combat

Midrange: I've had 2 enclosed trailers. The first was a 1999 Sled Bed trailer with a Blizzard cap. This was all aluminum and was 101" x 12'. I bought the 12' size because I wasn't sure if my 1999 Grand Touring Ski Doo would fit. As it turned out the sled would fit in a 10' long trailer. The 12' length was nice however since there was extra room for luggage and gas cans etc. One drawback was the fact that the bed when tilted had a tendancy to not want to stay up while loading a second sled. It was doable by myself ,however two people made it easier. The bed would also slam down on the frame which I'm sure wasn't good for the frame work. I did have a severe problem occur when the trailer was about 6-7 years old . The two bolts that hold the bed to the frame wore out. I caught it when the first bolt broke. It had rusted away. This is the bolt that is where the bed pivots from the a frame. Had it ever let go while moving it could have been a real disaster. The truck would have been pulling the a frame and everything else,axle, bed, sleds, and cap all going in an unknown direction. Not good.I did get it fixed and it is still in use.It was a single axel by the way. The current trailer I have is an Avalanche made in New Hampshire. This is a 101' x 10' enclosed, single axel. This has been great. Torsion axel which by the way the other trailer had as well. It has LED lights and the shocks that hold up the cap and the bed when tilted work great. The other nice feature is a slotted track in the bed so the tie down bars can be positioned at any location on the floor.Another neat idea they had was to have all the wiring and lites mounted in the cap. This keeps all the wiring dry and readily accessible. Nothing exposed to the elements. The license plate is also mounted on the back of the cap up high where it is visable. Plates mounted under the bed are not good when you have a tilt trailer because when they tilt the license plate gets mashed into the ground and bent. When they get loose the snow builds up on them and they can fall off. Things I would want to make sure are included are. Spare tire, wheels that have grease fittings, heavy aluminum diamond plate so stones don't puncture the skin on the front, and a tongue jack. I also would look to have the spare tire mounted somewhere, preferably inside the cap.With sleds getting longer a 12' might not be a bad idea. I hope I helped out. Questions let me know. Good luck, Combat

George: I don't know you but want to wish your girlfriend all my best wishes for a full recovery.You are right, sometimes we forget how fragile our bodys can be. We need to stop and be thankful for all we have and not take anything for granted. You're comment about being a Canadian bothered me a little. Your name says it all,Je me souviens!!I always told my children to remember who they are and where they came from,and to be proud of their heritage. There are wonderful people i'm sure in every land. When I first learned what Je me souviens meant I understood why the Quebec people fought to keep their provence French speaking. Remember who you are and where you came from George and be proud. I hope I haven't upset you as that was not my intent. I'm proud of you for the way you handled a very dangerous situation and brought your girlfriend to safety and now assisting her at home. God Bless you and all Canadians as well who helped out. Warmest regards, Combat

Thanks Bill. Keep us informed on the ace motor and how you like it. Have a great rest of the season. Combat

Bill: I couldn't find a way to ask this of the FCMQ and I thought you might know the answer. I have purchased a 1 week pass and want to go to Quebec again this year. Is there any way to upgrade the week pass to a season pass by paying the additional $120.00. If not I guess I have to go for another $180.00, is this correct? Thanking you in advance, Combat

Greg; As I mentioned in a prior post, I have a Taurus Suit which I think is made by Vortex. There are some things I would like to add to your list of improvements or considerations. 1.]The bibs are great, however there are two things I would try to improve on. The first is the zipper on the side of the pants at the top. The zipper does not go far enough up the side to allow your hand to get into your inside pants pockets. Very frustrating when trying to get change or your wallet out of your pocket.The second thing would be two chest pockets on the bibs. They should be able to accommodate cell phones , cameras,passports and other items that require warmth for batteries. 2.] The jacket should have a pocket on each side at chest height,but at a different height than the bibs,so the two don't line up and cause bulging. Again these should be able to accommodate phones, cameras, flashlights etc. Warm pockets for battery items are important. 3.] Another item I think would be a good idea is to make use of the rear horizontal vent across the center of the back. It would be great if a brite orange and white reflector material could be stored here with the words HELP or SOS printed on it. It should be removeable from the jacket so it could be laid out in the snow for search planes to aid in rescue. Possibly it could be folded in such a way that the words caution could be displayed on the back of the jacket to warn approaching sleds of a problem ahead. Just an idea. 4.] I think reflective piping of some sort should be on the back of the jacket, front of the jacket, and on the sides of the arms and legs. This would make a person visable from all directions. Everyone else has great ideas as well so I'm expecting an unsurpassed suit. Good luck with this project. It's always best to ask the customer if you want to know real world information. Best Combat

Welcome Vortex. Have owned two of your suits in womens. One for my wife and one for my daughter. They both love them and they are very warm. Both are over 4 years old and show no sign of ware. I have a Taurus suit which i think Vortex makes and can't say enough good things about it. It is not uncommon to ride in my fleece under shirt at 10 degrees f. They also have some nice looking suits with leather type accents. Enough said. Keep up the good work. Combat

Rupp: You will more than likely have to trailer north to LaBelle where you can pick up trail 325 to Mt Laurier. This is on the abandonded rail road bed and is a straight shot into Mt Laurier. From there it's an easy ride to Devil's Mt. If you trailer south of Mt Tremblant to St Agath you can ride trail 43 to 33 and head for Saint Donat and Black Mt. Years back the trail connected La Belle and St Agath and we used to do loops from St Zenon over to the rail road trail at L Annunciation , head south to St Agath and head back east to St Zenon. It was a great days ride with a real mixture of scenery. Tremblat is Beautiful. Hope you have a great time. Regards Combat

Timbo: Thanks for the heads up. I'm planning on going up later in the season. I've been going to that area since 1993. Always a great time. I have the new trail map and had noticed all the trail changes. I can see where it could be confusing if some of the trails aren't open and the new map doesn't show the old routes.I guess the only hope for new to the area riders is that people along the way make a point of offering some trail information. It's especially important that people are aware that the Rouge Matawin cafeteria is not open anymore. I can see some people running out of gas!! Keep up on the reports as they are invaluable to people planning to head that way. Merry Christmas to all. regards Combat

Shane: I liked it. Brought a few laughs here at work. You know me, Lox of Bagels and Moor. I read a lot of your posts on different sites. Sounds like you had a good year on the Quebec trails. I only put on 600+ miles riding Old forge . I haven't been back in Canada since 2007.I do hope to get back that way again however. I still live on Main St Across from the Hess Station. The house with the white picket fence. Hope all is well with wife and your new son. Regards Combat [Jeff Kelley]

Just one more idea for your bag. I carry a couple of tampons in a plasticbag. If you need a fire, dropin gas tank, soak up some gas and you are pretty much assured to get your fire going. Never had to use it yet fortunately. Regards Combat

Greg:I don't do alot of commenting on sites,however I read alot of forums about snowmobiling as it is my passion. I probably will get some comments saying i am against Canada and Quebec. Believe me when I say I LOVE CANADA! I have been snowmobiling since 1972. I went on my first trip to St Zenon in 1963. I went every year multiple times until 2006. Over the years I made many friends in Quebec and will always have some wonderful memories of some of the best snowmobiling I've ever done. My wife and I also used to visit Montreal 2-3 times a year for weekend getaways.I never had any property stolen. I became more and more aware of the theft problem over the years,however. The iceing on the cake was in Montreal in 2006. My wife and I were going to spend the weekend at our usual hotel. When we pulled in the parking lot, the owner told us he didn't want us to park in his lot. He said the vehicle would not be there in the morning. It was a chevey 4wd trailblazer. He reccommended two hotels down the street that had underground garages and felt the vehicle would be safe there. Needless to say we were very disappointed as we used our vehicle at different times to go to Old Montreal for dinner etc. The parking lot owner we have known for years and had become friends with. Obviously I couldn't thank him enough. I guess what I'm saying is, if you want the american snowmobiler and tourist back fix the problem. Here in my hometown just 2 weeks ago there was a lengthy story of two men who had truck,trailer, and two snowmobiles stolen from their motel within an hour after they checked in. $70,000-80,000 of equiptment and the police do nothing. I rest my case. I would go back to quebec in a heart beat if I knew my things were safe.I still see some friends at the Big East Snowmobile show in Syracuse,NY. and I always tell them to say hello to everyone we know. I hope you continue to work on things in Quebec for us snowmobilers as my dream is to be able to go there once again. I still Love the country,it is a beautiful land and the hospitality is #1. Best of luck ,Regards Combat

smclelan: So sorry. You are correct. It was Andyman. I read this forum often and got confused who was who. Thanks for setting me straight. Andyman: I'm sure you will probably read this. Sorry for the mix up. Merry Christmas to all. Combat

smclelan: I don't know about the ski-doo, however as a Yamaha rider I to have no pull cord start. One thing that is reccommended is an Optimate charger. This charges the battery and also disulfates it.I do this about every other ride in the winter and once a month during the summer. My last battery lasted 4 years with no problem. I only changed it because I didn't want to take any chances. On the Yamaha the factory has two leads that come off the battery and are accessible by lifting the hood. Great for charging and jump starting from another sled or car. Does Ski-Doo have a similar set up? If not you may want to look into wiring up a similar arrangment. I also have a small set of jumper cables I carry with me just in case. Hope all goes well with the new ride. Keep the pictures and adventures coming. Have a great Christmas season. Regards Combat PS: I"ll always remember your story about getting caught in the blizzard and being rescued because of your gps and cell phone. You were lucky on that one.

Frame #14 looks like the dam at Lac Toro, Between La Cabanon and River Matawin, Que. Combat