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Cost of the sport as whole
- Thread starter euphoric1
- Start date
ICT Sledder Great point!, last year I took my fiancé snowmobiling for her first time and we go up with group of 8 - 12 people and she saw the logistics of lining it all and everyone up, and I asked her... so what do you think is the most expensive part of the trip? she thought lodging... nope... FUEL we try to put somewhere between 200 -300 miles a day and have done more and fueling and oiling 2 sleds how many times a day gets very $$$$ and I will never forget the year we were paying about $5.00/gallon... That was hard to swallow
Fuel costs are the biggest problem variable. The main cost that is unavoidable, unlike $70K trucks, $15K trailers and $17K sleds.
Sleds get - what?- low teens on average across the board. Average rider likes to put on (again, a guess) 125-175 miles per day on a trip. Most sledders have a gas 1/2 ton getting probably high single digits towing a sled trailer, and are making a 600-1000 mile round trip drive to get to reliable snow areas.
Makes the difference between a season where $2 gas is the norm a totally different animal than $4 gas, and gas isn’t going to get cheaper long-term.
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My dad bought his first new snowmobile in 1972. He was making 3 dollars per/hr at the time. Sled was just under 1000 bucks or roughly 16% of his yearly income.
I bought my first new sled in 2004. I was making 33 dollars per/hr at the time. Sled cost 8000 bucks or roughly 12% of my yearly income. Has all that much really changed?
I agree, the yo yo gas prices are the biggest variable, as far as cost goes.
I bought my first new sled in 2004. I was making 33 dollars per/hr at the time. Sled cost 8000 bucks or roughly 12% of my yearly income. Has all that much really changed?
I agree, the yo yo gas prices are the biggest variable, as far as cost goes.
Can't bring it with ya and you can always make more.
Yep, been there done that! The place I worked at to "always make more", the boss thought he could take it "all" with him!
I think it all depends on how you want to approach the sport. I do a lot of extra curricular activities. I hunt, fish, camp, boat, and snowmobile. Plus my two kids are in basketball, time to ride is very tight. But I make it happen when I can. I have a truck that I would own either way. I have an enclose trailer I bought used that needed to fix up a bit, but overall cost is under $4K. I bought two sleds that are fairly new ('14&'15) and have under $11K into both of those. I do almost all my own maintenance to save some cash. Yes, it can be costly, but it all about how you approach it. My boat is way worse at over $40K when I purchased that rig. So for roughly $15K, I have an awful lot of smiles that come from squeezing the little lever on the right. Yes, there are different sleds I would rather own, and yes I not the fastest on the trail, but I am fine with that and don't really care what others think. I DON'T need to keep up with the Jones.
yup agreed but I think it's happening a lot faster- livery barns added gas or went out of business around 1900. gas stations will have do the same with charging stations- a quick charge (80%) is already down to 20 min I believe- A regular gas stop takes 10 min or more if you go inside -battery life seems to improve every year, small and very large trucks with local and predictable routes are already on battery and slow charging with cheaper rates at night. wind and solar have have improved dramatically in the last 20 years and this is key because electricity from coal is not a good long term solution, coal will continually go up in price as we have to go deeper to get it -- just like cooper in the UP - there are millions of tons to harvest but most of it is now to deep in the ground to make money in the UP
You guys must have missed all the problems Tesla owners were having last week with the cold..(very predictable to anyone)..
Winterrules
New member
ATVs and SxS have eclipsed snowmobile sales in recent years, in part because the wheeled machines can be used all year, and interest in snowmobiling is dropping with the high cost and winters when there isn't much snow.
snobuilder
Well-known member
Pour alla your money into a short season passion only to be hassled by the IL DNR....or any other....yea....that will keep the sport alive.
LOL! You crack me up S-builder. Not at ALL a bitter old fogy, are ya? Smoke a joint.....you'll feel better...I promise!Pour alla your money into a short season passion only to be hassled by the IL DNR....or any other....yea....that will keep the sport alive.
Snowbandit
New member
I think it’s all relative . If guys want to ride around on 90s Polaris sleds abd have fun I think that’s great. But don’t blame the price of sleds and abd trailers on declining numbers in the sport. No one is bitching about $50k trucks compared to $20k in 90’s. The prob is there’s no appeal to have the young generation join. And clubs are great but I say make trail passes $500 a year and force clubs to run like a business and pay groomers and stop relying on volunteers, and stop looking down on guys that want to just pay money and ride not voluntarily spend time working on trails.
Yah 5 hunge for a pass for a family of four that might ride one weekend a year.
That’ll grow the sport.
That’ll grow the sport.
I think it’s all relative . If guys want to ride around on 90s Polaris sleds abd have fun I think that’s great. But don’t blame the price of sleds and abd trailers on declining numbers in the sport. No one is bitching about $50k trucks compared to $20k in 90’s. The prob is there’s no appeal to have the young generation join. And clubs are great but I say make trail passes $500 a year and force clubs to run like a business and pay groomers and stop relying on volunteers, and stop looking down on guys that want to just pay money and ride not voluntarily spend time working on trails.
When I pull into these parking lots and see and envy these rigs, sleds and trailers I can't help but question....
"How many of you finance all of this"? I'd be really curious who has loans on these trucks, trailers and toys. I get the "pay to play"....but not at a significant amount of my monthly income.
"How many of you finance all of this"? I'd be really curious who has loans on these trucks, trailers and toys. I get the "pay to play"....but not at a significant amount of my monthly income.
Snowbandit
New member
When I pull into these parking lots and see and envy these rigs, sleds and trailers I can't help but question....
"How many of you finance all of this"? I'd be really curious who has loans on these trucks, trailers and toys. I get the "pay to play"....but not at a significant amount of my monthly income.
None of my stuff is financed . I agree that idea is stupid . Financing toys isn’t a good idea . If you can’t afford a newer sled or trailer there is lots of nice used stuff .
None of my stuff is financed . I agree that idea is stupid . Financing toys isn’t a good idea . If you can’t afford a newer sled or trailer there is lots of nice used stuff .
Bingo! Only thing I have financed is a house. A few years back my wife lost her job. Now mind you, we have well over 6 mo of cash on hand to pay all the bills. But I had friends that came up to me saying I will need to sell X or Y of our toys. I asked why, and they said I won't be able to keep the payments going. All were paid off. So while the wife was unemployed, it sucked, but nothing came up for sale.
When I pull into these parking lots and see and envy these rigs, sleds and trailers I can't help but question....
"How many of you finance all of this"? I'd be really curious who has loans on these trucks, trailers and toys. I get the "pay to play"....but not at a significant amount of my monthly income.
Business expenses.
Bear
The cost of the sport will always be decided by the passion that we have for the sport. I feel blessed every time I am able to ride and enjoy the beauty of winter .
X2!
'When I pull into these parking lots and see and envy these rigs, sleds and trailers I can't help but question....
"How many of you finance all of this"? I'd be really curious who has loans on these trucks, trailers and toys. I get the "pay to play"....but not at a significant amount of my monthly income.
Good buddy just bought a 3500 Denali diesel. Threw on a small lift new tires rims all the goodies. Has around $78,000 into the truck. And everyone how he afford that? Why he need that? I wish I had that? Must be nice
What 99% don't understand. His last truck was an 06. Had 376,000 miles on it. Had it since new. Hasent had a payment in pver10 years. New truck he put a substantial down payment and only took a 3 year loan
We all need to stop the envy and judging