I am planning on purchasing one of the above for ice fishing/utility use. I would like to hear your opinions on which one is actually better in deep snow and for pulling an ice fishing shack? One thing I have chosen is the engine 550Fan due to the fact that a fan engine is better for cooling in marginal (ice surface) snow and does not overheat as easily. What I have trouble on deciding is which model. The SUV would probably be the smoothest on the trails but how much better? The WT is lighter and $400.00 cheaper.

Any comments would be greatly appreciated especially form owners of these models.

Thanks ................. MJSTX

Just a comment on the cooling, if you stud the track as I'm sure you will running in marginal ice conditions then cooling shouldn't be a factor. We tow our ice hut around on sheer ice all the time and don't have a problem with liquid cooled, studded machines.

Cory9:

Thanks for the advice on the studs, I never thought that these would make that much difference but I guess the more ice you chew up lands in the tunnel for better cooling!

Where I go ice fishing we have to break our own trail for several miles in powdery snow and at least a couple of miles down the lake pulling toboggans and fishing huts. Both the SUV or Wide Track Skandic would be quite capable of doing this (I think?), but since the Wide Track (20"x156"x1.25" Track) is lighter and a bit less money I would think that this would be a good choice!

If there are any owners of these machines on the forum I would appreciate their comments ............. Thanks, MJSTX

hey mjstx

my dad has a 600 suv and i have a 800 rev renegade. i use his sled everytime i am at the cottage. sometimes i forget i even have a sled. lol. the 600 suv is awesome, but the suspension isnn't there. two of my buddies have the 600 suv's also and they tow there fishing huts all the time with no problems, except for slush. then they make a trail, let it harden for a day or two then pull away. as for the cooling part, i'm not sure. i never used stud's tooooo much snow around here for that. happy trails.

dahmer

Hey Dahmer:

Thanks for the info, very useful. I have decided to ge the Skandic 550WT for my use. We do a lot of bush crashing to get to our fishing places so the front suspension on the wide track (telescoping) would be beneficial in that it is less likely not to get hung up in the brush. Also being lighter is a great asset.

Seeing that you have experience on the Skandic, I have a question on the skandic that you might be able to answer? Is the low in the two speed transmission used a lot for breaking trail and towing?

Thanks for your help................. MJSTX