Wow, I'm in snowmobile paradise here. I got a helicopter job slashing lines with a chainsaw for mining exploration outside of Whitehorse. It's a town job and we fly in and out on a Bell Ranger.The scenery is beyond spectacular.
I have been using a 359 and it does the job.I also ordered a custom made Bush Bowie knife with a 14" blade, but I have to wait three months for it.
Anyway, staying on topic, I was looking at a Bombardier 300E Tundra.
Would this be a good choice for a snowmobile?
John
Gypo, there have been a lot of posts in this thread, some relevant, some not-so relevant. You appear to be using your snowmobile for work tasks in areas that do not have trails, so a Utility sled is the ideal choice.
I worked on a crew a few years ago that cut a 6m swath around the perimiter of a low-level flying area for Military use. We did the work in the late Fall and there was plenty of snow to contend with. The work took place about 10 years ago.
Typically, we carried saws, axes, shovels, pegs, a toolbox and lots of gas/oil/saw parts with us on any given day. The snowmobiles and komatiks we used were flown in at the start of the project and flown out when we finished.
We used a mix of wide and narrow tracked sleds for our group of 4: 1 Skandic WT 500, 1 VK540III, 1 Tundra II and 1 Bravo LT. The lightweight Tundra and Bravo were awesome to break into new areas and make small inroads to check out our route, while the Skandic and VK were great to tow along the heavy supplies and get us through the really deep snow areas. Really, this combination of machinery complimented each other very well. If I had to pick one sled, it would probably have been the Skandic or the VK for their superb deep snow abilities, low range, reverse and unreal pulling power. However, if the woods were really tight, perhaps the Tundra and Bravo would have been best.
I hope this has been helpful. Regardless what you choose, be sure to pick a Utility sled that is able to carry your gear practically and meet your price/ fuel consumption constraints. The Tundra 300 is the replacement for the Tundra II I speak of (same engine, new chassis) and it is a great sled for what you are considering. Unless you are covering great distances or pulling a large sled full of gear, it is difficult to justify a wide tracked sled.
