Trailblazer

You truly are showing your age Jack. Mums the word though!

There’s a possibility there, I once drowned mydaughters Polaris Trailblazer 250 cc atv, we drained the water from the clutches and pulled the bike till it came to a start,very possible with a sled.

Those hose clamps are a must have.

That 900 is a sweet engine, very quite, very fuel efficient and has the same get up and go as the 1200 until 60 mph. Viper starting issues, my riding partner has a 2015 as well and has had a recall last season for the reprogramming of the start, they programmed a 2 turn start. He still has the sled and just received another recall for the same thing, this time they are editing the program for a 1 turn start. I know it’s too late for you but did your dealer ever mention the recall?

First run up at the chalet, week end with the wife so can’t leave her alone too long. Blue jay day on Saturday, Sunday supposed to be too but heavily overcasted with some blowing snow. Visited the Relais in the area checking out the locals and getting some trail info. 53 in the park leaving from Le Mulet is plowed and sanded, I’m told only for a few klms, after taking a look I did a quick u turn, lots of sand no thank you. Club house parking lot full house must’ve been 100 vehicles and trailers. Railbed beat to shit with the traffic, local trail to Mulet in good shape, the 43 over to Pourvoire Douze in good shape surprisingly considering its in the mountains. Pourvoire Douze is no longer a Relais, restaurant is for overnight guests only. 3 restaurants in town Resto Chez Linda, La Madorick both on the railbed and one little gem off the beaten path called Chez Pepere, she is the only one in town with a liquor license, Resto Chez Linda will tell you she’s getting one in 3 weeks but she’s been telling me that every time I go there since August. Somethings Up with that. Lake in front of the house has seen some traffic so I go and investigate, bording the lake I’m stuck, front of the sled plowed in the snow and the track spun itself down to the ice and now is spinning, give her a little shake back’n fourth and I’m off but not with out struggling. Seems the new snow is not set yet on the ice and there’s some water underneath. The front is plowing the deep snow and the track is spinning like crazy so I b-line it down the shore line where I can get off then look back, I see a trail of slush. Glad I didn’t go any further out.

You haven’t been David, only 30 or less k from Rabaska. 3 musts to visit, the Relais, the CP tower and the falls.

Hi Cobra Welcome to QR, you’re in the best place to access trail info for Quebec riding.

Thanks a lot guys for all your comments, all the information you’ve provided has been most helpful. I guess I didn’t make it clear from the start weather I’m going to an in-line or a deckover. In line is what I’m targeting for towing reasons, 7 x 18 seems to be the best fit from your comments if I could go 7 1/2” with out the inner fender wells would be an added bonus, I’ll have to inform myself at the trailer manufacturer. All aluminum is a must. Jack....your grommet idea, really smart. Thanks a lot. It seems everyone agrees on the torsion axles too, so torsion axles it is. I have torsion on my Triton clamshell and it’s done me well. The single recessed rear door latch is a great idea but not sure if it would be available at the manufacturer I’m targeting. I am however very interested to hear from your experiences about the pedestrian door recessed latch or the cam lock one, very much like the ones you see on the back of semi trailer vans. Pros and cons. With all the other comments on side door, front ramp, gas doors, aluminum wheels, lights and so on that tells me it pretty much boils down to a personal preference. Thanks again for sharing your trailers, experiences and ideas feel free to continue. JG

Fun stuff guys, love playing in the white stuff. Enjoy the challenges ahead.

I’m looking to upgrade my Triton clamshell for something I can walk in and can park 3 sleds in. Pretty much going to be my sled closet. Currently I’ve targeted a manufacturing but am undecided with a couple options and am looking to you guys for some experienced advise. I’m told I would need an 18 footer to hold three sleds, I think a 16 footer would do the job, what do you think? V-nose, I like the idea for towing and gas mileage, there’s 2 options. Option 1, 5’ v-nose with drive thru door, drive thru looks nice and can be practical for loading and unloading. Option 2, 3 1/2’ solid v-nose, this option would allow me to have a work station, table, shelves, toolbox and so on. Sleds can use reverse to exit. What do you think? Pedestrian door.....cam lock or RV latch? Wheels.....Aluminum mags or galvanized rims? Axles.....Torsion or axle on leaf spring? Looking forward to hearing from those of you that trailer often and have experienced trailer issues and what you would change for your next one.

It delaminated at 18 000 klms

I had the option of 15 or 16 last winter.

Done this loop several times in 2 1/2 days, some sleds can make the distance to Apica and some can’t, spare gas will take care of the balance. Very busy place on the week end for the restaurant and service is nothing like L’Etape so I would recommend a trail side snack gas’n go. You’ll want to ride as much as you can on the first day to bring you into the Valins, next day pretty easy to get to the casino and lots of time for site seeing, last day is a 1/2 day back to truck.

My sincere condolences JG. I feel your pain, I lost my mom a week before Xmas, cherish those thoughts and memories.

You guys won’t be disappointed with the Ice Ripper, I’ve been using those tracks for years, gave up on the studs for obvious reasons, in my case the tracks were ripping on the outer edge. I recently had to change my original Ice Ripper on my Enduro so I opted for a 1.6 lug in a 16” width. If you do the calculation the 16” x 137” has more square inches of coverage than a 15” x 144”. For a 137” it does quite well off trail and gives you the grip off the line on the trail. Good luck and happy trails.

Grooming’s a little different out there, it’s a suspension beater.

Trails north of St.Andre are a 1 star, south are still closed, this may change after this new snow. Heading up there on the week end to inspect.

Leaving from La Glaciere you’ll need to top off at the Cab if you’re going to fuel at Kanawata 205 klms via 345 (10 or 15k less via 33) or you can bypass the Cab and fuel at Repos, I suggest option one, big lines for gas at Repos on the week end. After Kanawata you’ll want to top off at Wemotachi, I don’t think Windigo sells fuel so you’ll have to top off again the next day back in Wemotachi on your return trip. You can also drive to and park at Riviere Mattawin then ride thru La Tuque and Relais 22. Just another option.

One for each team

Finally after spending the entire holidays on my back sick as a dog drooling over all the sledding posts, I’m feeling well enough on the last week end before returning to work to brave the outdoors. From the reads I’m getting, the closest snow and trails are a 2 1/2 hour drive away, St.Zenon. Not the ideal area I like to ride in but we will be only riding out of it. Couple phone calls later I got team assembled, Grumpysanta, Vrini and yours truly, reservations made, sled loaded and were off, yup last minute. We got the last room at Cabanon Friday night, they were booked for Saturday and pretty much everywhere with in a 100 klm radius, everyone’s up there riding. Destination, Barrage Gouin 350 ish klms, 345 360 83 and the Gouin trail. 345 out the gate is a little thin, skippy off rock caps and dodging patatoes till after the river, 360 short’n sweet then back on the 345. This is where it starts getting real nice. 345 up to Repos and it’s noon when we get to the driveway, we take a deep breathe and decide to bypass and head up the Kanawata express to Kanawata for gas and lunch, no one at the pump and quick service inside. Glad we opted for Kanawata, more on that later. 200 k from the Cab. 345 up to Casey sweet as always, after Casey the trail is labelled 83 doesn’t say east or west just 83, kinda confusing but before crossing the road from Wemotachi to Parent the trail detours to the west following the Manaouin river for about 10 klms when it conects to the 83. At the intersection from the east and west side of the 83 there are Casey Detour signs, why they detoured the trail I don’t know, yet! Trails are awesome and I’m behaving myself this week end, got some old timers with me! Gouin trail off the 83 was in fair shape till you got to the road going to Parent, on the other side into BG the trail was a single path with branches growing into the trail, last few klms was a little rough, we saw Jean in the trail dragging a crazy looking homemade sleigh with blades on it to cut the branches, very innovative. BG walleye was bar none, service on the top and foxy was back, she even gave a pose. Josianne is no longer there, they have someone new now her name is Corina. Jean was very helpful with some off trail info but that’s for another time. A little cooler in the morning and a little more snow on the ground for our departure, down to the road we go, enough of the branches. Buzz down to the Halteparche trail and reconnect with the 83, into Casey then do a little exploring, we’re coming back here another time in search of a trail to 100 Lacs. Buzz on down to Kanawata and it’s too early for the lunch so we take the express into Repos, now this is where it gets interesting....We have 175 k on the tanks and Repos is sold out of gas, sending everyone to Manawan so I dump my spare gas, Vrini with his 900 Expedition still has lots to spare. Grumpy would rather ride the 35 k to Manawan fuel up and ride back the 35 k rather than dumping his spare gas, so after tugging on his beard a bit we got him to dump his gas and stay away from Manawan. Good thing too, later on that. Now we have roughly 1/2 to 3/4 tank of gas and are taking the 33 down to SMdS 100k, easy peasy. We get there using the shortest path possible, ran all the lakes, took the road around Taurau then crossed the reservoir into SMdS from Auberge Taurau. Got lots to spare, could’ve even made it back to the Cab. Everyone’s happy. Now back to Manawan, when I got home I saw a post on FB, a quick video of the fuel line up at Repos on Saturday at 1:30 the post said they are all sold out of gas. On Sunday we were told to go to Manawan and I’m guess they everyone on saturday to do the same. Hmmm I’m judging with all the traffic Saturday afternoon and on Sunday it’s a high probability Manawan could’ve sold out as well. It was a tough call pulling on Grumpys beard, he’s a big guy! 615 klms for the weekend, not too tough on the bodies for the first one. https://www.facebook.com/trevor.russell.37/videos/10216879135983272/

I totally agree, one of those stories like the ones you hear about sleds jumping over each other on the pipeline going to La Tuque.

Happy new year jeune homme pouring rain here in Mtl. Boo hoo 5-10 cms they say more like 15-20 mms. Going canoeing tomorrow.

Happy new year guys 🧐

Thanks for taking the time to share your trail reports with us Jack, always good info to have when trying to figure out where to make the first ride. Welcome back