I was wondering if it is really worth while investing in a salt guard on my v-front 4 place trailer or should i just go and purchase a cover which covers the font skis; may tarp it too.

What is the best way to travel sodium free?

The best way to travel is with a covered trailer. If that is not an option than I would definately get a salt shield. Anything you can do to minimize the salt and grime to protect your sled is worth it, and if you can afford it, get the cover too. No matter what though, crud has a way of finding itself onto your snowmobile. Make sure you wash your sled down too after trips.

Definately get the shield! *I regret not getting one last season and a shield is on the top of my list for this season. *I came back from one trip while it was snowing and had to pick away at the snow/ice for a good half hour before I could access the tiedown to get the sled off the trailer.

For this reason alone I will be installing one, in addition to the fact that it will keep the sleds and hopefully even the covers cleaner.

It's painful to go in the backyard right now and see all of the rust on the suspension components of my sled that probably could have been avoided had I just sprung for the slushguard initially.

I've given this a lot of thought. *I was going to buy a slush guard, but a lot of them do not allow much room to get to the tie downs. *My trailer has the bar style tie downs that goes over the skis, and I don't think I could get to them with a slush guard. *I think I've seen ones that hinge before, but even if they did come forward they could only go as far as the toungue of the trailer and it would still be hard to reach the tie downs. *Not to mention the price of these things.

So my soulution is going to be one of two ideas I have. *One is two make two frames that together are a wide as the trailer, but leave a gap between them the width of your trailer tongue. *Then face them with plastic, wood, what ever, and use aluminum hinges and bolt them on to the front of the trailer. *That way you can let them hang down in front of the trailer and still be able to easily access the tie downs. *The second idea is to install some side board pockets to the trailer, then make some removable side boards, like on a stake body truck. *Then you just lift off the side boards. *I will probably do this if I can get aluminum stake pockets. *I plan to put the sides on all the way around the trailer. *I will give the sleds added protection all the way around, and it will allow me to put some gear in there with limited protection. *I will also allow me to use the trailer to haul other things in the summer, such as mulch, grass, firewood, whatever. *Good Luck

Understand covered trailers will protect a sled best going through the "stuff" in the wintertime. But at what cost? Not talking about purchase price, just maneuvering in traffic, let alone backing one up, even when there is a lot of room, is very difficult. They are much wider than most vehicles and very difficult to see around from all but the biggest tow vehicles and then only with mirror extensions.

Slush guards are easier to deal with, but I like to drive my heavy sled off the front, making the guard awkward at best,
when iced up, a genuine pain.

I'll take my chances with a good cover as my first line of defense any day. Yup, I get caught with slush buildups and so on, but nothing much could have done any better.

Corrosion on a sled in storage reflects the care it's received, both during the season, and when it was put in storage

My 2c
AL

Two words: ENCLOSED TRAILER!!!

Will never tow my sleds any other way. *Just as clean coming off as when they went in.

http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/baaa.gif

Ya I have an open trailer at the moment. I been hinting to my wife that I want an enclosed trailer. A sled is an investment and that is the best way to protect it I keep telling her. http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/withstupid.gif

Closer to season my trailer w/slush guard is going up for sale in lieu of an enclosed. *In my opinion, it's the only way to go.
The hardest thing is coughing up the jack for an enclosed V-nose, especially if a 2 place won't get the job done.

I think I am with jayjaysin on the make your own scheme.

Enclosed or not enclosed your sled is still exposed to the elements while riding near the roadways and crossings.

I always wash my sled after each trip to get the salt off.

due to the cost of an enclosure, I never had one until last season. *Will never not have one again. *What a joy to pull a clean sled off a trailer. *No more wet dirty covers, no more slush and salt on the sled.

Well worth the money. *Not to mention the extra storage space you have in the trailer for other gear, etc.

FishHog

A good friend of mine just bought 2 new sleds with canvas covers and no enclosed top (on order at the time). He showed up at the cabin with so much slush on the trailer and sleds, we used shovels for 30 mins to remove most of it. His rear end was close to dragging do to the weight of the slush kicked up. I drove through the same snow fall. I have a slush guard and I used 3/4" plexiglass and built sides that are attached to the slush guard and almost going full length of the trailer. My sled were clean. Enclosed is nice, but I simply do not have the extra $$$ at this time. So if your strapped, build some kind of slush guard for the front, even if it is doubled hinged to have access to the tie downs. Who needs that 300+ pounds of extra slush weight when traveling. *http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif

I like it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Salt sheild is the way to go. We bought a large plastic salt sheild for our trailer and that is the best thing since sliced bread. If you drive on slushy roads look at the sheild after. there will be about 20 ponunds of slush stuck to the sheild. No tarp or cover will stop that. Sheild or inclosed NO LESS.

First year back after 30 years away from snowmobiling. Loved it. *Ended up buying a 2 place trailer with no shield. Learned a hard lesson 2nd time out. *Decided to to make my own shield. Took about 5 hours. Worked good but was to tall. Gas milage and wind played havoc with the trailer. Cut the shield down after measuring others that I saw. Was satisfied although I prefer putting my sled in the back of my truck. Great gas milage and no mess. *

My buddies that I ride with have an enclosed trailer. We put my sled in back of his truck and he hauls his 2 sleds in the trailer. Works out great. *Need to have the right truck to pull all that weight and make sure that the trailer tracks well particularly in the snow. *Won't want to pull an enclosed trailer with anything less than a full size 4 wheel drive truck or SUV with a good size motor in it.

By the way, if you build your own which I did out of wood covered with tin, first go and take measurement. I have the same lock down system as you do. I was able to design mine so I could get at the center crank without making a door. Send me your address and I'll e-mail a picture to you to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Design and shape make a difference. *Trailered with another guy who had a shield, factory designed. Sleds were half covered in slush. Travel with mine, the top of the windshield cover only gets wet.

I am about to purchase an open 2 place trailer so I can haul my new machine (REV X 800) as well as my old one. *My existing single trailer had a nice plastic salt shield which worked quite nicely. *This trailer I am buying, is from a neighbour and has no shields whatso ever and I want to build something on it. * hotshot94, your modifications sound like something that I would like to do. Could you post your pic here so more people like myself could see it? *Thanks

p.s. *If anyone is interested in having my single place trailer shield, I can post a pic of it. *I live in MB Canada.

I will post the picture as soon as I get home to NH. *Away on vacation in Nova Scotia until 7/14.

By the way, it is my understanding that a shield cost about $125. US.. I was short on cash at the time I built mine. The advantage of the factory one is weight. There is just enough weight in the home made project to make the bed fall once the sled is backed off. I have to have someone stand on the back of the bed or place a 5 gal. pail of sand on the end.
Still was a fun project and great conversation piece I might say. *Good old yankee ingenuity.

Skidoowes,

Here are two pics of what I did to increase the protection of my sleds. Up in Northern NewEngland, we will be driving in miles of slush and possibly dirt roads before we arrive in our destination. This is to give you some ideas should you use a factory salt shield.

pic two. * * *I do not have picks on my track, so I used deck posts and through bolted them to the floor. Creates a ladder for my 1.25 " lugs to climb

I like those side rails. *Do they really help? *What did you use to protect the bed from the carbide runners?

Looks like it offers good protection, but how do you tie the front of your sled down?http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif *What about side access?http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/confused.gif?

I think that I'm gonna just put stake pockets on mine and have removable side boards that lift off all the way around.

We have a two place, aluminium trailer with a curved, plastic shield in the front. We also have the bars with cranks to hold the skis down. Goes right into the floor of the trailer and is reinforced underneath. Jayjaysin- can't you reach the crank from the side of the trailer, or does your shield wrap around? We also cover the sleds and then wash and wax after every trip. I think if you have the cash the enclosed is the way to go, however. Most of the time, however, we trailer the sleds in the spring and fall and then just leave the sleds in storage where we ride. Of course, if you ride in a lot of different locations, this does you no good, and if you have to pay, can be very expensive for summer/winter storage.

Do the Doo... very nice!!! *Gives you protection, but still lets you "show off" the machines when towing. *What did you pay for the plastic that you used and how thick is it? *I also am wondering how you get at your skies to bolt them to the trailer from the side. *Can you just reach over the sides?

On my single place trailer, the shield was also too heavy and it wouldnt stay tilted when the sled wasnt on the trailer. *I would just bring a 2x4 and prop it underneath. *Anyone make a spring or hydraulic assist (from a hatchback car) to get it stand up on its own like some of the trailers have from the factory?

Got some good ideas here... thanks. *I think I will attempt at making a front and sides salt shield instead of buying one. * A sledding buddy owns a recycling company... try to find some materials there.

Anyone else have some pics of their trailer they can post for me to get ideas from?

Its plexi glass from a Carver yacht windshield. The marina I work at part time was throwing them away. So no costs to me. I cut them to size. Regarding reaching over the sides, I can reach easily over the front to crank the bar down on the skis and I have no problem reaching over the sides to work on the skis, shocks, or even the sled if the hood is up. The bars on the end are steel railings you would use at a home on the front steps. I had someone weld them with a small 2 inch piece going across the joint, forming a triangle if looked at from the side. This prevents any strain on the weld joint should there be any force pulling out. The plexi glass is 3/4 inch thick. It adds some weight, but I can stand on the end of the trailer and it will tilt up but someone needs to stay there. I will be adding a hydraulic arm later this year so the trailer can be loaded and unloaded by one person. What you cannot see is there is one L bracket in the center bottom of the plexi glass to minimize flexing. At 75 mph, the trailer does not wave around on the freeway nor does the plexi flex. I did not do the full length of the trailer because of the tie down eyelets on the side rail. The plexi glass sits on top of the edge so its flush on the inside. This is best seen from the pic taken from the back of the trailer.

Doo

ps. I have no picks on my track reason for no matts. The plastic guides (black color) protect the bed from the carbides. New bed is treated half inch plywood, then I treated the bed with 2 layers of water sealent and the bottom has 3 layers of watersealent.

Ah... thanks for the info. *I had tried pricing out some thick plexi glass sheets... ouch! *Should get my trailer in a few weeks... will have to decide then what to do. *when you do that hydralic cyl assist... please post pics of that.

Thanks again http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/smile.gif

I put gas support struts on both my father's trailer and my own. Used the ones out of Ford Aerostar vans located in the local wrecking yard for 5 bucks per pair. To check their condition, remove one of them from the mounts and see if the remaining one supports the weight of the hatch. If it supports it or comes down slowly, then its a good one. If the hatch falls and whacks you in the head, its not so good. make sure you also remove the mounting studs from the van. They have a metric thread, so you'll have to get metric nuts for the ends. To install them, I bolted a small U shaped bracket made from 1x1/4" flat stock to the front of the trailer allowing the struts to bolt up to the outside of the "U". I then tilted the trailer up on a level surface, and lowered the jack down to allow the tongue coupler to contact the ground. I welded a tab on either side of the tongue and mounted the end of the struts. You want to set the struts so that they are not quite fully extended when the trailer tail touches the ground, and dropping the tongue achieves that. That way, the struts won't be damaged by being overextended when you are loading. I hold the trailer up with the struts, put one sled on partially and then load the second sled. The weight of the first sled holds it down while loading since the struts won't resist the weight of the sleds. Dealers and catalogs sell the struts for about 30 bucks each, but my way is cheaper. I built my own salt shield last year also, used 1 inch steel tubing and sheet metal to cover it. 16 inches upwards at a 45 degree angle, plus 8 inches verticle and that allowed * me to use 24 inch wide roof flashing on it. Cost around 60 dollars for all materials, and about 4 hours of time. Worked great, though would still like to go enclosed eventually.

Sure, no problem, I post the pic. Sheet metal will be cheaper but you would have to build a frame to suport it against flexing (pending thickness of course) I like Burky's idea, but I do not have TiG welder.

If only our wives were as creative as us men. *HAHAHA http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif

An enclosed trailer would be nice but, I use a shield that I custom made. *I own a 12' V-nose and I wanted a shield that conformed to the V shape. *None of the V sheilds on the market fit what I was looking for - plus they were over-priced. *I have a hard time paying $300 for something I can make myself.
I made a frame out of electrical conduit that fit each side of the V and fastened a couple pieces of curved plastic to it. *In my case I used an old street sweeper brush shield that I cut to shape. *A plastic barrel cut in half would work also. *I then mounted them on hinges which are fastened to the front of the trailer. *This way, *when it's time to tie down or drive off, the shield hinges down and out of the way, clear of my ramp. *This set-up works great. *It cost me a Saturday afternoon and about $20. *It doesn't look bad either.

Once again... thanks for the ideas. *I will have to get some struts from the junk yard and that conduit shield idea sounds good too.

How about ski-runners? *I was hoping ot get my hands on an old pickup bed liner to make these but that hasnt happened yet. *Anything else "cheap" that works?

For ski runners just tack down two 1x1 wood strips 1 inch apart for each ski.

Oops, sorry, I forgot you're a Metrican. *1 inch is 2.54 cm.

http://www.snowmobileworld-s2.com/forums/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/biggrin.gif skidoose *You can get plastic lumber at lowes or another lumber yard *ask for the plastice garage door lumber. *it is usually in the molding section at lowes. *it comes in 10' sections and is 5" wide *turn it upside down and you have the groves for the carbides *I screwed them to the trailer floor with wood screws *it is cheaper than ski guards *although If you can get an old bedliner cheap that may *be less expensive * I also did not like what my studs were doing to my ramp so I use old conveyer belting and fastened it in the center of the ramp and cut a handhold in the center. *it also works on the trailer floor under the track.

I have a bed mat on one side of the trailer to protect it from the studs. I used a piece of matting used to line the bottom of hog farrowing crates. Piece was 36"x60", so cutting it in half made it just about perfect. Only change i had to make to use it was remounting the tie down points I had on the back of the trailer. I always tie the back ends down when trailering, and the ties ended up slightly under the mat.
* * * One of the projects before this winter will be to make a full width mudflap to attach to the bumper of the pickup for winter use. That should keep a lot of the slush off the trailer, since i get more off my own tires than off the road itself.