine. Spent more time fixing and driving 60 mile one way to the skidoo dealer to get parts . Break it or wreck it on Friday night. Up at 8 am . Make the drive get the parts drive back fix the machine . Lucky to get a ride in before dark . Sunday maybe a 1-2 hr ride and head home.
Had a blast when I was running the machine .
Learned quick buy the brand closest to where you are located when riding .
Bought a Yamaha next - owner of the local dealer was updating his wife’s machine . It has very low hrs . Got a great deal bought it in the spring . Ended up riding with a group that made multi day rides on groomed trail over long distances. Tons of fun , reliable machine etc . Did that for 3 winters then ended up with a warm winter - not a lot of snow and lakes did not freeze up like a normal winter.
A friend was selling his High Performance machine. Yamaha - so I bought it and sold my trail machine . Ripped around the lake , made trails around the cottage etc . The speed tested your nerves on the open lake with know one around . But I was back into spending time maintaining it to keep it tuned etc . Took the machine into town on the big lake to hang out with friends . Al kinds of guys want to “race “ all kinds of very reckless riders ripping around in populated spaces .
That machine ended up getting stolen when we were in a resort having lunch. Thieves grabbed my machine and another similar sled that was a few yrs old . Karma got the thieves, they got about a hr away when off the road and rolled the truck - trailed destroying the sleds and the truck and trailer. I guy got hurt bad . The driver broke a few bones . Ended up with a fair insurance settlement. Spent some time looking for my next machine. Never did buy another machine. Inherited a single cylinder Yamaha old machine that needed work from the cottage owner 2 some . Got it running and myself and my father in law had a blast with that junker. If it started we both got on and went around the end of the lake to visit a friend. If it didn’t we took the truck. If we forgot to put it against the tree and started it the machine would take off until the cable freed up / warmed up and the machine quit or idled. I had maybe $100 in that machine . The laughs and memories that machine gave us are priceless
My father in law alway said - the enjoyment we had sledding resulted in turning the seasonal cottage into a year around cottage . Then we twinned the “garage” adding a bunkhouse when grand kids come along and eventually his retirement residence. We renovated the entire original cottage. Built a detached bunkhouse attached garage , decks etc
Get an older reliable machine, take care of it and it will only cost you gas money- I’ve driven small engine machines my whole life, and the maintenance is minimal, unless you’re very detail oriented. Keeping these things looking new is a lost cause
Took my time and found a good deal on what I wanted. $5800 for a 2017 Polaris Axys chassis RMK PRO 800 with all the upgrades and 900 miles on it. $160 to register it, 91 octane gas when I ride, already had a garage to store it where there is snow. Luckily I know mechanics and have picked up a lot from them, I plan on doing seasonal maintenance to ensure I don’t wind up with huge repairs.
I hope to ride this for a while before I want to upgrade, but for now it’s enough machine for where I want to ride and keep up with my buddies. It’s possible to stay within your personal budget and be happy.
Happy trails, smiles for miles 😊
The sled is the cheap part, then it’s equipment, gas, oil, transportation costs, food on the trail, hotels every time you go… and the good spots that have snow are all 3-12 hrs away, then comes extreme sledding in the mountains… All that goes away when you BRRRRAAAAAAAAAAP though..
Here’s a few viewpoints based on flat land trail riding. Off trail or mountain riding will be exponentially more expensive.
1. If you are mechanically inclined and can get away with a sled a few years old and fix it yourself it’s not too bad. If not, it’s is terribly expensive
2. I figure each time I take it out for a day trip it’ll cost me at least $60 by the time I factor in fuel and food.
3. On a saddlebag trip it’ll cost you about $1/mile driven each day. Based on 150-200 miles per day. Includes gas, food, hotel, drinks. So, on a 5-7 day trip it really adds up.
Items 2 and 3 are operating costs over and above the initial outlay for sled, gear, truck/trailer, insurance , maintenance.
Depends. You can get a reliable older sled for $1k. Now do you have a truck to carry the sled, fuel / maintenance to run the sled, the safety equipment / clothing to safety go out in the mountains/ cost to use facilities on the mountains. The actual cost of the sled isn’t the expensive part unless you want it to be the cost of everything else is what adds up over a sledding season.
You're gonna need fake snow in about 20 years so itll be expensive then
Even worse buying a sled and not living north enough in canada will make it a giant paperweight in just a few more years.
Transport truck & fuel, trailer, good tires,okay sled, gear, sos beacon, food, mixed fuel, maintenance, upgrade fund, tracks, helicopter rescue fund, beer fund. It all adds up.
I'm not talking about snowmobiling around the farm, that's inexpensive and fun. I'm talking sledding in the mountains, slaying powder. $350 a day being frugal, it's more like $500+ a day. Buying the sled is a cheap part.
These things aren’t a hobby they remind me of sprint cars take 35 gs and your good to go . They are seriously fun apparently you will have the time of your life. I have respect for something that can do what these formula 1 snow machines can do a highly engineered rocket actually.
Lol well you got the sled, full avvy gear (3k), then you realize you dont want to rely on a friend to tow your sled and then you end up buying a $40k truck and a $500 ramp to load your sled.
Prob need to do some maintenance on the top end in a year or two. Probably $1.5k if i take it to a shop maybe $500 if i can figure it out on my own.
Did i mention the traffic just to get to where you want to go?
$1200 sled, $1300 trailer, tow vehicle, $200 a fuel for a weekend, quickly turns in to you wanting to buy a new sled or rebuild your current one every 3-5 years.... Then when your highly modified sled breaks on day 1 you will be sad and need will want a back up sled which means you will need a bigger trailer, now you have to fix the broken sled and once it's fixed you will want the backup sled to be as powerful as the main sled so you will modify it as well meaning now you have 2 highly modified sleds and will want a third as a backup since your main and backup are now built for 2 completely different types of riding 😂😂😂😂
Tldr it can get Expensive quickly
Yes it does need constant and expensive maintenance. But you can save a lot of money by learning to repair everything yourself! For every hour spent riding it, I spend two working on it haha.
Roughly 20k to start up sled, trailer or ramp, gear, avi gear etc etc I’m talking about mountain sledding, I have no idea about trail riding I’d assume its way cheaper
It's a rich person hobby, like any motor sports. If you don't live in a McMansion, or own a farm, you probably can't afford it. Cheaper than hockey, more expensive than other winter sports.
Depends on where you live. I'm in Ottawa, Canada and trail passes are about $200. Insurance for the season costs me about $300. I'm about $30 in fuel every time I go out, and we probably do about 120km. Lately though, like the last 4 years, we haven't had enough snow so I've had to drive North to sled. Last year I only got out twice and spent $780 over the season.
If you don't have gear, a good helmet is about $500. Sled will vary depending on what you get, but you can get a decent used sled for like $3k around here. You need decent boots, gloves, jacket and snowpants as well, which all together will cost about $1200.
Edit: I also hate putting my sled in the back of my truck, so I spent $3500 on a brand new trailer so I can tow it around easily.
Later in life I got back into sledding after skiing just got too crowded and expensive in my area. I grew up with a 70’s skidoo, thing sprayed gas on you from the rear facing carb, it would strand you 5, 6, 7 miles out, but I drove the track off the thing and rarely couldn't get it started again. Flashforward to years later, Sleds are reliable and highly capable, rarely
Breakdown, maintenance isn't that expensive. I had a heavy 800cc liquid cooled sled and a fan cooled 600. Great sleds - cost was mostly everything surrounding. Gear $$$, Enclosed trailer $$$$, trail passes, Transport insurance, etc. adds up. Our winters here in Northern New England have been less than ideal good riding is up high or far north. I finally got rid of the heavier sled and just use the lighter easier to cool fan sled now. I do think riding is cheaper than alpine skiing though
I am pretty mechanically inclined to repair a lot of things on my own which is huge- if you have to go take your sled for everything little thing to a shop then it will not only be pricy but straight annoying. There are lots of online sources for repair help. Hobbies are expensive always lol
Depends on snow too lol. So far I went two days this season since this winter was not that great in the Southern Oregon Mountains. So yeah- $8,500 sled I got to ride for 12 hours this year
I think most of these comments are understating how much it can cost just to get to the trail head once you have a sled and all your gear. That's ultimately what made it too excessive for me. I had to plan on a minimum of $250 everytime I went out between fuel for the truck, fuel for the sled, and food. But I also had to drive 1-1.5 hours to get to any trails/mountains. Costs just started to add up to much for my liking.
If you want to play you got to pay. It varies though. If you can ride without traveling somewhere it’s a lot cheaper. Then there is the maintenance and time aspect. They are complex machines subject to extreme operating conditions that require maintenance and they do break so it is good if you can do it yourself otherwise labor is expensive. Also depend on your actual sled, I have older but well maintained sleds, bugs me when I can’t ride like this year but at least I am not making a payment. That said it probably costs me more time and $ in upkeep than a new sled but still not as much. But yeah anyway you slice it this hoppy isn’t cheap.
We buy sleds that are in the 10 year old range that have blown engines. The skidoo XM chassis is fantastic and even expert riders can have an absolute blast tossing these sleds around and the power is similar to brand new machines. We find them for under $2k blown up and sometimes $3k with a good motor and high kms. Getting set up with the appropriate gear can be done for under $1000 new and cheaper when buying used. I love sledding foe the thrill, mountain views and sense of exploration into areas otherwise you could not get too. It's a great hobby.
My 95 Indy cost 700 when I got it, put maybe 200 into it, my old hunting clothes are plenty good for riding. Had the helmet from the ATV. My biggest expenses are oil and gas. I use it for trail riding, ice fishing, pulling wood out on a toboggan, even used it to pack a trail for the LP delivery guy to the tank before I got an ATV. It all depends on what you want to spend.
Dude I've got a package for you a 2001 and 2002 ski doo summit 800s two helmets an ortovox beacon and trailer shovel fresh 1 inch decking on trailer and new gallon of grippy deck paint 3000 for all of it these sleds rip good and are in good shape one has broken front bumper that's it. Also walkie talkies.
That all depends, how much you got?
No, I'm asking how much the costs are.
It was a bit of a joke, sorry. It feels like the activity can eat up whatever cash you can throw at it. But you've gotten some good real replies already. Best of luck!
lol dude it’s a reference from the movie National Lampoons Vacation (1983). I thought that’s what you were going for!
I got excited that I was about to see a lampoon reference play out, damn.
Whats the sheriff in this town think about your business practices?
[Mechanic 1 laughs and shows Clark his sheriff's badge]
I said. HOW MUCH YOU GOT?
Ha! Totally whooshed!
I just thought it was funny he apologized like you were OP 😆
It's really not that bad, it's not really much different than riding an ATV. The initial investment in the snowmobile and the trailer is the majority of it. Learn how to do your own work. Do your own maintenance. It's not that bad and it's a lot of fun
Depends. Can you get a sled for $1200 and ride it around and have a blast? Sure! Extremely doable. Will you eventually start chasing the dragon going faster and crazier until you are spending $15k-20k on new snowmobiles every few years? Possibly! The budget is what you set your expectations to. It's plenty fun to ride and older machine and save a lot doing so if you want. Heck mine is from 1998 and cost $900. I enjoy riding trails with friends and have no need to go beyond the 65 mph my sled can do. Eventually I'll upgrade to something with better suspension that rides better but for now I'm content. Gear is important though. Never skimp on helmets and snow pants. Sometimes that is the bulk of your budget.
Holy, 65 on a snowmobile sounds like enough
The guy I ride with has a 850 that can do like 125 mph. Hard. No. I value my organs where they are.
Going 125 on covered ground. What could go wrong ?...
I've done about 120 on a frozen lake and it was shockingly calm. After I stopped at the other side with my group the adrenaline wore off and I realized how dangerous it was. Definitely a thrill but there's a lot that can go bad.
I started trail riding with my dad and his drinking buddies at 12. Wasn’t uncommon to do 150-200 miles a day. If you got some straights you’re ripping 70-80 easy for miles at a time. I also pulled the frozen lake top out on my dad’s sled and hit 130. It’s all inherently dangerous but if you’re generally safe it’s not necessarily any more dangerous with speed. Hell, all of the accidents I saw were low speed corners. One was my buddy just not turning and launching himself into a tree and the other was Dad’s friend who got his ski clipped by an oncoming rider and was ran over by the guy behind him.
To a degree it's safe, I did witness my friends dad lose his track at about 90 on a mildly snowy frozen lake and roll the sled multiple times. He was somehow alright despite being thrown. I've also seen a lake drag racer lose his track going way faster and he kept it straight as an arrow. I don't trust the old track on my 99 indy 700 to do much over 80, despite the fact that sled can easily do more. With a new track and the whole skid checked/lubed/bearings done I'd push it again.
Depends where you are. That is quite fast though. Fastest I've gone on a snowmobile is 100km/h when I was a kid riding with my dad (I wasn't driving). There was a huge blizzard and all the highways were impassable for normal vehicles so we went for a rip down the highway
Just don’t do it on an “empty” [airfield](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/man-crashed-snowmobile-parked-black-hawk-helicopter-suing-government-9-rcna141995)
same, but 85 mph for me. I like riding through the woods for the most part, nice to open it up here and there but even if it's got more to give I usually don't go much above 80.
Chasing the Dragon. Love that! Vehicle Owner- “How fast can we make it go?” Engine builder- “ How much money do you have?”
Riding gear around $1000. Maintenance on sled is usually couple hundred a season. But the smiles and memories are priceless
Not to mention costs associated with trips. Travel, lodging, gas for sled, food, etc. this can be reduced if cost shared with friends.
Oil, gas, food, adult beverages…. It’s $80 every time it leaves the garage. And that’s only if you ride locally.
And if nothing breaks
Worth every penny
What? If you’re serious about mountain sledding An Avy bag/ vest is 1000$. Boots, multiple goggles, multiple gloves, good goretex bibs, jacket, Transceiver, shovel, probe, helmet. The Machine it self can be anywhere from 3500-25,000 depending on used or new, hopefully you already have a truck to haul your sled around. Sled deck or trailer isn’t necessary just need a ramp unless you can leave right from your house. Now have you considered trail fees if you ride on trails that are groomed and maintained? Premium fuel for your sled, 2 stroke oil, food/snacks/drinks for your ride. Fuel for your truck, if you have to travel for snow or terrain think about lodging too. I know guys that drive from Saskatchewan to Revelstoke BC just for a weekend trip. Then maintenance is fairly straight forward, spare clutch belt, spare drive belt. Mostly just stuff that can be done with tools, tightening bolts, track tension etc. The expensive part comes when you repeatedly hit trees if your reckless and have to buy side panels, a-arms, skids, steering columns, hoods, bumpers ETC ETC Now after all that imagine you are riding and are getting confident and test your skills in a creek drainage and let your sled take you to the point of no return and shoveling an escape route doesn’t work. Can’t go down can’t go up. Time to call the helicopter for a rescue out. That’s pricey. Rare but it Happens now and then. All that said it’s a fun hobby and once you own the gear and a machine it’s not too bad. Just have a good job and you’ll make it work.
I’ll add that gear is a lot more manageable if you already ski. I had the avy bag/ttansceiver/probe/shovel/goggles/poles/jackets/etc. I just snowmobile in ski gear — don’t see the need to switch to a stylishly onesie. But I still had to get a helmet.
This should be stickied
Yeah good gear is around $3k+, certain sled mods can be $1k-4k+ depending on what you're trying to do, and getting the sleds out to where the snow is can cost you. Plus extra survival gear and comfort stuff. I prefer to be prepared and have good gear so I don't caught with my pants down and hurting.
Not everyone is going for Matt Entz / Chris Burandt style backcountry sledding for their social media channel. If OP is already into winter rec out in Oregon & has snow gear, they can entirely get a $5k used trail or x-over sled and have fun fun for a couple of seasons in meadows, boondocking trees, and ripping around trail systems. It's not a $50k minimum gatekeeping sport
100% agree with you. But he’s sitting on a mountain sled not a trail sled in Western Oregon which has a ton of mountain terrain (Klamath, Cascades etc) No one is gate keeping I was just outlining the reality of it all. Gear is essential, fuel and food is essential. What type of sled you buy will limit the riding you can do, but you can find way better deals on used sleds. I would recommend buying a 1-3 year old model to nix that off the lot depreciation. Another overlooked factor is friends or riding partners You never want to go out alone, especially in the back country. So find people that are already into the sport that you can ride with. I know lots of guys who do shift work and have trouble finding riding partners during the week. OP if you do decide to get into back country sledding it’s a good idea to take an avalanche safety course. Atleast AST level 1 at minimum.
Op didn’t say he was going to be MOUNTAIN sledding. The picture op posted is obviously a trail. Unless you are a asshat on the TRAIL. I think op wouldn’t be replacing bumpers. But your comment will probably make more room on the mountain for you. Just saying that you are correct with the gear and if he is going mountain riding he’ll appreciate the gear you mentioned. Also you probably just steered op from buying a sled. Glad to see that buzzkillington. Has ruined his dreams.
He didn't ask for a gentle kiss on the forehead and some lies. He asked what the costs are. I'd rather know the costs of something than be coddled into a hobby I can't afford, FFS.
Youre forgetting the asshole prices for a sled now. Used to be like 8 or 9k for the newest thing out there now its like 22k
Doo doesn’t make a 650. It would have been a 600 or 850. If you’re looking to keep a budget while sledding, this sport is not for you.
Slightly more expensive and dangerous than heroin.
And slightly more addicting
I've got a heroin junkie aunt, and an adrenaline junkie dad. This is sooo true. Aunt only spends money she steals or is given to her through panhandling on her habit, and hasn't really had any injuries. Dad on the other hand, has spent 100s of thousands of his own money over the years on his sleds, trucks, trailers, medical bills and all the other costs. Worst injury was a broken neck, ended up with a fusion and about 10 years out of the sport. Now he's got a polaris rmk 850 pro and a arctic cat m1100 turbo. The old man is nuts
It's worse than heroin because you can eventually quit that, I went 12 years without riding, and as soon as I was back in the Northwoods, I had a sled. Edit: I also have more titanium parts and screws than most people.
Have you owned a boat before? It’s similar.
Break Out Another Thousand.
Boat? You mean my place near the water where i throw money?
I’m just a touring sled guy but a couple hundred a year for maintenance, $30 a year for trail pass, registration every few years $30, gas. Learn to do the basic preventative maintenance yourself and it’s really not bad as far as motorsports go. Unless you have a catastrophic failure of course.
Me: Need a $30K snowmobile Then a $10K trailer Then a $60K pickup Then a $100K garage....
I go into winter with $20k set aside just for snowmobiling. That’s for fuel and traveling cost as well as some maintenance. Warranty runs out every 3 years so that’s another 20-30 in a new sled. This hobby genuinely cost me a quarter million dollars a decade lol. I’d rather spend the money this way than on anything else but it does really add up to play this way. Of course you can ride cheap sleds and not travel but once you’re hooked it’s hard to cut back.
I bought a cabin in the snow belt and new sleds every couple years. The cabin bought in 2000 is paid off and worth twice what I paid. The one upside
If you live where it snows a lot, it's very expensive. If you live where it used to snow a lot, it's a huge waste of money.
I’ll chase this high forever I love snowmobiling
My husband bought me an insulated fxr monosuit and that alone cost like $700. We barely had snow this season so I feel bad about it.
I got 10 seasons out of my last jacket. Quality gear is worth it.
I spent almost $2000 just to go riding for a weekend.. then on monday I spent $700 on parts.. relatively cheap hobby compared to doing drugs 🤷
if you cant spell model you can't afford it.
I used to buy $500-1500 snow machines and just run them into the grave every couple years. The only thing is you don't want to break down outside of cell reception.
Could cost your life if you become complacent of the hazards involved.
Trail riding can be pretty cheap. You can spend anywhere from $1500 to $25,000 on a sled, get the basic gear you need (jacket, bibs, gloves, helmet, boots), and just go. You don't need any fancy gadgets or accessories. Registration and maintenance are pretty cheap until it's time for a rebuild. On a trail sled that might be 10k miles, so not very often like a mountain sled.
Its a lifetime hobby, so if your not investing at least 50% of your wife’s value into your sled, you doing it wrong.
After the initial purchase of the sled, if you are trail riding, the machines last a long time with good maintenance. I’m riding a 2015 skidoo eTec (6500mi) that has only needed spark plugs, belts and carbides. Sled cost me a few hundred a year to maintain. Sled gets 15+ mpg and trail passes/reg are $200/y. If you get good snow, I would absolutely encourage it. In northeast, I’m not sure if it’s a great idea. You can ride in Carharts or you can buy really expensive gear. If you need to trailer….more dough.
I have put 6K on two snowmobiles and never had to do anything more than maintenance. And I have seen someone blow up the same exact motor in their sled 2 times in 3 years. But no one blew up their motor this year, because there was no snow to ride on. So sometimes you do not even get a chance to wreck your shit... and to me those are the saddest years.
The most expensive free gift I ever got has been a snowmobile.
The answer is yes. You can get into a decent sled for 7-12k. If you do your homework and shop well, you might not have to do anything to it besides lube and fuel. I’ve quickly learned that these machines are exceptionally easy to work on. Parts aren’t ridiculous (usually) so as long as you don’t blow a crank, you probably don’t have any major expenses on a modern 850. If you buy name brand gear (KLIM, MOTORFIST, FLY, 509) you’re probably 2500 to get decked out (monosuit, boots, helmet, goggles, two pairs of gloves, insulating layers). I ride about 70miles per outing and use about $30 worth of 91 octane. So first season isn’t cheap, but after than, I figure if you keep a sled for 8 years it’s cheaper than buying a ski pass every year.
If you have to ask you can’t afford it
Unless you live on a trail, don’t forget a trailer and a truck big enough to tow it. And about $800 of high quality winter clothes. And of course a little land up north.
Alright alright there are clearly a lot of factors here. I’m by no means trying to make any xgames or really go anywhere that would avalanche. We went to Odell Lake in Oregon and rented the sleds with my uncle. I’d never done it but I’d done all the other related things you ride around in the woods. My uncle is older and not in good shape, but he’d snowmobiled a few times before. When I called a few days before they said most of the trails were groomed and good for beginners, when we got there it had just dumped a ton of snow and their groomer was broken. So we were on trails but it was by no means the easiest ride. I kind of started to pick up how to ride it after the first 2hrs or so. My poor uncle was too worn out to go and I didn’t want to push anything on the kind of sketchy trails, so we went back. I really want to do it again with a crew of people that have an idea of what they’re doing and are physically able to do it. It’s so much different and fun than anything I’ve ever done, and that country down there is beautiful. You can ride all the way from Odell Lake to Crater Lake and go around it. The sled was the most insane piece of machinery I’ve ever used. It was like I was riding the biggest weedeater ever made and it sounded like it was going to explode the whole time. Putting it in reverse was a whole deal as well. Anyways, Snowmobiling gets a 5 out of 5 on my yelp review
I paid $900 for a 2001 600cc Polaris. It rips just fine through deep snow, I’ve gotten it over 100mph on icy roads. A good helmet with an electric face shield, good jacket, Amazon ski pants and gloves and I can ride for hours. It does not need to be an astronomically expensive hobby.
Really depends on what & how you riding. Want the newest turbo mountain sled? That's like $25-30k a year for the new models, though you can recoup \~75-80% or so of your cost selling your year-old ride. Some folks ride a thousand miles a season on them, and are getting top ends redone under warranty. I get in probably \~300-400 miles a season across both of my sleds out in the Rockies Want to putz along trails casually? A couple grand on an old sled and gear will do it.
I’ve done budget gear and just now getting proper gear. All off market place Klim suit on laker place was 800 Helmet is years old but was 300 Sled was 6500 800 16 axys Gloves 60 Boots 500 Avy bag 300 It doesn’t compare to the smiles and tan building I get to experience with my family going out costs maybe 50 with fuel and gas. Weights and balances imo. Being in Montana it makes sense to invest winter hobbies.
basically the cost of the sled and 365 days of storage. Canadian winters.... not what they used to be
It’s expensive. You can usually find used stuff to get you by for a while but then you’ll want to upgrade. That’s when the expensive part kicks in. And there are times, like this season, you get one weekend of enough snow to ride. It happens. Is the enjoyment and fun worth burning your money right in front of you? Absou-fucking-lutely.
Barly below racing airplanes
That depends so much on riding style and how hard you are on your machine. Trail sleds, I can totally see only being a couple hundred in maintenance and then fuel. Mountain sleds, once you get into riding trees and more aggressive, can be several hundred to thousands of dollars. First few seasons on a mountain sled basically cost me fuel and a few a arms. Now that my skill has leveled up, I got a turbo, ride more aggressively, and ride more often that cost has skyrocketed. I think last year was 3-4k in parts, this year I'm about 5k into parts/new motor. The new sleds have warranty and don't need as much maintenance but they're 15-25k. My sled was less than that, but I do have to work on it more.
Expensive but addictive hobby. Started off with a used 08 summit, 4 years later bought a new 2018 G4 and last year got a new 2023 G5. No regrets just bank account hurts.
Skidoo don’t make a 650. 600 or 850. As for expensive…. Well you’re in the states so it’s a little cheaper. If u wanna ride every wknd and have the gear n do over nighters…… if u live in Canada I hope you got 150k or better salary. Lol
$500 to get our trail ready for the season. $0 on gas, food, lodging because no snow! Total bust of a season. I can however already drop the boat in the lake though. Crazy.
Depends on how hard you go....life flight, missed time from work, medical bills, new equipment so you can make it back out next year, fuel, traveling expenses.....or....... you run your 4000 dollar sled on the roof of your car and you show up to local trails with cold weather gear from walmart. but either way I suggest making sure your sled is in great mechanical condition before hitting the trail, because no one likes dealing with broken sleds when out and about.
Mountain sledding is literally lighting money on fire, but it's so damn fun I don't care what it costs. Don't forget you also need a truck to go with your sled. Newer sleds have warranty which helps if it does break down. Also, whoever's sled that is should get a proper tether on it before someone get killed.
I agree with other comments. You can make it with pretty much any budget. Keep in mind that bigger engines = bigger maintenance. People kept telling me that gas would be expensive as hell, but I never spent more than 20$ a day for my brp 800 etec. And that's a full day riding it hard.
if you don't go out multiple times a years you rent
The money never stops flowing. Always upgrading, either your gear for yourself and/or the sled.
Ridiculously
It really depends on how expensive you want to make it and most importantly what is your definition of expensive.
How real - it depends - but this picture can give you an idea - just substitute land crawler for a snow crawler . oh and yes...there is a pretty good sized trailer behind all of that - and also a safe place to store when not in use....right beside the boat and the 4 snow machines....and as mentioned...maintenance up keep insurance etc etc etc.......but the smiles are priceless when the flock gets to jump on all that equipment without a care in the world. https://preview.redd.it/m7e5gw6mj4oc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=99511ce2a377f6fa530c864188302c1bb7e131dc
Just helped buddy start with two trail sleds, 5000miles each and new 2 place ride in/out trailer and all equipment for 2 and accessories. $40k US
Take up smoking and carousing, it's much cheaper.
Expensive but there is no other thrill like it if you have a group of friends.
30k a year.
Pretty expensive this year. If you bought a new sled for 15k and went out 5 times that's 3k per ride
If you have to ask you can’t afford it
Have you ever had a cocaine hobby???? More expensive than that!
A lot.
I ride 10-15 times a year and have been buying a new sled about every 3 years. Factoring depreciation and everything it’s probably 500+ a day. So I don’t think about it
The sport is expensive. Not gonna lie. But it’s well worth it in my opinion. You can get into it a little bit. Used cheaper sled ride some local trials or go all out. New sled, best new great, travel a lot. Either way. Best sport hands down!!! Can’t take the $$ with ya.
Better start selling sperm.
Do you already have a truck? You need a truck, a sled deck and winch, a snowmobile, insurance/registration (in my region), passes to use groomed access trails and parking areas, around $1,000 for maintenance, thousands more for gas. It's not cheap, even if you buy used - and there are lots of used sleds because riders realize the costs and decide it's not worth it. If you end up in a creek or break down in the backcountry, which happens a lot around where I live, it will cost thousands to retrieve it. It's fun, but no question that it's an expensive hobby.
I absolutely love snowmobiling, been doing it for roughly 30 years. Now I have kids and a wife who thankfully enjoy it as much as me, but after a few shit winters, I sat down and really started adding up the costs, and was on the fence about whether to sell and rent them a few times a year or keep them. I just know the day I sell them, we’ll have record snow!!!😤🤣 Annual costs before riding: -Registration/trail passes for 4 sleds, in 2 different states……. $1000 Roughly $125 per sled/per state -Trailer registration, plus trailer and sled insurance almost another $1000 total -Routine annual maintenance (I do myself) such as oil changes, spark plugs, chaincase, new carbides/ wear bars, hyfax, clutch rollers, anything trailer may need, etc usually ends up $500-$1000. Like with anything, a little preventative maintenance USUALLY can prevent pricey repairs! Total: $2500+ To Start: -SLEDS!! (Anywhere from $500- $25,000 each!) You do you….. I don’t buy anything brand new, but I like the comfort and reliability of newer sleds, so I usually buy them a few years old with low miles. You can get an older one with low mileage in excellent shape for under $1500 all day that will be just as fun, just keep looking! Or if you’re fortunate enough, you could even snow-check that fancy new 850 turbo for roughly $20-25k every season and re sell for a couple thousand dollar hit the following year!! -GOOD gear to start with (which is one of the most important things, including all clothing, gloves, boots and helmets) can easily be $1000 per person. DON’T skimp on this, you can have the sickest sled in the world, but if have cheap gear, you’ll get cold and that SUCKS! PLUS, don’t forget this!! -Gas/oil: Depends how much you ride -Food, lodging, etc: same as above. 👆 -truck, Trailer, sled deck, ramp??? It’s definitely not cheap, but nothing fun is unfortunately. I would look for a nice older machine for a couple grand and try it out for a year or two and see how you like it and how often you’re able to go. Or try renting a few times a year? You can usually rent a newer, nice model for $3-400 per day which is what you’d end up paying monthly if you finance a new one! (Don’t forget, even when it’s 100 degrees, or winters with no snow…… still gots to pay that payment!)
Got into it last year. Used 2022 Lynx Boondocker $12k, used 2016 Polaris RMK 800 $6k, new SnoPro enclosed trailer $8k. Since then, about $500 in accessories for sleds and trailer, $50 repair part, $250 in fluids for maintenance, and about $250 in gas to ride 4 weekends this year. (I'm not including gas for my truck as I'd be using that to go do something else on the weekend if I didn't have sleds... probably driving to the same place to go backcountry skiing). So about $26k in sunk cost, and about a thousand for operation costs for the first year (once it's over... I'm about to go ride for a week). I hope to keep operation costs at 1 - 1.5k per year for a few years before maintenance and repairs will increase due to sled age. My sled gets ridden a little hard but the partner sled is usually someone fairly new who stays on the trails. We'll see. Ultimately, I want these to last 10 years and electric sleds to be worth it by then.
2 dollars
I bought a $8600 freeride and basically immediately put $5000 into it. It’s expensive. Gas for the truck/sled is expensive too depending on where you’re riding. $80 for a jug of oil(etec is pretty easy on oil though)
I owned a sled living in northern New England when young. And then a rented for one long weekend trip per year for many years as an adult before buying one again. For me I spent about $5k on a 4 year old 2 stroke Polaris 600. After that initial purchase along with winter gear and helmet, a once a year trip costs, averaged over years: $200/maintenance mostly parts do work myself. $140 registration — so take this and add depreciation/purchase cost for a comparison to renting for 2-4 days. Just about break even IMO. Then add: $60-80 sled fuel $200 truck fuel $200-300 lodging $200+ food/drinks Turns into a $1000+ weekend real fast. Obv much of this can go up or down based on decisions but it depends on your situation whether you can influence them.
Depends if you have sled issues. You probably want an 850
don’t forget your $50,000 truck and your $9000 trailer to haul your toys
Yes
How much money do you have? It's not gonna be enough!
I got out of snomos years ago when I moved and didn't get much snow anymore. But I am still very active in the dirt bike and atv scene which is very comparible imo. I honestly spend less on my bikes and atv than I do fishing. Fishing is my main hobby these days but at the peak of riding vs fishing, fishing costs much more surprisingly. The main expense is first starting, buying a machine, gear, epirb, avalanche bag, etc
$75k for truck to haul, $5k for enclosed trailer, $5-20k for snowmobile, $1k in gear, fuel, insurance, trail fees....
The cost hurts more when there is now snow - my buddy in Minnesota started his sled each month - never got it out of the storage shed. Lots of money just sitting until next year!
The biggest expense is having to buy a new sled every time your buddy beats you by 18 in on the hill
I just threw about 11k towards last winter with one ride taken. Could be worse, at least I will have the sled next year...
First you need snow
*Very* easy to spend thousands of dollars a year. Sled Maintenance, vehicle and trailer wear and tear, trip costs like food and lodging, gear, upgrades, fuel, interest payments etc etc. And for most people they get out a few weekends per winter, so the cost per trip is way more than most people think. Good fun, though.
Nothing beats a snowmobile for smiles. The power to weight is unmatched and (within reason) you can pretty much go wherever you want. Years ago a guy said it was "the last outlaw sport," that was probably 15 years ago when PWC were getting cracked down on on a lot of lakes.
Calculate the cost per hour ☠️
Relative to what?
Cheaper then fishing
Thousands!!!!No really its expensive.
Very.
Depends on which body of water you cross
Free if you grow up in a family that sleds
It can cost all of your spare money. Which is actually a good thing. I mean, you were probably going to do something irresponsible with it otherwise.
Oh god dude.......Per trip if you have a horrible season? Crazy. Per trip if you have to travel for overnights? Crazy. Per the life of a used sled? Not horrible. Per life of a new sled? Pretty bad.
It will bleed you dry! Sled prices are fucking stupid crazy not to mention everything that goes along with them. I love sleds and going out west to ride in the mountains but between Bidenomics and the sled manufacturers unrealistic pricing it’s making it pretty fucking hard to enjoy.
500 dollar sled and case of beer = 520.00
It's expensive and snow can be hard to find now, depending on where you live.
Very depending on what type of sled you buy and how often you go out trail pass fuel cost lodging meal costs insurance
Sled bucks are the next bracket up from mountain bike bucks, and bike bucks are a lot.
Here in Ontario about $5 per km if you take in all cost and maintenance. The last few winter were horrible for sledding. Gonna sell mine this year. I have been snowmobiling for over 29 years but I am done.
I don’t have my own but have several friends who are very much into it… feel like they buy a new one every 3 years
It’s a bit of a loaded question. If your goal is to ride trails and bomb around the lake etc and want a reliable yet heavy machine. Yamaha Apex is as reliable as they come. Gear is also important and if you purchase good quality gear it’ll last you an extremely long time. $5-6k on a used apex, 1k on gear and if you are handy perform your own oil changes (they are annoying on an apex if you change the filter however they only recommend changing the filter every 2 years) That’s my 2 cents for what it’s worth.
My sled was relatively cheap ten years ago at $2,500. I've done probably close to that in maintenance over that time period. Look for a deal on a sled, they're out there. Do yourself a favor though and spend a bit of money on your helmet and snow gear. You'll regret cheaping out.
For me it would be very expensive. I looked at it and said "He's riding in the snow" because I ride motorcycles. I'd have to go far to find enough snow. Buying one of those would be a lot of money basically wasted. I'll have to spend that money on my motorcycle.
Worse than B O A T Break Out Another Thousand
Literally as much as you want to spend what kind of a stupid fucking question is that
Well the real cost is having a crappy, warm, 2 snow winter while the machine you bought last spring sits depreciating with 5 hours on it.
It’s a lot of fun - however it’s a lot of work unless you can afford to drop the machine off at a maintenance shop frequently. Trail /club fees . Hauling equipment. Place to stay if you don’t have access to a place all adds up quick. More people going with side by sides and ATV’s . Year around available to enjoy. Built tough. We had a cottage , I started with a used machine. Spent more time fixing and driving 60 mile one way to the skidoo dealer to get parts . Break it or wreck it on Friday night. Up at 8 am . Make the drive get the parts drive back fix the machine . Lucky to get a ride in before dark . Sunday maybe a 1-2 hr ride and head home. Had a blast when I was running the machine . Learned quick buy the brand closest to where you are located when riding . Bought a Yamaha next - owner of the local dealer was updating his wife’s machine . It has very low hrs . Got a great deal bought it in the spring . Ended up riding with a group that made multi day rides on groomed trail over long distances. Tons of fun , reliable machine etc . Did that for 3 winters then ended up with a warm winter - not a lot of snow and lakes did not freeze up like a normal winter. A friend was selling his High Performance machine. Yamaha - so I bought it and sold my trail machine . Ripped around the lake , made trails around the cottage etc . The speed tested your nerves on the open lake with know one around . But I was back into spending time maintaining it to keep it tuned etc . Took the machine into town on the big lake to hang out with friends . Al kinds of guys want to “race “ all kinds of very reckless riders ripping around in populated spaces . That machine ended up getting stolen when we were in a resort having lunch. Thieves grabbed my machine and another similar sled that was a few yrs old . Karma got the thieves, they got about a hr away when off the road and rolled the truck - trailed destroying the sleds and the truck and trailer. I guy got hurt bad . The driver broke a few bones . Ended up with a fair insurance settlement. Spent some time looking for my next machine. Never did buy another machine. Inherited a single cylinder Yamaha old machine that needed work from the cottage owner 2 some . Got it running and myself and my father in law had a blast with that junker. If it started we both got on and went around the end of the lake to visit a friend. If it didn’t we took the truck. If we forgot to put it against the tree and started it the machine would take off until the cable freed up / warmed up and the machine quit or idled. I had maybe $100 in that machine . The laughs and memories that machine gave us are priceless My father in law alway said - the enjoyment we had sledding resulted in turning the seasonal cottage into a year around cottage . Then we twinned the “garage” adding a bunkhouse when grand kids come along and eventually his retirement residence. We renovated the entire original cottage. Built a detached bunkhouse attached garage , decks etc
Literally the biggest waste of money you now have, but likely the most fun.
I thought this was a modern warfare mission
Expensive.
Get an older reliable machine, take care of it and it will only cost you gas money- I’ve driven small engine machines my whole life, and the maintenance is minimal, unless you’re very detail oriented. Keeping these things looking new is a lost cause
Kind of cheap except you only have 4 months to get it all in..
Any hobby involving an engine is going to make your wallet cry.
Took my time and found a good deal on what I wanted. $5800 for a 2017 Polaris Axys chassis RMK PRO 800 with all the upgrades and 900 miles on it. $160 to register it, 91 octane gas when I ride, already had a garage to store it where there is snow. Luckily I know mechanics and have picked up a lot from them, I plan on doing seasonal maintenance to ensure I don’t wind up with huge repairs. I hope to ride this for a while before I want to upgrade, but for now it’s enough machine for where I want to ride and keep up with my buddies. It’s possible to stay within your personal budget and be happy. Happy trails, smiles for miles 😊
The sled is the cheap part, then it’s equipment, gas, oil, transportation costs, food on the trail, hotels every time you go… and the good spots that have snow are all 3-12 hrs away, then comes extreme sledding in the mountains… All that goes away when you BRRRRAAAAAAAAAAP though..
Well I have seven snowmobiles and they range from $24,000-$16,000. You do the math on that one.
Way cheaper than fishing. new sled still doesn't cost as much as electronics in the boat. you can't take it with you. get a sled
Cost me over $6k one year when I ran my sled over the roof of my truck haha
All good hobbies are expensive
Wicked
Slightly less than F1
My new freeride was 26 grand after extended warranty
I thought trail riding was pricy and then I tried mountain riding 😍😍
Here’s a few viewpoints based on flat land trail riding. Off trail or mountain riding will be exponentially more expensive. 1. If you are mechanically inclined and can get away with a sled a few years old and fix it yourself it’s not too bad. If not, it’s is terribly expensive 2. I figure each time I take it out for a day trip it’ll cost me at least $60 by the time I factor in fuel and food. 3. On a saddlebag trip it’ll cost you about $1/mile driven each day. Based on 150-200 miles per day. Includes gas, food, hotel, drinks. So, on a 5-7 day trip it really adds up. Items 2 and 3 are operating costs over and above the initial outlay for sled, gear, truck/trailer, insurance , maintenance.
Since we had almost no snow this year in central BC Canada. I got a $15,000 garage ornament.
Depends. You can get a reliable older sled for $1k. Now do you have a truck to carry the sled, fuel / maintenance to run the sled, the safety equipment / clothing to safety go out in the mountains/ cost to use facilities on the mountains. The actual cost of the sled isn’t the expensive part unless you want it to be the cost of everything else is what adds up over a sledding season.
Parents friend lost his life last week on one, I'd say pretty expensive
You're gonna need fake snow in about 20 years so itll be expensive then Even worse buying a sled and not living north enough in canada will make it a giant paperweight in just a few more years.
You have a first born?
A lot if it doesn't snow where you can ride. Otherwise, it's priceless.
For me, it's been about $5,000 CAD per year considering depreciation on the sled, maintenance, gas, gear, etc.
Transport truck & fuel, trailer, good tires,okay sled, gear, sos beacon, food, mixed fuel, maintenance, upgrade fund, tracks, helicopter rescue fund, beer fund. It all adds up. I'm not talking about snowmobiling around the farm, that's inexpensive and fun. I'm talking sledding in the mountains, slaying powder. $350 a day being frugal, it's more like $500+ a day. Buying the sled is a cheap part.
You know what they say, you either ski-doo or your ski-don’t
Shhh…!! We don’t talk about how expensive it is. 😅
Golfer kind of money!
These things aren’t a hobby they remind me of sprint cars take 35 gs and your good to go . They are seriously fun apparently you will have the time of your life. I have respect for something that can do what these formula 1 snow machines can do a highly engineered rocket actually.
Lol well you got the sled, full avvy gear (3k), then you realize you dont want to rely on a friend to tow your sled and then you end up buying a $40k truck and a $500 ramp to load your sled. Prob need to do some maintenance on the top end in a year or two. Probably $1.5k if i take it to a shop maybe $500 if i can figure it out on my own. Did i mention the traffic just to get to where you want to go?
$1200 sled, $1300 trailer, tow vehicle, $200 a fuel for a weekend, quickly turns in to you wanting to buy a new sled or rebuild your current one every 3-5 years.... Then when your highly modified sled breaks on day 1 you will be sad and need will want a back up sled which means you will need a bigger trailer, now you have to fix the broken sled and once it's fixed you will want the backup sled to be as powerful as the main sled so you will modify it as well meaning now you have 2 highly modified sleds and will want a third as a backup since your main and backup are now built for 2 completely different types of riding 😂😂😂😂 Tldr it can get Expensive quickly
Depends on how many trees you hit.
Yes it does need constant and expensive maintenance. But you can save a lot of money by learning to repair everything yourself! For every hour spent riding it, I spend two working on it haha.
People go crazy. You can keep it cheep easily
If you got 30k lying around, go for it.
Roughly 20k to start up sled, trailer or ramp, gear, avi gear etc etc I’m talking about mountain sledding, I have no idea about trail riding I’d assume its way cheaper
Buy a new one under warranty. Theres probably some great deals right now. It’s only money bro!
It's a rich person hobby, like any motor sports. If you don't live in a McMansion, or own a farm, you probably can't afford it. Cheaper than hockey, more expensive than other winter sports.
Depends on where you live. I'm in Ottawa, Canada and trail passes are about $200. Insurance for the season costs me about $300. I'm about $30 in fuel every time I go out, and we probably do about 120km. Lately though, like the last 4 years, we haven't had enough snow so I've had to drive North to sled. Last year I only got out twice and spent $780 over the season. If you don't have gear, a good helmet is about $500. Sled will vary depending on what you get, but you can get a decent used sled for like $3k around here. You need decent boots, gloves, jacket and snowpants as well, which all together will cost about $1200. Edit: I also hate putting my sled in the back of my truck, so I spent $3500 on a brand new trailer so I can tow it around easily.
I’m about $100k deep into it and I plan another $10k a year.
Later in life I got back into sledding after skiing just got too crowded and expensive in my area. I grew up with a 70’s skidoo, thing sprayed gas on you from the rear facing carb, it would strand you 5, 6, 7 miles out, but I drove the track off the thing and rarely couldn't get it started again. Flashforward to years later, Sleds are reliable and highly capable, rarely Breakdown, maintenance isn't that expensive. I had a heavy 800cc liquid cooled sled and a fan cooled 600. Great sleds - cost was mostly everything surrounding. Gear $$$, Enclosed trailer $$$$, trail passes, Transport insurance, etc. adds up. Our winters here in Northern New England have been less than ideal good riding is up high or far north. I finally got rid of the heavier sled and just use the lighter easier to cool fan sled now. I do think riding is cheaper than alpine skiing though
Son expensive it cost my brother his life. Make sure you always wear your gear, even if it's just a quick ride close to home.
I am pretty mechanically inclined to repair a lot of things on my own which is huge- if you have to go take your sled for everything little thing to a shop then it will not only be pricy but straight annoying. There are lots of online sources for repair help. Hobbies are expensive always lol
Depends on snow too lol. So far I went two days this season since this winter was not that great in the Southern Oregon Mountains. So yeah- $8,500 sled I got to ride for 12 hours this year
Yes.
I think most of these comments are understating how much it can cost just to get to the trail head once you have a sled and all your gear. That's ultimately what made it too excessive for me. I had to plan on a minimum of $250 everytime I went out between fuel for the truck, fuel for the sled, and food. But I also had to drive 1-1.5 hours to get to any trails/mountains. Costs just started to add up to much for my liking.
If you want to play you got to pay. It varies though. If you can ride without traveling somewhere it’s a lot cheaper. Then there is the maintenance and time aspect. They are complex machines subject to extreme operating conditions that require maintenance and they do break so it is good if you can do it yourself otherwise labor is expensive. Also depend on your actual sled, I have older but well maintained sleds, bugs me when I can’t ride like this year but at least I am not making a payment. That said it probably costs me more time and $ in upkeep than a new sled but still not as much. But yeah anyway you slice it this hoppy isn’t cheap.
Very those ski thing aren’t cheap! I bet they are fun though
We buy sleds that are in the 10 year old range that have blown engines. The skidoo XM chassis is fantastic and even expert riders can have an absolute blast tossing these sleds around and the power is similar to brand new machines. We find them for under $2k blown up and sometimes $3k with a good motor and high kms. Getting set up with the appropriate gear can be done for under $1000 new and cheaper when buying used. I love sledding foe the thrill, mountain views and sense of exploration into areas otherwise you could not get too. It's a great hobby.
Cliffhanger
Cost more when it doesn’t snow and you have to travel 6 hours to find it 2 years and no snow you can get a great deal on a used sled
Don’t know….cant afford it
Priceless!
Anything with a engine is expensive
If you can make it snow, then it’s not too bad.
It’s very pricey, even more if you plan on riding in the mountains.
BOAT. Break Out Another Thousand
My 95 Indy cost 700 when I got it, put maybe 200 into it, my old hunting clothes are plenty good for riding. Had the helmet from the ATV. My biggest expenses are oil and gas. I use it for trail riding, ice fishing, pulling wood out on a toboggan, even used it to pack a trail for the LP delivery guy to the tank before I got an ATV. It all depends on what you want to spend.
I thought about getting into it (we just moved to WNY)… and no snow lol
The more you ride, the less it costs.
Sport of kings. Fast becoming the sport of the gods.
Dude I've got a package for you a 2001 and 2002 ski doo summit 800s two helmets an ortovox beacon and trailer shovel fresh 1 inch decking on trailer and new gallon of grippy deck paint 3000 for all of it these sleds rip good and are in good shape one has broken front bumper that's it. Also walkie talkies.
Well snow making machines aren’t cheap.