Hi all,

I'll be towing a sled for 3-4 hours. What should I be doing to the sled, e.g. turn off gas switch, start it, and let it idle til it runs out of gas, etc.?

I'm not sure the correct way to do this, if there is a proper way.

Just a quick other question. Is it bad to run a sled til it runs out of gas? Won't there be metal on metal contact of pistons/walls when the gas/oil isn't sprayed into the cylinders?

Thanks!

you should not have to turn off the gas . if your running a 98 mach z not sure if that has the fuel shutoff or not. ? if it does just shut the fuel off dont worry about draining the carbs it will be fine.
i always close the hood vents when trailering and i,m guessing you have a cover.?

Shut off the fuel if it has a shut off. Don't drain the carbs. not because of any metal to metal thing, but because they are a heck of allot easier to start with fuel in them. Just tie it down well and go have a good time.

Just shut the engine off tie her down, cover it and away you go.

I used to shut off the fuel on my old Polaris fuji twins but I have never done it on my newer domestic twins. Never had a problem.

I used to shut off the fuel on my old Polaris fuji twins but I have never done it on my newer domestic twins. Never had a problem.
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I had to shut it off on my old Indy Trail too. The fuel would flow into the cylinders and just stay there. I've never shut it off on my MXZ, and I've naver had a problem.

Also, if you have a parking brake, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put that on too.

If you run the engine out of fuel, the oil injectors will still be pumping, so you won't have any metal to metal

One thing I do is either take the key out, or leave it in the "ON" position. I lost a key once, and I think it bounced out of the ignition :(

Drive it on, take key, strap it down, cover it, drive off......

Don't know if you have the fuel shutoff or not but definetly shut it off if you have it.

I leave my key in it and turned off (use your kill switch)... nothing worse then getting to the trails and having to hot wire your sled because your key is at home!
Shut your fuel off if it has it!

If you have a cover and it has a fuel door, make sure it is zipped. COvers rip real nice from the fuel door open!

According to the Arctic Cat Manual, the hydralic brake is not supposed to be locked for extended periods. IE. trailoring. I see that other makers have separate parking brakes. They should be locked.
For what its worth. I taped (hidden) a spare key in my sled.

Use tie straps! I have a friend with an enclosed inline trailer who always brags about how easy it is to load, and you don't even have to tie the sleds down. I used to ask 'what if you have to slam on the brakes' but all I heard from him was 'blah blah blah...' This last weekend we were coming back down 131 hauling his trailer with my truck and some cars started hitting their brakes. There had been a million police out all day, and I figured there were more police ahead and slowed down a bit. A split second later I notice that the vehicle in front of me is stopped, and about a dozen deer are crossing. I locked up the trailer brakes, no one was beside me so i switched lanes, and stopped about 20' behind the other car, (but in the other lane...) We never even checked the sleds until the next morning, but when we opened the trailer it looked like you could have put a 4th sled in that 3 place trailer. Luckily my sled ended up on top of the pile without a scratch. My buddie's formula III got bent hood hinges, and his Mach 1 jut got the belly pan bent in.. He muttered something about 'maybe I should start using tie straps...'
Not really related to this post, but if you're going to stop on the expressway, turn your hazards on. I was able to stop in time, but if the cars that saw those deer would have put thier hazards on it wouldn't have been such a close call...