roundhouse
Member
Despite growing up in the UP it wasn't until last winter that I purchased my first snowmobile. After finding an Indy Lite GT for my dad I was impressed by its simplicity and light weight. Before I knew it I'd found a second one identical to his and also low in mileage. When it came time to bring both machines north I had to do some improvising. I was able to fit one in my F350, the other I strapped onto a pickup trailer. By the time the frost heaves around Hurley were done with my trailer it was nearly broken in two. I made it through last winter but would obviously need to improve on my setup for the next season.
At about the time I put the sled away for the season I started to devise the new set-up. I wanted a trailer that would provide cover for the machine summer and winter (stout enough to shed/support lake effect snow), capability to turn the machine around (by turning the trailer by hand) since it doesn't have reverse, along with being able to drive the machine in or out from either end. In order to have the basics of the trailer running gear done already yet allow me to customize the superstructure, I picked up a 4' x 8' trailer with no deck from Fleet Farm. The width of the trailer allowed my walls to fit inside the fenders but the 10' length I needed meant building out over the tounge about 4" and off the back end about 20". To get the fewest seams in the 4' x 8' sheets of fiberglass I would use to cover the exterior, my roofline approximated the shape of the hood and windshield with steep sides to shed the snow. The size of the roof meant the sidewalls only needed to be 2' tall.
To build the trailer I started with plywood arches in the shape of the rooftop. 2 x 2s and 2 x 4s were attached to the plywood arches to form each roof truss. As with the trusses the 2 x 4s on the sidewall framing were mounted "sideways" in order to save space in the inside of the trailer. Two 10' 2 x 4s running the length of the trailer formed the bottom of the sidewalls and two more as a stout facia board that both the rafters and the sidewalls tied into. A ramp door at either end fold down for drive-in drive-out access. Grooves in the edge of the ramps lift the carbides up and the skis line up into a set of runners that follow the length of the trailer keeping the machine centered the whole way. Likewise, I mounted wooden cleats the length of the ramps and inside for the track to grab onto. To finish off the interior I mounted 3 12V ceiling lights and ran a separate trailer plug with enough wire to power these lights by running the cord out either end of the trailer.
I've been working on this project since last spring and last weekend the moment of truth was finally at hand. I hooked up the trailer and took it north. While I was pretty confident in my construction the fact remained that the Polaris was 200 miles away the whole time I designed and built my trailer. Once up at the storage shack the first job was to get the sled out. Last March I drove the machine down into the building from a snowbank, now I had to get it down 3-4 feet so I could drive it into the trailer. In anticipation of this move I picked a couple sets of rollers this summer. I slid the rollers under the track and a board between the track and the rollers. The rollers worked great and I backed the sled out and down to the ground with no strain. A quick prime of the motor and she fired right up. I must have had a wide smile as I ran the sled up and into the trailer where it fit perfectly. Success. Once I placed a couple tie-downs I was on the road. At dark I reached my drop off site and couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap a photo of the trailer with the interior lights fired up, back door down and the Indy Lite resting inside.
Thanks for reading along. I'm now truly ready for the season. I call this project my "roundhouse" since I can use it to turn my machine, I've also used this for my namesake here at JD.com. My trailer is probably equal in value to my sled but I hope to get some good years of service from each. Hopefully this was an interesting read as I've enjoyed reading about the projects others have taken on and posted about here.
At about the time I put the sled away for the season I started to devise the new set-up. I wanted a trailer that would provide cover for the machine summer and winter (stout enough to shed/support lake effect snow), capability to turn the machine around (by turning the trailer by hand) since it doesn't have reverse, along with being able to drive the machine in or out from either end. In order to have the basics of the trailer running gear done already yet allow me to customize the superstructure, I picked up a 4' x 8' trailer with no deck from Fleet Farm. The width of the trailer allowed my walls to fit inside the fenders but the 10' length I needed meant building out over the tounge about 4" and off the back end about 20". To get the fewest seams in the 4' x 8' sheets of fiberglass I would use to cover the exterior, my roofline approximated the shape of the hood and windshield with steep sides to shed the snow. The size of the roof meant the sidewalls only needed to be 2' tall.
To build the trailer I started with plywood arches in the shape of the rooftop. 2 x 2s and 2 x 4s were attached to the plywood arches to form each roof truss. As with the trusses the 2 x 4s on the sidewall framing were mounted "sideways" in order to save space in the inside of the trailer. Two 10' 2 x 4s running the length of the trailer formed the bottom of the sidewalls and two more as a stout facia board that both the rafters and the sidewalls tied into. A ramp door at either end fold down for drive-in drive-out access. Grooves in the edge of the ramps lift the carbides up and the skis line up into a set of runners that follow the length of the trailer keeping the machine centered the whole way. Likewise, I mounted wooden cleats the length of the ramps and inside for the track to grab onto. To finish off the interior I mounted 3 12V ceiling lights and ran a separate trailer plug with enough wire to power these lights by running the cord out either end of the trailer.
I've been working on this project since last spring and last weekend the moment of truth was finally at hand. I hooked up the trailer and took it north. While I was pretty confident in my construction the fact remained that the Polaris was 200 miles away the whole time I designed and built my trailer. Once up at the storage shack the first job was to get the sled out. Last March I drove the machine down into the building from a snowbank, now I had to get it down 3-4 feet so I could drive it into the trailer. In anticipation of this move I picked a couple sets of rollers this summer. I slid the rollers under the track and a board between the track and the rollers. The rollers worked great and I backed the sled out and down to the ground with no strain. A quick prime of the motor and she fired right up. I must have had a wide smile as I ran the sled up and into the trailer where it fit perfectly. Success. Once I placed a couple tie-downs I was on the road. At dark I reached my drop off site and couldn't pass up the opportunity to snap a photo of the trailer with the interior lights fired up, back door down and the Indy Lite resting inside.
Thanks for reading along. I'm now truly ready for the season. I call this project my "roundhouse" since I can use it to turn my machine, I've also used this for my namesake here at JD.com. My trailer is probably equal in value to my sled but I hope to get some good years of service from each. Hopefully this was an interesting read as I've enjoyed reading about the projects others have taken on and posted about here.
